Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Professor Jennifer Doudna of UC Berkeley for a discussion of her intellectual odyssey that led to the discovery of CRISPR-Cas9, a revolutionary tool for gene editing. In the conversation, they explore the implications of CRISPR-Cas9 for agriculture, biotechnology and biomedicine. They also discuss how education and public advocacy can broaden insight into the ethical and policy dimensions of the biological revolution that is upon us.

Harry Kreisler welcomes former Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm for a discussion of lessons learned from her political career. She recalls her formative experiences, analyzes the essential qualities of leadership, and recounts the cascade of crises she confronted as a governor because of the failure of Michigan to recognize and adapt to challenges posed by international economic competitiveness and technological innovation. Leading at a time of structural manufacturing decline, she had to navigate transition to a new economy.

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Marion Nestle Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition at New York University. Professor Nestle reflects on the evolution of her thinking on the interplay between nutrition studies and the politics of food. She discusses the environment of the food industry emphasizing its dilemma of producing too much food in an environment in which profits are paramount and the competition with other food producers is intense. She analyzes the arsenal of tools at its service—advertising and lobbying and talks about the role of food activism in creating a structure of choice in which health, the environment and social justice are determining factors in what is produced and what we eat. Finally, she identifies the role of government in entrenching the status quo and the possibilities of it assuming a different kind of role. Finally, she offers advice to students preparing for the future.

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Ralph J. Cicerone, President of the National Academy of Sciences for a discussion of the challenges facing the scientific community. Dr. Cicerone describes his research interests and explains the qualities of a scientist and what makes science a unique enterprise. He also focuses on leadership in science discussing his work at UC Irvine to establish a department of geosciences and his goals as President of the National Academy of Science and Chair of the National Research Council. He reflects on his work on,“Climate Change Science: An Analysis on Some Key Questions,” which he chaired-and delivered in one month-in 2001. Dr. Cicerone also considers the problem of the politicization of the Climate Change debate and concludes with positive signs that over time the international community will confront the challenges posed by climate change.

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Svante Pääbo, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, for a discussion of his intellectual journey. Svante Pääbo highlights both the opportunities and obstacles that characterized his 30 year quest to uncover the genome of Neanderthal Man. In the course of his reflections, he elucidates the nature of scientific inquiry and highlights the possible long-term implications of using genetic research to understand the genome of human ancestors and thereby understand the uniqueness of humans. Svante Pääbo was the 2014 Foerster Lecturer at Berkeley.

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Gro Harlem Brundtland, Mimi and Peter E. Haas Distinguished Visitor at Stanford, for a discussion of her lifelong commitment to public service at the national and international level. She traces her intellectual odyssey and recalls her many roles--Norwegian Prime Minister, Chair of Global Commission on Environment and Development, and Director General of the World Health Organization. She also describes the attributes of her leadership: the combination of political skills and scientific training that she developed as she worked to implement a vision of a just society in which women's rights, global health, and sustainable development were insured.

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcome Nobel Laureate Carol Greider, Daniel Nathans Professor and Director of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University, for a discussion of her intellectual odyssey. Topics covered include her education; her Nobel winning research on telomeres and telomerase; the implications of this research for treatment of disease; science education; and women in science.

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Karl Eikenberry, who commanded coalition forces in Afghanistan and served as U.S. Ambassador there. Reflecting on his career as soldier and diplomat, Ambassador Eikenberry recalls his formative experiences and compares the skill set and challenges of the two postings. He evaluates the volunteer military force, analyzes the situation in Afghanistan as the US stands down, describes the problems posed by exit strategies after intervention, and reflects on the implications of the rise of China and the US pivot toward Asia.

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes  environmentalist James Gustave Speth, Professor of Law, Vermont Law School for a discussion of his new book, America The Possible: Manifesto for a New Economy. Speth discusses the systemic failure at the heart of the American crisis highlighting the inadequacy of a motivational system that focuses on economic growth, profits, and power to the detriment of people and the environment. In his view, the American system is broken.  He criticizes progressives for not focusing on the big picture and thereby not recognizing the way issues like poverty, education, and environment are linked to the failure of political economy to deliver a quality of life that takes account of human need and values such as equity and justice.

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Sylvia A. Earle, Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society, for a discussion of her work as a research scientist, oceanic explorer, entrepreneur, and public educator. Tracing her intellectual journey,Earle talks about the influence of her formative years, her education, the importance of the ocean for life on earth, and the challenges of being both a scientist and a citizen concerned about the fate of the oceans.