Poetry (Audio)

Should your art send you to prison? Rap lyrics are increasingly turning up as evidence in courtrooms across the country. The fictional characters portrayed in violent gansta rap songs are often a far cry from the true personalities of the artists behind them, yet uninitiated audiences easily conflate artist with character and fiction with fact. On a broader scale, using rap lyrics as evidence in criminal cases also raises questions about artistic freedom, freedom of speech and the rights of all citizens to receive a fair trial. UC Irvines Charis E. Kubrin, Ph.D and Adam Dunbar explore these issues. Series: "Zot Talks" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 31368]

Emmanuel Jal, an internationally recognized hip-hop musician, former child soldier turned activist and entrepreneur, shares his story and music. Jal was born into the life of a child solider in the early 1980s in the war-torn region of Southern Sudan. He calls upon all of us to engage with our world and become global citizens through scholarship, leadership and service. [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 33490]

Yusef Komunyakaa, an internationally renowned poet who won the Pulitzer Prize for “Neon Vernacular: New and Selected Poems," reads and discusses his work while writer-in-residence at UC Santa Barbara. Series: "Voices" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 32148]

The International Tracing Service, one of the world’s largest Holocaust-related archival repositories, holds millions of documents detailing the many forms of persecution that transpired during the Nazi era and their continuing repercussions. Based on her recently published book, "Nazi Persecution and Postwar Repercussions: The International Tracing Service Archive and Holocaust Research," Suzanne Brown-Fleming provides new insights into human decision-making in genocidal settings, the factors that drive it, and its far-reaching consequences. Brown-Fleming is director of the Visiting Scholar Programs of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. She is presented here by the Holocaust Living History Workshop at UC San Diego. Series: "Writers" [Show ID: 31541]

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder reveals his reporting strengths as he describes how he earned the trust of the people he has featured in books such as "Mountains Beyond Mountains," "House," "A Truck Full of Money," "Old Friends," and "Strength in What Remains." Kidder shares the joys and doubts of a career in writing with veteran journalist and host Dean Nelson, founder and director of the Writer's Symposium By The Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31161]

Barbara Boxer, the longtime US Senator from California and author of "The Art of Tough: Fearlessly Facing Politics and Life," speaks on her biggest battles in Congress, including support for AIDS research, voting rights, equal rights, reproductive rights, clean air and water, parental leave and her opposition to the Iraq war, and reminds her audience that all of these are at risk given the results of the 2016 election. Boxer delivers the inaugural speech of the Barbara Boxer Lecture Series, presented by the Institute of Governmental Studies and the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley. Series: "Institute of Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley (IGS)" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 32092]

This far-reaching conversation with best-selling author Shauna Niequist offers an honest account of her journey of becoming a writer. She shares her love of storytelling and her goal of living life to the fullest, and offers tips for aspiring writers. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31160]

Former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky describes himself as a "composer" who considers poetry to be first and foremost a vocal art, and his work seeks to blur the distinctions between language and music by emphasizing the rhythms and innate physicality of recited verse in a jazz context. In this performance for the 22nd Writer's Symposium by the Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University, Pinsky's reading is accompanied by a talented trio of PLNU students. The music - a blend of rehearsed and improvised - employs a variety of jazz styles, sometimes sympathetic and sometimes in playful counterpoint, but always responsive to the poet's distinctive voice. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 30820]

UC Berkeley professors, Robert and Sally Goldman, led the 40-year project to translate the Sanskrit epic poem Valmiki Ramayana to modern English. Series: "UC Berkeley News" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31985]

Messaging expert Anat Shenker-Osorio, author of “Don’t Buy It: The Trouble with Talking Nonsense About the Economy,” describes how to best influence public opinion. Citing her research on causes such as abortion rights and gay marriage, she argues that the most effective way to change minds is not through the traditional “anger, hope, action” model, but instead to establish shared values with political opponents and then to present the problems that threaten those values along with potential solutions. Shenker-Osorio engages in this fascinating discussion with civil rights attorney Jonathan Stein, a fellow alum of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Series: "The UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Business] [Education] [Show ID: 31825]

Messaging expert Anat Shenker-Osorio argues that the most effective way to change minds is not through the traditional “anger, hope, action” model, but instead to establish shared values with political opponents and then to present the problems that threaten those values along with potential solutions. Series: "The UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 31987]

Author Zohreh Ghahremani talks with Babak Rahimi, associate professor of Communication, Culture and Religion at UC San Diego about the novel, "Sky of Red Poppies," the 2012 selection for One Book, One San Diego. Series: "Writers" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31539]

New Orleans native Sunni Patterson is an internationally-known Def poetry artist and activist. She is joined in a conversation with George Lipsitz and David Kim about her music and poetry, and her life reaching, teaching and healing. Series: "Voices" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31570]

New Orleans native Sunni Patterson powerfully recites one of her many poems. Series: "Voices" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31630]

In his new book, Spitting in the Soup: Inside the Dirty Game of Doping in Sports, UC San Diego alumnus and sports journalist Mark Johnson traces the doping culture in professional sports, from the early days when pills meant progress, to the current day, when athletes are vilified for the use of performance-enhancing drugs. In his book, Johnson, who has covered cycling as a writer and photographer since the 1980s, explores the complex relationships that underlie elite sports culture. Series: "Writers" [Public Affairs] [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 31408]