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 medicine fellow, and Air Force Veteran Cyntrea Cotton, founder of the Veterans Garden Initiative.

This inspiring episode reveals:
 • How therapeutic gardening is easing PTSD, anxiety, and depression for veterans.
 • Why growing organic food can support whole-person healing—from the inside out.
 • The challenges and triumphs of reviving a 15-acre clinical garden on VA grounds.

Cyntrea shares her personal journey of struggling with panic attacks, isolation, and chronic stress—and how reconnecting with the earth sparked her recovery and purpose. Katie walks us through the science and systems behind food as medicine, highlighting how gardens can be powerful entry points for mental and physical health.

If you’ve ever wondered how nature can heal trauma, build community, and restore well-being, this episode will plant a seed.

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Episode Resources + Mentions: 

-       Transcript 

-       GrowGood

-       Restoring The Veterans Garden

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

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 LiveWell episode, Emily Falk unpacks her groundbreaking research in neuroscience, psychology, and communication. Through personal stories and compelling research, she shares:

- What makes an effective message and how ideas spread
- How to be a more effective communicator
- The key ingredients for happiness and well-being

Tune in and discover how to approach everyday life with insights from a neuroscientist and a storyteller’s lens. There’s much to reflect on and put into action!

More information on her book and to pre-order: 
https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324037101

Catch Part 1 here - https://healthy.ucla.edu/media/livewellpodcast/ep-83/ - where we discussed her research and collaborations exploring key brain systems that influence what we choose and why we choose, our behaviors and forming a value system, and the power of storytelling.

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

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 Operations, Information, and Decisions at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Vice Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication. In episode 1, we discuss her research and collaborations exploring key brain systems that influence what we choose and why we choose, our behaviors and forming a value system, and the power of storytelling. In episode 2, we get a preview of her upcoming book, “What We Value”, and go deeper into her research in neuroscience, psychology and communication. Through personal stories and research studies, she examines what makes certain messages influential, how and why ideas spread, what makes an effective communicator and what are key ingredients for happiness and well-being. 

For those curious about why we choose the things we do, how to explore ways to make more intentional and rewarding choices, and methods of changing behavior and opening perspectives – approaching daily decisions with a neuroscientist and storytelling lens – there’s much to ponder and put into practice. 

Enjoy this 1st episode - part 2 releasing next week! - and many thanks to Emily for being part of our LiveWell community!

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

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 research, which largely focuses on birds in temperate mountain environments, including California’s Sierra Nevada, examines how species shift their ranges and the timing of their activities in response to rising temperatures and other effects of climate change. Tingley is a leading authority on the effects of wildfire on biodiversity, specifically in the western United States. For over a decade, he has studied how birds respond during and after fires and, in particular, how the increase in massive forest fires is negatively affecting species.

For Morgan’s lab website and more information about the research he conducts, please visit https://www.morgantingley.com/. 

Check out his Bird of the Day at https://www.morgantingley.com/botd/ and a fantastic resource for all bird enthusiasts - Cornell Lab All About Birds - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/.  

Outdoors and onscreen, check out a movie that Morgan was the “ornithological consultant” on to ensure an accurate portrayal of birding and matching bird sounds to the images - “Birder’s Guide to Everything” - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6375322/.

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

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 tasting--an exercise that embodies her research at the intersection of food and performance. A PhD candidate at UCLA in Theater and Performance Studies with a graduate certificate in Food Studies, Elizabeth discusses how she approaches food experiences and food justice through an artistic research lens. 

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, provide feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Episode Resources + Mentions: 

• Elizabeth’s Recent Newsroom article 
• Sustainable LA Grand Challenge
• Donna Haraway, Staying with the Trouble
• UCLA REC Teaching Kitchen 
• Common Threads Non-Profit 
• Black Panther Movement + Breakfast Program

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

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 dynamic duo is paving the path toward food justice and community health. Learn how Celia, with her coaching and consulting background, and Joe, with his firefighting background, came together to create a place of gathering. 

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, provide feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast!

Podcast Resources: 

•  South LA website 

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

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 sure to check the labels before buying olive oil. 

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Episode Resources + Mentions: 

• Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy 

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

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 mom, and a zero-waste lifestyle icon. We hear about how she sold her car after a transformative trip to Europe, how she gave food nonprofit Nourish LA a home at UCLA, and how she structures her creative writing classes around navigating eco-anxiety and knowing one’s place in the climate crisis. 

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, provide feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Episode Resources + Mentions: 

• Nourish LA 
• Daily Bruin Article 
• Tamar Christensen Writing Programs 

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

Original air date: March 1st, 2023

Why 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 Peter Sellars, world-renowned theater and opera director. Join us as we discuss imagining new and revolutionary solutions to issues and injustices by centering art and community care. 

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, provide feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

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 Part Interview  with Peter Sellars. 

Peter, with his gift of storytelling, takes us on a journey to the Olympics in ancient Greece, where health, theater, and the arts were of equal importance in this celebration of togetherness. Fast forward to today, we look at how arts and sports are both lifelong commitments to navigating struggle in thrilling, liberating, and uniting ways.

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, provide feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

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, founder and CEO of Food Forward, tells us that story and gives us insider tips to starting your own nonprofit, growing a team, and building meaningful relationships that help bring food where it belongs. 

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Episode Resources + Mentions: 

• Food Forward 
• Food Forward is Recognized by the White House For Its Commitment to End Hunger 

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

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 meeting people where they’re at, and ultimately, creating ripple effects when it comes to making change in your community. 

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Episode Resources + Mentions: 

• Hannah Richie’s “Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet”
• Bedford’s Recyclopedia 
• Bedford 2030 

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

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 Chef, teaches us how cooking has transcended language, and how innovative chefs and food leaders across the globe are using simple, ancient practices -- like harvesting heirloom seeds, eating locally and culturally, and using every part of an ingredient -- to make food more nutrient-dense and delicious. 

If you liked this episode, you’d also like Episode #70 with Homa Dashtaki and Episode #53 with Joe and Celia Ward-Wallace. 

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Episode Resources + Mentions: 

• Blue Hill Restaurant 
• Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture 
• Wish4Life Foundation 
• Bill Yosses Books

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

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 barriers to nutrient-rich and culturally-appropriate food. 

He asks the sort of perspective-shifting questions, as a writer and as the Executive Director of the Food and Society Program and the Aspen Institute, that can reframe our understanding of food access and food justice and, as he says, can help shine light where it’s not been shined before. This episode really dives into the importance of building community trust between researchers and communities and most importantly, bringing different groups together with cross-sector knowledge to create meaningful change in the food equity world. 

If you liked this episode, you may also like Episode #61 about the Fresh Food Farmacy with Dr. Andrea Feinberg, or #68 Why Study Food? 

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Episode Resources + Mentions: 

• Food Leaders at Aspen Institute (Applications through February 20, 2024) 
• UCLA Teaching Kitchen 
• Food as Medicine Research Action Plan 
• Coalition of Immokalee Farm Workers  
• Foundations Mentioned: Marshall Project, Newmark Foundation, Knight Foundation 

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

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 the story of Dr. Bill Resnick’s journey as a clinical psychiatrist, and mindfulness teacher. AND we’re gifted a ten-minute mindfulness meditation, a poem read aloud, and a sprinkling of Buddhist parables. 

Dr. Bill Resnick is a clinical psychiatrist with an MD from University of Pennsylvania, working as a clinical psychiatrist for over 20 years. He now teaches residents Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, along with being an avid proponent of mindfulness, meditation, and community-gathering as the founder of the Big Bear Retreat Center. 

If you liked this episode, you’d also like Episode #55 with Bob Thurman. 

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Episode Resources + Mentions:  

• Big Bear Retreat Center 
• 10% Happier by Dan Harris 
• Insight LA
• Headspace 
• Marc UCLA  
• Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction 

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

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 teacher. AND we’re gifted a ten-minute mindfulness meditation, a poem read aloud, and a sprinkling of Buddhist parables. 

Dr. Bill Resnick is a clinical psychiatrist with an MD from University of Pennsylvania, working as a clinical psychiatrist for over 20 years. He now teaches residents Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, along with being an avid proponent of mindfulness, meditation, and community-gathering as the founder of the Big Bear Retreat Center. 

If you liked this episode, you’d also like Episode #55 with Bob Thurman. 

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Episode Resources + Mentions:  

• Big Bear Retreat Center 
• 10% Happier by Dan Harris 
• Insight LA
• Headspace 
• Marc UCLA  
• Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction 

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

Today, we’re learning why yogurt is more than just protein and probiotics, but is the final result of an intricate and ancient yogurt-making practice that creates ease and cultiavtes belonging. Homa Dashtaki founded The White Moustache, a yogurt company that honors traditional Persian techniques and her Iranian descent. After a law career, Homa has published Yogurt & Whey: Recipes of an Iranian Immigrant Life and her yogurt has garnered acclaim from the New York Times, Vogue, Bon Appétit, and Food & Wine. 

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Episode Resources + Mentions: 

• Yogurt & Whey: Recipes of an Iranian Immigrant Life
• The White Moustache 
• Hudson Valley Fresh Co-Op
• Fast Company Article Mentioned: How One Woman Survived A Bad Career Break, Then Launched A Life-Changing Business

Feeling generous? It makes a real difference to us when you rate and review our podcast. Thank you!

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

Join us (again) for a conversation with the former NBA World Champion and one of the premier NBA defenders of his era, Metta Sandiford-Artest, previously known as Metta World Peace. Metta has been a leader in de-stigmatizing mental health in the world of professional sports and beyond by embracing vulnerability and sharing his life story.

Episode Resources:
This re-release comes at a perefct time as we enter into colder, darker months. There are resources to support you.
 
Here are some at UCLA: 

• UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services 
• RISE Center at UCLA 
• Stress and Resilience Wellness Check 

National Mental Health Resources: 

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:
  1. Phone: 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)
  2. Website: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
• Crisis Text Line:
  1. Text "HELLO" to 741741
  2. Website: Crisis Text Line
• National Alliance on Mental Illness:
  1. Helpline: 1-800-950-NAMI (1-800-950-6264)
  2. Website: NAMI
• Mental Health America:
  1. Helpline: 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)
  2. Website: Mental Health America

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

3 guests. 2 hosts. And one big question: why study food? Join Dr. Amy Rowat, Chef Julia Rhoton,  Laila Adarkar, and guest host, Kayleigh Ruller, on this  exploration. 

Food--accessing it, cooking it, gathering around it--is a powerful tool for inciting change on both an individual and community level. It’s a lens for understanding environmental, social, and political issues, near and far. How do we leverage the power of food? What does it mean to prioritize Food Studies in a large university setting? 

UCLA is exploring these very questions  through its educational programs, like the Food Studies Minor and the Rothman Family Institute for Food Studies, and the plethora of on-campus resources, the Teaching Kitchen, Bruin Dining, Community Programs Office, and beyond.

Episode Resources + Mentions: 

• Food Day 2023: Food & Country Screening, December 7th 2023, 7:00-9:00 pm, James Bridges Theater
  • Register here: tinyurl.com/foodandcountryucla 
• Teaching Kitchen
• Jane b semel HCI Community Garden  
• UCLA CPO
• Food Studies Minor 
• UCLA Extension Food Studies Certificate
• Westwood Food Co-Op
• UCLA Farmers Market 
• EatWell Pod 

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

This conversation with Evan Kleiman, host of KCRW'S Good Food, is a breath of fresh air, covering the practices and perspectives that sustain Evan’s regenerative, equitable, and of course, delicious approach to preparing a meal. The perspectives offered honor the transformative role that food can play in a complex social landscape, honoring each and every part of the food system. 

Resources: 

• The Teaching Kitchen
• Cook This Kit 
• UCLA Farmers Market
• The Rothman Institute for Food Studies
• KCRW Good Food (Evan's podcast!) 

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

Superheroes, science fiction, and fantasy tell a much more complex story than what meets the eye. Dr. Drea Letamendi, clinical psychologist, media consultant, TEDx Speaker, and former Interim Director of UCLA’s RISE center, talks with us today about the power of storytelling in the fictional media landscape-- how storytelling accelerates empathy and helps audiences navigate their own personal experiences of joy, grief, resilience, and healing. 

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, provide feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Podcast Resources: 

• UCLA Rise Center
• Dr. Drea’s website full of resources 
• Dr. Drea’s The Arkham Sessions Podcast! 
• UCLA Caps

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

Turns out, we need more wonder in our lives, beauty is a survival tool, and mushrooms are the greatest carbon-sequester solution for climate change. Learn about this and more through the words and wisdom of our guest today, Louie Schwartzberg. Louie Schwartzberg is an environmental activist, UCLA graduate, and award-winning artist, director, cinematographer. In this episode, Louie says that the messaging of the environmental movement has failed. Why? Because instead of just laying facts on the table, you have to tell a really good story to move people. And Louie tells the story of nature by capturing its abundant beauty in his breathtaking photography and videography seen on Netflix and Disney. 

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Episode Resources + Mentions: 

• Louie Channel 
• Moving Art by Louie Schwartzberg
• Louie’s Ted Talks
• NYT article about Dacher Keltner’s research on awe 
• The Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center is partnering with Louie’s Moving Art for a research project on UCLA campus. If you would like to install Moving Art in your campus building or department, please email kruller@conet.ucla.edu. 

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

Why can preventive health services be covered by health insurance? Why should we be prioritizing research and screenings that close the evidence gaps in health research? And who can help shift these priorities? That’s the US Preventive Services Task Force. Today, our guest, past appointed chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and UCLA professor and physician, guides us through getting onboarded, choosing recommendations, bridging evidence to make preventive services more accessible for everyone.  

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Episode Resources + Mentions: 

• US Preventive Services Task Force
• UCLA Health 

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

Why can preventive health services be covered by health insurance? Why should we be prioritizing research and screenings that close the evidence gaps in health research? And who can help shift these priorities? That’s the US Preventive Services Task Force. Today, our guest, Dr. Carol Mangione, past appointed chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and UCLA professor and physician, guides us through  onboarding, choosing recommendations, and bridging evidence to make preventive services more accessible for everyone.  

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Episode Resources + Mentions: 

• US Preventive Services Task Force
• UCLA Health 

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!

What are the little things we can do to create ritual, reflection, and reduce stress as we navigate new transitions? As we enter into this upcoming school year and a new season, this re-released episode with Dr. Brenda Bursch will walk us through resilience tools -- from setting boundaries to putting plants in your office -- to navigate change with a bit more calm. Dr. Bursch, an expert in mental health and resilience, is a professor and clinical psychologist in the UCLA Departments Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences and Pediatrics. This re-released episode was originally our 36th episode in September 2021. 

Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! 

Episode Resources + Mentions: 

• Part 1: Finding the Path Back to Meaning and Joy
• Part 2: Finding the Path Back to Meaning and Joy
• Mindful Awareness Research Center 

Find Transcripts under each episode page on our website.  

Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling.

We also have links in the show notes on our website at healthy.ucla.edu/livewellpodcast. If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu.

To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @LiveWell_UCLA!