Writers (Video)

Barbara Boxer, the longtime US Senator from California and author of "The Art of Tough: Fearlessly Facing Politics and Life," speaks on her biggest battles in Congress, including support for AIDS research, voting rights, equal rights, reproductive rights, clean air and water, parental leave and her opposition to the Iraq war, and reminds her audience that all of these are at risk given the results of the 2016 election. Boxer delivers the inaugural speech of the Barbara Boxer Lecture Series, presented by the Institute of Governmental Studies and the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley. Series: "Institute of Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley (IGS)" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 32092]

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder reveals his reporting strengths as he describes how he earned the trust of the people he has featured in books such as "Mountains Beyond Mountains," "House," "A Truck Full of Money," "Old Friends," and "Strength in What Remains." Kidder shares the joys and doubts of a career in writing with veteran journalist and host Dean Nelson, founder and director of the Writer's Symposium By The Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31161]

This far-reaching conversation with best-selling author Shauna Niequist offers an honest account of her journey of becoming a writer. She shares her love of storytelling and her goal of living life to the fullest, and offers tips for aspiring writers. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31160]

Former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky describes himself as a "composer" who considers poetry to be first and foremost a vocal art, and his work seeks to blur the distinctions between language and music by emphasizing the rhythms and innate physicality of recited verse in a jazz context. In this performance for the 22nd Writer's Symposium by the Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University, Pinsky's reading is accompanied by a talented trio of PLNU students. The music - a blend of rehearsed and improvised - employs a variety of jazz styles, sometimes sympathetic and sometimes in playful counterpoint, but always responsive to the poet's distinctive voice. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 30820]

Omer Bartov, the John P. Birkelund Distinguished Professor of European History and German Studies at Brown University, explores the dynamics of the horrifying genocidal violence which took place in the East Galician town of Buczacz— following the German conquest of the region in 1941— and its subsequent erasure from local memory. For centuries, Poles, Ukrainians, and Jews coexisted in the region, but tragically, by the time the town was liberated in 1944, the entire Jewish population had been murdered by the Nazis. They were assisted by local Ukrainians, who then ethnically cleansed the region of the Polish population. Bartov is presented as part of the Holocaust Living History Workshop at UC San Diego. Series: "Writers" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31540]

Christopher Bollas, psychoanalyst and writer, asserts that mental life is innately hazardous. The steps we take through childhood are marked by mentally painful episodes that constitute ordinary breakdowns in the self. Adolescence stands as the most painful such period, during which some of the major disturbances of self arise, including anorexia, schizophrenia, bipolarity, and sociopathy. Rather than approaching mental pain as a condition to be ignored, minimized, or suppressed through medication, Bollas examines it as a constitutive element of human psychic development. Presented by the Townsend Center for the Humanities at UC Berkeley. Series: "Writers" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 31943]

Author Zohreh Ghahremani talks with Babak Rahimi, associate professor of Communication, Culture and Religion at UC San Diego about the novel, "Sky of Red Poppies," the 2012 selection for One Book, One San Diego. Series: "Writers" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31539]

In his book, Spitting in the Soup: Inside the Dirty Game of Doping in Sports, UC San Diego alumnus and sports journalist Mark Johnson traces the doping culture in professional sports, from the early days when pills meant progress, to the current day, when athletes are vilified for the use of performance-enhancing drugs. In his book, Johnson, who has covered cycling as a writer and photographer since the 1980s, explores the complex relationships that underlie elite sports culture. Series: "Writers" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 31408]

Journalist Ari Shapiro shares how his passion for literature has inspired him to find and report great stories in Washington, Europe and elsewhere around the world in his remarkable rise from radio intern to co-host of NPR’s flagship news program, All Things Considered. Shapiro is the featured speaker at the 2016 Dinner in the Library event at the Geisel Library at UC San Diego. Series: "Writers" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 31184]

David Gerrold, influential contemporary sci-fi writer and creator of genre-defining works such as the enduringly popular Star Trek episode, The Trouble With Tribbles, discusses his career across many media platforms to provide unique and valuable insights into the evolution and changing nature of the genre. Gerrold is interviewed by Word Farm Director Joe Palladino. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 30866]