[Intergenerational Dialogue] It's the Economy, Stupid

Special Event

[Intergenerational Dialogue] It's the Economy, Stupid

Friday, April 4, 2025
Friday, April 4, 2025

The economy. Consistently named as the most important issue in the 2024 US elections, perhaps no other issue has such a differential impact and experience by generation. Whether it is the perception that the world is ruled by billionaire oligarchs, or the despair of younger Americans who feel that no matter how hard they work they will never get ahead, the fairness of global capitalism is in doubt. 

This Words Over Time intergenerational dialogue between OLLI members and Cal undergraduates is intended to forge a civil discussion of the media that is engaging, innovative, transformative, and empowering. Facilitated by Berkeley's Darren Zook.

The Details

  • The dialogue will be held in person at OLLI HQ (1995 University Ave., Suite 365, Berkeley.) 
  • It will not be livestreamed nor recorded.
  • Limited to 24 members.
  • Members will be invited to continue the conversation with professor Zook and his students on campus in the week's following the meeting.

[Free for members • $15 for Best of OLLI subscribers]

[Intergenerational Dialogue] It's the Economy, Stupid

[Vital Aging] A Guide to Hospice: When is the Right Time?, with Hanne Jensen-Male

Special Event

[Vital Aging] A Guide to Hospice: When is the Right Time?, with Hanne Jensen-Male

Thursday, April 10, 2025
Thursday, April 10, 2025

Hospice care is supportive care with the primary goals of comfort and quality of life for individuals with a terminal illness. In this month's Vital Aging Forum, Hanne Jensen-Male will provide an overview of hospice benefits and the emotional impact of end-of-life care for both patients and their loved ones.

About the Speaker

Hanne Jensen-Male has been a hospice nurse for more than three decades, providing direct patient care and training other nurses in the end-of-life journey.

[For members only • Online]

[Vital Aging] A Guide to Hospice: When is the Right Time?, with Hanne Jensen-Male

My Brother's Keeper: How America Abandoned Those with Mental Illness, with Nicholas Rosenlicht

Speaker Series

My Brother's Keeper: How America Abandoned Those with Mental Illness, with Nicholas Rosenlicht

Friday, April 11, 2025
Friday, April 11, 2025

Mental illness is something that touches all of us in some way, if not directly through those we know and love, then through what we may see and experience in our day-to-day lives. Dr. Nicholas Rosenlicht will provide an overview of how mental illness and its treatment has been excluded from American healthcare — and from society as a whole — and propose an effective and compassionate new framework for healing. 

About the Speaker

Dr. Nicholas Rosenlicht has over 40 years experience in the treatment of psychiatric disorders and the teaching of psychiatry. He is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCSF and the author of My Brother's Keeper, published in 2024.

[Free and open to all • Livestreamed + recorded]

My Brother's Keeper: How America Abandoned Those with Mental Illness, with Nicholas Rosenlicht

Beatles Singalong 2025: A Musicganza & Fundraiser

Special Event

Beatles Singalong 2025: A Musicganza & Fundraiser

Sunday, March 23, 2025
Sunday, March 23, 2025

Channel your inner Fab Four at OLLI @Berkeley's third annual Beatles Singalong: A Musicganza & Fundraiser! Come ready to SING dozens of your faves, plus revel in backstories, games, quizzes, and a whole lot of fun with "The Quarry Persons” featuring Joe Cadora, Carol Curtis, Lisa Goulder and OLLI faculty favorite Pete Elman. Invite family, friends, neighbors, colleagues — anyone, any age — to join you for a rollickin' good time. It’s all happening on Sunday, March 23, 1–3 PM at Freight & Salvage in downtown Berkeley.

Tickets 

  • 🐤 Early Bird Special: $30 (through February 28; $35 starting March 1)
  • 🎟️ OLLI Fan: $50 (includes the show + goody bag)
  • 🎟️ Keeper of OLLI: $100 (includes the show + BIG goody bag + your name listed as an event sponsor)

If you can’t come but want to support the important work of OLLI @Berkeley — which includes providing more than 100 full-membership scholarships — you can donate right here and now. Thank you!

About OLLI @Berkeley

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UC Berkeley is a one-of-a-kind learning community for one-of-a-kind learners, ages 50+ (but we don't card!) We offer 100+ courses per year taught by Berkeley faculty and other scholars, plus speaker events, field trips, intergenerational dialogues, town halls, socials, and more. All are welcome to join!

Details, Details

  • Lobby doors open at 12 PM
  • Showroom doors open at 12:30 PM
  • Show starts at 1 PM
  • Freight & Salvage is at 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA 94704
  • This is an in-person-only shindig
  • Beer, wine and other beverages plus noshes available for purchase at the Freight 🍺🍪🥨
  • All are welcome — including children!
  • You may purchase up to 9 tickets at once!
Beatles Singalong 2025: A Musicganza & Fundraiser

What Are You Looking For?

“What are you looking for?” It’s a simple question, but when asked by Sayuri Komachi, Tokyo’s most intriguing librarian, in "What You Are Looking For Is in the Library" by Michiko Aoyama, it opens the door to something much deeper—self-discovery and change.

The Nordic Countries (Best of OLLI)

Course

The Nordic Countries (Best of OLLI)

Monday, February 10, 2025
Saturday, May 31, 2025
Row of houses in Norway

The Nordic lands have always followed something of a separate path from the rest of Europe, but aside from a few general reference points — the Vikings, Abba, and the much-vaunted but largely misunderstood “Nordic model” welfare state — much of what makes the Nordic lands unique remains a mystery. This course will explore what links all of the Nordic lands — Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland — and what makes each distinctive.

Faculty Bio

Darren Zook teaches in political science and global studies at UC Berkeley. His areas of interest include comparative politics, human rights, international law, and cybersecurity. He has received numerous teaching awards for his creativity in the classroom, and most recently was named as one of the “Top Ten Most Inspiring Professors at UC Berkeley” by the popular online journal College Magazine. He has lectured all around the world and has traveled extensively in the course of his professional work. Zook has published six books, and is currently at work on a research project involving the politics of ice in the era of climate change.

This is a Best of OLLI Course

  • Best of OLLI subscription courses are popular courses recorded a previous term
  • All class videos will be available to enjoy immediately upon registering through May 31 in Member Dashboards. Learn more.
  • Course is available to Annual Plus, Premium Plus, Best of OLLI and Fee Assistance members. Learn about membership.
  • Current Annual and Premium members can upgrade to Annual Plus or Premium Plus for an additional $10

Member Praise for Darren Zook

Dr. Zook is one of the best teachers I've ever had and I'm 80!

Darren Zook is an amazing teacher. He's a well-organized, extremely knowledgeable, and always engaging.

I have taken several classes with Darren Zook and will take several more. His scope and depth of knowledge is extraordinary. And he is able to communicate it effectively and effortlessly. 

Faculty Q&A

The Nordic Countries (Best of OLLI)

Civility in America: What It Is, How We Lost It, and Why We Need to Get It Back (Best of OLLI)

Course

Civility in America: What It Is, How We Lost It, and Why We Need to Get It Back (Best of OLLI)

Monday, February 10, 2025
Saturday, May 31, 2025
Zook_Civility_SP25_BOO_800-1.png

Lurking underneath divisive partisanship in the United States is a fundamental problem that threatens the very fabric of the country: the loss of civility in political discourse. While many call for the restoration of civility, where do we start? This course explores three fundamental questions: What is civility? How did we lose it? And why do we need it back?

Faculty Bio

Darren Zook teaches in political science and global studies at UC Berkeley. His areas of interest include comparative politics, human rights, international law, and cybersecurity. He has received numerous teaching awards for his creativity in the classroom, and most recently was named as one of the “Top Ten Most Inspiring Professors at UC Berkeley” by the journal College Magazine. He has lectured all around the world and has traveled extensively in the course of his professional work. Zook has published six books, and is currently at work on a research project involving the politics of ice in the era of climate change.

This is a Best of OLLI Course

  • Best of OLLI subscription courses are popular courses recorded a previous term
  • Videos are available the moment you sign up through May 31 in Member Dashboards. Learn more.
  • Accessible to Annual Plus, Premium Plus, Best of OLLI and Fee Assistance members. Learn about membership.
  • Current Annual and Premium members can upgrade to Annual Plus or Premium Plus for an additional $10

Member Praise for Darren Zook

Dr. Zook is one of the best teachers I've ever had and I'm 80!

Darren Zook is an amazing teacher. He's a well-organized, extremely knowledgeable, and always engaging.

I have taken several classes with Darren Zook and will take several more. His scope and depth of knowledge is extraordinary. And he is able to communicate it effectively and effortlessly. 

Faculty Q&A

Civility in America: What It Is, How We Lost It, and Why We Need to Get It Back (Best of OLLI)

The Roberts Court: From Bad to Worse (Best of OLLI)

Course

The Roberts Court: From Bad to Worse (Best of OLLI)

Monday, February 10, 2025
Saturday, May 31, 2025
Supreme Court against a raging sky

This course is a series of four discussions with Bay Area attorney Bill Sokol about how the current Supreme Court is creating — or warping — social, economic, and cultural policies affecting us all. We will first revisit our Consitution, and then examine three of the many key areas in which the Court is trying to drive us all back into prior centuries.

On the Docket:

  • Week 1: Is the Constitution flawed? 
  • Week 2: The Attack on Democracy
  • Week 3: Reproductive Rights: Guest lecture by Cynthia Gorney, journalist and author of Articles of Faith
  • Week 4: What Is to Be Done?: Guest lecture by Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of Berkeley School of Law, one of our nation’s foremost Constitutional scholars, and the author of 20 books, most recently “No Democracy Lasts Forever”

Faculty Bio

Bill Sokol is a Bay Area labor and employment lawyer, a lecturer at SF State University, a gubernatorial appointee to the CalSavers Retirement Investment Board, and was a talk show host on Pacifica Radio for 25 years. He holds a J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law.

This is a Best of OLLI Course

  • Best of OLLI subscription courses are popular courses recorded a previous term
  • Videos are available the moment you sign up through May 31 in Member Dashboards. Learn more.
  • Accessible to Annual Plus, Premium Plus, Best of OLLI and Fee Assistance members. Learn about membership.
  • Current Annual and Premium members can upgrade to Annual Plus or Premium Plus for an additional $10

Member Praise for Bill Sokol

This class was GREAT! Bill Sokol really understood the topics his audience was interested in, he knew the BEST speakers to engage for each topic and he did a fabulous job of moderating the questions and engaging in relevant/smart conversation with the guest speakers.

I was a little cautious in taking this course as I thought it might be way above my head. Instead, everything was presented in a most intelligent, interesting, and understandable way.

The Roberts Court: From Bad to Worse (Best of OLLI)
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