Back-to-School Night, OLLI-Style: Come One and All!

Special Event

Back-to-School Night, OLLI-Style: Come One and All!

Thursday, September 10, 2026
Thursday, September 10, 2026

Join us for our second annual Back-to-School Night, OLLI-style, at Fieldwork Brewery in West Berkeley at 1160 6th Street on Thursday, Sept. 10, at 4PM — a fun chance to socialize and sip as we gear up for the start of our fall term. New members, please come at 3:30 PM for a special welcome just for you! As with all Happy Hour gatherings, you're responsible for your own drink and food orders. Street parking is available and the 12-Bus runs right past. No need to RSVP. All are welcome! Hope to see you there. Thank you to OLLI's Member Engagement Committee for organizing.

Back-to-School Night, OLLI-Style: Come One and All!

Fall Preview: All are Welcome!

Special Event

Fall Preview: All are Welcome!

Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Join us for our Fall Preview — a great opportunity to hear from faculty and meet and mingle with members and staff as we gear up for the start of a new academic year. Want to chat about upcoming courses? Now's the time! Get a feel for the community? Come on over! Learn about ways to get involved? You bet. You can even register on the spot! Fall courses start in mid-September through mid-October, in person and online. Many are recorded, too. Whether you're OLLI-curious or a longtime member, we'd love to see you. And bring a friend!

🍁 Details 

  • Wednesday, Sep. 9, 10:30–noon
  • 1995 University Ave., Suite 202/204 (2nd floor), Berkeley
  • Faculty (we're still finalizing the lineup) will speak briefly beginning at 11 AM
  • We’re just a hop from a bus stop and a short stroll from the Downtown Berkeley BART station
  • Paid parking is available on site (enter via an alley between Milvia and MLK Jr. Way) and on neighboring streets
  • All are welcome! 
Fall Preview: All are Welcome!

Faculty Q&A: Lowry Yankwich on the Enduring Magic of the Bach's Goldberg Variations

Lowry Yankwich is an award-winning podcaster, pianist, and lawyer. His podcasts, “30 Bach” and “The Tonic,” probe music’s place in history, society, and others’ lives. He has taught music and podcasting at Harvard, Stanford, and Temple University. He is teaching “Bach’s Muse: The Goldberg Variations” with us this fall.

Solano Stroll: Stop By Our Table

Special Event

Solano Stroll: Stop By Our Table

Sunday, September 13, 2026
Sunday, September 13, 2026

Stop by our table at the always-fun — and always-packed — Solano Stroll on Sunday, Sept. 13, from 10 AM–5 PM. We'll be in front of 1746 Solano Ave., so come say hi! We'll have fall brochures, good cheer, great info, hopefully-not-melting candy, and some snazzy pens at the ready.

Solano Stroll: Stop By Our Table

Fall Term Begins

Special Event

Fall Term Begins

Monday, September 14, 2026
Monday, September 14, 2026

Join us for dozens of courses that dive deep into history, politics, music, literature, film, law, and more. All taught by Berkeley faculty and other top scholars. Not an OLLI member? Let’s fix that! Learn about the many benefits of membership — access to 100+ courses per year, speaker events, field trips, town halls, socials, and more — plus a special offer for new members and our fee assistance program.

Fall Term Begins

Vaccines for Older Adults: Staying Protected As You Age, with Dr. Deborah Gold

Speaker Series

Vaccines for Older Adults: Staying Protected As You Age, with Dr. Deborah Gold

Friday, October 2, 2026
Friday, October 2, 2026

Staying up to date on vaccines is especially important for older adults. Yet today, recommendations about which vaccines to get — and when — have been blunted and blurred. Dr. Deborah Gold will discuss the key vaccines for older adults, followed by ample time for Q&A.

About the Speaker

Dr. Deborah Gold spent more than three decades in infectious disease medicine, working on the front lines of major public health crises including HIV/AIDS, H1N1 influenza, Ebola, SARS, and COVID-19. She also served as a hospital epidemiologist and trained numerous medical residents, and continues to support providers in underserved U.S. communities through the MAVEN Project.

About OLLI

OLLI at UC Berkeley is a vibrant, member-driven community dedicated to connection and intellectual engagement. We offer 100+ courses per year, speaker events, field trips, socials and more. Learn about membership.

Event Details

  • Friday, October 2, 10:30–11:30 AM
  • Free and open to all
  • The event will be livestreamed and recorded
  • The Zoom link will be included in the registration confirmation email, and in a reminder email sent before the event
  • The video will be shared with registrants as soon as it's captioned — typically in about a week.
Vaccines for Older Adults: Staying Protected As You Age, with Dr. Deborah Gold

Inflation and the Federal Reserve, with Martha Olney

Speaker Series

Inflation and the Federal Reserve, with Martha Olney

Friday, September 25, 2026
Friday, September 25, 2026

Join us for a look at one of today’s most pressing economic challenges: rising costs. Professor Martha Olney offers an accessible overview of what drives inflation, how its effects vary across households and sectors, and why effective remedies are often limited. She’ll also explore the difficult policy tradeoffs facing the Federal Reserve as it works to balance inflation and unemployment — shedding light on the choices that shape the broader economy and our everyday lives.

About the Speaker

Martha Olney is Teaching Professor Emerita from the Economics Department at Berkeley, where she taught for thirty years. Olney was particularly well known for her teaching of Econ 1 in Wheeler Auditorium. She is the author of Inflation (MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series, 2025) as well as several textbooks and academic articles. 

About OLLI

OLLI at UC Berkeley is a vibrant, member-driven community dedicated to connection and intellectual engagement. We offer 100+ courses per year, speaker events, field trips, socials and more. Learn about membership.

Event Details

  • Friday, September 25, 10:30–11:30 AM
  • Free and open to all
  • The event will be livestreamed and recorded
  • The Zoom link will be included in the registration confirmation email, and in a reminder email sent before the event
  • The video will be shared with registrants as soon as it's captioned — typically in about a week.
Inflation and the Federal Reserve, with Martha Olney

OLLI Goes to the Movies: The Mill Valley Film Festival Experience

Course

OLLI Goes to the Movies: The Mill Valley Film Festival Experience

Friday, October 9, 2026
Friday, October 9, 2026
A leaping red-stripped carton of popcorn flying in the air

Step into the buzz of the 49th annual Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF)! In this second-annual collaboration between OLLI and the California Film Institute, you’ll go behind the scenes with a festival insider — then experience the magic firsthand with a shared day of film in Mill Valley.

 

The adventure starts with an online preview session led by Karen Davis, senior film programmer emerita of the MVFF, who will introduce the two featured films and reveal how a world-class festival lineup comes together. Then you'll head to the Festival to watch both films with fellow OLLI members — immersing yourself in the energy, conversation and discovery that define MVFF. Expect standout selections from the international festival circuit — fiction, documentary or premieres — with the possibility of guest filmmakers in attendance. Seats are limited! 

 

🍿 Part 1: The Preview

  • Friday, Sept. 18, 10:30–noon

  • Learn about the films and the filmmakers, plus what goes into programming an international film festival. 

  • This session will be livestreamed and recorded.

🍿 Part 2: The Festival

  • Friday, Oct. 9, 11 AM–TBD

  • Spend the day at MVFF! We’ll gather in Mill Valley, watch two films together, and enjoy a break between screenings to relax, reflect and connect.

  • Film-goers are responsible for their own transportation.

Showtimes, titles and more details about the day will be announced as soon as the Festival lineup is finalized. 

OLLI Goes to the Movies: The Mill Valley Film Festival Experience

Fall Registration Opens

Special Event

Fall Registration Opens

Monday, July 13, 2026
Monday, July 13, 2026

Join us for dozens of new courses that dive deep into history, politics, music, literature, film, law, the environment, and more. All taught by Berkeley faculty and other top scholars. Fall registration opens Monday, July 13 at 9 AM. Many courses — in person in Berkeley and online — begin the week of September 14, with a second wave launching in mid-October. Not an OLLI member yet? Let’s fix that! Learn about the many benefits of membership — access to 100+ courses per year, speaker events, field trips, town halls, vital aging workshops, socials, and more — plus a special offer for new members and our fee assistance program.

Fall Registration Opens

Reconnecting Democracy: The Phoenix Goes Global and Political

Course

Reconnecting Democracy: The Phoenix Goes Global and Political

Thursday, October 29, 2026
Thursday, November 12, 2026
Hands being raised against a red background

Prevailing political theory tells us that democracies thrive in cooperative environments. In short, democracies work best when they play well together. Yet over the past decade or so, many democratic partnerships and alliances have grown apart and atrophied, thereby weakening the “brand” of democracy on the global stage. Is this slow decay irreversible? Or is there a possibility for the rebuilding of democratic partnerships and alliances on the global stage in a way that ensures the vibrancy and longevity of global democracy? This course argues strongly in the affirmative.

Faculty Bio

Darren Zook teaches in political science and global studies at UC Berkeley. His areas of interest include comparative politics, human rights and international law. He has received numerous teaching awards for his creativity in the classroom, and was recently named one of the “Top Ten Most Inspiring Professors at UC Berkeley” by College Magazine. He lectures all around the world, and has published six books.

This is a Livestreamed + Recorded Course

  • Classes will stream live on the scheduled day and time
  • Classes will also be video recorded
  • You must be a current OLLI @Berkeley member to register. Learn about membership, including our fee assistance program

Schedule Highlights

  • Course starts on Thursday, Oct. 29, and ends on Thursday, Nov. 12
  • Classes meet for 3 weeks, 2 hours per session (10 AM–noon)
  • All course materials will be available in Member Dashboards through Dec. 31

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

Reconnecting Democracy: The Phoenix Goes Global and Political
Subscribe to