Journey Of The Universe: Conversations

A conversation with Joel Primack, Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz. Questions discussed: How did our universe emerge? Did it expand? And where did stars and galaxies come from? What is "cold dark matter" and "dark energy"?

Conversations with Todd Duncan, Ph.D, Astrophysics, University of Chicago and Joel Primack, Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz. Questions discussed: How did galaxies form? What are the shapes of these galaxies? How did the Milky Way emerge?

Conversations with Joel Primack, Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz and Todd Duncan, Ph.D, Astrophysics, University of Chicago. Questions discussed: What are stars? How are they birthed? How do they die? And what is a supernova explosion? How does this explosion give rise to the elements that form life itself.

A conversation with Craig Kochel, Emeritus Professor of Geology, Bucknell University. Questions discussed: How did our solar system come about? How did the Moon originate? What is the creative role of plate tectonics? How does geology impact Earth's biology?

Conversations with Ursula Goodenough, Emerita Professor of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis and Terrence Deacon, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley. Questions discussed: How did the first cells emerge? What characterizes them? How do we explain the patterning found in DNA and in multicellular organisms?

A conversation with Terrence Deacon, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley. Questions discussed: How did the brain evolve over time from single cell organisms to vertebrates? What is consciousness and responsiveness? How can we compare the adaptive brains of humans, chimpanzees, and our many evolutionary ancestors?

A conversation with Scott Sampson, President, Science World, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Discover the compelling story of Earth's fossil record. What were the ecosystems of dinosaurs? How did humans co-evolve with other species? What are mass extinctions?

Conversations with John Grim, Senior Lecturer and Research Scholar, Yale University and Melissa Nelson, President, The Cultural Conservancy; Professor, San Francisco State University. John and Melissa explore the history of early humans in relation to kinship with land and animals. Contemporary indigenous life-ways are also highlighted, especially the sustaining power of rituals.

A conversation with Cynthia Brown, Emerita Professor of History, Dominican University of California. Cynthia describes the "big history" beyond simply human history that includes cosmic, Earth, and human evolution. She highlights eight key threshold moments of evolutionary change from universe emergence and solar systems to life forms, including humans.

A conversation with Carl Anthony, Co-founder, Breakthrough Communities Project, Oakland, CA. Carl tells how the universe story expanded his own understanding of social and environmental justice. With a focus on urban areas, he explains how sustainable community development can be enhanced within an inclusive universe story.

A conversation with Richard Register, Founder, Ecocity Builders, Berkeley, CA. Richard emphasizes the importance of organic and whole-city perspectives for creating liveable cities. He highlights the imaginative ways in which cities are being rethought and rebuilt around the planet for a flourishing future.

A conversation with Richard Norgaard, Emeritus Professor of Ecological Economics, University of California, Berkeley. Dick surveys the history of economics and the mistaken assumptions of current ecological principles and practices. In place of our ecologically destructive practices, he endorses an ecological economics that emphasizes care, co-evolution, and environment protection.

A conversation with Penny Livingston, Regenerative Design Institute, Commonweal, Bolinas, CA. Penny leads viewers through the history and significance of permaculture. She discusses permaculture as an agricultural practice that increases biodiversity and helps us to understand our place in the story of the universe.

Conversations with David Begay, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northern Arizona University and Nancy Maryboy, President and Founder of the Indigenous Education Institute. David and Nancy invite us to understand Navajo ways of knowing. They describe a worldview that is place-based, emphasizes kinship and connection, and intimately orients the human within an interrelated and unified cosmos.

A conversation with Paula Gonzalez, SC, Emerita Professor, Biology, College of Mt St Joseph, Cincinnati; Founder, EarthConnection Center. Paula Gonzalez narrates the efforts of Catholic sisters to harness solar power and other natural systems as a means of protecting the Earth community and participating in the story of the universe.

A conversation with Belvie Rooks, Co-founder, Growing a Global Heart. Belvie describes how teaching the story of the universe has empowered African American youth to contextualize slavery, envision healing and reconciliation, and imagine a better future through a broader sense of self and place.

Conversations with Marya Grathwohl, Writer and Founder, Earth Hope, Wyoming and Drew Dellinger, Poet and Founder, Planetize the Movement. Marya Grathwohl and Drew Dellinger explore poetry and activism, along with the study of ecology and ritual as shared visions of creative transformation that are inspired by the journey of the universe.

Conversations with Nancy Abrams, co-author with Joel Primack, View from the Center of the Universe and Sachiko Kawaura, Department of Psychology and Human Relations, Nanzan University, Japan. Nancy and Sachiko highlight the role of myth, metaphor, and art in broadening and deepening our understanding of human identity within a cosmological context.

Conversations with Tom Collins, teacher, Religion and Philosophy, Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, NJ and Bindhu Mohanty, writer and teacher, Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, India. Tom and Bindu describe how learning the universe story has allowed high school and college students to experience an expanded sense of self and to transform despair into a sense of hope and empowerment.