UCLA LiveWell
Dr. Wendy Slusser of UCLA's Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center interviews leading experts about new perspectives on health and wellbeing. LiveWell champions an interdisciplinary and intersectional approach to health equity-- from food and climate, to social justice and emotional wellbeing.
With guests like Evan Kleiman, Peter Sellars, and Bob Thurman, we've set out to explore the many facets of what it means to live well.
Stop by our website to offer feedback or guest ideas, plus more to explore: https://www.healthy.ucla.edu/media/livewellpodcast/
Episodes
99 episodes
94: Do Animals Hold the Key to Healing? Ellie Laks on the Gentle Barn and Reciprocal Healing
What if the key to healing our own trauma was held by a rescued cow or a rehabilitated horse? On this episode of the LiveWell podcast, we speak with Ellie Laks, the visionary founder of The Gentle Barn. Ellie shares on her lifelong ...
93: The Reflex of Kindness: Lonnie Ali on Scaling Compassion and Sustaining a Legacy
In our latest LiveWell podcast episode, we sit down with Lonnie Ali, a dedicated advocate for Parkinson’s research, a champion of compassion, and widow to Muhammad Ali.Lonnie shares her personal journey from growing up across the street ...
92: Primal Intelligence: From Special Ops to Shakespeare
Our latest LiveWell podcast episode features an inspiring and deeply insightful conversation with Angus Fletcher, Professor of English at Ohio State University and a core member of Project Narrative.Angus shares his personal journey from...
91: The Power of Presence: Navigating Modern Stress with Mindfulness
Our latest LiveWell podcast episode features an inspiring and deeply insightful conversation with Diana Winston, the Director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC). Diana shares her personal journey from...
90: Rebuilding Belonging: The Power of Strengthening Our Social Muscles
Our latest LiveWell podcast episode features an inspiring and deeply insightful conversation with Kasley Killam, a leading expert in social health and author of The Art and Science of Connection: Why Social Health is the Missing Key to Livi...
Everyone’s a Futurist: Structuring Tomorrow’s Thinking
“It is possible to believe that all the past is but the beginning of a beginning… the twilight of the dawn.” – H.G. WellsBut how do we shape what comes next—and prepare for futures we can’t yet see?Join us for a compelling epi...
88: The Story of a Wildcat: Community Resilience and Cultural Connection
Our latest LiveWell podcast episode features an enlightening conversation with Dr. Dan Wildcat, a professor at Haskell Indian Nations University and a profound thinker on Indigenous perspectives of ecology, technology, and community. Dr. Wildca...
#77 (Re-Release), Part 2: A Culture of Care Peter Sellars
Original air date: March 1st, 2023Why is controversy a good thing? What does it mean to have five eyes? Why is there no such thing as spectatorship? This is what we set out to uncover in Part 2 of our Special Series with Pet...
#76 (Re-Release), Part 1: A Culture of Care with Peter Sellars
Original release date: February 16, 2023. Why were snakes at the original Olympics? How are the arts and sports intimately connected? How did the Greek tragedy come to be? We cover all of these questions in Part 1 of our Special 2 ...
87: Through Her Eyes: A Legacy of Healing and Social Innovation
Our latest episode of LiveWell features a powerful conversation with Dr. Eraka Bath, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA and a triple board-certified expert in child, adolescent, adult, and forensic psychiatry. Dr. Bath’s work profoundly impacts ...
86: The Power of Communication, Leadership and Lifelong Learning with Dr. Angela Fentiman
Our latest episode of LiveWell is a conversation with Dr. Angela Fentiman. An educator and executive communications leader at UCLA, where we explore how an early introduction to communication in service and civic duties, then roles in energy an...
85: Growing, Healing and Connecting through Gardening
What if healing didn’t start in a clinic—but in the soil?On the newest episode of LiveWell, we explore how nature, community, and purpose are transforming Veteran care with Dr. Kaitlyn Fruin, UCLA preventive medic...
Episode 84: Part 2 - Change how you think: Why we think how we do and our value system with Emily Falk
Welcome back for Part 2 and a sneak peek into Emily Falk's upcoming book, What We Value? Curious about why we make the choices we do? Want to explore how to make more intentional and fulfilling decisions? In our latest ...
83: Part 1 - Change how you think: Why we think how we do and our value system with Emily Falk
Our latest episode of LiveWell is a two-parter with guest Emily Falk and a preview to her upcoming book, "What We Value". An expert in the science of behavior change, Emily is a Professor of Communication, Psychology, Marketing, and...
82: Impacts on our Environment and Ecology from Wildfires with Morgan Tingley
Morgan Tingley, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and faculty in the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, is an expert on how climate change and other environmental changes impact biodiversity, primarily birds. His ...
#81 (Re-Release), Where Food Meets Performance with Elizabeth Schiffler
Original air date: May 2023.You don’t want to miss today’s episode--mainly because Wendy and Elizabeth reveal their reigning favorite salt! How’d we get there? Because Elizabeth shares how she guides her students through a mindful salt ...
#80 (Re-Release), Coffee, Community, Connection with Joe and Celia Ward-Wallace
Original air date: March 2023 Coffee, community, and connection are the ways that Joe and Celia Ward-Wallace advocate for their South Central LA community. As founders of the South LA Cafe and the South LA community nonprofit, this...
#79 (Re-Release), Food Law with Michael Roberts
Original air date: May 2022. Executive Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy and Professor at the UCLA School of Law, Michael Roberts, joins us to explain the complexities of governing food and why he always makes ...
#78 (Re-Release), Eco-Conscious Teaching, Living, and Community Building with Tamar Christensen
Original air date: July 2023. Join us today for a lesson in environmental storytelling with Tamar Christensen. Everything about Tamar’s story is fascinating-- she is a writing instructor at UCLA, a Veteran, a composter, a chicken m...
#75: Food Forward with Rick Nahmias
This is the story of how noticing the abundant produce on citrus trees turned into what is now a 15 year old nonprofit, Food Forward, that transports nearly 90 million pounds of food to communities in need. Join us today as Rick Nahmias, founde...
#74: Making Change By Meeting People Where They Are with Olivia Farr
If you’re even the slightest bit curious about community movement building, look no further. In today’s episode, Olivia Farr, nonprofit and environmental activist extraordinaire leading the Bedford 2030 campaign, tells us the why and how of mee...
#73: The Universal Language of Cooking with Bill Yosses
While so much has changed in the food world, much has stayed the same -- we are making bread the same way Egyptians did thousands of years ago, according to today’s guest, Bill Yosses. In this episode, Bill Yosses, former White House Pastry Che...
#72: Food as Medicine with Corby Kummer
This episode is abundant in resources for anyone and everyone interested in food equity, health, community activism, or journalism. Corby Kummer is more than a renowned journalist and food writer, he is a changemaker working to break down the b...
10-Minute Mindfulness Meditation with Dr. Bill Resnick
See last episode for Dr. Bill Resnick's full-length interview! How is pain different from suffering? Why is community a spiritual practice? In this episode, you’ll not only learn the answers to these questions, but uncover th...
#71: Mindfulness, Connection, and Letting Go of Suffering with Dr. Bill Resnick
How is pain different from suffering? Why is community a spiritual practice? In this episode, you’ll not only learn the answers to these questions, but uncover the story of Dr. Bill Resnick’s journey as a clinical psychiatrist, and mindfulness ...