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Sacramento is working on the largest water recycling project on the West Coast, and UC Davis research is behind the technology used to filter and recycle wastewater for such projects. Mike Falk, received his Ph.D. from UC Davis, and was a consultant for the project. He works on large civil infrastructure projects for public utilities like Sacramento Sewer. Falk said federal funding helps advance the science to inform decisions and find new, innovative solutions that preserve public health and the environment. Series: "UC Davis News" [Public Affairs] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41734]

David Brockman suffered a traumatic accident in 2019 that led to the amputation of his hand from the wrist down. Following his surgery at the UC Davis Medical Center, he was connected with engineering professor Jonathon Schofield, who collaborates with Ph.D. students on prosthetic technology. Through federally funded research projects, these students were able to design and provide Brockman with a custom myoelectric hand —a prosthetic he can control electronically. He emphasizes that without federal funding, schools and researchers wouldn’t have the resources to develop these innovations. "My hand prosthetic would not have been available to me without funding.Without that money, these schools can’t do that and give people a chance to see what is possible.” — David Brockman Series: "UC Davis News" [Public Affairs] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41733]

Ethics, religion, and public life affect democratic society in important ways. Walter H. Capps was a professor of religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He died on October 28, 1997, just under a year after being elected to Congress. Capps showed how religious thought and civic engagement can shape public life. This documentary introduces viewers to the life and legacy of Capps, including his view on politics and value of civic life, the impact of the Vietnam War, and the study of religion. His legacy helps explain the importance of informed public dialogue and points toward tolerance, civility, and the common good. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 41702]

Utilitarianism affects law, public policy, and social justice in important ways. Professor Peter Bolland explains how Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill’s focus on the greatest good for the greatest number shaped modern ethical decision-making. Bolland examines women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and animal welfare, helping clarify how Utilitarian ideas influence debates about justice and equality. This work helps explain the philosophy’s lasting impact and points toward a clearer understanding of the moral choices that shape everyday life. Series: "Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 41699]

Jim Wallace's family-run farm and business have relied on UC Davis research on bean varieties for more than 60 years. UC Davis researchers have developed drought and pest-resistant bean varieties that Wallace counts on to stay competitive in an international market. Series: "UC Davis News" [Public Affairs] [Agriculture] [Show ID: 41735]

U.S.-China relations affect global stability in important ways. Graham Allison, Professor of Government at Harvard Kennedy School, explains how the Thucydides’ Trap shapes the challenge of managing competition between the two countries. Allison examines strategic stability, the Xi-Trump summit, and the promise and limits of a new paradigm for major-country relations, helping clarify whether the U.S. and China can avoid conflict. Allison is joined by Molly Roberts, UC San Diego Director of the 21st Century China Center, to further explore this relationship. This conversation helps explain the stakes of their rivalry and points toward the possibilities and limits of constructive strategic stability. Series: "Global Policy and Strategy" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 41703]

What is a decision, and why does decision-making matter in politics, history, war, and public life? This panel examines how decisions differ from choices, when decisions become political, and how theories of rational choice, game theory, cognitive bias, neuroscience, and emotion shape our understanding of judgment. They explore how constitutional, legal, cultural, and social frameworks influence government decision-making, with special attention to decisions for or against war. And they trace how history uses moments of decision to explain sovereignty, leadership, democracy, authoritarianism, and crises such as climate change. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 41450]

Decision-making in history affects how societies understand power, responsibility, and change. Sir Christopher Clark, Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge, explains how narratives turn moments of decision into markers of sovereignty and political action. Clark examines real and ostensible decisions, deterministic political environments, and modern pressures from democracy, authoritarianism, and climate change, helping clarify why deciding can become harder over time. This work helps explain how historical narratives shape political judgment and points toward a more careful understanding of choice, power, and consequence. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 41449]

Political decision-making affects governments and societies in important ways. Sir Christopher Clark, Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge, explains how choices become decisions within political, legal, and cultural systems. Clark examines rational choice theory, cognitive bias, and decisions about war, helping clarify how power acts under pressure. This work helps explain why decisions are never purely abstract and points toward a richer understanding of political judgment. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 41448]

Rome survived for 2,000 years. Edward Watts explores the long history of the Roman state and the lessons it offers for the modern world. From its beginnings as a small Italian city-state to its transformation into a Christian empire centered in Constantinople, Rome maintained a remarkable sense of political continuity across centuries of cultural and religious change. Watts examines how Roman institutions adapted over time and how the Fourth Crusade and capture of Constantinople ultimately destroyed the foundations that sustained the state for generations. Watts highlights the importance of resilient institutions and the dangers of disrupting the systems that preserve political stability and continuity. Series: "Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 41602]

In an age obsessed with expertise, certainty, and endless self-optimization, author and journalist Simone Stolzoff invites audiences to rediscover the power of curiosity, humility, and not having all the answers. His new book, How to Not Know, challenges the cultural pressure to define ourselves by what we do or what we know—and instead celebrates the richness of uncertainty as a pathway to creativity, empathy, and authentic connection. [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 41267]

Award-winning historian Jules Gill-Peterson examines transgender identity and politics through the lens of American liberalism, arguing that anti-transgender politics cannot be understood by analyzing conservatism alone. She traces the emergence of transgender identity from middle-class cross-dressing cultures, the development of transgender medicine, and the class tensions surrounding transition. Gill-Peterson connects this history to U.S. v. Skrmetti, the vulnerability of transition-related health care, and what she describes as liberal discomfort with dysphoria and changing sex. She calls for a politics centered on defending transsexual people and a right to transition. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 41447]

Widely regarded as one of the most respected figures in American broadcast journalism, Judy Woodruff is known for her decades-long career covering politics and current events. She is also the author of the book, This Is Judy Woodruff at the White House. Renowned for her calm, balanced reporting and commitment to journalistic integrity, Woodruff has covered every U.S. presidential election since 1976. A former anchor and managing editor of the PBS NewsHour, she now travels the country reporting for America at a Crossroads. Woodruff joins host Dean Nelson for a engaging conversation at Point Loma Nazarene University. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 41203]

Families with disabled students often face extra out-of-pocket costs—costs they wouldn’t have if their child weren’t disabled—to secure the same education other students receive for free, yet tax relief for those expenses is limited and unclear. Garret Hoff, J.D., argues that Internal Revenue Code Section 213 and its interpretations reflect a time when disabled people were not viewed as worth public money to educate, leaving families with arbitrary distinctions under the medical expense deduction. Hoff recommends the IRS revise Treasury Regulation 1.213-1(e)(1)(v)(a) to recognize a broader reading of Section 213, and he urges Congress to amend Section 529A, created by the ABLE Act, to lift contribution limits and make contributions tax deductible so families can fund qualified disability expenses through ABLE accounts. Hoff adds that lasting access and justice require cultural change, not only tax revisions. Series: "Autism Tree Project Annual Neuroscience Conference" [Public Affairs] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41178]

Contemporary populism is almost everywhere; a right wing phenomena that focuses on a politics of white working class grievance. A set of grievances that are to be addressed, when in power, with policies of expulsion, exclusion, and domination. Attempts by liberal states to deal with such movements paradoxically rely on a similar politics of exclusion, such as building so-called firewalls against the right, which are themselves deeply anti-democratic. Mark Blyth, professor of international economics at Brown University, says that given that these grievances are based on real social and economic problems that have blighted working class communities across the world, can a liberal polity address such grievances in a more positive way? Or must it, to protect itself, similarly exclude and dominate such parties, movements and such grievances? Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 41069]