UC Berkeley (Audio)

Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner and U.S. Representative Barbara Lee speak from the heart about how the Black Church has helped to build African American electoral power. It’s a powerful story with practical lessons for present times. Dr. Williams-Skinner is head of the Skinner Institute and Co-convener of the African American Clergy Network. Rep. Lee represents Berkeley, California. She is a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and now Chair of the House of Representatives’ foreign affairs appropriations subcommittee. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 36988]

Hear remarks by Joshua Dickson to Berkeley's graduate seminar "Poverty and Communities of Faith in the Politics of 2021," taught by David Beckmann. Josh was the National Faith Engagement Director of the Biden-Harris campaign and is now Deputy Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Josh discusses the importance of persuading, mobilizing, and listening to faith voters; presents data on voting patterns across faith groups; and explains the Biden-Harris campaign's commitment and strategy to reach voters in diverse faith communities. He shows how an electoral campaign translated faith-grounded concerns into a dramatic shift in public policy to the benefit of people in poverty. He joins students in his unofficial, personal capacity, and not as a White House representative. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36987]

David Beckmann explains the purpose of his “Poverty, God, Politics” series—to highlight spiritual and political strategies that can move us from the current crisis in a way that puts us on track to end hunger and poverty. They are drawn from a joint seminar on poverty, communities of faith, and politics cosponsored by UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy and the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. David then discusses two foundational insights from his years as president of Bread for the World—that dramatic progress against poverty is possible, and that faith communities can help change the politics of poverty. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36986]

A panel of domestic experts in election security practices focus their discussion on how we can advance our own election security practices by using the knowledge we’ve gained from our experiences in 2020 as well looking at best practices in other countries to improve our system overall. Panelists: Wayne Williams, former Colorado Secretary of State; Jennifer Morrell, former local election official and Partner at The Elections Group; Kammi Foote, Clerk Recorder and Registrar of Voters for Inyo County, CA; Philip Stark, Professor of Statistics at the University of California, Berkeley. Moderator: Henry Brady, Dean, Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36936]

Elected officials in some of the key battleground states in the 2020 election discuss their experiences, lessons they learned, and how we can better prepare for 2024. Panelists: Jocelyn Benson, Secretary of State, Michigan; Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State, Arizona; Josh Shapiro, Attorney General, Pennsylvania; Matthew Masterson, Former Senior Cybersecurity Advisor at CISA, Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Moderator: Janet Napolitano, Professor of Public Policy, UC Berkeley Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36935]

Following the police murder of George Floyd, there have been calls to “Abolish, Defund, and Reform” the police. Elected officials around the country have called for 50% reductions in the police budgets that account for much of local government spending. At the same time, there is little agreement on the meaning of what could or should be defunded or what can be reformed; in many cases, the very language of this movement has impeded the necessary public debate about the appropriate role of police and policing in our society. This panel brings together experienced police, elected officials and faculty experts at UC Berkeley to address these critical, and timely, issues. Panelists: Nikki Fortunato Bas, Oakland City Council President; Jack Glaser, Professor at the Goldman School for Public Policy and expert on police bias and police reform; Danielle Outlaw, Chief of Police in Philadelphia. Moderator: Dan Lindheim, Goldman School of Public Policy Professor. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36879]

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. Roger McNamee—noted tech venture capitalist, early mentor to Mark Zuckerberg, and Facebook investor—talks with Henry Brady, Dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, about how he came to realize the serious damage that Facebook and other social media giants are doing and how he has committed to try to stop them. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 36880]

Four former Secretaries of Homeland Security discuss current issues in homeland security, the overlap between security and politics, and how our country can move forward by embracing the challenges—and opportunities—the Biden-Harris administration will face in their first year. Panelists: Michael Chertoff (2005-2009), Jeh Johnson (2013-2017), Janet Napolitano (2009-2013), Tom Ridge (2003-2005). Moderator: Doug Wilson. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36811]

Launched in 2018, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe spacecraft, with instruments developed and built by UC Berkeley, has now traveled closer to the sun than any other mission in history, actually penetrating the sun’s atmosphere, to investigate highly charged magnetic field. Now, that data has allowed solar physicists to map the source of a major component of the solar wind that continually peppers Earth’s atmosphere, while revealing strange magnetic field reversals that could be accelerating these particles toward our planet. These accelerated particles interact with Earth’s magnetic field, generating the colorful northern and southern lights but also potentially damaging the electrical grid and telecommunications networks on the surface, threatening orbiting satellites and perhaps endangering astronauts in space. Series: "UC Berkeley News" [Science] [Show ID: 36760]

As a neurologist, Robert Knight has seen what happens when the brain crashes around violently inside the skull. And he’s aware of the often tragic consequences. Throughout his 40 years as an academic researcher and medical doctor, the University of California, Berkeley, professor of psychology and neuroscience has known students and friends whose lives and careers were derailed by head injuries from bicycle and car crashes. He’s held in his hands brains destroyed by accidental blows to the head. Not surprisingly, he cringes when he imagines his young grandchildren falling off a bike and hitting their heads. So, Knight invented a better helmet — one with more effective padding to dampen the effects of a direct hit, but more importantly, an innovative outer shell that rotates to absorb twisting forces that today’s helmets don’t protect against. Series: "UC Berkeley News" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 36761]