100 episodes

Bringing you everything that's fun, surprising, and unique about Connecticut's Top 20 public research university. Join us every other week for things you never knew about UConn.

UConn 360: The UConn Podcast UConn 360

    • Education
    • 4.9 • 18 Ratings

Bringing you everything that's fun, surprising, and unique about Connecticut's Top 20 public research university. Join us every other week for things you never knew about UConn.

    Goodbye - or Maybe Au Revoir?

    Goodbye - or Maybe Au Revoir?

    After six years, 115 episodes, two national awards, and countless memories that will last a lifetime, UConn 360 is going on indefinite hiatus. Does this mean you'll never again hear from the only podcast known to science that covers the University of Connecticut from every conceivable angle? Probably not! Who knows? The future is unwritten, as Tom's favorite band once observed. So put on your best UConn sweater, scoop yourself a bowl of Dairy Bar ice cream, and join us for a stroll down memory lane as we bid adieu - for now - to what we once advertised on UConn buses as "the only podcast in the world." 

    • 15 min
    The Politics of Wild Weather

    The Politics of Wild Weather

    From raging wildfires in Canada to record rainfall in New York City to an out-of-nowhere hurricane slamming into Mexico, 2023 has been yet another year with abundant evidence that our weather is getting harder to predict - and disasters harder to manage - as the planet continues to heat. Talbot Andrews, assistant professor of political science, focuses on how institutions, public policy, and the physical environment shape preferences and behavior related to climate change. She uses a combination of experiments, public opinion data, and formal theory to answer questions such as: When do people believe in climate change? When are they willing to support climate change mitigation policies? 
    She sat down with UConn 360 to talk about extreme weather and public policy, and, while it's a sobering topic, delivers an optimistic message.
    After that, UConn 360 travels back to 1989, to discover what it means to be a Suitcase Campus. 

    • 24 min
    How Hip Hop Conquered the World

    How Hip Hop Conquered the World

    This year marks the 50th anniversary of hip hop, which emerged from block parties in the South Bronx to become the dominant form of popular music in the United States and beyond. How did this unlikely underdog story happen? What kind of changes to the music and culture have taken place over five decades? What do you do when Chuck D from Public Enemy keeps giving you the brushoff? To answer these questions and more, there's no one better qualified than Professor of History Jeffrey Ogbar, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Music and author of the award-winning book, “Hip-Hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Rap." In one of the most fun and wide-ranging conversations in the illustrious history of UConn 360, he lends his insights into how this vital expression of the Black experience in the US became the dominant mode of popular music, and why it remains urgent and fresh after 50 years.
     
    After that, Tom and Julie journey back to the late 1970s to learn about how UConn was responding to the energy crisis: with chilly buildings, solar panels, and carpools that made lifelong friendships. 

    • 53 min
    How You Like Them Apples?

    How You Like Them Apples?

    Once upon a time, UConn was home to abundant orchards - where Gampel Pavilion sits now, and later at the Cold Spring Orchard not too far away. It's been many years since UConn grew its own apples, pears, and other tree fruit, but that's about to change.
     
    The Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources is working to revive UConn's status as an orchard-having university, and this time, in addition to apples, there will be an impressive variety of fruits both familiar and new. Here to tell us all about these efforts is Evan Lentz, assistant extension educator of fruit production and integrated pest management. Evan graduated from UConn in 2022 with his master's in plant science and before that earned his bachelor's here in sustainable plant and soil systems. 
     
    After we speak with Evan, Tom and Julie find a University guide to managing email from the dawn of the Internet era, and see how much has changed since then. 

    • 35 min
    Reliving UConn’s Dream Season

    Reliving UConn’s Dream Season

    It may seem hard to believe, as we bask in the glow of a fifth national championship, but there was a time when the UConn men's basketball team was little more than an afterthought.The Huskies had joined the newly created Big East Conference in 1979, which coincidentally would be the last time they'd play in the NCAA tournament for more than a decade. A doormat in the best basketball conference in the country, UConn's fortunes would only start to change when they hired a new head coach in 1986.In his second year at UConn, Jim Calhoun led the Huskies to a victory in the National Invitation Tournament, their first ever national championship. But it would be the 1989-90 season that would capture the imagination of the entire state and announce UConn's arrival as a national contender.The Dream Season, as it's become known, saw the Huskies reach their first NCAA tournament since 1979, a run capped off by the unforgettable Sweet 16 victory over Clemson, won in the very last second by a Tate George jump shot. It would all end in tears in the following round against Duke, but even though the Huskies would cut down the nets five times in the next 33 years, that season retains a special place in the hearts of UConn fans.Matt Edwards is one of those fans. But unlike most fans, he's not content to simply cherish his memories.Since April 2022, Matt has been producing the Dream Season Podcast, an in-depth oral history of the 1989-90 season, featuring interviews with players, coaches, and journalists who relive that incredible time and offer their insights on what made it so special.
     
    After the interview, Matt sticks around while we answer a history question he posed on Twitter: What's the story behind a UConn-related publication with a memorable name that we're not sure we can say on the podcast? 

    • 21 min
    Learning to Live in the Anthropocene

    Learning to Live in the Anthropocene

    Tom and Julie get a break this week from their hectic podcast production schedule when colleague Elaina Hancock interviews Professor of Earth Sciences Robert Thorson - known far and wide as "Thor" - whose expertise runs from Henry David Thoreau to New England stone walls to cutting-edge geology. In this interview, Elaina and Prof. Thorson talk about the "Anthropocene" - the current age the earth finds itself in, when human civilization is bringing unprecedented changes to the climate and environment. What does it mean to live in a time when people are a leading factor in shaping the very conditions of life on Earth? 
     
    Meanwhile, Tom and Julie travel back to a lost age of slightly less dramatic scope: the age of public access television. There, they discover that UConn Waterbury once had its own regular show on cable systems throughout Connecticut, episodes of which seem to be lost, much to our hosts' chagrin.

    • 27 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
18 Ratings

18 Ratings

sawinchell ,

Literally the best podcast in history

What are you waiting for? Go on and press Play!!

Bubba Rocks ,

Great podcast

I’m married to one of the hosts.

Bill X. Carlson II ,

So darn good!!!

The UConn 360 podcast is indeed the best UConn podcast in the known universe, hands down. The university’s first official foray into the podcasting brings listeners a compelling mix of Husky history (who was Bill X. Carlson anyway and why does he hold a special place in the hearts of some UConn alums?), quirky stories about UConn life, and interesting academic and research news. Add to that the understated wit of host Tom Breen, Ms. Julie Bartucca’s infectious laugh, and the storytelling skills of seasoned radio journalist Ken Best and it’s more fun and better for you than a heaping plate of jalapeno mac n’ cheese. So run don’t walk to your nearest podcast website Husky fans and have a listen. The podcast is great for study breaks, alumni reunions, and those awkward silences at the Thanksgiving dinner table! Remember you heard it hear first.

Top Podcasts In Education

The Mel Robbins Podcast
Mel Robbins
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
Dr. Jordan B. Peterson
The Rich Roll Podcast
Rich Roll
TED Talks Daily
TED
Do The Work
Do The Work
The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast
Lauryn Bosstick & Michael Bosstick / Dear Media