the UCTV BLOG

Author: admin

  • Jazz Rules the World

    Contributed by John Menier F. Scott Fitzgerald famously called the 1920s the “Jazz Age,” and recent inventions such as radio and phonograph records helped to spread the popularity of two quintessentially American musical genres, jazz and blues, across the country and beyond our borders. In 1926 a Paris-based music magazine began its review of recorded…

  • What Working Class Voters are Thinking

    This is one of those rare political discussions where two people with different points of view actually listen and learn from each other as each describes their interpretation of why the majority of working-class voters sided with Donald Trump in the last election. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild and political scientist Steven Hayward discuss the causes for…

  • NASA and International Cooperation

    The 12th NASA Administrator, Charles F. Bolden Jr., shares how NASA’s programs and missions function as an instrument of international cooperation, demonstrating the steady guidance of the United States as the world’s leader. Watch NASA International Cooperation – An Instrument of US Soft Power with Charles Bolden – 2017 Nierenberg Prize Lecture

  • Nosferatu with Werner Herzog

    Contributed by John Menier “For such an advanced civilization as ours to be without images that are adequate to it is as serious a defect as being without memory.” ― Werner Herzog The Carsey-Wolf Center at UC Santa Barbara has created a series entitled “Hollywood Berlin,” featuring screenings and discussions of films by five prominent…

  • New GRIT Talks from UCSB

    Get an up-close look at ground-breaking research and innovative technology from UCSB. Geared towards the community, these talks present the best minds from UCSB covering a wide-range of topics in science, medicine, technology and more. Check out these recent programs: The Challenges That Society Brings to Engineering Designs Understand the unique challenges that surface when…

  • More Dirt for Kids!

    Rob Knight, the academic superstar who is leading the Center for Microbiome Innovation at UC San Diego, says it’s important for kids to get dirty! He explains that exposing children to natural bacteria in the environment trains their immune systems how to respond to foreign threats. So, resist that urge to sterilize everything kids touch…

  • Superbugs and Antibiotics

    We’ve all heard about superbugs, bacterial infections that don’t respond to antibiotic treatment and wondered what’s going on. When someone falls ill with one of these infections doctors determine which antibiotic to use based on a standard test. But UC Santa Barbara biologist Michael Moore says we may be relying on the wrong test when…

  • Micro-Fiction

    Contributed by John Menier In modern English, the word “amateur” is often used in a condescending or pejorative sense, which is unfortunate. It is a borrowed French word that derives from the Latin “amator,” meaning “lover.” Hence, the term amateur was originally applied to someone who does something purely for the love of it rather…

  • Simply Fun

    Contributed by John Menier In his remarks from the podium, La Jolla Symphony & Chorus Conductor Steven Schick notes that the 2017 edition of the “Young People’s Concert” features music by two composers with differing influences, temperaments, and styles: George Gershwin and Aaron Copland. While acknowledging the contrasts Schick also points out some surprising similarities…

  • Innovation and Culture at the Border

    Tijuana – San Diego, Ciudad Juarez – El Paso; these regions share economic and cultural linkages in dynamic cross-border regions. The Institute of the Americas and the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program hosted a fascinating event that highlighted success stories and dynamism in the innovative and creative environment of border regions. Speakers include Regina…