The Future of Everything

8232Back in 2010, while Editor at California Lawyer magazine, Marty Lasden created Legally Speaking — a series that brought us in-depth conversations with some of the most interesting lawyers in the world. Among them: Innocence Project founder Barry Scheck, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, and US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Now Lasden is launching a new series for UCTV called Up Next: Perspectives on the Future of Everything. Over the coming months both he and his co-producer, lawyer/author Eric Berkowitz, will be considering “everything” from genetic engineering to Judaism to the future of work.

“The future is a really weird, and sometimes very scary place,” Lasden acknowledges. “And for so many of the topics that we’ll be discussing, the more you read, the more difficult it often is to distinguish the prophets from the crackpots.”

Consider artificial intelligence (AI), which is the subject of this month’s Up Next interview with Jeffrey Hawkins. Back in the 1990s, at a time when carrying a computer around in your pocket seemed like an entirely wacky idea, Hawkins invented the Palm Pilot, which in no small way ushered in a whole new era of mobile computing. These days, though, Hawkins is on a far more ambitious and, no doubt, audacious mission. His goal: to build a machine that can think and reason on its own by mimicking the working principles of the human brain. Of course, as wild ideas go, that one may not sound nearly as weird as it did say five years ago when a computer named Watson had yet to beat the humans on a game show called Jeopardy. But the speculation about AI hardly ends there. For example, at Google, famed futurist Ray Kurzweil believes that within a few decades the technology will be good enough to allow us to download our own minds into a machine, and by so doing achieve a kind of immortality.

Crazy talk? Perhaps. But, then again, maybe not. Tune in to Up Next to find out.

Barney Frank Being Barney Frank

8232The sometimes irascible and often brilliant Barney Frank has been much in the news of late, with his new book, “Frank,” and his longstanding vocal support for LGBT rights.

But do you know what he thinks of “House of Cards?”

The retired Congressman from Massachusetts is featured in two programs on UCTV this month, first in a rousing public lecture calling on the US to reduce military spending and second, in a thoughtful interview about Wall Street, gay marriage and Federal Reserve. But the real news here for political junkies is his takedown of Frank Underwood’s Washington. Check out this clip:

Barney Frank on Frank Underwood

Watch more of Barney Frank in these two programs from The Public Policy Channel:

Reducing the Military Budget: Necessary To Improve Our Quality of Life with Congressman Barney Frank

Frank Talk: Gay Rights, Wall Street and the Federal Reserve with Barney Frank and Alex Gelber – In the Living Room with Henry E. Brady

Arthritis – From Snake Oil to Science and Success

8232Achy, stiff joints brought on by osteoarthritis have been experienced by many millions of people for a very long time. Experts have found skeletons dating to the Ice Age that show signs of osteoarthritis.

Sometimes called “wear-and-tear” arthritis, osteoarthritis is a common condition that many people develop during middle age or older. In 2011, more than 28 million people in the United States were estimated to have osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis occurs when the protective cartilage on the ends of your bones wears down over time. Although osteoarthritis can damage any joint in your body, the disorder most commonly affects joints in your hands, knees, hips and spine.

Unfortunately, Osteoarthritis often gradually worsens and no cure exists. While new information and new medications may seem like magical cure-alls, it is important to take a deeper look before making treatment decisions. In this Stein Institute for Research on Aging presentation, Gregory Middleton, MD shares the symptoms and causes of OA, current treatments, and how to make informed choices about medications and disease management.

Watch Arthritis – From Snake Oil to Science and Success.

UCSD + PLNU = Great TV!

8232Our friend Dean Nelson celebrates the 20th year of Writer’s Symposium by the Sea, the wildly popular interview series that brings renowned authors from around the world to the beautiful campus of Point Loma Nazarene University for conversations about their prose and, in typical Dean fashion, lots of humor about the pain and suffering that lead to completed manuscripts.

Dean opens the 2015 series with Lysley Tenorio, author of “Monstress,” and then turns the interviewer chair over to his colleague, Karl Martin, for a talk with PLNU alum and screenwriter/film director Destin Daniel Cretton. Dean returns the final night for a feisty and revealing exchange with the literary luminary Joyce Carol Oates.

It’s been such great fun to bring this series to our viewers all these years and we know you’re watching, because the Writer’s Symposium by the Sea programs have been accessed more than 2.5 million times on our website. Happy Anniversary, Writer’s, and here’s to the next 20!

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Contributed by Public Affairs Producer, Shannon Bradley

Ed Abeyta on the Importance of STEAM Education

ed abeytaUCTV’s recently launched STEAM Channel is a platform for all things science, technology, engineering, arts and math. We sat down with the channel’s founding partner and director of K-16 Programs at UC San Diego Extension, Ed Abeyta, to learn more about the STEAM movement and how it impacts students, educators and parents.

UCTV: How did you get involved in the world of STEAM?

Ed Abeyta: STEAM became the framework for the creation of our K-16 division in 2010. It was inspired by Harvey White, co-founder of Qualcomm Inc., who believed the Arts (the creative skills) plus STEM are key for industry success. “STEM education is necessary but it is not sufficient – we must have STEAM education – our future is at risk otherwise.”

UCTV: Why STEAM and not STEM?

EA: STEM is based on skills generally using the left half of the brain and thus is logic driven. Much research and data shows that activities like Arts, which uses the right side of the brain supports and fosters creativity, which is essential to innovation. Clearly the combination of superior STEM education combined with Arts education (STEAM) should provide us with the education system that offers us the best chance for regaining the innovation leadership essential to the new economy.

UCTV: Why is STEAM so important for today’s students and teachers?

EA: There seems to be consensus that for the US to replace the lost jobs from the industrial sector we must create the new industries that will drive the future economies of the world – and that requires innovation. So we need to focus on examining some of the difference between what and how we “teach” today and what we need to change to effectively “teach” innovation. The underlying need is to refocus the system to teach innovation – not just facts.

UCTV: How is STEAM changing the way we think about education?

EA: STEAM is not about adding to the acronym, but instead adding to the relevancy of learning. As Vince Bertram, President and CEO, Project Lead The Way, Inc., noted “It’s about showing students how concepts relate to real-world situations and providing them with hands-on projects and problems that help them apply concepts in a new context. It’s about nurturing students’ curiosity and helping them develop creativity, problem solving and critical thinking skills.”

UCTV: Why should universities help lead the charge for STEAM in K-12?

EA: The core disciplines are beginning to merge. Visual Arts, Computer Science, and Engineering are working more closely to utilize expertise in each of their domains to solve problems. This mindset showcases what awaits the next generation at post-secondary institutions like UC San Diego.

UCTV: How can parents involve their children in STEAM education?

EA: At its heart, STEAM is about solving real-world problems. The world is going to need more and more graduates with the skills to identify problems, visualize solutions, design prototypes and implement solutions. Parents should seek every learning opportunity that incorporates practice based learning and challenge their children to continually think out of the box.

UCTV: What can viewers expect from the STEAM Channel in the coming months?

EA: The STEAM Channel will begin showcasing how STEAM is connected to research, policy, education, and industry. We will also seek to provide programming resources to enable parents, mentors and teachers to utilize our programming as a teaching platform.

Visit The STEAM Channel today!

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