Speaker Series & Town Halls

Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky at an OLLI speaker event

Throughout the year, OLLI @Berkeley showcases leading figures on campus and in their fields discussing some of the most pressing issues of our time. Some of these events are for members only and others are free and open to the public. Browse our archive below or visit our YouTube channel.

View Upcoming Events

Speaker Series

 PRESENTATIONS ON YOUTUBE

• The Impunity of Official Disinformation, with attorney Jeffrey Ruch, Director of Pacific PEER
• The Science and Policy of Energy and Climate Justice, with Berkeley professor Daniel Kammen
• From Constraint to Creativity: Understanding Resilience on Our Planet and in Our Lives, with Berkeley professor Bree Rosenblum
• Economics and Politics of the 2024 Election, with economist Jon Haveman and professor Howard Schweber
• The First Amendment is NOT a Suicide Pact with Lowell Bergman, Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist and co-founder of the Center for Investigative Reporting 
• Pursuing the 17th Century Irish Healer, Valentine Greatrakes with Leonard Pitt, author and educator
• Governance and Development in the Arab World with Raed Charafeddine, a former first vice-governor at Lebanon's central bank
• Naming the Enemy: Trumpism and the Rise of Authoritarian Rule with Lawrence Rosenthal, UC Berkeley
• Energy Innovation: What It is and How to Accelerate It with Daniel Kammen, UC Berkeley 
• Russia's War on Ukraine: An Update with Anstasia Edel and Michael Baker 
• The Role of Christianity in Modern U.S. History with David Hollinger, professor emeritus, UC Berkeley
• Defining Moments: What Shapes Our Lives with Riane Eisler and Belvie Rooks 
• Archeology of Memory with Amalia Mesa-Bains, groundbreaking artist and culture critic
• Defamation and Disinformation: Falsity as a Political Issue with Bill Turner, attorney, UC Berkeley
• Education Gag Orders and Higher Education with Jeremy Young, PEN America
• American Midnight: The Forgotten Crisis of Our Democracy, 1917-1921, with Adam Hochschild, award-winning journalist, author and Berkeley lecturer
• The Enduring Power of Connecting the Generations with Marc Freedman, CoCEO and Founder of CoGenerate
• Mark Twain Revealed: A Conversation on Twain's Autobiography and Other Revelations with Bob Hirst and Linda Haverty Rugg, UC Berkeley 
• Ukraine: What's Happening Now and What Might Happen Next with Dr. Michael Baker and Anastasia Edel
• Becoming God in Ancient Egypt: Beliefs in Life After Death with Rita Lucarelli, UC Berkeley
• Is the American Dream a Nordic Reality? with Robert Strand, executive director of the Nordic Center, UC Berkeley
• Russia's invasion of Ukraine with Professor Emeritus George Breslauer and economics professor Yuriy Gorodnichenko, UC Berkeley
• Robert Full on Bio-Inspired Design: Compressed Cockroaches, Gliding Geckos, and Smart Squirrels, Professor, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley
• Amy Eva on Caring for Ourselves: The Science of Emotional Resilience, Associate Education Director, Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley
• Bill Sokol on The American Rescue Plan Act: $1.9 Trillion Where and When It's Needed, labor lawyer and San Francisco State Lecturer
• Robert Strand on Building a Resilient Society: The Case of Nordic Caplitalism, Executive Director, Center for Responsible Business, UC Berkeley
• George Breslauer on the myths and realities of Putin's Russia, professor emeritus, UC Berkeley
• Mary Hughes on "Our Winning Women: Lessons to Hurry History," founder, Close the Gap CA
• Harry Chotiner and Michael Fox on what happened to the movies in 2020, noted film historians and critics
• Erik Peper on how to stop technology from hijacking our lives, professor of holistic health, San Francisco State University
• Annice Jacoby on street art in an age of pandemic, protest and politics, artist, activist and author 
• Allison Harvey on how to improve sleep, Director of the Golden Bear Sleep and Mood Research Clinic, UC Berkeley
• Deirdre English on how journalists view the #MeToo Movement, lecturer, UC Berkeley, and former Editor-in-Chief of Mother Jones 

Town Halls

OLLI @Berkeley Town Halls provide a forum for members and guest speakers to discuss, challenge and better understand issues impacting our communities, country and world.

 PRESENTATIONS ON YOUTUBE

• Town Hall: "After the Election: A World in Crisis" with Isaac Chotiner, Harley Shaiken, Beverly Crawford, Michael Baker and Darren Zook
• Town Hall: Post-Election Wrap-Up with Adam and Arlie Hochschild, Bill Sokol, Michael Baker, Sandra Bass and Darren Zook
• Let's Get Engaged: Strategies of Civic Engagement for the 2024 Election with Thomas Oliphant, Robert Brandon, Shannon Thomas, Susan Driscoll, and Darren Zook
• What We Say, What They Hear: How to Talk Politics and History in the Era of Cancel Culture with Tamim Ansary, Cynthia Kaufman, and Darren Zook
• Addressing Berkeley's History with Tony Platt, Nazune Menke and Seth Davis, UC Berkeley
• We the People: Law, Order and Justice in America with Darren Zook, professor, UC Berkeley
• The Role of Universities in Defending Democracy with Ira Harkavy, Director of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania and Sandra Bass, Associate Dean of Students and Director of the Public Service Center at UC Berkeley; facilitated by Brian Murphy, associate, Center for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley, and president emeritus at De Anza College
• Understanding Others: Charting a Better Path Toward Diversity and Social Justice with Sandra Bass, Tamim Ansary and Darren Zook
• Truth: Who Frames It? Who Speaks It? Who Owns It? with Sandra Bass, Michael Fox, Carlos Torres and Darren Zook
• A Path to Unity: American Democracy, Social Trust and Civil Society with Geeta Anand, Sandra Bass, Eliah Bures, David Hollinger and Darren Zook
• And So It Begins: What to Expect from the Biden/Harris Administration with Dan Kammen, Devorah Major, Deborah Gold, Robert Strand and Darren Zook

America's Unfinished Work Series

Launched in the summer of 2020, our America's Unfinished Work series features presentations by influential figures engaged in the examination and eradication of systemic racism to create a more humane, just and equal society. 

 PRESENTATIONS ON YOUTUBE

• Flipping the Script: Challenging the Arguments Against Black Reparations with Don Tamaki, a member of the CA Black Reparations Task Force
• The Black-White Wealth Gap with Jon Haveman, Executive Director of the National Economic Education Delegation (NEED)
• Ebony Visions & Cowrie Shell Dreams: A Journey Through Black Children's Literature with Daphne Muse, UC Berkeley, and devorah major, poet, educator and author
• "How Did We Get Here?:" Violence in Asian American Histories with Catherine Ceniza Choy, professor of Ethnic Studies and Associate Dean of DEIBJ, UC Berkeley
• Causes and Consequences of Racial Profiling with Jack Glaser, professor of public policy, UC Berkeley
• Bans on Inclusive Education with Emerson Sykes, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project
• Voter Suppression with Abdi Soltani, Executive Director of the ACLU of Northern California
• Defund Fear: Safety without Policing, Prisons and Punishment with Zach Norris, Executive Director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
• Native American Repatriations at UC Berkeley with Linda Haverty Rugg, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, UC Berkeley
• The Case for Reparations with Charles Henry, Professor Emeritus, UC Berkeley
• Critical Race Theory and Current Issues with Khiara Bridges, professor, UC Berkeley School of Law
• The Rise of the Far Right with Larry Rosenthal, founder and chair of the UC Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies
• The Neglected Toll of Violence on Black America with Elliott Currie, professor, UC Irvine 

Climate Change & the Environment

We regularly host preeminent researchers, scientists and policy advocates at the forefront of fighting the climate crisis and its extreme impacts. 

 PRESENTATIONS ON YOUTUBE

• What is the Just Transition?: Climate Science and the Fight for Justice with Dan Kammen, Distinguished Professor and Director of Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, UC Berkeley
• The Hard Part: Turning Climate Solutions into Policy at Scale with Ken Alex, Director of Project Climate at Berkeley's Center for Law, Energy, & the Environment.
• Understanding Wildfire and its Impact on California with John Battles, Professor of Forest Ecology, UC Berkeley,
• Finding Hope (for Biodiversity Conversation) in an Era of Rapid Global Change with Erica Bree Rosenblum, evolutionary anthropologist and professor, UC Berkeley
• The Clean Energy Transition and COP26 with Dan Kammen, Distinguished Professor and Director of Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, UC Berkeley
• The EPA Reset with Alexis Strauss Hacker, former EPA acting regional administrator and Michelle Roos, Executive Director of the Environment Protection Network
• How to move climate solutions forward faster with Ken Alex, Director of Project Climate, UC Berkeley
• The Green Revolution with Dan Kammen, Distinguished Professor and Director of Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, UC Berkeley

Listen to Podcasts

We are delighted that a number of OLLI presentations have been showcased on Berkeley Talks, a UC Berkeley news podcast.

• Russia's invasion of Ukraine with Professor Emeritus George Breslauer and economics professor Yuriy Gorodnichenko, UC Berkeley
• Erica Bree Rosenblum on Finding Hope for Biodiversity Conversation, professor, UC Berkeley
• Town Hall: "A Path to Unity: American Democracy, Social Trust and Civil Society", UC Berkeley's Geeta Anand, Sandra Bass, Eliah Bures, David Hollinger
• Linda Rugg on Native American Repatriation at UC Berkeley, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, UC Berkeley
• Bill Sokol on the American Rescue Plan Act labor lawyer and San Francisco State Lecturer
• Charles Henry on the Case for Reparations, professor emeritus of African American studies, UC Berkeley
• Kate O'Neill on the global politics of waste, professor, UC Berkeley
• Harry Chotiner on the state of American Cinema, film historian and educator
• Beverly Crawford on the lies told about immigrants, Professor Emerita, UC Berkeley
• Randy Schekman on new Parkinson's research, Noble laureate and Professor Emeritus, UC Berkeley
• David Raulet on the revolution of cancer immunology, immunologist and professor, UC Berkeley