Category Archives: Podcasts

June 11, 2012 – The 2011 to 2012 Academic year has been a turbulent one for history professor Teofilo Ruiz.

Between meeting President Barack Obama, visiting his native Cuba (for the first time since fleeing during the chaos of the Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961), publishing three books and severing his Achilles’ heel, Teo has had a year filled with personal excitement and emotion.

But amid these personal ventures, a feature that stands out this past year among others he has spent at UCLA is the current budget crisis affecting the UC system and its devastating impact on the humanities.

[4:15]

This story is part of the Daily Bruin’s 2012 Graduation Issue.

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June 11, 2012 – Ice skating and family tension, anyone?

Evan Johnson and Jennifer La met at a scholarship competition their senior year of high school and started dating their freshman year. They bonded over an ice skating trip during their first quarter at UCLA and now, almost four years later, they’re preparing to graduate.

Throughout the course of their time together at UCLA, they’ve fallen in love and learned about each other’s cultures and families.

Johnson is a fourth-year Geography/Environmental Studies student and La is a fourth-year Geography student and former Daily Bruin designer.

[2:51]

This story is part of the Daily Bruin’s 2012 Graduation Issue.

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May 29, 2012 – Released today, “What We Saw From the Cheap Seats” is Regina Spektor’s sixth studio album.

It’s full of classic Regina Spektor moments – adorable, unexpected, even strange ones – but Spektor ultimately struggles to make listeners feel.

[3:57]

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May 25, 2012 – To battle the loneliness that sometimes comes with living in the dorms, transfer student Kate turned to betta fish to offer her companionship. She later turned her love for fish into a business, selling betta fish and starter kits out of her dorm room.

Although her customers loved their fish and often brought their suitemates to buy some too, not everyone was as happy with Kate’s business.

For these reasons, Kate’s last name as well as those of her roommate and customer have been withheld to preserve anonymity.

[3:00]

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May 17, 2012 – Many things have been lost in Afghanistan over the course of a decade of war, but traditional music is not one of them. That is thanks in part to a group of people working to preserve it at the Fowler Museum.

The museum holds a monthly world music event in conjunction with existing exhibits, and April was the month to showcase the sounds of Afghanistan.

The event featured Afghan-American musician Ariana Delawari, who has been traveling back and forth between Afghanistan and Los Angeles for a decade.

[3:25]

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In a study published in February by Dr. Itzhak Fried, postdoctoral fellow Nanthia Suthana and their colleagues, they discovered that deep brain stimulation (DBS) might have the ability to improve the memory of individuals suffering from memory-impairing ailments. Deep brain stimulation is the process of implanting electrodes in a patient’s brain during their time spent in the hospital for epilepsy treatment. Dr. Hugh T. Blair, UCLA associate professor of behavioral neuroscience, explains that deep brain stimulation is just starting down the path toward fixing impaired memory, but there is still a long way to go.

[4:29]

May 4, 2012 – The Ten Thousand is this year’s closing act in Spring Sing, UCLA’s annual talent showcase. The band has been playing together for about a year, and their sound has yet to be completely formed. Get to know the bandmates, find out about what direction the band wants to go in musically and hear some of Westwood’s own original music.

The Band:
Kevin Daye (UCLA alumnus, philosophy) – Lead Vocals, Guitarist, Harmonica
Dylan Robin (third-year, psychology) – Vocals, Lead Guitar
Garrett Harney (graduating third-year, psychology) – Drums
Satoru Yamamoto (first-year, geospatial studies/comparative literature) – Keyboard, Vocals
Nathan Kersey-Wilson (third-year, ethnomusicology) – Bass Guitar, Flute, Vocals

[3:23]

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