All Episodes
Berkeley Talks — 259 episodes
Leaping robots, AI companies and a NASA mission
How we've long misread gun violence (and ways to prevent it)
The making of pioneering Black feminist Frances M. Beal
When we talk to AI, what are we talking to?
Philosopher Mark Johnston asks, 'Is this our only life?'
Why kids need awe — and how puppets can help
What punk subcultures can teach us about resisting hate
Musician Lara Downes celebrates the sound of America
How the American university’s success led to its modern challenges
Alison Gopnik on why AI is no match for a 4-year-old
Hany Farid on the erosion of shared reality in the age of deepfakes
First a plague, then a fire: How a changing city rebuilt the modern stage
Nobel laureate Omar Yaghi on turning air into water for all
The rule of law depends on the courage of judges
An evolutionary biologist makes the case for pausing AI
Ramzi Fawaz on the psychedelic power of the humanities
Why kind leaders finish first (according to science)
How do we make better decisions? (revisiting)
The making of racialized US immigration control
For Nobel laureate Randy Schekman, it began with pond scum and a toy microscope
The complicated role of media in motherhood
Top Biden official calls for unity, ‘moral courage’ in public service
How Berkeley became a powerhouse for innovation and startups
Long said to be ‘too big to fail,’ the ocean needs a new narrative
Alva Noë on how art allows us to see everyday things anew
How forgiveness changes you and your brain
Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna on CRISPR and the future of gene editing
Berkeley scholars unpack what's at stake for U.S. democracy
Economist on the benefits of a (modest) billionaire tax
Ezra Klein on building the things we need for the future we want (revisiting)
How the tobacco industry drove the rise of ultra-processed foods
Energy justice expert on his pursuit for affordable and clean energy for all
A debate on how to feed the world without ‘eating the earth’
Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) on reading the authors you want to write like
In 1970, one in five Americans moved every year. Now it’s one in 13. What changed?
The case for a philosophical life, with Agnes Callard and Judith Butler
J Finley on how Black women use sass to claim their humanity
Law professors debate the merits of originalism
Heather Cox Richardson on the evolution of the Republican Party
UC Berkeley political scientist asks: Does democracy work?
How hospitals collect medical debts can hurt patients. Why?
Coming of age as an unaccompanied migrant youth in the U.S.
A blueprint for creating a world where everyone belongs
Poet Ocean Vuong on disobedience and the power of language
How do we make better decisions?
Veteran news editors on how the media covered the election
Computational folklorist on how storytelling becomes belief
The future of American democracy
A return to monarchy? Bradley Onishi on Project 2025
With white helmets and GoPros, these volunteers risk it all in Syria’s civil war
Legal scholars on free speech challenges facing universities today
What is understanding? Berkeley scholars discuss
It’s not just psychedelics that change minds, says Michael Pollan. Storytelling does, too.
The science behind the emotions in 'Inside Out 2'
Journalist Jemele Hill on the intersection of sports and race (revisiting)
How the Supreme Court divided America
Reconsidering Black America’s relationship to the plantation
Adam Gopnik on what it takes to keep liberal democracies alive
'Wave' memoirist on writing about unimaginable loss
Gigi Sohn on her fight for an open internet
Harry Edwards to sociology grads: Even in turbulent times, always believe in yourself
Feeling like a failure isn't the same as failing, filmmaker tells journalism grads
Berkeley commencement speeches celebrate resilience, bravery
Ruth Simmons on access and equity in higher education
The future of psychedelic science
Sociologist Harry Edwards on sport in society (revisiting)
Sci-fi writer Kim Stanley Robinson on the need for 'angry optimism'
The future of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)
Justice Sonia Sotomayor on fighting the good fight
Why so many recent uprisings have backfired
American democracy and the crisis of majority rule
Free speech on campus in times of great division
Protecting survivors of sex trafficking
The transformative potential of AI in academia
Nate Cohn on polling and the 2024 election
A blueprint for housing reform
Poulomi Saha on why we're so obsessed with cults
Ezra Klein on building the things we need for the future we want
Chinese activist Ai WeiWei on art, exile and politics
What are Berkeley's Latinx Thriving Initiatives?
Poet Ishion Hutchinson reads 'The Mud Sermon' and other poems
Michael Brown's family on keeping his memory alive
Oppenheimer's Berkeley years
Jessica Morse on how we can live with fire
Siri creator Adam Cheyer shares secrets of entrepreneurship
Legal scholars unpack Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action
Poets laureate share works about creation, sacrifice and home
Biden economic adviser on building a clean energy economy
Climate grief: Embracing loss as a catalyst for collective action
Pulitzer-winner Natalie Wolchover: 'Knowledge of physics is a superpower'
Sociology Ph.D. graduates on the power of family and deep inquiry
Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones to graduates: 'The world needs your imagination'
How a lie from medieval Europe spread antisemitism across the world
ChatGPT developer John Schulman on making AI more truthful
International journalists on women's rights in Iran and Afghanistan
Jitendra Malik on the sensorimotor road to artificial intelligence
The rise and destruction of the Jewish fashion industry
Economists on what it'll take to rebuild Ukraine
Women of the Black Panther Party
Artist William Kentridge on staying open to the 'less good' ideas
Adriana Green and Nadia Ellis discuss 'The Yellow House'
Emiliana Simon-Thomas on where happiness comes from (revisiting)
The social safety net as an investment in children
Inna Sovsun on what's next in Russia's war on Ukraine
Poet Alex Dimitrov reads from 'Love and Other Poems'
Judith Heumann on the long fight for inclusion
Indigenous access, political ecology in settler states
U.S. military bases in World War II Latin America
Novelist Ilija Trojanow on the utopian prerogative
Activist Pua Case on the movement to protect Mauna Kea
How we learn language across communities and cultures
Learning from nature to design better robots
Scholars on using fantasy to reimagine Blackness
America wants gun control. Why doesn't it have it? (revisiting)
ACLU leader on how voter suppression works
'Mother Jones' editor on how the super-rich really live
Climate displacement and remaking the built environment
Timnit Gebru on how change happens through collective action
Scholars on Roman Vishniac's photos of Jewish life before the Holocaust
An update on Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Damilola Ogunbiyi on driving an equitable energy transition
Sociologist Harry Edwards on sport in society
A Poetry for the People conversation
Mapping the brain to understand health, aging and disease
UC Berkeley experts on the invasion of Ukraine
The performance of labor
How archaeology is used in comics
The EU in crisis
'Can we change nature — this time, to save it?'
Eva Paterson on transforming the nation's consciousness on race
Why do leaves change color in the fall?
Scholars reflect on new book, 'Atmospheres of Violence'
How technology is transforming religion
Finding hope for biodiversity conservation
Berkeley experts on how to fight disinformation
Scholars discuss 'New Time: Art and Feminisms in the 21st Century'
Should we strive for unity? Or something else?
Emiliana Simon-Thomas on where happiness comes from
'Indigenous United' student podcast hosts on being Native at Berkeley
Roger McNamee on his quest to stop Facebook
Poet Shane McCrae reads 'The Mind of Hell' and other new works
Linda Rugg on Native American repatriation at UC Berkeley
Rucker Johnson on why school integration works (revisiting)
Labor lawyer reviews the American Rescue Plan Act
Journalists on reporting in China and U.S.-China relations
Wally Adeyemo to Berkeley graduates: You are prepared to shape the world
Filmmaker Steve McQueen to Berkeley students: 'Take a chance'
State lawmakers on the future of California
Franklin Zimring on the tragedy of U.S. police killings
Bess Williamson on the history of disability and design
Novelist Alice Walker: 'Dance when you feel like dancing'
'Social Dilemma' star on fighting the disinformation machine
Charles Henry on the case for reparations
Will the post-pandemic era be the next 'roaring '20s'?
Late filmmaker Marlon Riggs on making ‘Tongues Untied’
Revisiting: Comedian Maz Jobrani on noticing the good in his life
Poet Aria Aber reads from her 2019 book 'Hard Damage'
U.S. elections 2020 and implications for the Americas
Threats to abortion rights and how people are resisting
How Native women challenged a 1900s Bay Area assimilation program
How Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' took on a life of its own
The violent underworlds of El Salvador and their ties to the U.S.
Portraits of power: Women of the 116th Congress
Berkeley scholars on the legal legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
How plantation museum tours distort the reality of slavery
How to use sleep and circadian science to get better rest
Why the 1960s song 'Little Boxes' still strikes a chord today
The power of mentorship, sisterhood in politics
Joyce Carol Oates on her dystopian novel 'Hazards of Time Travel'
Why racial equity belongs in the study of economics
Thelton Henderson on the bravery to do what's right
Can you imagine a future without police?
How higher ed is transforming during the pandemic
Fighting racism: How to restructure society so it's open to all
Journalist Nahal Toosi on national security reporting under Trump
Using peer pressure to fight climate change
America wants gun control. Why doesn't it have it?
Thirty-six questions to help us connect when we're apart
The global politics of waste
Poet Laureate Robert Hass reads new collection ‘Summer Snow’
Art Cullen on journalism and politics in the Corn Belt
How the real estate industry undermined black homeownership
Naomi Klein on eco-facism and the Green New Deal
Deirdre Cooper Owens on gynecology’s brutal roots in slavery
Poetry and the Senses: 'Emergency is not separate from us'
Journalist Jemele Hill on the intersection of sports and race
Denise Herd and Waldo Martin on Berkeley's '400 Years' initiative
Film historian Harry Chotiner on the state of American cinema
Chilean novelist Isabel Allende on war, loss and healing
Paul Butler on how prison abolition would make us all safer
Consciousness guide on using psychedelics as medicine
Artist Paul Chan on the 'Bather's Dilemma'
Professor Emerita Beverly Crawford on lies about migrants
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on overcoming the odds
Berkeley scholars on the politics and law of impeachment
Comedian Maz Jobrani on noticing the good in his life
Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky on defending DACA
California Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris on the health impacts of childhood stress
Berkeley Law's Ian Haney López on defeating racial fearmongering
Author Andrew Marantz on the hijacking of the American conversation
Biologist E.O. Wilson on how to save the natural world
Journalist Maggie Haberman on reporting on the Trump White House
Barbara Simons on election hacking and how to avoid it in 2020
Nobel laureate Randy Schekman on new Parkison's research
Justice Elena Kagan on taking risks, finding common ground
Admissions director Femi Ogundele on what makes a Berkeley student
john powell on rejecting white supremacy, embracing belonging
We need a digital infrastructure that serves humanity, says techno-sociologist Zeynep Tufekci
Take an intoxicating plants tour at UC Botanical Garden
How an 'awe walk' helped one musician reconnect with her home
Economist Samuel Bowles on why good incentives are no substitute for good citizens
Music historian David James on cinema's dance with popular music
Joel Moskowitz on the health risks of cell phone radiation
What can be done to protect pollinators
#SandraBlandMystery: Aaminah Norris on the transmedia story of police brutality
Virgie Tovar on ending fat phobia
Berkeley artist Mildred Howard on the impact of gentrification in the Bay Area
'New York Times' editor on the future of fact-based journalism
Feminist legal scholar Catharine MacKinnon on the butterfly politics of #MeToo
Tanner Lectures, day 3: Commentators respond to Ripstein, discuss morality of war
john powell on targeted universalism
Tanner Lectures, day 2: Arthur Ripstein on why it's wrong to target civilians during war
Tanner Lectures, day 1: Arthur Ripstein on rules for wrongdoers
Kira Stoll and David Wooley on how California and UC are reducing carbon emissions
Dr. Joe Tafur on the role of spiritual and emotional healing in modern healthcare
Professor David Raulet on the revolution of cancer immunology
Cal Performances announces its 2019-20 season
Professor Rucker Johnson on why school integration works
Rev. William J. Barber II: 'Forward together, not one step back'
Jennifer Doudna on the future of gene editing
Calculating your carbon footprint and the Cool Campus Challenge
Product engineer Amy Heineike on how humans and machines interact with AI
Programmer and author Ellen Ullman on her life in code
Neurobiologist David Presti on the ritual use of psychoactive plants
Poet Tarfia Faizullah reads from 'Registers of Illuminated Villages'
Author Ashton Applewhite on counteracting ageism
Jimmy López on composing 'Dreamers' oratorio inspired by Berkeley undocumented students
Michael Pollan with Dacher Keltner on the new science of psychedelics
Talk Policy to Me: The California housing crisis
Professor Michael Omi on racial classification in the census
Year of the woman: Panel on the recent rise of women in politics
Dancer Akram Khan on performing the unimaginable, theater of war
Berkeley Law Professor Catherine Fisk on reimagining labor law
East Bay poet Ari Banias reads new work at Lunch Poems
Richard Rothstein on how our government segregated America
Panel discussion: The Changing California Electorate
Professor Tina Sacks on maintaining social welfare programs in the Trump era
Design anthropologist Dori Tunstall on decolonizing design
Ph.D. candidate Rosalie Lawrence on how our cells make decisions
New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor on breaking the story that ignited #MeToo
Berkeley Law Professor Daniel Farber on presidential power and individual rights
Astronomer Bob Kirshner on the accelerating universe to accelerating science
Clinicians discuss where health and human rights meet
Michael Pollan on science, psychedelics and the human mind
Jennifer Doudna on gene editing and the unthinkable power to control evolution
Anthropologist Eugenie Scott on evolution and creationism as science and myth
Robert Reich on why the common good disappeared and how we get it back
Artistic Director Robert Battle on the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Commentator Van Jones on seeking environmental justice during climate change