Category: Popular Culture

  • Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars in Concert

    Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have risen like a phoenix from the ashes of war and enflamed the passion of fans across the globe with their uplifting songs of hope, faith, and joy. From their humble beginnings in West African refugee camps, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have performed on some of the world’s most […]

  • Finding the Inspiration Behind “Tattooed Trucks of Nepal”

    Throughout Nepal, large freight trucks painted by artists provide visual entertainment for travelers along the highways and dangerous mountain roads of the Himalayas. These trucks captivated UC San Diego Department of Theatre and Dance lecturer emeritus Ron Ranson, who taught theatre design and painting for the stage. Ranson turned his fascination with this colorful art […]

  • Big Tech Critic

    With Amazon’s Alexa spying on her owners, a massive data breach masterminded by Cambridge Analytica, and evidence of election interference promulgated by Facebook, tech policy has never had more significant implications for our society and democracy. Goldman School of Public Policy Dean Henry Brady talks with Roger McNamee—noted tech venture capitalist, early mentor to Mark […]

  • 2019 Writer’s Symposium by the Sea

    One of the top journalists in Washington, a Christian poet, and a new voice in the Marvel Black Panther Universe – three writers with very different backgrounds and styles, all sharing their insight into the art of putting pen to paper. Join founder Dean Nelson as he welcomes E.J. Dionne, Christian Wiman and Nnedi Okorafor […]

  • The Social Media Bubble

    Social media has become such a ubiquitous part of our lives that it’s difficult to remember a time before Facebook, Google, Twitter, Instagram, etc. So ingrained are these platforms in our daily routines that we seldom stop to ponder their effect on ourselves, other users, and/or the larger society. As an early financial advisor to […]

  • Immersive Languages

    It’s a misuse of terms to say that we have a natural language; languages are arbitrary and conventions of peoples by institution. – François Rabelais Constructed languages, or conlangs, are popular features of many science fiction and fantasy tales. Examples include Barsoomian (Edgar Rice Burrough’s John Carter series), Elvish and Khuzdul (Tolkien’s Lord of the […]

  • Celebrating Paper Theater

    Paper theater (also called toy theater) is a form of miniature theater dating back to the early Victorian era. Paper theaters were often printed on posters and sold as kits at playhouses, opera houses, and vaudeville theaters, and proved to be an effective marketing tool. The kits were assembled at home and the plays performed […]