University of California Video Podcasts (Video)

Filmmaker Madhuja Mukherjee joins UCSB professor Bishnupriya Ghosh for a conversation about Deep6, a Bengali-language drama set in Kolkata during the politically charged year of 2011. The film follows Mitul, a solitary journalist navigating the end of West Bengal’s 34-year Communist rule while confronting personal loss and shifting identities. Starring Tillotama Shome, Deep6 blends realism with elements of magical realism, exploring memory, trauma, and transformation in a changing city. The film premiered at the 26th Busan International Film Festival and was featured at both the International Film Festival of Kerala and the Kolkata International Film Festival. Mukherjee, also a professor of Film Studies at Jadavpur University, brings deep insight into the film’s themes and structure. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40539]

For Earth Day, we release the glorious Earth Harmony Sonata. It features Earth photography by astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who just returned from their extended stay on the ISS. Wilmore captures a mesmerizing flight path from equatorial Africa, over the Sahara and Middle East and on up to Armenia. Williams took over 10,000 photographs, with a sensitive and artistic eye. Here are 60 favorites, covering the world. The music is Bach’s Trio Sonata #5 for organ, played by maestro Brian Hoffman. Celebrate Earth Day with this feast for eyes and ears. We live on a beautiful planet – please love and care for it.

Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40664]

How can you make choices today that could help you live longer and feel better? Gordon Saxe, M.D., Ph.D., explores the ways to slow the aging process and live a healthier life. Series: "Stein Institute for Research on Aging" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40601]

“When anchors fail, people die.” This line has many meanings for author, motivational speaker and expert mountain climber Manley Feinberg. In this Osher Author Talk interview, Feinberg describes a harrowing climb of Yosemite's El Capitan in 2022, where he and his son saved the life of their companion while suspended on the face of the mountain. He incorporates his experience climbing mountains into his books and presentations to help people reach their fullest potential while supporting those around them. The interview is hosted by Henry DeVries as part of UC San Diego's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Series: "Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40432]

The risk for many chronic diseases is directly linked to metabolic changes in the body and loss of muscle mass often associated with aging. In this program, Dr. Natalie Marshall focuses on sarcopenia, low muscle mass, and the importance of strength training and body composition to improve metabolic fitness. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40684]

Working with award-winning educators Javier Montiel and Emi Bahena, students from the International Aerospace Academy made this delightful movie as part of our Earth Serenade series. The students are dancing as if in space, while celebrating five countries that sent astronauts to the International Space Station. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40663]

Jesmyn Ward has been hailed as the standout writer of her generation, proving her “fearless and toughly lyrical” voice in novels, memoir, and nonfiction. She's been called “the new Toni Morrison.” Ward is a MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient and in 2017, she became the first woman and the first person of color to win two National Book Awards for Fiction—joining the ranks of William Faulkner, Saul Bellow, John Cheever, Philip Roth, and John Updike. Her books include "Let Us Descend," "Sing, Unburied, Sing," "Salvage the Bones," and "Navigate Your Stars." The professor of creative writing at Tulane University joins host Dean Nelson for this evocative conversation as part of the 30th anniversary of the Writer's Symposium by the Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40217]

At 120-feet long, and holding 36,000 gallons of water, the Scripps Ocean-Atmosphere Research Simulator (SOARS) is a unique facility at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. SOARS is much more than a wave generator, it allows scientists to replicate ocean conditions, including wind, waves, water chemistry, temperature, and light, in a controlled environment. By simulating ocean environments in a controlled laboratory setting, researchers are able to study ocean-atmosphere interactions, climate change, and more. Scripps Institution of Oceanography Lead Engineer Douglas Alden and Researcher Grant Deane give an inside look on how scientists are able to study how human activities are changing the ocean and atmosphere, and how these changes impact global climate and other areas like human health and marine life protection. Series: "Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 40522]

Historian and political commentator Heather Cox Richardson joins UC Berkeley professor of law and history Dylan Penningroth in a timely conversation about the reshaping of the United States’ two major political parties. A professor of 19th century American history at Boston College, Richardson provides an incisive perspective on current politics to the more than three million readers of her nightly newsletter, Letters from an American. She has written for the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Guardian, and is the author, most recently, of the best-selling book "Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America." Penningroth is the author of the award-winning "Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights." Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 40424]

John A. Pérez, Regent Emeritus of the University of California, sits down with Robert Williams, Ph.D., CEO and Finci-Viterbi Executive Director of the USC Shoah Foundation, for a critical conversation about the rise of antisemitism on college campuses. They explore how history shapes present-day challenges, the dangers of misinformation, and the role of higher education in confronting hate. Drawing on lessons from the Holocaust and other historical atrocities, they discuss the urgent need for courage and action to combat antisemitism. Series: "Education Channel" [Humanities] [Education] [Show ID: 40249]