The UC Irvine Podcast

Tiffany López joined the Claire Trevor School of the Arts on July 1, and she has spent the past whirlwind four months learning about her school and developing a new vision for it. And she’s now on the UCI Podcast to tell us about it … and much more – like the importance of the arts in higher education, the need for diversity, and why it’s necessary to invest into arts and music education for economically disadvantaged students in California’s public schools. Plus, she shares her own amazing story.

The Latinx Resource Center opened in late 2019, and quickly moved to virtual because of the pandemic, so not many were familiar with one of UCI's newest centers. With UCI as a Hispanic-Serving Institution for five years, with a steady growth in UCI's Latino student population over the past decade – not to mention throughout the state of California – the time was right to dedicate a center where students can build community, while accessing programs and resources that celebrate their heritage. On the UCI Podcast, Latinx Resource Center director adelí durón shares insights into how students can effectively use and engage with the center, as well as shares some big plans for the future.

Program director Dr. Charles Vega and 2016graduate Dr. Michelle Crespo join the UCI Podcast to talk about the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community’s vast influence on improving healthcare in California and on UC Irvine's status as an Hispanic-Serving Institution.

In 1992, the University of California Regents formally approved UCI's School of Social Ecology - the first of its kind in the U.S. But what, exactly, is social ecology? To answer that question, we welcome Jon B. Gould, Dean of the School of Social Ecology, to the UCI Podcast. Gould breaks down what is being done in his school’s three departments, how their groups collaborate on programs to solve social problems in the community, and why social ecology Anteaters can see how they can affect change before they even graduate. Music for this episode of the UCI Podcast, titled “Seasons,” provided by Telecasted via the Audio Library in YouTube Studio.

James Bullock, dean of UCI's School of Physical Sciences, was one of the earliest proponents of a multidisciplinary initiative called Solutions That Scale. The project was created to bring researchers from nearly every academic unit on campus together to come up with ways to mitigate the effects of climate change. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Dean Bullock discusses the origin of Solutions That Scale, what its researchers are doing now, and what they plan to do in the future.

With the inflation up and the GNP and stock prices down, UCI economist Eric Swanson explains that there’s nothing yet to fear … at least for now.

On June 23, 2022, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Cara Capuano talks to the co-authors of the first biography of longtime Congresswoman and Title IX pioneer Patsy Mink - UCI professor Judy Tzu-Chun Wu and Gwendolyn “Wendy” Mink, Patsy’s daughter and only child. They discuss the book’s unique structure, the inspiration for Title IX, the challenges to get it passed into law, and what’s next for the landmark legislation. Intro music for this episode of the UCI Podcast, “High Life” by the Mini Vandals featuring Mamadou Koita and Lasso, and outro music, “Savannah Sunshine” by Dan Henig, can be found in the Audio Library in YouTube Studio.

In honor of Juneteenth, the UCI Podcast is bringing back a June 2020 podcast with Jessica Millward, an associate professor of African American studies and history at UCI. Here, Millward discusses this important day in the context of the thousands of Black Lives Matter rallies across the world protesting the police murder of George Floyd.

Jonathan Alexander says he has been “privileged to be a writing teacher for a very long time.” He always tells his students to be honest and frank - and found the process of writing his latest book with that advice in mind liberating. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, the Chancellor’s Professor of English and informatics talks with Cara Capuano about the genre of creative nonfiction and the role each book in The Creep Trilogy held on his personal journey, with a special focus on the latest installment, Dear Queer Self: An Experiment in Memoir. He also shares advice for others who may find themselves on the outside looking in, and details why he finds Pride Month both aspirational and hopeful. Intro music for this episode of the UCI Podcast, “A Year Ago (Instrumental)” by NEFFEX and outro music, “Happy Sixth” by Freedom Trail Studio, can be found in the Audio Library in YouTube Studio.

How does nursing intersect with philosophy? What are some of the tools in a philosopher’s toolbox that would serve a nurse? What changes can be made to the language of health care to make it more understandable for a larger audience? These are some of the questions Cara Capuano asks of Mark Lazenby and Tyrus Miller, deans of two schools with disciplines very attuned to people – nursing and humanities – in this edition of the UCI Podcast.

With recent announcements of Native Americans eligible to have their UC tuition waived beginning this fall and adding Native Hawaiians to the heritage month that historically honored Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, we checked in with Assistant Professor Na'puti in the Department of Global and International Studies to help break down these massive identify groups and their cultures. Broadcasting from the island of Guam, Na'puti shares about her work with indigenous populations in the Pacific Islands and how that translates to better understanding of global indigeneity.

Professor Iryna Zenyuk, associate director of UCI's National Fuel Cell Research Center, was born in Ukraine and lived there until age 15. As an academic, she felt duty bound to help her fellow Ukrainian researchers when Russia invaded her home country earlier this year. Through the Ukraine Relief Fund she helped launch at UCI, Zenyuk is raising money to help Ukrainian academics come to the United States to work while the war rages on in Central Europe. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Prof. Zenyuk provides an update on the Ukdraine Relief Fund.

UCI Law professor David Kaye discusses Musk's controversial buyout of the social media giant and the human rights issues related to online speech.

Eric Rignot, UCI professor of Earth system science, recently concluded a six-year, NASA-funded project to study the impact of warming ocean water on Greenland's land ice. The Oceans Melting Greenland, or OMG, mission resulted in much more precise knowledge about the dynamics of rapid ice sheet deterioration in Greenland and other polar regions.

In this episode of the UCI Podcast, UCI’s director of intercollegiate athletics Paula Smith talks sports with Cara Capuano, and among the topics they discuss: Title IX, a groundbreaking federal civil rights law passed on June 23, 1972, that prohibits gender discrimination in educational programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. Approaching its 50-year anniversary, the historic legislation has positively impacted the lives of women and provided a pathway in their continued pursuit of achieving gender equity in all facets of life, including collegiate athletics.

When people are getting together with loved ones over the holidays, how do they prepare themselves for interacting with a relative who has dementia resulting from Alzheimer's disease or another neurological condition? In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Frank LaFerla, Chancellor's Professor and dean of the School of Biological Sciences, has some advice to share with people coping with this situation.

Magnus Egerstedt, dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, has a new book out. Titled "Robot Ecology: Constraint-Based Design for Long-Duration Autonomy," the book explores the field of slow-moving robots. Used for tasks in agriculture and environmental and climate monitoring, these robots are specially designed to withstand long deployments without human intervention.

Tom Andriola, vice chancellor for information, technology and data at the University of California, Irvine joins UCI Podcast correspondent Sheri Ledbetter to discuss new ways of thinking about all the data we have access to and how "collaboratories" can help us put data to work.

Science and policy are frequently disconnected. Though scientists urged policymakers at the COP 26 climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland to drastically reduce emission of carbon dioxide, the pledges that resulted won’t do enough to stave off the most dire effects of climate change. And that’s just the latest example. But a UCI professor is seeking to bring science into the policymaking process through a fellowship at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Ann Marie, Carlton, a professor of atmospheric chemistry at UCI who recently began the Roger Revelle Fellowship in Global Stewardship, discusses why it’s difficult to ensure science informs policy, what she’s aiming to accomplish during her fellowship and how curiosity can help us all think more like scientists.

With a bird's eye view of the UCI student body, enrollment management is in the unique position to see into the future. This ability to identify trends enables the division - which includes undergraduate admissions, financial aid and scholarships, registrar, and enrollment management analytics - to engage with campus partners and create the environment that best meets the needs of our students and advances the campus’ mission. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management Patty Morales breaks down just how her division helps to position UCI as a future ready campus that produces future ready students.

The cleanup of the oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach earlier this month is essentially complete, but responsibility for the spill of up to 131,000 gallons has yet to be assigned. In the coming months, and possibly years, it will be the legal system that determines liability — and damages. Michael Robinson-Dorn, a clinical professor of law, co-associate dean for experiential education at the law school and director of UCI’s Environmental Law Clinic, joins the UCI Podcast to discuss how this spill compares to past ones, why simply shutting down offshore drilling is more challenging than it may seem and how society’s values will shape the future of oil drilling in California.

As COVID-19 patients are isolated in hospital rooms trying to stay alive, nurses are the ones serving every role, from caretaker to chaplain to stand-in loved one. And when those patients die, nurses take that pain of loss upon themselves. The trauma is heaping up. But it doesn’t have to be this way, says Candace Burton, an associate professor of nursing at UCI who is conducting a study about nurses’ experiences during the pandemic by interviewing them. Nurses are confronting both a deadly disease and a culture that refuses to take it seriously. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Professor Burton shares what nurses are telling her, why reforms in the nursing profession are needed, and how everyone can help prevent more of this trauma.

Latino people from all 50 states shape American culture and politics, but despite their diversity, they are too often viewed as belonging to a single category. That diversity appears across the U.S.: In New Mexico, where hispanos have deep connections to Spanish culture; in South Texas, where some Mexican-Americans express disdain for the country just a few miles south; in Miami, where cubanos differentiate themselves from Hispanics; and in New York City, where Puerto Rican immigrants have been linked with with the local Black community. This Hispanic Heritage Month, Héctor Tobar, an associate professor of literary journalism and Chicano/Latino studies at UCI, joins the UCI Podcast to discuss the origins of the term “Latino,” the various Latinx cultures he encountered during a road trip across America for a story he published in Harper's Magazine, and how the lives of all Latinx people are influenced by U.S. imperialism.

Launched last year in response to the killing of George Floyd, UCI's Black Thriving Initiative is a whole university response aimed at mobilizing the whole university to promote Black student success, degree completion and advancement in academic programs, with a goal of making UCI a first choice for Black students. As part of the UCI Black Thriving Initiative, the program has continued to prioritize hiring faculty and staff who are paving new paths for research and creative expression, teaching and learning, and community engagement; generating interdisciplinary collaboration; and manifesting UCI's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. UCI has announced hiring initiatives such as the Inclusive Excellence Term Chair Program and the inaugural UCI Black Thriving Initiative Faculty Hiring Program, which has recently announced funding for a proposal focused on environmental health disparities. In this episode of the UCI Podcast Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Doug Haynes reflects on the accomplishments made over the last year and shares plans for year two and beyond.

Water was never abundant in California, and the state has gone to great lengths to engineer a landscape where millions of people can live. As climate change grows more severe, it is only going to be more challenging to meet the water needs of city dwellers, farmers and nature. But certain technologies and policy changes offer hope. California can recycle wastewater, capture stormwater and desalinate seawater, and policymakers can rethink water management. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, David Feldman, a professor of urban planning and public policy and the director of Water UCI discusses the options for overcoming worsening droughts, including the most important change of all.

The line between a misdemeanor and a felony is thin, and the teenagers who cross it bear a scarlet letter for the rest of their lives — long after they’ve grown into more mature people. Even though the science on emotional and mental development suggests that a 19 year old is fundamentally different from 30 year old, the justice system treats them the same. That’s why Elizabeth Cauffman, a UCI professor of psychological science, has worked hard alongside partners in the Orange County court system and Orange County jails to develop programs that hold young convicts accountable, while also allowing them to reclaim their futures. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Professor Cauffman discusses the research on young adult maturation, how these programs were established and why scientific partnerships with the community are so important.

The financial uncertainty, chaotic scheduling demands and fear of illness and death during the COVID-19 pandemic have all caused stressors to multiply. And the weight of the last year and a half has fallen especially hard on women and people of color, who have borne the brunt of the pandemic’s worst effects. But has the pandemic caused a mental health crisis, with corresponding increases in anxiety and depression? In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Tim Bruckner, a professor of public health at UCI, discusses whether the predictions of a follow-on mental health pandemic have come true, how women’s careers have been affected by the pandemic and how equity has been incorporated into California’s public health response.

In Santa Ana, lead contamination in the soil has driven residents to organize and advocate for environmental justice. Researchers from UCI are working with them to assess the severity of the problem and identify solutions. Though lead contamination is frequently blamed on lead-based paint, a UCI historian’s research suggests another factor may be to blame. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Juan Manuel Rubio, a Mellon Humanities Faculty Fellow in the School of Humanities at UCI, discusses his historical research into the source of the lead contamination in Santa Ana, why historians should partner with scientists and how historical analysis can contribute to identifying systemic solutions.

It sounds too crazy to be true: Corporations and scientists using sounds and smells to influence people’s dreams. But targeted dream incubation is not limited to the realm of science fiction. Scientists use the method to help patients overcome addictions such as smoking, and corporations have launched advertising campaigns that encourage willing participants to participate in having their dreams shaped. Sara Mednick, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at UCI, is worried about the potential misuse of dream incubation and recently joined about 40 other sleep and dream scientists in signing an open letter voicing their concerns. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Professor Mednick discusses how dream incubation works, and how sleep keeps people healthy.

The cost of commuting drops dramatically when you’re only walking a few feet from the bedroom to the home office. Such savings in time and money have prompted many people to take their work-from-home flexibility and relocate to cheaper, more spacious homes farther away from the city centers where their jobs may have been based in the past. This pandemic-induced movement has, in turn, disrupted housing markets across the country, with prices rising in some cities and falling in others. Jan Brueckner, a distinguished professor of economics at UCI, recently conducted an economic analysis of the effects of work from home policies on housing markets. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Brueckner discusses the forces that traditionally shape housing markets, why work from home has been so disruptive, and why these corporate policies might lead to more suburban sprawl.

Cultivating core intellectual virtues can help anyone — not just college students — develop habits of mind that enable them to act with empathy in a chaotic world and to decipher the truth in an internet landscape littered with misinformation. At UCI, students can hone these virtues through the Anteater Virtues Project, an online course created by Distinguished Professor of Philosophy Duncan Pritchard. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Professor Pritchard discusses the benefits of inculcating these four intellectual virtues, and how they can even help students succeed academically, regardless of what they’re studying.

About 39 percent of UCI’s total student population identify as Asian American or Pacific Islander. This episode of the UCI Podcast explores the meaning behind UCI’s federal designation as an Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander Serving Institution, commonly referred to as “AANAPISI.” UCI's ANNAPISI status is fairly unique among the UC campuses and members of the Association of American Universities (AAU). Dr. Joseph Morales, the associate director of strategic initiatives and partnerships in the Office of Inclusive Excellence discusses this federal designation and what it means for UCI and for students.

Concerned about the safety. Complacent about the risks. Unable to find the time. Different people give different reasons for hesitating to get a vaccine — whether for COVID-19 or another disease. But for the coronavirus pandemic to end and social life to fully resume, a vast majority of people need to roll up their sleeves and get the shot. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Suellen Hopfer, an assistant professor of public health at UCI, rebuts the five most common reasons for vaccine hesitancy, and discusses what her surveys of Orange County parents and students reveal about local attitudes to the COVID-19 vaccine.

The past year — with the pandemic, police violence and political unrest — hasn’t been easy for anyone, especially college students. This month is mental health awareness month, and UCI is spotlighting the resources available to assist students with their mental health. The most important thing to know? You’re not alone. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Dr. Marcelle Hayashida, the associate vice chancellor for wellness, health and counseling services at UCI, discusses the signs that indicate you might need a mental health checkup, the resources students can tap for help and why openness and honesty about your struggles can help both you and others.

The COVID-19 vaccine is now available to everyone in California 16 years of age and older, but actually getting the shot is another matter. Navigating appointment systems and finding time to receive both doses can be challenging. That’s why UCI is assisting students, staff and faculty with scheduling vaccine appointments. Because vaccination is how UCI will be able to have a fall quarter that resembles the pre-pandemic college experience. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, David Souleles, the director of UCI’s COVID-19 response team, discusses how vaccination benefits both the individual and the community at large, what the proposed vaccine mandate from the University of California Office of the President means, and how members of the UCI community can get help in getting the shot.

Environmental justice advocates in California have fought for years against landfills, refineries and other polluting facilities in their neighborhoods. They insist that a progressive environmental agenda can’t tackle crucial environmental issues such as climate change from a purely global perspective; the local impacts matter, too. They say that regulators and politicians need to craft environmental policy with an eye toward reversing the discrimination and racism that have long affected low-income communities of color. Michael Méndez, an assistant professor of urban planning and public policy, documents some of the crucial years of the environmental justice movement in California from 2006 to the present in his book “Climate Change from the Streets: How Conflict and Collaboration Strengthen the Environmental Justice Movement.” The book recently won the Harold and Margaret Sprout Award, sponsored by the International Studies Association (ISA). On this episode of the UCI Podcast, Professor Méndez talks about California’s leading role in the environmental justice movement, what he believes are the flaws of California’s cap and trade carbon emissions reduction system, and why the Green New Deal isn’t really that new.

Rain is scarce in much of California, and most of California’s people live in water-starved regions. And yet the state is, by some measures, the fifth largest economy in the world. How? Because during the last century, California has built a complex network of dams, pumps and canals to transport water from where it falls naturally to where people live. But climate change threatens to upend the delicate system that keeps farm fields green and household taps flowing. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Nicola Ulibarri, an assistant professor of urban planning and public policy who is an expert on water resource management, discusses how droughts and floods have shaped California’s approach to water, what policy changes resulted from the record-breaking drought of 2011-16, and how better groundwater management might offer a solution for the future.

Tired of talking about COVID-19? We are, so as we approach the one-year anniversary of California’s shutdown, we are taking a break. On this special episode of the UCI Podcast, Infectious Disease Specialist Daniel Parker and Communications Officer Nicole Feldman take you on a tour of Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand. They talk about Parker’s work with diseases that affect millions of people each year but are rarely discussed in the United States. In this episode: Daniel Parker, assistant professor of public health at UCI School of Public Health

Half a million people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. and countless millions have contracted the virus. Doctors have been concerned, first, with preventing death. But another threat is becoming clear: long-term neurological consequences such as brain fog, depression and anxiety. Tom Lane, a Chancellor’s professor of neurobiology and behavior at UCI, has studied how coronaviruses neurologically affect mice for the last two decades. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Professor Lane discusses COVID-19 long haulers, his current research using mice to look at COVID-19’s impact on the brain, and how people can prevent the disease’s neurological repercussions.

Many students in California have barely seen the inside of a classroom in person since the COVID-19 pandemic began nearly a year ago. In that time, low-income students and families in low-income school districts have suffered the most. With more and more people receiving vaccines, the end of remote learning is in sight. But schools will still need to implement COVID-19 mitigation strategies, according to doctors from UCI Health. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Dr. Dan Cooper and Dr. Chulie Ulloa discuss school reopenings and the impact of distance learning on children.

For people who are incarcerated, college can change their life: The likelihood that they will wind up back in prison after they’re released drops dramatically when they earn their degree. This lower recidivism rate benefits both them as individuals and society as a whole. To help people in prison along the college pathway, UCI has launched a new initiative called LIFTED, which stands for Leveraging Inspiring Futures Through Educational Degrees. People in prison who are working on their associates degree in sociology at Southwestern College can use an existing program open to community college students to transfer to UCI and earn their bachelor's degree. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, LIFTED Director Keramet Reiter, who is an associate professor of criminology, law and society at UCI, talks about how college changes the lives of people in prison.

Wind and solar energy, necessary as they are to reversing climate change, won’t be enough for society to completely wean itself from fossil fuels. Something else is needed for particularly energy-intensive sectors such as heavy duty trucking and to replace ubiquitous natural gas appliances. Enter hydrogen. Clean hydrogen fuel will be a crucial part of the renewable energy mix going forward, according to Jack Brouwer, a UCI professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and the director of both the National Fuel Cell Research Center and the Advanced Power and Energy Program. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Brouwer discusses the unique advantages of hydrogen and why he believes it will soon be cheaper than gasoline.

It takes gumption to run for political office — especially when you’re just 24 years old. But that’s exactly what UCI PhD student Dylan Green did last year when he registered his candidacy for Irvine City Council and then took on the challenge of campaigning during the pandemic. Green earned his bachelor's degree at UCI and is now studying the origin of the universe in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, using machine learning on images to filter out pixels corrupted by cosmic rays. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, he discusses what he learned about running for office and why he thinks more scientists and young people should get involved in politics.

Few elements of society suffered as much as live music and theater productions when COVID-19 struck. At the UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts, a whole season’s worth of scheduled productions went out the window as performers and professors adapted to an online-only reality. But while in-person performances are impossible, the need for the arts is greater than ever to provide a salve for the crisis. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Dean Stephen Barker discusses how the School of the Arts answered the pandemic, and why the arts have such power to heal.

Clean air standards, water pollution rules and public lands protections have all been scaled back under the Trump administration, which aggressively attacked the administrative state. Under the Biden administration, environmentalists hope to reverse the tide by reviving regulations. But rolling back the rollbacks won’t be easy. Though the Biden administration may be able to quickly implement executive orders and ramp up environmental enforcement, changes to regulations must go through extensive review processes — that could take years to complete. Alex Camacho is a Chancellor’s professor of law at UCI and the Faculty Director of the Center for Land, Environment, and Natural Resources at the UCI Law School, and he studies environmental regulations. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Professor Camacho discusses how regulations are made and unmade, and the ways the Biden administration can advance its environmental agenda.

COVID-19’s disastrous impacts are obvious: a quarter million deaths in the U.S., millions of jobs lost and a financial downturn that prompted a $2 trillion economic stimulus. These impacts are front and center in the public consciousness, especially as people mourn lost loved ones and worry about how lost wages threaten their ability to pay rent. But what about two, three or four decades down the line? What will be the long-lasting effects of the pandemic on individuals’ health and finances — and the economy as a whole? Vellore Arthi, an assistant professor of economics at UCI, has examined the long-term health and economic consequences of previous pandemics and financial crises, including the Black Death of the 14th century, the 1918 influenza pandemic and the Great Depression of the 1930s. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Arthi discusses what these previous pandemics and downturns can teach us about today’s crisis — and how we can prevent the worst results.

Burnout and stress have been on the rise among medical students for years, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only made things worse. Helping their fellow medical students cope inspired UCI's Ajay Nair Sharma and Daniel Azzam to publish Diary of a Med Student, a book that collects stories from 100+ students from over 50 medical schools across the country. Some are heart-wrenching, some uplifting, and some good for a chuckle, but all stories paint a picture of what life is like in medical school today. Learn more about the book, and read an excerpt: https://news.uci.edu/2020/12/01/alleviating-med-school-angst.

Dr. José Mayorga has witnessed firsthand the disparate impacts of COVID-19 on different communities in Orange County. As executive director of the Family Health Center, a federally qualified health center that is part of UCI Health, he serves the low-income and Latinx patients who have been disproportionately exposed to the virus. “These workers are people who are working in food industries, such as fast food places, housekeeping, janitorial services. So they have no choice,” Mayorga says on this episode of the UCI Podcast. “They have to come into work. And, you know, on top of that, they're getting exposed. There’s no ability for them to socially distance in some of these workspaces.” Virus cases are surging, and local leaders continue to face choices about how to respond. Dr. Mayorga urges decision-makers to consider these most vulnerable communities as they formulate plans and policies. “This pandemic is impacting every aspect of our community, and it will eventually impact them as well,” Dr. Mayorga says.

A wave of Democratic victories in Orange County during the 2018 midterm election — including four Congressional seats that flipped from red to blue — convinced many that Republicans’ days here were numbered. But this year, the trend reversed, and Republicans reclaimed two of those seats. Demographic changes in the last few decades have resulted in a political reorienting in Orange County, according to Louis DeSipio, a professor of political science and Chicano/Latino studies at the University of California, Irvine. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, DeSipio talks about how the mixed results of the last few years demonstrate Orange County’s purple identity — and the reasons behind it. He also discusses national voting trends this year among Latino voters, and offers some predictions for how President-elect Joe Biden will address social justice issues such as immigration.

Andrew Noymer is an associate professor of public health at UCI, and he’s an expert on public health responses to pandemics like COVID-19 and their long-term consequences. In this special UCI Podcast, he discusses what we’ve learned over the last eight months of the pandemic and what we can expect next with the novel coronavirus. For instance, we need to be prepared for a harsh winter with a surge of infections. Also, he talks about the impact a vaccine can make for having the general population reach herd immunity levels, and our realistic future living with a virus that won’t be going away anytime soon. And don’t forget, wearing a face covering works.