Jeannette Walls drew from her nomadic childhood with negligent but interesting parents for her memoir "The Glass Castle" and her colorful grandmother for "Half-Broke Horses: A True Life Novel." Her latest, "The Silver Star," continues to explore dysfunctional family love and loyalty. She talks here with veteran journalist Dean Nelson as part of the 19th annual Writer's Symposium by the Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University. Recorded on 02/26/2014.

Recent technology has made our lives much brighter, longer, fuller and healthier than ever before; but how can we ensure that we're not drowning in information and still have offline lives as well? In an interview with UC San Diego's Peter Gourevitch, essayist and novelist Pico Iyer draws upon 40 years of travel across five continents to explore how to make the most of new opportunities, without being depleted -- or devoured -- by them. This program is presented by the Helen Edison Lecture Series at UC San Diego.

Internationally recognized biographer Noel Riley Fitch offers some food for thought in "Sharing Julia Child's Appetite for Life," the title of her keynote address to the annual Dinner at the Library at UC San Diego. Fitch gives a revealing look into how Child's passion for French cuisine made her a culinary icon to generations of Americans. Fitch is the only biographer exclusively authorized by Julia Child; her other subjects include fellow expatriates to Paris Ernest Hemingway, Sylvia Beach and Anais Nin.

Robin Jones Gunn has a gift for writing about relationships that reflect depth, values, and eternal love that appeal to everyone. Her books (including the Christy Miller series, Sierra Jensen series, Katie Weldon series, Sisterchicks series, Glenbrooke series, fiction, nonfiction, and children's books) have sold 5 million copies. She shares her lessons learned on her path to success with host Dean Nelson of Point Loma Nazarene University.

In his new 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.

In this candid and heartwarming interview, Tam O'Shaughnessy, the life partner of the late astronaut Sally Ride, describes her long relationship with the first American woman in space. From their days on the teen tennis circuit in California through Sally's historic flights on the Space Shuttle Challenger to their parallel academic careers and later, founding their own company, Tam tells how their deep friendship blossomed over time into a romance that ended with Sally's death from cancer in 2012. As the Executive Director of Sally Ride Science@UC San Diego, Tam continues to inspire girls to embrace STEM, and shares her profound pride as the sponsor of the newly commissioned R/V Sally Ride, the first Naval academic research vessel ever named for a woman, now operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

The International Tracing Service, one of the world's largest Holocaust-related archival repositories, holds millions of documents detailing the many forms of persecution that transpired during the Nazi era and their continuing repercussions. Based on her recently published book, "Nazi Persecution and Postwar Repercussions: The International Tracing Service Archive and Holocaust Research," Suzanne Brown-Fleming provides new insights into human decision-making in genocidal settings, the factors that drive it, and its far-reaching consequences. Brown-Fleming is director of the Visiting Scholar Programs of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. She is presented here by the Holocaust Living History Workshop at UC San Diego. 

In today's global economy, a high-quality education is no longer just a pathway to success it is a prerequisite. Because economic progress and educational achievement go hand in hand, educating every American student for success in a new workforce is a national imperative. However, there are wide disparities in which students have access to advanced science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) education subjects critical to future success. In this inaugural Sally Ride STEAM Series event, panelists Karen Flammer of UC San Diego, Dalouge Smith of the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory, Heather Lattimer of the University of San Diego and Francisco Escobedo, the Superintendent of the Chula Vista Elementary School District, explore the importance of STEAM to the innovation economy as well as how to best to ensure equity in education. Recorded on 02/28/2017.

2016 was a good and bad year for efforts to tackle climate change. The good news is that 120 parties have ratified the Paris Convention; the bad news is the emergence of post-truth politics and the associated denial of the evidence that climate change is a threat to our future. Leading environmentalist and Member of UK House of Lords John Krebs discusses the trends and their implications for global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Recorded on 01/25/2017.

Where the built environment meets the heart of communities is the Urban Studies and Planning Program. Meet the dedicated students, faculty, and community groups who are working together to create cities that help people thrive. Gabriele Wienhausen also discusses innovating how we teach and learn through significant and positive change.

Why just read about ancient Rome when you can walk the cobbled streets as if you were really there? That's the promise of virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality in today's classrooms. While the idea of strapping on goggles to virtually visit the Colosseum or go inside a molecule sounds like the stuff of science fiction, the technology to do just that is becoming more popular and available every day. Yes, there are plenty of obstacles from cost to teacher training but using virtual reality as an educational tool offers considerable benefits. Not only can it boost visual and technology literacy, but it also improves students' attention and engagement. Learn how this technology has the possibility to transform K-12 education from educators and engineers gathered by UC San Diego. Recorded on 09/13/2017.

Judith Rodin begins by exploring the transformative contributions the University of Pennsylvania made to Philadelphia while she was its president, and then talks about her work as president of the Rockefeller Foundation, particularly the 100 Resilient Cities initiative. Both experiences are put in the context of UC San Diego embarking on a physical presence in downtown San Diego, modeling civic engagement in their community. 

When inmates are released after serving time, their ordeals are not over. Finding stability and purpose on the outside can be daunting, leading many to end up back in jail or prison. But, as Nicholas Alexander, director of the Reentry Success Center in Richmond, California, explains, it doesn't have to be that way. His center works with prisoners before and after incarceration to provide counseling, housing, employment, legal and other free services that help them reintegrate into their families and communities. Alexander's compassion for the people he serves is evident in this conversation with Jonathan Stein, a fellow alumnus of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. 

We are now at a point in the United States in which, in a range of areas, evidence-based policy making no longer enjoys the degree of even rhetorical support that it once did. Dale Jamieson, Professor of Environmental Studies and Philosophy at NYU, reviews the history that led to the Paris Agreement and explores the strengths, weaknesses, successes, and failures of the evidence-based approach to ask how we might make progress on climate change in the years ahead. Recorded on 05/24/2017.

Events at Standing Rock from April 2016 to February 2017 created new ways to protect the water and land. This panel features some of the organizers of the actions opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline. Panelists: Mark Tilsen, Jasilyn Charger and Joye Braun. Moderator: Margaret McMurtrey. Recorded on 05/19/2017.

Clinical psychologist Erik Groessl talks about research showing the value of yoga in reducing pain, improving physical function and overcoming opioid addiction in military veterans, among other patients, in this conversation with Paul J. Mills of UC San Diego.

All healthcare systems must strike a delicate balance between cost, quality and access. Though Obamacare focused largely on increasing access to coverage and spreading the cost of illness across the entire population, Trumpcare tips the balance largely in favor of reducing federal spending, at the risk of destabilizing insurance markets and increasing costs for older and sicker individuals. What would it take to create a healthcare system that would provide future generations with accessible, affordable care? Can this be done while also covering the sick and the underserved? Join the conversation with a panel of government, policy and legal experts. Recorded on 08/03/2017.

It's not often that the California State Treasurer makes national news, but that's exactly what happened when John Chiang suspended ties with Wells Fargo last year over the bank's creation of some two million fraudulent accounts. With its $75 billion portfolio, Chiang describes how California sets the example for holding partners to high ethical standards and for public investing in policies that lead to better lives for its residents, reductions in income inequality, and effective responses to climate change. Chiang is the 2017 speaker for Michael Nacht Distinguished Lecture in Politics and Public Policy presented by the Goldman School of Public Policy and the Berkeley Forum at UC Berkeley. Recorded on 09/18/2017.