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Dr. Wendy Slusser of UCLA's Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center interviews leading experts about new perspectives on health and wellbeing. LiveWell champions an interdisciplinary and intersectional approach to health equity-- from food and climate, to social justice and emotional wellbeing.
With guests like Evan Kleiman, Peter Sellars, and Bob Thurman, we've set out to explore the many facets of what it means to live well.
Stop by our website to offer feedback or guest ideas, plus more to explore: https://www.healthy.ucla.edu/media/livewellpodcast/
97 Episodes
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Our latest LiveWell podcast episode features an inspiring and deeply insightful conversation with Angus Fletcher, Professor of English at Ohio State University and a core member of Project Narrative. Angus shares his personal journey from working in a neurophysiology lab studying live brain cells to pursuing a PhD in literature at Yale to understand the mechanics of story. Drawing from his work with the US Army Special Forces and his latest book, Primal Intelligence, Angus explores how the hu...
Our latest LiveWell podcast episode features an inspiring and deeply insightful conversation with Diana Winston, the Director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC). Diana shares her personal journey from being a young seeker traveling through Asia to spending a year as a Buddhist nun, a period that fundamentally shaped her understanding of the human mind. Drawing from her decades of teaching and her work at MARC, Diana explores how mindfulness is a practi...
Our latest LiveWell podcast episode features an inspiring and deeply insightful conversation with Kasley Killam, a leading expert in social health and author of The Art and Science of Connection: Why Social Health is the Missing Key to Living Longer, Healthier, and Happier Lives. Kasley shares her personal journey from being a curious psychology student to becoming a nationally recognized voice on the power of human connection. Drawing from her work with Social Health Labs, global field resea...
“It is possible to believe that all the past is but the beginning of a beginning… the twilight of the dawn.” – H.G. Wells But how do we shape what comes next—and prepare for futures we can’t yet see? Join us for a compelling episode of the UCLA LiveWell podcast featuring Dr. Andy Hines — futurist, professor at the University of Houston, and expert in strategic foresight. Andy guides us through: 🔭 How to scan for signals and build stories about the future.🧠 Why vision is the antidote to chaos ...
Our latest LiveWell podcast episode features an enlightening conversation with Dr. Dan Wildcat, a professor at Haskell Indian Nations University and a profound thinker on Indigenous perspectives of ecology, technology, and community. Dr. Wildcat shares his transformative journey from Sociology to Environmental studies, deeply influenced by his mentor, Vine Deloria Jr. In his book co-authored with Vine Deloria Jr., Power and Place (2001), covers the challenges that Native American stude...
Original air date: March 1st, 2023 Why is controversy a good thing? What does it mean to have five eyes? Why is there no such thing as spectatorship? This is what we set out to uncover in Part 2 of our Special Series with Peter Sellars, world-renowned theater and opera director. Join us as we discuss imagining new and revolutionary solutions to issues and injustices by centering art and community care. Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, provide feedback,...
Original release date: February 16, 2023. Why were snakes at the original Olympics? How are the arts and sports intimately connected? How did the Greek tragedy come to be? We cover all of these questions in Part 1 of our Special 2 Part Interview with Peter Sellars. Peter, with his gift of storytelling, takes us on a journey to the Olympics in ancient Greece, where health, theater, and the arts were of equal importance in this celebration of togetherness. Fast forward to tod...
Our latest episode of LiveWell features a powerful conversation with Dr. Eraka Bath, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA and a triple board-certified expert in child, adolescent, adult, and forensic psychiatry. Dr. Bath’s work profoundly impacts youth in the foster care and juvenile legal system, addressing critical issues of racial justice, structural vulnerability, and the path to system transformation. We discuss: Her early exposure to social conditions and structural marginalization through...
Our latest episode of LiveWell is a conversation with Dr. Angela Fentiman. An educator and executive communications leader at UCLA, where we explore how an early introduction to communication in service and civic duties, then roles in energy and education shaped her approach to communication and leadership. From writing speeches for her father, a small-town mayor in Oregon, to managing narratives during utility and infrastructure outages, Dr. Fentiman shares the moments that defined her voice...
What if healing didn’t start in a clinic—but in the soil? On the newest episode of LiveWell, we explore how nature, community, and purpose are transforming Veteran care with Dr. Kaitlyn Fruin, UCLA preventive medicine fellow, and Air Force Veteran Cyntrea Cotton, founder of the Veterans Garden Initiative. This inspiring episode reveals: • How therapeutic gardening is easing PTSD, anxiety, and depression for veterans. • Why growing organic food can support whole-person healing—fr...
Welcome back for Part 2 and a sneak peek into Emily Falk's upcoming book, What We Value? Curious about why we make the choices we do? Want to explore how to make more intentional and fulfilling decisions? In our latest LiveWell episode, Emily Falk unpacks her groundbreaking research in neuroscience, psychology, and communication. Through personal stories and compelling research, she shares: - What makes an effective message and how ideas spread - How to be a more effective commun...
Our latest episode of LiveWell is a two-parter with guest Emily Falk and a preview to her upcoming book, "What We Value". An expert in the science of behavior change, Emily is a Professor of Communication, Psychology, Marketing, and Operations, Information, and Decisions at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Vice Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication. In episode 1, we discuss her research and collaborations exploring key brain systems that influence what we choose and why ...
Morgan Tingley, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and faculty in the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, is an expert on how climate change and other environmental changes impact biodiversity, primarily birds. His research, which largely focuses on birds in temperate mountain environments, including California’s Sierra Nevada, examines how species shift their ranges and the timing of their activities in response to rising temperatures and other effects of climate...
Original air date: May 2023. You don’t want to miss today’s episode--mainly because Wendy and Elizabeth reveal their reigning favorite salt! How’d we get there? Because Elizabeth shares how she guides her students through a mindful salt tasting--an exercise that embodies her research at the intersection of food and performance. A PhD candidate at UCLA in Theater and Performance Studies with a graduate certificate in Food Studies, Elizabeth discusses how she approaches food experiences and fo...
Original air date: March 2023 Coffee, community, and connection are the ways that Joe and Celia Ward-Wallace advocate for their South Central LA community. As founders of the South LA Cafe and the South LA community nonprofit, this dynamic duo is paving the path toward food justice and community health. Learn how Celia, with her coaching and consulting background, and Joe, with his firefighting background, came together to create a place of gathering. Visit our website to explor...
Original air date: May 2022. Executive Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy and Professor at the UCLA School of Law, Michael Roberts, joins us to explain the complexities of governing food and why he always makes sure to check the labels before buying olive oil. Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! Episode Resources + Mentions: Resnick Center for Food Law & Pol...
Original air date: July 2023. Join us today for a lesson in environmental storytelling with Tamar Christensen. Everything about Tamar’s story is fascinating-- she is a writing instructor at UCLA, a Veteran, a composter, a chicken mom, and a zero-waste lifestyle icon. We hear about how she sold her car after a transformative trip to Europe, how she gave food nonprofit Nourish LA a home at UCLA, and how she structures her creative writing classes around navigating eco-anxiety and knowing...
This is the story of how noticing the abundant produce on citrus trees turned into what is now a 15 year old nonprofit, Food Forward, that transports nearly 90 million pounds of food to communities in need. Join us today as Rick Nahmias, founder and CEO of Food Forward, tells us that story and gives us insider tips to starting your own nonprofit, growing a team, and building meaningful relationships that help bring food where it belongs. Visit our website to explore other episodes, sugg...
If you’re even the slightest bit curious about community movement building, look no further. In today’s episode, Olivia Farr, nonprofit and environmental activist extraordinaire leading the Bedford 2030 campaign, tells us the why and how of meeting people where they’re at, and ultimately, creating ripple effects when it comes to making change in your community. Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast!&nbs...
While so much has changed in the food world, much has stayed the same -- we are making bread the same way Egyptians did thousands of years ago, according to today’s guest, Bill Yosses. In this episode, Bill Yosses, former White House Pastry Chef, teaches us how cooking has transcended language, and how innovative chefs and food leaders across the globe are using simple, ancient practices -- like harvesting heirloom seeds, eating locally and culturally, and using every part of an ingredient --...
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