Great Minds Gather Here

Dr. Talmadge King, Jr. is Dean of the UCSF School of Medicine and Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs at UCSF. Dr. King is an internationally known expert on interstitial lung diseases. In the interview with current chair of UCSF’s Department of Medicine, Dr. Bob Wachter, Dr. King describes his remarkable journey from a small town upbringing –including segregated schools –to the pinnacle of academic medicine. Dr. King is the recipient of several major honors, including the Trudeau Medal, the highest honor of the American Thoracic Society. Prior to assuming his role as dean, he was chair of UCSF’s Department of Medicine and Chief of the Medical Service at San Francisco General Hospital. Series: "Great Minds Gather Here" [Health and Medicine] [Business] [Show ID: 32874]

Michael Green, neuroscientist and professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA, has been fascinated with the human brain, behavior and mental illness since his undergraduate days. In particular, his research focuses on schizophrenia, a chronic brain disorder that affects about 1 percent of the population. In this UCLA Faculty Research Lecture, he describes how his lab uses discoveries in psychology and social neuroscience about normal brain functioning to inform his schizophrenia research. And now, Green and his colleagues are moving into new territory, studying the causes of social isolation among people who do not have schizophrenia. You’ll learn about the tools they use such as functional MRI, that measures and maps brain activity, and EEG, that detects electrical activity in the brain, and how they do research to answer questions about social isolation in the general public. Series: "UCLA Faculty Research Lectures" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 32573]

Our neurons talk to each other but the language they use can change depending on what is happening in the environment around them. If the brain can adapt to our world in this way, what are the bigger implications? Nick Spitzer, Division of Biological Sciences, UC San Diego, explains neurotransmitter switching and how that process impacts our physical abilities, disease processes, and more. Series: "Great Minds Gather Here" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 32521]

Robert Bjork, Distinguished Research Professor in the UCLA Department of Psychology, shares insights from his work as a renowned expert on human learning. Bjork has been studying learning and memory for more than four decades. Series: "UCLA Faculty Research Lectures" [Humanities] [Show ID: 30574]

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Professor V.S. Ramachandran, Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, for a discussion of his research on the brain. Professor Ramachandran describes his formative experiences, the richly textured methodology that forms his approach to the study of the brain, insights he has gained from studying phantom limbs, mirror neurons and synesthesia. He concludes with speculation on the origins of creativity and consciousness. Series: "Conversations with History" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 30562]

The amazing advances made in mapping the human genome don’t alter one longstanding fact: when it comes to unlocking the scientific secrets of life, fruit flies rule. Uptal Banerjee, Chair of the the Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology at UCLA, explains that most principles that have been laid out in developmental biology — from mechanisms of stem cell maintenance to how a head differs from a tail — came from work in Drosophila. Series: "UCLA Faculty Research Lectures" [Science] [Show ID: 30565]

Arch Getty explores the intriguing details surrounding Lenin’s body, which was embalmed shortly after his death in 1924 and has been on public display ever since in a mausoleum on Moscow’s Red Square. Getty is a Distinguished Professor in the UCLA Department of History. Series: "UCLA Faculty Research Lectures" [Humanities] [Show ID: 30567]

Efrain Kristal explores the shadow war cast over the life and writings of the Argentine Jorge Luis Borges whose family found itself comfortably stranded in neutral Switzerland during World War I, whose translations introduced the Spanish-speaking world to German expressionist poetry from that era and who later monitored the rise of Nazism with dismay. Series: "UCLA Faculty Research Lectures" [Humanities] [Show ID: 30566]

Jan Nederveen Pieterse in conversation with Noam Chomsky, linguist, philosopher and political commentator. Chomsky is Emeritus professor of linguistics at MIT. Jan Nederveen Pieterse is professor of Global Studies and Sociology at University of California, Santa Barbara. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 28120]

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, founder of NantWorks, describes his vision for turning cancer into a chronic but controllable disease by using advanced rapid gene sequencing, supercomputing and other methods of analysis to transcend the genome to the proteome. This approach has the potential to redefine how cancer is diagnosed and to develop therapies precisely tailored to the molecular profile of a particular tumor. Dr. Soon-Shiong anticipates a revolution in drug research, development and delivery of molecularly designed cancer treatments to patients. Series: "Helen Edison Lecture Series" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 25909]

The Atlantic’s Steve Clemons leads a provocative session on energy issues with Pulitzer-Prize winning author Daniel Yergin, Steve Koonin of the US Dept. of Energy, Dan Kammen of the World Bank and biofuels expert Stephen Mayfield of UC San Diego. Alexis Madrigal follows with Amory Lovins, author of “Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era. Series: "The Atlantic Meets The Pacific" [Public Affairs] [Science] [Show ID: 22775]

Steven Squyres, Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University, was the principle scientist behind the Mars Exploration Rover Project. He discusses the engineering challenges that had to be met in getting the rovers to Mars, as well as the scientific results obtained by both vehicles over more than seven years of exploration. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Science] [Show ID: 21040]

Award winning author and emeritus faculty member at UC Berkeley Maxine Hong Kingston reads and discusses her work, "I Love a Broad Margin to My Life." She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the presidentially conferred National Humanities Medal, and the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 20629]

Most people think “green businesses” provide or support the use of alternative energy or energy efficient products. Yvon Chouinard recounts how Patagonia grew from a retail climbing equipment business operating out of the back of his van to a successful global business based on sustainability and social responsibility principles. Chouinard and Patagonia’s story demonstrates how any business can be a green, sustainable and socially responsible business. Series: "UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability" [Business] [Show ID: 21368]

Author, documentarian and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr gives a stirring address on race in the United States with a look at the genealogy and genetics in African-American history. Gates is presented by the Council of Provosts and Thurgood Marshall College at UC San Diego. Series: "Helen Edison Lecture Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 19364]

Former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt speaks with UC San Diego’s Peter H. Smith about her kidnapping by FARC guerillas, her six-year long captivity and dramatic rescue, and her extensive work raising awareness of the plight of victims of terrorism throughout the world. Series: "Revelle Forum" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 20013]

Robert Winter, UCLA professor of music and Presidential Chair in Music and Interactive Arts, treats the audience to a lively and seamless blending of art and technology in the 108th Faculty Research Lecture. And that is precisely the point behind Winter’s talk in which he explores three fugues by Bach and a waltz by Chopin with a mixture of talk, piano performances, and an incredibly active, animated screen. Series: "UCLA Faculty Research Lectures" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 19381]

Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 16717]

Marian Wright Edelman, the founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, is the author of the bestseller “The Measure of Our Success – A Letter to My Children and Yours” and eight other books. The first black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar, she worked as counsel for the Poor People’s Campaign begun by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She discusses her newest work The Sea is So Wide and My Boat is So Small – Charting a Course for the Next Generation. Series: "Voices" [Humanities] [Show ID: 16213]

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, screenwriter, columnist and short story writer Michael Chabon’s books include “Mysteries of Pittsburgh,” “Wonder Boys,” “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,” and most recently, “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union.” Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 15434]

Distinguished law scholar Elizabeth Warren teaches contract law, bankruptcy, and commercial law at Harvard Law School. She is an outspoken critic of America’s credit economy, which she has linked to the continuing rise in bankruptcy among the middle-class. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Business] [Show ID: 12620]

Tune in for this unusual presentation on autism by someone with autism. Animal Science professor Temple Grandin, who designs livestock handling facilities, discusses the value of early intervention in autism, and about medications. Other topics include her sensory sensitivities and how she manages them, how she and other autistic people think, and social relationships and careers. Series: "MIND Institute Lecture Series on Neurodevelopmental Disorders" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Education] [Professional Medical Education] [Show ID: 12868]

Award-winning writer Maxine Hong Kingston is known for her works reflecting on Chinese-American culture and heritage. She is the author most recently of The Fifth Book of Peace, and won the National Book Award for her 1980 novel China Men. In 1997, she received the National Humanities Medal from President Bill Clinton. A native of California, Kingston is now a professor emerita at UC Berkeley. Series: "Great Minds Gather Here" [Humanities] [Show ID: 12224]

The UC Davis Mondavi Center presents bestselling author and UC Berkeley journalism professor Michael Pollan. He explores the ecology of eating to unveil why we consume what we consume in the twenty-first century. Michael Pollan is the author, most recently, of The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Series: "Mondavi Center Presents" [Humanities] [Science] [Agriculture] [Show ID: 12176]

In this edition of "Grey Matters," Aniruddh Patel, of the Neurosciences Institute, discusses what music can teach us about the brain, and what brain science, in turn, can reveal about music. Series: "Grey Matters" [Science] [Show ID: 11189]

Archbishop Desmond Tutu was awarded the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize for his immense contribution to the cause of human rights. He spent years working to create a democratic and just society without racial divisions in South Africa. In 1995 Tutu was chosen by President Nelson Mandela to chair South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and investigate the crimes committed during the apartheid regime. Since 2000 the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre has promoted ethical, visionary and values-based human development. Series: "Voices" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 11162]

Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Presidential Medal of Freedom and the rank of Grand Officer in the French Legion of Honor, Elie Wiesel is the author of more than 40 books. Using his talents as a teacher and storyteller, Wiesel defends human rights and promotes peace throughout the world. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 6716]