University of California Video Podcasts (Video)

Stem cell health in space matters for astronaut health and cancer research. Jessica Pham, UC San Diego, explains how spaceflight shapes normal hematopoietic stem cells and cancer stem cells through nano bioreactor studies, astronaut blood analysis, and tumor organoid work in low-Earth orbit. Pham examines increased cycling and reduced dormancy in space, reduced self-renewal after return, and ongoing research on cancer stem cells and their microenvironment, helping clarify how stem cells respond to spaceflight. This work helps explain how space conditions may change stem cell fitness over time and points toward a better understanding of astronaut health, long-duration missions, and cancer stem cell behavior. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41477]

As part of the 2026 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Dr. Dean Blumberg, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, discusses vaccine skepticism and public policy. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41461]

Privacy-preserving computation can help hospitals and researchers use sensitive health data without exposing it. Farinaz Koushanfar, Ph.D., UC San Diego, explains how secure computation and distributed learning make it possible to collaborate on medical data while protecting patient privacy. Koushanfar examines secure multi-party computation, zero-knowledge proofs, and federated and split learning, helping clarify how health systems can work together despite data silos, incompatibility, security threats, and re-identification risk. This work helps explain how medical AI can learn from private data more safely and points toward more secure, robust, and trustworthy healthcare systems. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 41367]

Computer-based assessment can change how students practice, test, and learn. Craig Zilles, Ph.D., University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, explains how PrairieLearn supports mastery-oriented teaching through immediate feedback, auto-grading, randomized question generators, and repeat practice. Zilles examines asynchronous exams, frequent small tests, retake opportunities, and question banks designed around specific learning objectives, helping clarify how assessment systems can reduce administrative overhead while giving students more chances to demonstrate learning. He also discusses fairness in randomized exams, the balance between auto-grading and manual grading, and the emerging role of AI in formative feedback. This work helps explain how digital testing tools can support flexible assessment without forcing instructors to simplify what they teach. Series: "Computer Science Channel" [Science] [Education] [Show ID: 41409]

As part of the 2026 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Maria Town, President and CEO, American Association of People with Disabilities, discusses Medicaid. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41454]

Architect Drew Hubbell explores the intersection of sustainable design and architectural artistry, highlighting how thoughtful, aesthetically rich structures can also embody strong environmental principles. He presents several recent projects, with particular attention to their fire-resistant strategies and materials. Against the backdrop of increasingly destructive wildfires across California, Hubbell addresses the urgent need for resilient design. He discusses practical approaches and innovative ideas for architects, designers, and homeowners seeking to build, or rebuild, with fire in mind. Drawing on his professional experience, he offers clear insights to help audiences make informed, forward-thinking decisions about creating homes that are both beautiful and better equipped to withstand fire. Series: "Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 41530]

Sexual health is an important part of healthy aging and offers a useful way to understand how well-being can change without disappearing in later life. Annie L. Nguyen, Ph.D., M.P.H., UC San Diego, explains how sexual interest, sexual activity, and sexual satisfaction follow different patterns as people age. Nguyen examines research on health status, relationship context, and gender differences, then shares findings from a UC San Diego SAGE study of adults age 60 and older. Her results show that sexual interest declines across later decades and differs by sex, while sexual satisfaction remains more stable across age groups. This work helps explain why sexual health in later life should not be reduced to a single measure and points toward more open, nonjudgmental conversations about well-being, intimacy, and aging. Series: "Stein Institute for Research on Aging" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41107]

Artificial intelligence affects how we understand the behavior of machine learning systems. Stefano Soatto, VP of Applied Science, Amazon Web Services, explains how ideas from information geometry shape emerging theories of how these artifacts work. Soatto examines the natural gradient, the connections between geometry and concepts such as probability distributions, entropy, mutual information, and KL divergence, and the challenge of defining information in trained models, helping clarify how reasoning and learning can be understood in the era of AI. Series: "Kyoto Prize Symposium" [Science] [Show ID: 41494]

Youth mental health is increasingly shaped by how teens use AI for emotional support outside clinical care. Cinnamon Bloss, Ph.D., UC San Diego, explains how growing use of conversational AI reflects major gaps in care and changing preferences for support. Bloss examines the appeal of AI’s accessibility and nonjudgmental responses, concerns about replacing human connection, and the need to monitor harms, helping clarify how AI fits into a fast-changing mental health landscape. She also points to the importance of listening to young people, improving AI credibility and transparency, expanding safety and privacy discussions in schools, and preparing clinicians and online safety workers for this new reality. This work helps explain why teens are turning to AI and points toward a more thoughtful balance between safety and access to mental health support. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41366]

Carol Gilligan, professor at New York University, received the Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy, specifically in the field of Thought and Ethics, for pioneering a new horizon for the “ethic of care” while pointing out the distortions and limitations of conventional psychological theories pertaining to women’s thoughts and behaviors. By offering research-based insights into women’s moral reasoning, especially in contrast to men’s moral reasoning, Gilligan showed how women are more likely than men to prioritize human connections and seek solutions that preserve relationships. She called this relationship-oriented reasoning the “ethic of care” and contrasted it with the “ethic of justice,” which often entails imposing universal principles or rights, even forcefully, to resolve conflict. Gilligan does not merely contrast these differently positioned ethical frameworks; rather her life work has been deeply concerned with an enmeshment of the two for a more fully realized understanding of human maturity and development. Her work offers a new academic foundation for addressing global societal challenges like women’s empowerment and the welfare of the elderly and disabled. Series: "Kyoto Prize Symposium" [Humanities] [Show ID: 41118]