KUCI: Get the Funk Out Janeane Bernstein

A decade ago, Dr. Alan Townsend’s family received two unthinkable, catastrophic diagnoses: his 4-year-old daughter and his brilliant scientist wife developed unrelated, life-threatening forms of brain cancer. As he witnessed his young daughter fight during the courageous final months of her mother’s life, Townsend – a lifelong scientist – was indelibly altered. He began to see scientific inquiry as more than a source of answers to a given problem, but also as a lifeboat: a lens on the world that could help him find peace with the painful realities he could not change. Through scientific wonder, he found ways to bring meaning to his darkest period.

At a time when society’s relationship with science is increasingly polarized while threats to human life on earth continue to rise, Townsend offers a balanced, moving perspective on the common ground between science and religion through the spiritual fulfillment he found in his work. Awash in Townsend's electrifying and breathtaking prose, THIS ORDINARY STARDUST offers hope that life can carry on even in the face of near-certain annihilation.


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An enlightening and delicious look at how vegans – and their critics – are redefining the way the world eats in the twenty-first century.

For years, there has been no doubt that widespread consumption of meat is both environmentally destructive and morally dubious. A growing chorus of scientists, health experts, and activists champion the benefits of a plant-based diet. Nevertheless, change has been slow to arrive, and the chasm between our appetites and our collective well-being seems impossibly vast. We know we must transition to a more plant-based world. But what would such a world look like, and how do we realistically get there?

One group of people has been grappling with this question for decades: vegans. Once mocked for its hempy puritanism, the vegan movement has grown from a fringe identity into a veritable cultural juggernaut. Yet visions of what our food system should look like continue to conflict. Is the healthful vegan lifestyle appealing-or alienating? Are high-tech meat alternatives merely a repeat performance of harmful fast-food values? Is modern veganism itself misguided-a wrong answer to the right questions?

In The Good Eater, Harvard-trained sociologist (and vegan) Nina Guilbeault, PhD vividly explores the movement's history and its present-day tensions by grappling with the most fundamental question of all: Is there a truly ethical way to eat? What emerges is a fascinating portrait of how social change happens, with profound implications for our plates-and our planet.

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Today, we are in conversation with Steven Munatones and Dr. Shira Schlesinger,
Director of EMS & Disaster Preparedness Programs, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Steven suffered a a near-fatal heart attack, and it was his 17 year old son who performed CPR and saved him. A long-distance swimmer and lifelong athlete, Steven shares how his heart attack changed his life in unexpected ways, his love of ocean swims, and how these days he focuses on his passion for a Japanese therapy that has been a game changer.



Dr. Shira Schlesinger

Dr. Shira Schlesinger is Director for Education & Innovation at the Los Angeles
County EMS Agency. Her interest in EMS & Disaster started in her college years as a
volunteer CPR instructor and disaster responder followed by training as an EMT. She
has continued to work in Emergency Medicine, EMS and Disaster Preparedness in a
variety of environments and positions, seeking to engage audiences in health
promotion and empowering communities through education and involvement in the
system.

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Dr. Jason Schiffman is Professor of Clinical Science and the inaugural Director of Clinical Training for UCI’s Clinical Psychology program. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Southern California in 2003. Dr. Schiffman is founder and past Co-Director of the Maryland Early Intervention Program’s Strive for Wellness Clinic.

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When Wilmington filmmaker Benjamin Wagner was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome, he saw the impact of trauma and adverse stress all around him. Inspired by Fred Rogers, the subject of his 2012 PBS documentary "Mister Rogers & Me," he decided to "look for the helpers” healing our anxious and uncertain communities.

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Haleigh Marcello, Founder and Executive Director, Orange County Queer History Project, PhD Candidate - Graduate Feminist Emphasis, Department of Gender & Sexuality Studies joins Janeane Live on KUCI.

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