Library Channel (Audio)

Who Works Here: Scott Paulson

Carillonneur Scott Paulson plays the campus bells. Series: "UCSD at 50" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 21052]

Rain of Ash: Roma Jews and the Holocaust

What paradoxes arise when victims of related persecution tell their stories next to, and after, each other? This question is at the heart of Ari Joskowicz’s highly acclaimed book “Rain of Ash,” which examines the unlikely entanglement of the histories of Jews and Romani people—the only two racialized groups the Nazis targeted for wholesale extermination. Joskowicz, professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt University, explores the encounters between Jews and Romani people on the killing fields of Europe and seeks to understand how survivors and historians have discussed Romani and Jewish suffering during World War II in relational terms. Series: "Library Channel" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40533]

My Droplet of Fate Reflects the Jewish Ocean: The Legacy of Béla Pásztor

In the early 20th century, Budapest was the second-largest Jewish city in Europe, and Jewish artists and intellectuals played a major role in the city’s cosmopolitan cultural life. Among them was theater and cinema director and producer Béla Pásztor, whose career was marked by early success and later oppression. In a conversation with UC San Diego history professor Deborah Hertz, Béla’s son, Rafael Pastor, explores his family’s history before, during, and after the Nazi occupation of Hungary, including his parents’ emigration to Israel, where he was born. In commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the deportations and annihilations of Hungarian Jews in 1944, which Béla survived in hiding, the conversation is preceded by a brief historical overview and survivor testimonies of this harrowing—and unforgettable—tragedy. Series: "Library Channel" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40227]

Controlling Mental Chaos

Everyone experiences mental chaos - when the mind is distracted, racing and anxious. But too much mental chaos can have negative impacts on our health and can limit our creativity. Jaime Pineda, professor emeritus of cognitive science at UC San Diego, has spent decades studying how the mind works. His new book “Controlling Mental Chaos: Harnessing the Power of the Creative Mind” focuses on the importance of psychological wellbeing. He says controlling mental chaos leads to positive outcomes including increased creativity, awareness of connection to others and reduction in distorted perceptions. He talks about ways to quiet the mind through mediation and mindfulness training. Series: "Library Channel" [Science] [Show ID: 40066]

The Voices of Babyn Yar Featuring Poet Marianna Kiyanovska

In late September 1941, tens of thousands of people were massacred over two days in a ravine known as Babyn Yar on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv. Most of the victims were Jews, though Roma, Crimean Tatars, and Ukrainian and Russian Communists were also among those murdered. In her 2017 book of poems, “The Voices of Babyn Yar,” award-winning poet Marianna Kiyanovska engages with this tragedy as a Ukrainian who learned of the mass killings only as an adult. Kiyanovska is the author of more than a dozen books of poetry, prose, and literary translations and her works have been translated into 18 languages. In this bilingual poetry reading, Kiyanovska shares poems in the original Ukrainian, including selections from “The Voices of Babyn Yar.” UC San Diego Professor of Literature Amelia Glaser will read the English translations. Series: "Library Channel" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40068]