Berkeley Faculty and Researchers

Robert Berdahl; Chancellor, UC Berkeley: "Leading Berkeley into the 21st Century," 9/4/98
Chancellor Berdahl discusses his work as a historian and the challenges facing the Berkeley campus

Roy Caldwell; Professor of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley: "Evolution of a Biologist," 6/20/01
Marine biologist Caldwell discusses his current research on the stomatopod, an invertebrate creature with highly advanced visual and signalling capabilities.

Manuel Castells; Professor of Sociology and City & Regional Planning, UCB: "Identity and Change in the Network Society," 5/9/01
Social theorist Castells discusses the myriad implications of the network society.

Steven Chu; Nobel Laureate in Physics; Director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: "A Scientist's Random Walk," 2/13/04
Physicist Chu shares his research and experience being a scientist.

Frederick Crews; Professor Emeritus of English, UC Berkeley: "Criticism and the Empirical Attitude," 8/24/99
Critic and writer Crews talks about his battles with conventional interpretations and and his passion for the English language.

Mark Danner; Staff Writer, New Yorker, and Professor, School of Journalism:

"Being a Writer," 3/3/99
Writer and MacArthur Fellow Danner talks about writing as reportage versus as a creative act, and examines how words are used for differing purposes.

"Ideas and Leadership in U.S. Foreign Policy," 5/3/99
Danner examines ideas shaping foreign policy both during the Cold War and afterward, including the "Vietnam Syndrome," NATO enlargement, and the case of Kosovo.

"Truth, Power, and the Iraq Debacle," 7/27/07
Informed by history, Danner's analysis includes comparison of Bush and Reagan, draws attention to changes in U.S. policy on torture, and examines the options for future U.S. policymakers.
(2007)

"The Red Cross Report, Torture Memos and Political Accountability," 05/8/09

Hubert L. Dreyfus; Professor of Philosophy, UC Berkeley: "Meaning, Relevance, and the Limits of Technology," 11/2/05
Professor Dreyfus shares his thoughts on the relationship between philosophy and technology.

Tom Engelhardt; Lecturer, School of Journalism, UCB: "Taking Back the Word," 4/23/04
Writer and editor Engelhardt discusses the effects writing and editing have on the world.

Ken Goldberg; Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, UC Berkeley: "Robotics and Art in the Information Age," 8/25/05
Ken Goldberg discusses his dual careers as an industrial engineer who designs robots and an artist whose creations use robots to stimulate understanding of technology's impact.

Ernst B. Haas; Robson Research Professor of Government, UC Berkeley: "Science and Progress in International Relations," 10/30/00
The inimitable political scientist, who recently passed away, talks here about his life, his ideas, and his groundbreaking research on nationalism.

Eva Harris; Assistant Professor of Public Health, UC Berkeley: "Making Science Accessible," 3/15/01
Molecular biologist Harris, a MacArthur Fellow, discusses DNA research in microbiology and how her work led to an innovative contribution to world health.

Ira Michael Heyman; former Chancellor, UC Berkeley, and former Secretary, the Smithsonian Institution: "Values, Persuasion, and Leadership in the Public Sector," 8/1/00
Former Chancellor and legal scholar Heyman talks about environmental law, leadership and university governance, and the challenges of competing truths facing large-scale institutions.

Ira Lapidus; Professor Emeritus of History, UC Berkeley: "Islamic Societies," 1/14/03
The founding Chair of the UC Berkeley's Center for Middle Eastern Studies discusses Islam's relation to politics, the treatment of women in Islamic societies, and how an understanding of Islamic history might inform U.S. foreign policy.

Michael Nacht; Dean and Professor of Public Policy, UC Berkeley: "Changing Paradigms in National Security Policy," 1/9/03
Dean Nacht discusses the making of U.S. foreign policy and comments on how it is changing in the aftermath of 9/11.

Gilles Peress; photographer, Magnum Photos, and Visiting Adjunct Professor, Human Rights Center: "Images, Reality, and the Curse of History," 4/10/97
Peress talks about the role that photography can play in the struggle for human rights.

Michael Pollan; Knight Professor of Journalism, UC Berkeley: "The Politics of Food," 12/16/08

Nelson W. Polsby; Heller Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley: "Institutional Change in the U.S. Congress," 9/4/02
Political scientist Polsby discusses scholarly communities and the nature of leadership as well as his research on the U.S. Congress.

Nancy Scheper-Hughes; Professor of Anthropology, UC Berkeley: "Studying the Human Condition: Habits of a Militant Anthropologist," 12/14/99
Anthropologist Scheper-Hughes, author of numerous award-winning works, discusses schizophrenia, infant mortality, and the Civil Rights movement.

Peter Dale Scott; Professor Emeritus of English, UC Berkeley: "Wealth, Empire, and the Future of America," 8/8/07
Professor Peter Dale Scott talks frankly about "The Road to 9/11."

John Searle; Mills Professor of Philosophy, UC Berkeley: "Philosophy and the Habits of Critical Thinking," 9/22/99
Philosopher Searle shares his thoughts on the mind-body dichotomy and the nature of the brain, and reminsces about the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley.

Yuri Slezkine; Professor of History, UCB: "The Jewish Century," 07/18/07
Professor Yuri Slezkine discusses the Jewish odyssey in the 20th century. His comparative analysis focuses on the similarity of the Jews to other "Mercurians" and provides new insight into understanding the paths the Jews took amidst the chaos of the last century.

Neil Smelser; University Professor Emeritus of Sociology and fomer Director the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behaviorial Sciences, UCB: "Intellectual Odyssey," 12/6/05
Sociologist Smelser looks back on a lifetime of scholarship.

Eric Stover; Human Rights Activist and writer; Adjunct Professor of Public Health and Director of the Human Rights Center: "Human Rights Work," 2/16/99
Lifelong activist Stover describes the nitty-gritty of human rights work

Lawrence Stark, M.D.; Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Optometry, UC Berkeley: "The Mind's Eye," 8/16/00
The multifaceted Dr. Stark discusses how his research in medicine, cybernetics, and engineering has advanced our understanding of how we see.

Charles H. Townes; Nobel Laureate and Professor of the Graduate School, UC Berkeley: "Adventures of a Scientist," 2/15/00
Winner of the Nobel Prize for his role in the invention of the maser and laser, Physicist Townes recounts his life's journey of discovery, wonder, and collaboration.

video

Joseph Tussman; Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, UC Berkeley: "Education and Citizenship," 1/13/00
Philosopher and education theorist Tussman talks about the nature of learning, teaching, and political discourse.

David Vogel; Solomon P. Lee Distinguished Professor in Business Ethics, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley: "Business, Government, and Ethics in an Era of Globalization," 7/11/07
Professor David Vogel discusses the evolution of business - government relations in the United States and Europe, focusing on environmental policy and the efforts to bring ethics to the marketplace.|

Michael Watts; Chancellor's Professor of Geography and Development Studies, UC Berkeley: "The Local-Global Dialectic: A Geographer's Perspective" 7/26/01
Geographer Watts, the Director of the UC Berkeley's Institute of International Studies, talks about his personal and political evolution as a researcher and scholar of internationalism and modernity.

Steven Weber; Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley: "Power in the Information Age," 4/28/03
Political Scientist Weber talks about the implications of the network paradigm for democracy, private property, and international relations.

Harold L. Wilensky; Professor Emeritus of Political Science, UC Berkeley: "Comparing Rich Democracies": 10/29/02
Political Scientist Wilensky talks about his recently published book, Rich Democracies. This landmark work is the first comparison of its kind in examining the unique nature of wealthy democratic states.

Tim White; Professor of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley: "On the Trail of our Human Ancestors" 9/18/03
Paleoanthropologist White talks about his formative years, his research and recent discoveries, and identifies the challenges facing his field.



Harry Kreisler is executive producer and host of the series, which is produced at the Institute of International Studies at the University of California - Berkeley. Conceived in 1982 by Mr. Kreisler as a way to capture and preserve through conversation and technology the intellectual ferment of our times, Conversations with History includes over 450 interviews. The Story of Conversations with History	Berkeley Faculty and Researchers Basri, Gibor; Professor of Astronomy, UC Berkeley: "Reaching for the Stars," 6/14/09 Robert Berdahl; Chancellor, UC Berkeley: "Leading Berkeley into the 21st Century," 9/4/98 Chancellor Berdahl discusses his work as a historian and the challenges facing the Berkeley campus Lowell Bergman; Reporter/Producer and Professor of Journalism: "A 'Long March through the Institution' of Television Journalism," 1/31/01 Journalist Bergman talks about investigative reporting and the grammar of television news. Roy Caldwell; Professor of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley: "Evolution of a Biologist," 6/20/01 Marine biologist Caldwell discusses his current research on the stomatopod, an invertebrate creature with highly advanced visual and signalling capabilities. Manuel Castells; Professor of Sociology and City & Regional Planning, UCB: "Identity and Change in the Network Society," 5/9/01 Social theorist Castells discusses the myriad implications of the network society. Steven Chu; Nobel Laureate in Physics; Director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: "A Scientist's Random Walk," 2/13/04 Physicist Chu shares his research and experience being a scientist. Jack Citrin; Professor Political Science, UC Berkeley: "Nationalism, Cosmopolitanism, and American National Identity," 8/1/07 Frederick Crews; Professor Emeritus of English, UC Berkeley: "Criticism and the Empirical Attitude," 8/24/99 Critic and writer Crews talks about his battles with conventional interpretations and and his passion for the English language. Mark Danner; Staff Writer, New Yorker, and Professor, School of Journalism: "Being a Writer," 3/3/99 Writer and MacArthur Fellow Danner talks about writing as reportage versus as a creative act, and examines how words are used for differing purposes. "Ideas and Leadership in U.S. Foreign Policy," 5/3/99 Danner examines ideas shaping foreign policy both during the Cold War and afterward, including the "Vietnam Syndrome," NATO enlargement, and the case of Kosovo. "Truth, Power, and the Iraq Debacle," 7/27/07 Informed by history, Danner's analysis includes comparison of Bush and Reagan, draws attention to changes in U.S. policy on torture, and examines the options for future U.S. policymakers. (2007) "The Red Cross Report, Torture Memos and Political Accountability," 05/8/09 J. Bradford DeLong; Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley: "Economics, Politics and Public Discourse," 10/5/07 Hubert L. Dreyfus; Professor of Philosophy, UC Berkeley: "Meaning, Relevance, and the Limits of Technology," 11/2/05 Professor Dreyfus shares his thoughts on the relationship between philosophy and technology. Tom Engelhardt; Lecturer, School of Journalism, UCB: "Taking Back the Word," 4/23/04 Writer and editor Engelhardt discusses the effects writing and editing have on the world. Ken Goldberg; Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, UC Berkeley: "Robotics and Art in the Information Age," 8/25/05 Ken Goldberg discusses his dual careers as an industrial engineer who designs robots and an artist whose creations use robots to stimulate understanding of technology's impact. Ernst B. Haas; Robson Research Professor of Government, UC Berkeley: "Science and Progress in International Relations," 10/30/00 The inimitable political scientist, who recently passed away, talks here about his life, his ideas, and his groundbreaking research on nationalism. Eva Harris; Assistant Professor of Public Health, UC Berkeley: "Making Science Accessible," 3/15/01 Molecular biologist Harris, a MacArthur Fellow, discusses DNA research in microbiology and how her work led to an innovative contribution to world health. John Harte; Professor of Energy and Resources, UC Berkeley: "Understanding the Global Environmental Crisis," 01/27/09 Ira Michael Heyman; former Chancellor, UC Berkeley, and former Secretary, the Smithsonian Institution: "Values, Persuasion, and Leadership in the Public Sector," 8/1/00 Former Chancellor and legal scholar Heyman talks about environmental law, leadership and university governance, and the challenges of competing truths facing large-scale institutions. Ira Lapidus; Professor Emeritus of History, UC Berkeley: "Islamic Societies," 1/14/03 The founding Chair of the UC Berkeley's Center for Middle Eastern Studies discusses Islam's relation to politics, the treatment of women in Islamic societies, and how an understanding of Islamic history might inform U.S. foreign policy. Michael Nacht; Dean and Professor of Public Policy, UC Berkeley: "Changing Paradigms in National Security Policy," 1/9/03 Dean Nacht discusses the making of U.S. foreign policy and comments on how it is changing in the aftermath of 9/11. Gilles Peress; photographer, Magnum Photos, and Visiting Adjunct Professor, Human Rights Center: "Images, Reality, and the Curse of History," 4/10/97 Peress talks about the role that photography can play in the struggle for human rights. Paul Pierson; Avice Saint Chair in Public Policy, Department of Political Science, UCB: "The Transformation of American Politics," 12/1/05 Michael Pollan; Knight Professor of Journalism, UC Berkeley: "The Politics of Food," 12/16/08 Nelson W. Polsby; Heller Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley: "Institutional Change in the U.S. Congress," 9/4/02 Political scientist Polsby discusses scholarly communities and the nature of leadership as well as his research on the U.S. Congress. Nancy Scheper-Hughes; Professor of Anthropology, UC Berkeley: "Studying the Human Condition: Habits of a Militant Anthropologist," 12/14/99 Anthropologist Scheper-Hughes, author of numerous award-winning works, discusses schizophrenia, infant mortality, and the Civil Rights movement. Peter Dale Scott; Professor Emeritus of English, UC Berkeley: "Wealth, Empire, and the Future of America," 8/8/07 Professor Peter Dale Scott talks frankly about "The Road to 9/11." John Searle; Mills Professor of Philosophy, UC Berkeley: "Philosophy and the Habits of Critical Thinking," 9/22/99 Philosopher Searle shares his thoughts on the mind-body dichotomy and the nature of the brain, and reminsces about the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley. Yuri Slezkine; Professor of History, UCB: "The Jewish Century," 07/18/07 Professor Yuri Slezkine discusses the Jewish odyssey in the 20th century. His comparative analysis focuses on the similarity of the Jews to other "Mercurians" and provides new insight into understanding the paths the Jews took amidst the chaos of the last century. Neil Smelser; University Professor Emeritus of Sociology and fomer Director the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behaviorial Sciences, UCB: "Intellectual Odyssey," 12/6/05 Sociologist Smelser looks back on a lifetime of scholarship. Harold Palmer Smith, Jr., Professor, Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley: "Thinking about the 'Unthinkables' in the Post-9/11 World"; 1/26/06 Public Policy specialist Smith looks in the eye of hard truths. Eric Stover; Human Rights Activist and writer; Adjunct Professor of Public Health and Director of the Human Rights Center: "Human Rights Work," 2/16/99 Lifelong activist Stover describes the nitty-gritty of human rights work Lawrence Stark, M.D.; Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Optometry, UC Berkeley: "The Mind's Eye," 8/16/00 The multifaceted Dr. Stark discusses how his research in medicine, cybernetics, and engineering has advanced our understanding of how we see. Charles H. Townes; Nobel Laureate and Professor of the Graduate School, UC Berkeley: "Adventures of a Scientist," 2/15/00 Winner of the Nobel Prize for his role in the invention of the maser and laser, Physicist Townes recounts his life's journey of discovery, wonder, and collaboration. video Joseph Tussman; Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, UC Berkeley: "Education and Citizenship," 1/13/00 Philosopher and education theorist Tussman talks about the nature of learning, teaching, and political discourse. David Vogel; Solomon P. Lee Distinguished Professor in Business Ethics, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley: "Business, Government, and Ethics in an Era of Globalization," 7/11/07 Professor David Vogel discusses the evolution of business - government relations in the United States and Europe, focusing on environmental policy and the efforts to bring ethics to the marketplace.\| Michael Watts; Chancellor's Professor of Geography and Development Studies, UC Berkeley: "The Local-Global Dialectic: A Geographer's Perspective" 7/26/01 Geographer Watts, the Director of the UC Berkeley's Institute of International Studies, talks about his personal and political evolution as a researcher and scholar of internationalism and modernity. Steven Weber; Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley: "Power in the Information Age," 4/28/03 Political Scientist Weber talks about the implications of the network paradigm for democracy, private property, and international relations. Harold L. Wilensky; Professor Emeritus of Political Science, UC Berkeley: "Comparing Rich Democracies": 10/29/02 Political Scientist Wilensky talks about his recently published book, Rich Democracies. This landmark work is the first comparison of its kind in examining the unique nature of wealthy democratic states. Tim White; Professor of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley: "On the Trail of our Human Ancestors" 9/18/03 Paleoanthropologist White talks about his formative years, his research and recent discoveries, and identifies the challenges facing his field. See also: Conversations with Berkeley Alumni
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