A promising response to opioid addiction is presented here as clinical psychologist Erik Groessl of UC San Diego describes how yoga has helped military veterans lower their chronic back pain and reduce their dependence on painkillers. Groessl explains how this research is changing the healthcare culture at the Veterans Administration as more of his colleagues recognize the potential of yoga as an alternative to prescription drugs. Groessl’s work is the latest in a series of conversations with Paul J. Mills of UC San Diego highlighting successful treatments using the modalities of integrative medicine.
When you hear the word “drone,” what first comes to mind?
Most people usually think of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operated by the military in order to spy on citizens and drop bombs on unsuspecting targets.
Lucien Miller, CEO of Innov8tive Designs, explains that the first drone, called the Kettering Bug, was flown almost a hundred years ago, in 1918. Early drones like this were essentially torpedoes with wings, unguided aircraft that dropped bombs with little target accuracy. It was these types of UAVs that have led people to fear the term drone and the destruction associated with them.
But today, drones and UAVs are rapidly gaining commercial popularity as UAV systems are becoming available at prices non-military budgets can afford. Miller says modern UAVs are becoming so small, they can be purchased for as little as $400. And now their uses extend far beyond covert military operations, such as search and rescue missions, endangered species protection, and infrastructure inspection, just to name a few.
Keith McLellen, CEO of ROV Systems joins the show to discuss the risks that come with the benefits of drones, the biggest concern being an increase in aerial surveillance and an invasion of privacy.
Watch “Drones and Other UAVs: Benefits and Risks – Exploring Ethics” to hear from Miller, McLellen, and retired Commander Bob Osborne, who worked for the LA County Sheriffs department for 38 years, about the life-saving and livelihood-threatening technology of modern drones.
A commander of the army and a diplomat seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum of foreign relations, but the two titles have been filled by one man: Karl Eikenberry.
In this episode of Conversations with History, Harry Kreisler is joined by Karl Eikenberry, who commanded coalition troops in Afghanistan and served as US Ambassador there.
Eikenberry is now the William J. Perry Fellow in International Security at Stanford University, where he continues to teach that the two roles have more in common than one might think.
He encourages people in the armed forces, particularly army and marines (those deployed on the ground) to have a strong liberal arts background in order to better understand and empathize the foreign cultures that they work within.
Watch “Force and Diplomacy with Karl Eikenberry” to hear Eikenberry give his expert opinion on the current situation in Afghanistan as the U.S. formulates an exit strategy, turning its attention towards China.
It is rumored that the military possesses technology so advanced that the likes of it won’t trickle down to the public consumer market for years. In thinking of all the technological progress made in the last fifty years, it’s hard to imagine the scope of the military’s advancements.
In this episode of “Conversations with History,” UC Berkeley’s Harry Kreisler interviews General Norton Schwartz, former chief of staff of the United States Air Force, as he talks about the start of his career as an Air Force pilot, how the military has advanced with the times, and his ideas for the future of the military.
During the span of his career, Schwartz has dealt with the development of controversial issues such as the security of nuclear power and the use of unmanned aircraft, or drones.