Musician Lara Downes celebrates the sound of America
The acclaimed pianist reflects on music’s power to unite across division and express the nation’s most complicated emotions over the past 250 years.
Podcast: Berkeley Talks
Berkeley Talks is a UC Berkeley News podcast that features lectures and conversations at Berkeley. It's managed by the Office of Communications and Public Affairs. A new episode is released every other Friday. Follow Berkeley Talks.
To suggest a talk to be featured on the podcast, email Anne Brice at [email protected].
Also, check out Berkeley Voices, an award-winning Berkeley News podcast that explores the work and lives of the fascinating UC Berkeley community. And see our guide to starting your own podcast at Berkeley.
How the American university’s success led to its modern challenges
Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber explains how the shift of American universities to the center of society made them a high-stakes target for public frustration.
Alison Gopnik on why AI is no match for a 4-year-old
AI may be advancing rapidly, but as the UC Berkeley developmental psychologist explains, the next leap in technology depends on replicating the unique forms of human intelligence cultivated during childhood.
The erosion of shared reality in the age of deepfakes
UC Berkeley digital forensics expert Hany Farid explores how generative AI and real-time deepfakes are undermining public trust and reshaping our ability to discern truth online.
How 17th-century moveable scenery shaped modern theater
UC Berkeley Professor Julia Fawcett discusses how Restoration-era stagecraft and London’s post-fire rebuilding mirrored each other, together redefining performance and urban life.
Nobel laureate Omar Yaghi on turning air into water for all
The UC Berkeley chemist recounts his journey as a young immigrant from Amman, Jordan, and the productive "failures" that led to the development of a technology that harvests clean water from the driest air on Earth.
The rule of law depends on the courage of judges
A panel of legal experts at a UC Berkeley Law event discuss how American democracy relies on an engaged public and on judges willing to uphold the rule of law with integrity.
An evolutionary biologist makes the case for pausing AI
Holly Elmore, the director of PauseAI US, warns that we are repeating the mistakes of the past by playing with a high-stakes technology we don't fully understand.
Ramzi Fawaz on the psychedelic power of the humanities
The professor of English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison argues that deep engagement in the arts and literature, much like psychedelics, can help open one's mind to the world.
Why kind leaders finish first (according to science)
Leaders from academia and the private sector discuss how kindness is a strategic asset rather than a professional weakness, and why the traditional “jerk” model of leadership is scientifically flawed.
How do we make better decisions? (revisiting)
A panel of UC Berkeley professors discuss how they view decision-making from their respective fields, and how we can use these approaches to make more informed choices.
The Page Act and the making of racialized US immigration control
A panel of UC Berkeley scholars unpack how the 1875 law helped institutionalize racially targeted exclusion at the border and laid the groundwork for the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and later U.S. immigration laws.
For Nobel laureate Randy Schekman, it began with pond scum and a toy microscope
“I just could not believe the world that was revealed,” the UC Berkeley professor said of the microorganisms he saw through the plastic lens. He went on to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2013.
The complicated role of media in motherhood
Berkeley Professor Hannah Zeavin explores how 20th-century ideals of motherhood and new media technologies became deeply intertwined, shaping and surveilling American family life.
Top Biden official calls for unity, ‘moral courage’ in public service
“Nurture that flame and keep it lit,” says Deb Haaland, former secretary of the Interior Department who’s running for governor of New Mexico in 2026.
How Berkeley became a powerhouse for innovation and startups
A panel of prominent UC Berkeley faculty and an alum join Chancellor Rich Lyons to discuss how the campus’s startup culture has powered their work and encourages the next generation of scholars to grow their ideas.