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From Flower to Flame: Paul J. Stankard at UC San Diego
Internationally acclaimed glass paperweight artist Paul J. Stankard jokes that after 62 years behind a bench torch, he still feels as much interest and enthusiasm for the work as when he began. The new documentary Flower and Flame, celebrates Stankard’s work, wit, and wisdom. He describes inventing a new language by interpreting native flowers in…
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Surviving Incivility: A BAM Guide to Rude People
If you feel like rudeness is everywhere, you are not imagining it. In this Osher Author Talk, host Henry DeVries interviews John O’Brien, psychologist and author of “Rudeness Rehab,” who describes a pandemic of incivility. O’Brien points to bad behavior cropping up across daily life, from workplace dynamics to public spaces and even clinical settings.…
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Academia Meets the Underworld with Novelist R.F. Kuang
R.F. (Rebecca) Kuang’s appearance on the Writer’s Symposium stage in September drew huge applause from a packed auditorium filled with fans of her (mostly) fantasy novels. Author of The Poppy War and Babel, Kuang blends sharp social critique with rich storytelling, exploring power, politics, and the human cost of ambition. Katabasis, her newest novel, is…
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Practical Steps to Stay Resilient at Any Age
Resilience helps us recover and adapt after stress or illness, and Heather E. Whitson, MD, MHS explains how it changes across the lifespan. In this program, she notes that bounce back slows with age and that people age at different rates, shaped by biology, lifestyle, and environment. That variation matters: the same setback can land…
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The Story of Alice McGrath’s Fight for Justice
In 1942, the Sleepy Lagoon case became one of the most racially charged trials in U.S. history. Twenty-two Mexican American youths—mostly teenagers, many just 17—were tried together for the death of José Díaz, even though no witness placed them at the scene and the cause of death was never proven. A biased judge and jury…
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Grief and Resilience: Learning to Live with Loss
Grief doesn’t follow a set timeline—and according to therapist Danielle K. Glorioso, it isn’t something we “get over.” In her presentation, Navigating Grief: What the Science of Resilience Teaches about Adaptation to Loss, Glorioso explores how grief evolves over time and how resilience can help us live with loss. Drawing from both clinical expertise and…
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Rescuing Japan’s 1930s Paper Films: A Hidden Home-Cinema History Preserved
Japanese paper films are a rare, little-known home-cinema format made in the 1930s by three main manufacturers—two in Tokyo and one in Osaka. The films are short (often one to four minutes), and typically come in a 27mm gauge with perforations at the top and bottom of each frame. Unlike standard film, the back surface…
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AI and Genetic Medicine: Transforming How We Understand Disease
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how we understand the human body by making sense of vast amounts of biological data. In medicine, AI’s real promise lies in uncovering patterns hidden within the complexity of cells, genes, and proteins. This ability helps researchers move beyond treating symptoms and toward addressing the root causes of disease. At the…
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From Fire to Freezers: The History of Eating
From mammoth hunters drying meat over open fires to today’s industrial food systems, the story of what we eat is deeply tied to human innovation. In this Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture, Stanley Chodorow, Emeritus Professor of History at UC San Diego, traces this history by showing how food preservation began out of necessity.…
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Righting Wrongs and Offering Refuge: Lessons from Faith and History
How do we repair the damage of past injustices? And can sacred spaces still serve as places of protection and resistance today? Two thought-provoking talks from UCSB’s Walter H. Capps Center tackle these urgent questions, exploring the responsibilities societies hold toward communities that have endured harm and the creative ways faith traditions shape public life.…