University of California Video Podcasts (Video)

Guy Kawasaki, chief evangelist of Canva and a former Apple evangelist who helped market the Macintosh in 1984, shares his 10 tips for writing your own story forward. A New York Times bestselling author, Kawasaki uses reinvention and resilience as a framework for decision-making in personal and professional life. His books include "Wiser Guy: Life-Changing Revelations and Revisions from Tech’s Chief Evangelist," reflecting lessons from his career and his Remarkable People podcast.

Presented in conjunction with UC Your Future, a signature UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies Lifelong Learning Program designed to ignite possibility, strengthen resilience, and empower individuals to shape the next chapter of their lives with intention and creativity. Series: "Career Channel" [Business] [Show ID: 41266]

Humans excel at transmitting ideas, skills, and knowledge across generations, and at building on those competencies in a cumulative manner. James Rilling, Professor of Psychology at Emory University, explores how the transmission of our cumulative culture is assumed to depend on both language and mental perspective-taking, or theory of mind. If humans have specialized abilities in these domains, we must have neurobiological specializations to support them. Our research has used comparative primate neuroimaging to attempt to identify such specializations. The arcuate fasciculus is a white matter fiber tract that links Wernicke’s and Broca’s language areas. It is known to be involved in multiple, high level linguistic functions such as lexical semantics, complex syntax, and speech fluency. Using diffusion weighted imaging and tractography, we have demonstrated human specializations in the size and trajectory of the arcuate fasciculus that may partially explain human linguistic abilities. Theory of Mind depends on a set of cortical regions that belong to a neural network known as the default mode network that is functionally connected, highly active at rest, and deactivated by attention-demanding cognitive tasks. We and others have used functional neuroimaging to show that chimpanzees and other primates appear to have a default mode network that is similar to that of humans. However, the non-human primate default mode network seems to have weaker connectivity between certain key nodes, suggesting that these connections could play a role in human theory of mind specializations. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 41329]

How fast are you really aging, and what could that mean for brain health? Aladdin H. Shadyab, Ph.D., explores the gap between chronological age and biological age, and why that difference matters for long-term health. Shadyab describes tools that use information from blood to estimate how quickly the body is aging, including approaches that look beyond the body as a whole to consider aging in specific systems. He connects faster biological aging with higher risk for age-related disease and declines in physical and cognitive function, and discusses how blood-based biomarkers may offer earlier signals of processes linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Shadyab also highlights lifestyle and treatment findings that may support healthier aging and longer survival. Series: "Stein Institute for Research on Aging" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41073]

Latin dance is a living blend of rhythms, histories, and styles, and Araceli Cervantes approaches it as both cultural practice and personal craft. Cervantes is an actress and dancer whose love for the arts began early and continues to shape her work. Drawing on training that spans Mexican traditional dance as well as contemporary and Latin forms, she brings both technique and joy to performance. A dance champion and medal-winning competitor, Cervantes shares what it takes to keep growing through discipline, resilience, and a commitment to reaching the next level. Series: "Mi Universidad " [Arts and Music] [Education] [Show ID: 41212]

The distinct biology of the human brain, scaffolded by language and culture, allows ideas to be formed, named, shared, and accumulated across generations. Dean Falk, Professor of Anthropology, Florida State University, explains how paleoneurologists study the brains of human ancestors by producing endocasts from fossilized skulls and measuring cranial capacities. Dated skulls indicate brain size more than tripled in hominins during the Stone Age that began around 3.5 million years ago, while endocasts can also preserve traces of blood vessels and convolutions, even though sulci are often fragmentary and difficult to interpret. Falk describes how sulcal patterns differ most noticeably between great apes and humans in the lateral prefrontal cortex and in the parieto-occipital association cortices, and she addresses long-running debate about whether the lunate sulcus in evolving hominins marked the anterior border of primary visual cortex as it does in living monkeys and apes. Because few fossils exist from the earlier “Botanic Age,” she outlines how comparative primatology and evolutionary developmental biology can extend the study of brain evolution by considering brain development and locomotion, including bipedalism. She applies this extended paleoneurological synthesis with special attention to auditory entrainment and complex grammatical language. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 41328]

The postpartum period is a major transition that reshapes the body, emotions, and daily life all at once. Julia Cormano, MD, FACOG presents a clear overview of recovery after delivery, explaining common physical changes, expected discomforts, and practical ways to support healing. Cormano emphasizes that experiences vary, and that understanding what is typical can reduce stress and help families feel more prepared. She highlights core areas of postpartum care, including bleeding, pain management, infant feeding, rest, and emotional well-being, while reinforcing the value of early support from loved ones and care teams. Cormano also distinguishes temporary emotional ups and downs from more serious mood concerns that need prompt attention, noting that early recognition and treatment improve outcomes for both parent and baby. Wherever you are in your postpartum journey, this guidance offers a supportive starting point to help you move forward with greater confidence and care. Series: "Motherhood Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41049]

Our brains are engines of imagination—an “idea organ” that has transformed both our species and the planet. Genevieve Konopka, Chair of the Department of Neurobiology in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, asks how genes drive the development of the cell types that build the human brain and give rise to cognition, and how cognitive behavior emerges from evolutionarily adapted genomic programs. Because the human brain is comprised of heterogenous cell types, she examines gene expression patterns and chromatin states within specific cell types to gain insights into brain evolution and the development of cognitive disorders. Using single cell genomics to compare human and nonhuman primate brains, her work uncovers human brain innovations, including changes in the proportions of immature oligodendrocytes in the neocortex. She recapitulates this result in vitro using stem cell derived models from humans and nonhuman primates, highlighting the intersection of cellular genomics with brain evolution and function. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 41298]

Humans live in a world of ideas—born in the brain, shared through language, accumulated in culture across generations, and made reality. From the first flaked stone tools to the building of shelters, from figurative and symbolic art to abstract thought, our brains are engines of imagination—an “idea organ” that has transformed both our species and the planet itself.

The distinct biology of the human brain, scaffolded by language and culture, allows ideas to be formed, named, shared, and accumulated across generations. This process of cumulative culture, knowledge built upon knowledge, has propelled humans far beyond the cognitive landscapes of other large-brained animals, including our closest living and extinct relatives.

This symposium explores how the human brain develops, functions, and maintains its role as the seat of ideas. We trace its story from molecules, cells, neuronal migration and circuitry, to the maternal, parental, and social influences that shape its growth, including the countless ways that brain function can be compromised at any stage of life. We examine how the uniquely human interplay of biology and culture gave rise to a brain capable of perceiving and remaking the world around us. By examining the evolutionary roots of our “idea organ,” we aim to illuminate how this singular capacity emerged—and how it continues to drive human innovation. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 41358]

RNA binding proteins help cells control how genetic information becomes working proteins, and Gene Yeo, Ph.D., M.B.A., at UC San Diego investigates how their disruption contributes to neurodegenerative disease. Yeo focuses on ALS, a severe motor neuron disease in which the RNA binding protein TDP-43 moves from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, loses normal RNA processing functions, and triggers cryptic exons that damage key neuronal genes, including one linked to motor neuropathy. His group maps these RNA changes and develops small nuclear RNA guides packaged in AAV vectors to block harmful splice sites and restore healthy RNA and protein levels. In cell cultures and a humanized mouse model, this strategy improves axon growth and supports the idea that multiplexed RNA-targeted therapies could correct multiple disease pathways at once. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41166]

Aging is the leading risk factor for cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and heart disease, and Robert A.J. Signer, Ph.D., studies how aging stem cells shape pre-cancer and healthspan. As deputy director of the Sanford Stem Cell Discovery Center, Signer focuses on rare blood-forming stem cells that self-renew, generate all blood and immune cells, and normally sustain more than 35 trillion blood cells, including about 2 million new red blood cells every second. His group finds that these “Zen” stem cells slow protein production to limit damaging “trash,” but aging stresses overwhelm these defenses. Stress response programs such as HSF1 then help both healthy and mutant stem cells, fueling clonal hematopoiesis, a common, untreated pre-cancerous condition linked to cardiovascular disease, inflammation, cancer, and increased mortality. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41253]