Experts John Vidale, former Director of Southern California Earthquake Center and USC Dornsife Professor, and Steve Goldfarb, USC Fire Safety and Emergency Planning Specialist, speak on earthquakes—the research behind them and how we might better prepare!   Jyetbf7NtVT7MDdJKGL7

IDEAS IN ACTION | USC's Podcast Series

Shake It Out: The Science and Safety of Earthquake Prep

USC experts discuss how parents and guardians can maintain open communication with and support their students as they begin to navigate the college experience! Dr. Tracy Poon Tambascia is a Professor of Clinical Education in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. Her areas of interest include international higher education, higher education policy, issues that affect the practice of student affairs, and minoritized student access and success in higher education. Dr. Broderick Leaks is director of counseling and mental health at USC Student Health and clinical associate professor of psychiatry and the behavioral sciences at Keck School of Medicine. As a psychologist, Leaks specializes in individual and group psychotherapy. Treatment of anxiety and panic disorders; OCD; stress management; ethnic minority identity development (particularly African American); and the integration of psychology and spirituality.

You’ve dropped off your college student—now what?

USC experts discuss their work and recent books, each highlighting a different neighborhood in L.A. and the Latinx contributions to the city’s history. These three books are changing and challenging some of the historical ways Latinx L.A. has been written about. What does talking about Latinx historiography or “Latinidad” in Boyle Heights, Echo Park, and South Central LA mean? How have these communities transformed over time and how can we expect them to change in the future? And what does it mean in terms of issues around democracy, power and politics? Speakers include USC Dornsife faculty: Natalia Molina, MacArthur Foundation Fellow and Distinguished Professor of American Studies & Ethnicity Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo, Florence Everline Professor of Sociology George J. Sanchez, Professor of American Studies & Ethnicity and History Manuel Pastor, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity and Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change Moderated by Juan De Lara, Associate Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity and Director, Latinx and Latin American Studies Center.

Latinx Stories of Los Angeles

USC has produced more Olympians, overall medalists, and gold medalists than any other U.S. university. But what has it been like to train during the pandemic for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics? What are some of the surprising ways in which the games of ancient Greece were different from the modern Olympics? What are a few of the nearly 3,000-year-old traditions that haven’t changed? Listen in on this lively discussion with political science major and Olympian Tina Graudina of USC’s beach volleyball team — the 2021 NCAA champions — and two USC Dornsife scholars of ancient Greece: Vincent Farenga, professor of classics and comparative literature, and Lucas Herchenroeder, associate professor (teaching) of classics. They’ll be interviewed separately by USC Dornsife’s new student correspondent, history and archaeology major Sean Silvia, host of “Door to Dornsife” and “Archaeologists Anonymous” on YouTube. USC Dornsife Dean Amber Miller provides the introduction. This recording is a part of the Dornsife Dialogues Series.

Olympic training during a pandemic – and how the games have changed since 776 B.C.

Juneteenth is the oldest celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. But the fight against institutionalized racism continues today. Join USC experts as they discuss critical race theory, voting rights, criminal justice reform, and the ongoing struggle for liberty and justice for all. Panelists Jody Armour is the Roy P. Crocker Professor of Law at USC. Armour's expertise ranges from personal injury claims to claims about the relationship between racial justice, criminal justice, and the rule of law. He studies the intersection of race and legal decision-making as well as torts and tort reform movements. Armour teaches students a diverse array of subjects, including Criminal Law, Torts, and Stereotypes and Prejudice: The Role of the Cognitive Unconscious in the Rule of Law. Alaina Morgan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at USC. Trained as a historian of the African Diaspora, Professor Morgan's research focuses on the historic utility of religion, particularly Islam, in racial liberation and anti-colonial movements of the mid-to late-twentieth-century Atlantic world. Morgan teaches classes on African American and African Diaspora History; Islam in the Americas; race and ethnicity in America; mass incarceration, discipline, and racialized punishment; Black intellectual history; and Black international movements. Christian Grose is Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at USC. He is the Academic Director of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy, where he led a team that administered the USC Schwarzenegger Institute nonpartisan democracy grants to local election administrators to open new polling places; and he is now researching how best to improve voter access and voting rights based around this community-engaged work.

A Juneteenth Conversation on Race

Working with the federal government and the city of Los Angeles, USC researchers have identified pathways to a zero-emissions future for the megalopolis in 25 years, a new report shows. But how do you get there from here? What are the challenges and benefits? And can L.A. become a clean-energy model for other cities? Join Sammy Roth, energy reporter for the Los Angeles Times, Lauren Faber O'Connor, city of Los Angeles' chief sustainability officer, Adam Rose, professor at the USC Price School of Public Policy, and Kelly Sanders, professor at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, for a lively discussion about Southern California's sustainable future.

L.A.’s fossil fuel-free future

March 2021 marks the one-year anniversary of the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Illness, distance learning, and social isolation have turned our lives upside down. Depression rates are up among teens and young adults. How have young people fared after a year of lockdowns, remote schooling, and the disruption of social norms? Join Dean Willow Bay, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, and Common Sense CEO Jim Steyer for a conversation on how young people use digital devices and media to manage their mental health. The discussion will also cover a groundbreaking new research report on the mental health of today’s young adults. Additional participants include Associate Vice Provost for Student Health Dr. Sarah Van Orman and student co-moderators Josie Bullen, Abel Jaquez and Anushka Joshi.

Coping with COVID: Mental health and young adults, a conversation with Dr. Vivek Murthy and and Jim Steyer

As part of USC’s International Women’s Day 2021 celebration, USC President Carol L. Folt sits down with rising filmmaker and USC alumna Channing Godfrey Peoples for an inspiring conversation about Peoples’ career and her critically acclaimed, award-winning film, “Miss Juneteenth.” USC Cinema Dean Elizabeth Daley provides introductions.

A Conversation with Channing Godfrey Peoples

Scientific innovation was put to the test in the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, and it resulted in two vaccines in record time that are at least 94% effective in clinical trials. Now the task of vaccinating the population has begun with many skeptics fearing side effects, rushed science in its development, and political involvement. There is also a segment of the population who are generally vaccine skeptics. Join the USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy and the USC Behavioral Science and Well-Being Policy Initiative for an expert discussion on how to encourage vaccine adoption. Learn more about the USC Schaeffer Center at healthpolicy.usc.edu

How to Encourage Vaccine Adoption

When COVID-19 emerged, it was a new coronavirus we knew little about. Over the past year, experts from across the globe have worked together to better fight the pandemic. Listen in as faculty experts from the Keck School of Medicine of USC discuss what we’ve learned so far about COVID-19: Paula Cannon, a microbiologist who is an expert in all the ways COVID can, and cannot, be transmitted. Susan Butler-Wu, also a microbiologist, is an expert on COVID testing. Ali Gholamrezanezhad, a radiologist who has viewed the pandemic through a unique lens: chest x-rays. 

Five lessons we’ve learned about COVID-19 since the pandemic began

Holidays represent normalcy for children during uncertain times. With Halloween around the corner, as well as other fall celebrations, USC's Rita V. Burke, Assistant Professor of Clinical Preventive Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, offers tips for having fun without spreading or catching COVID-19.

Should Halloween be canceled because of COVID-19?

Listen in as Caleb Finch and Axel Montagne (in conversation with Leigh Hopper from USC’s University Communications), discuss their respective research on Alzheimer’s disease, including how pollution may cause inflammation in the human body, contributing to the acceleration of dementia. Axel Montagne is an Associate Professor of Research Physiology & Neuroscience at Keck School of Medicine at USC and Assistant Director of the USC Functional Biological Imaging Core. Caleb Finch is University Professor, ARCO/William F. Kieschnick Chair in the Neurobiology of Aging at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and Professor of Gerontology, Biological Sciences, Anthropology, and Psychology at USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

Alzheimer’s, inflammation and COVID-19

As an undergraduate majoring in history at USC Dornsife, Tracy Walder had planned to become a teacher. Until the CIA recruited her. Not long after graduating, the former sorority sister known for dressing in pink was wearing camouflage fatigues, toting an assault rifle and hunting down Al-Qaeda as a counterterrorism field agent in the aftermath of 9/11. Returning to the U.S., she made the almost-unheard-of-transition to the FBI, where she continued to take down bad guys out of the L.A. field office. Walder sat down with USC Dornsife historian Peter Mancall, divisional dean for the humanities, to discuss her larger-than-life career as a spook — and why she left that life behind to return to her first love: teaching history. Dornsife Dialogues Join us for stimulating online forums in which leading scholars and distinguished alumni from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences share new perspectives, research-based findings and fresh insight on timely topics. The free events are open to the entire USC community and general public. https://dornsife.usc.edu/dornsifedialogues/

The Unexpected Spy

Listen in on the conversation with experts from USC Dornsife, USC Viterbi and the California Science Center about the NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance rover launch. Kenneth Phillips is Curator for Aerospace Science at the California Science Center and an adjunct professor of the practice of physics and astronomy at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. He’s an expert in aeronautics, space exploration and science education. Anita Sengupta is an associate professor of astronautics at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and a former engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She’s an expert in spacecraft design for interplanetary exploration and was responsible for the supersonic parachute system of the Curiosity rover that landed on Mars in 2012. Ken Nealson is an emeritus professor of Earth science at the Dornsife College. He is an expert in astrobiology, microbial life in extreme environments and the evolution of life in the universe. He led the astrobiology program at JPL, started the geobiology program at USC and is a member of the science team for the 2020 Mars mission. Garrett Reisman is a professor of astronautical engineering at the Viterbi School of Engineering at USC. He was an astronaut for NASA and conducted missions aboard the Space Shuttles Endeavor, Discovery and Atlantis as well as the International Space Station. He was also director of space operations for SpaceX and remains a senior advisor to the company.

Countdown to Mars 2020 Perseverance Launch

Resources and Solutions at USC The novel coronavirus pandemic has Americans across the country fearful for their personal health and well-being, but for Asian Americans, the virus has stirred up another threat: a wave of verbal and physical attacks. While we employ social distancing to keep us safe from COV19, how do we prepare our USC community for widespread acts of individual bigotry when we reenter the world? Stronger than Hate: Resources and Solutions harnesses the power of USC’s resources in the area of hate and extremism, outlining tangible resources and real solutions to better help our community navigate the complex challenges presented by this crisis. USC Pacific Asia Museum: Bethany Montagano, PhD, Director Quade Yoo Song French, PhD Clinical Psychologist, Office of Well-being and Education, Office of the Provost USC Campus Wellbeing and Crisis Intervention: Patrick Prince, Associate Vice Provost of Threat Assessment and Management USC Price: Erroll Southers, DPPD, Director of the Safe Communities USC Shoah Foundation: Stephen Smith, PhD, Executive Director USC Department of Public Safety: Josh Voyda, Intelligence and Threat Manager USC TIX/OED: Kegan Alee-Mowad, PhD, Associate Director of Student Civil Rights, Conduct and Compliance USC Center for Work and Family Life: Linda Snouffer, Director With opening remarks by USC President Carol L. Folt.   Presented by: USC Pacific Asia Museum USC Price School -Safe Communities Institute USC Shoah Foundation OED Title IX

Stronger Than Hate

IDEAS IN ACTION is a podcast series produced by the University of Southern California. Aligned with the university mission dedicated to “the development of human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit,” the series brings you thought-provoking conversations across various disciplines, happening at USC’s University Park and Health Sciences campuses today. Recordings are available on this website, as well as iTunes and Spotify.

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IDEAS IN ACTION | USC's Podcast Series

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