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.
Jens Ludwig, director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab, explains that contrary to a common narrative, most gun violence is impulsive — and details the low-cost behavioral tools that deliver immediate public safety results.
UC Berkeley Professor Ula Taylor reads excerpts from her book project on activist Frances M. Beal, whose life and politics helped forge modern social justice movements.
NYU philosopher David Chalmers explores how modern large language models challenge our traditional views of identity and ethics by generating short-lived, conversational "selves" rather than operating as a single, permanent mind.
The Princeton University philosopher argues that our identity is shaped by our conscious will, not just our current body — and that it may be possible for us to exist in another form.
Creators of the new Jim Henson Company puppet special “Wowsabout” join researchers from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center to discuss the complex psychology of wonder as a powerful tool for early childhood resilience.
A filmmaker and activists explore how the tactics of 1980s West Coast movements offer a vital blueprint for countering modern political polarization.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.