Nobel Laureates

Carol Greider: Scientific Discovery

Carol Greider
2014

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcome Nobel Laureate Carol Greider, Daniel Nathans Professor and Director of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University, for a discussion of her intellectual odyssey. Topics covered include her education; her Nobel winning research on telomeres and telomerase; the implications of this research for treatment of disease; science education; and women in science.

KEYWORDS: Nobel Laureates, Genetics, Cells.

Kenzaburo Oe: Art and Healing

Kenzaburo Oe
1999

UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler in conversation with Kenzaburo Oe who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1994. Oe's art moves from the personal to the political, exploring how the individual, in confronting life's tragedies overcomes humiliation and shame to "get on with life," and in so doing, finds personal dignity and a renewed sense of his responsibility to his fellow man

KEYWORDS: Nobel Laureates, Japan, Healing.

Svante Paabo: Neanderthal Man

Svante Paabo
2014

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Svante Pääbo, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, for a discussion of his intellectual journey. Svante Pääbo highlights both the opportunities and obstacles that characterized his 30 year quest to uncover the genome of Neanderthal Man. In the course of his reflections, he elucidates the nature of scientific inquiry and highlights the possible long-term implications of using genetic research to understand the genome of human ancestors and thereby understand the uniqueness of humans. Svante Pääbo...

Richard H. Thaler: Behavioral Economics

Richard H. Thaler
2010

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Professor Richard H. Thaler for a discussion of behavioral economics. Professor Thaler discusses theory in economics, how observed human behavior points to anomalies that contradict what theory predicts will happen, and the implications of behavioral economics for public policy including its contribution to understanding the 2008 economic collapse and to shaping future regulation.

Key Words: Nobel Laureates

Dudley Herschbach: Science and Society

Dudley Herschbach
2005

Host Harry Kreisler welcomes Nobel Laureate Dudley Herschbach. Professor Herschbach discusses his research, creativity in science, science education and the role of science in society.

http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people5/Herschbach/herschbach-con0.html

Key Words: Scientists, Science Education, Nobel Laureates, Berkeley Graduate Lecturers

Wole Soyinka: Writing and Political Activism

Wole Soyinka
1998

On this edition of Conversations with History, UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler talks with Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka. In an extraordinarily prolific and rich body of work including plays, novels, poems, and essays, Professor Soyinka draws on both Yoruba and western culture to exquisitely weave a subtle understanding of the tragedy and comedy of the human condition. In this discussion, Soyinka talks about the craft of writing, his work in theatre arts, human rights, and his political activism.

KEYWORDS: Nobel Laureates, Nigeria, Political Activism, Political Prisoners,...

Orhan Pamuk: Finding an Authentic Voice

Orhan Pamuk
2009

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk. On the occasion of the publication in the United States of his new novel, "The Museum of Innocence," Pamuk reflects on his intellectual journey, including the influence of his parents, writers who shaped his world view, the "huzun" of Istanbul, writing, and recurring themes in his novels.

Jennifer Doudna: Unraveling CRISPR-Cas9

Jennifer Doudna
2019

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Professor Jennifer Doudna of UC Berkeley for a discussion of her intellectual odyssey that led to the discovery of CRISPR-Cas9, a revolutionary tool for gene editing. In the conversation, they explore the implications of CRISPR-Cas9 for agriculture, biotechnology and biomedicine. They also discuss how education and public advocacy can broaden insight into the ethical and policy dimensions of the biological revolution that is upon us.

KEYWORDS: Bioscience, Bacteria/Genetics/DNA/Medicine/Infectious Disease/RNA/Scientific Inquiry/...