University of California Video Podcasts (Video)

Especially when practiced as a line of work — as a job or métier — craft sets norms for its practitioners. On the whole, a shoemaker should try to be a good shoemaker, and the good person who is a shoemaker routinely does just that. But what kind of ‘should’ is this, and what could connect these two kinds of goodness? Rachel Barney, professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto, examines prominent philosophical conceptions of craft, ancient and modern, offer wildly various explanations of its normative authority. The picture is complicated by the way in which craft-as-work is paradigmatic both for successful practical reason and for social roles or practical identities in general. But the most fundamental source of craft’s normativity is the one which Plato and Aristotle bring out: the fact that, when practised as a job or métier, practicing your craft can be a way to realize the human good. And so thinking about craft turns out to be a way of thinking about Utopia: a society in which a just distribution of work could secure both the flourishing of the worker and the common good. Barney is joined by Christine Korsgaard and Alexander Nehamas for commentary on the topic of craft. Series: "Tanner Lectures on Human Values" [Humanities] [Business] [Show ID: 39864]

The savanna hypothesis suggests that early human ancestors evolved in open grasslands. Raymond Dart's 1925 discovery of Australopithecus africanus at Taung supported this idea. Lucy's 1974 discovery confirmed bipedalism in Australopithecus species but raised questions about their tree-dwelling habits. Studies since then have refined our understanding of ancient habitats and climates, showing that human evolution involved interactions with various environments, not just savannas. This requires a nuanced view of biomes, climates, and habitats to understand how early humans adapted and evolved. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39819]

Rev. Dr. Bernice A. King is a global thought leader, peace advocate, and CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center For Nonviolent Social Change (The King Center), which was founded by her mother as the official living memorial to the life, work, and legacy of her father, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As part of the Helen Edition Lecture Series, Dr. King talks with Cheryl Anderson, Dean of UC San Diego's School of Public Health, about her work educating youth and adults around the world about the nonviolent principles and strategies modeled by her parents. Series: "Helen Edison Lecture Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 39523]

CONTRA-TIEMPO Activist Dance Theater’s ¡azúcar! is a courageous naming of, confrontation with, and intentional obliteration of the often unspoken undercurrent of anti-Blackness in latinidad. Questions are continuing to drive the process as we begin to understand the complicated history of sugar and the messages from our ancestors. What does it feel like to individually and collectively heal, what does it move like? Twenty brilliant artists and collaborators take audiences through a journey of Celia Cruz’s vibrations, unearthing history embedded in our bodies. Through ¡azúcar!, CONTRA-TIEMPO explores ancestral wisdoms about a plant that once aided in our healing, used as a way to sweeten medicinal concoctions, now extracted, refined, and used as weaponized poison. This courageous work is rooted in and inspired by the sacred feminine, personal narratives of food, labor, community, sabor, and explorations of “familying” and healing as practices. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 39923]

CONTRA-TIEMPO Activist Dance Theater’s ¡azúcar! is a courageous naming of, confrontation with, and intentional obliteration of the often unspoken undercurrent of anti-Blackness in latinidad. Questions are continuing to drive the process as we begin to understand the complicated history of sugar and the messages from our ancestors. What does it feel like to individually and collectively heal, what does it move like? Twenty brilliant artists and collaborators take audiences through a journey of Celia Cruz’s vibrations, unearthing history embedded in our bodies. Through ¡azúcar!, CONTRA-TIEMPO explores ancestral wisdoms about a plant that once aided in our healing, used as a way to sweeten medicinal concoctions, now extracted, refined, and used as weaponized poison. This courageous work is rooted in and inspired by the sacred feminine, personal narratives of food, labor, community, sabor, and explorations of “familying” and healing as practices. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 39925]

Alessandro Duranti, Distinguished Research Professor of Anthropology at UCLA, presents archival footage he filmed of Walter Capps' 1996 campaign for U.S. Congress to analyze how the political candidate framed his choice to run for office. Using semantic and narrative analyses, Duranti shows how Capps refined his campaign announcement to better generate voter enthusiasm and how Capps' public and private comments about the campaign reflected his ethical and political values. Capps was elected to Congress in 1996, and died in October 1997 after serving 10 months in office. Duranti became a close friend of the Capps family during his year-long ethnographic research, and he reflects on the role of family in Capps' life and campaign. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 39720]

In 1974, understanding early human evolution was limited. Lucy's discovery provided insights into one early hominin, while her species, Australopithecus afarensis, revealed broader patterns. The abundance and quality of A. afarensis fossils help understand diversity, relationships, and the pace of evolution among hominins. Lucy's ilk sheds light on crucial topics such as taxic diversity, phylogenetic relationships, and the tempo of evolution within the hominin clade. They are key to unlocking the secrets of hominin evolutionary history before and after A. afarensis, offering valuable context for fossils found in southern and eastern Africa. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39818]

CONTRA-TIEMPO Activist Dance Theater’s ¡azúcar! is a courageous naming of, confrontation with, and intentional obliteration of the often unspoken undercurrent of anti-Blackness in latinidad. Questions are continuing to drive the process as we begin to understand the complicated history of sugar and the messages from our ancestors. What does it feel like to individually and collectively heal, what does it move like? Twenty brilliant artists and collaborators take audiences through a journey of Celia Cruz’s vibrations, unearthing history embedded in our bodies. Through ¡azúcar!, CONTRA-TIEMPO explores ancestral wisdoms about a plant that once aided in our healing, used as a way to sweeten medicinal concoctions, now extracted, refined, and used as weaponized poison. This courageous work is rooted in and inspired by the sacred feminine, personal narratives of food, labor, community, sabor, and explorations of “familying” and healing as practices. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 39924]

Owing to its morphological and temporal placement, the Lucy species, Australopithecus afarensis, plays a pivotal role in our understanding of the human evolutionary career. Though many more fossil remains were recovered subsequent to Lucy’s discovery, the impact of the latter cannot be overstated not least its role as a trove of scientific data as well as its iconic nature. Research on Lucy and its species and continued fieldwork have inspired many research projects across Africa especially the Afar region of Ethiopia. One such project is the Dikika Research Project, which has discovered the earliest and most complete skeleton of a juvenile A. afarensis, dating back to 3.32 million years ago, filling in a major gap in our knowledge of the species. Here, I will briefly discuss what we learn from this skeleton about the Lucy species and what that implies to our knowledge of the many descendants of A. afarensis including our own species. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39817]

Maria Rosario (Happy) G. Araneta, Ph.D., M.P.H., highlights the significant impact of prenatal and childhood malnutrition on later health outcomes, including coronary heart disease and diabetes. She emphasizes the importance of physical activity, strength training, and the need for inclusive research to address health disparities. Future research directions include understanding cognitive impairment related to diabetes and developing effective interventions for diverse populations. Series: "Stein Institute for Research on Aging" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 39392]