LIR Course Schedule

Learning in Retirement Course Schedule

Click here for the UCBRC event calendarScroll down the page to see the upcoming Learning in Retirement (LIR) course offerings, or you can view them, along with all other upcoming Retirement Center events, by clicking the Events Calendar button. When you find a class you would like to attend, click on the Click Here to Register link and complete the registration process.

You can watch past LIR lectures on the Retirement Center YouTube channel by clicking here.

We look forward to seeing you at an LIR soon!

2024 Lectures

Issues in Medical Ethics and Equity

Lecture I: CRISPR - Opportunities and Challenges

Tuesday, March 19, 2:00 - 3:30pm

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Speakers:

Jodi Halpern: Bioethics and Medical Humanities in the UCB-UCSF Joint Medical Program, Co-Founder and Co-Lead Berkeley Group for Ethics and Regulation of Innovative Technologies.

Leah Witkowsky: Molecular biologist by training who has applied her knowledge to a subsequent career in scientific governance, ethics, and multi-perspective engagement. Executive Director of the Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public at UC Berkeley.

The two speakers will address the ethical challenges CRISPR presents and a framework for how to address them.

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Lecture II: Monetizing Medicine - How Private Equity Is Changing Who Your Doctor Works For And What It Means For You

Tuesday, March 26, 2:00 - 3:30pm

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Speaker: Richard Scheffler, Distinguished Professor of Health Economics and Public Policy at the School of Public Health and the Goldman School of Public Policy.

Professor Scheffler will address the current state of healthcare financing and the challenges of creating a healthcare system that is available for all.

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Lecture III: When Will the Anti-Vax Sentiment No Longer Be a Problem - When the Cows Come Home?

Tuesday, April 2, 2:00 - 3:30pm

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Speaker: Art Reingold, Professor of Epidemiology and has dedicated his research to the, prevention and control of infectious diseases both at the national level, as well as in numerous low-income countries around the world.

Professor Reingold will address the phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy and resistance, how public health has addressed this, and the ethical challenges of vaccine mandates.

The Carol D’Onofrio LIR Lecture in Public Health

Carol D’Onofrio was Chair of the UCB Retirement Center Board from 2009-2011 and served as a member at large from 2006-08. She served on the Learning in Retirement Committee for many years, chairing the committee in 2017-2019. Carol passed away on April 14, 2020. 

Embracing Controversy: A Second Look at CDC Reforms After Covid-19

Tuesday, April 30, 3:00 - 4:30pm

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Speaker: Ann Keller, Associate Professor of Health Politics, UC Berkeley School of Public Health

Addressing criticism that the agency’s Covid-19 response was lacking, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has proposed internal agency reforms intended to improve its performance during the next pandemic. This talk offers a critique of reform efforts that imply that failure-free performance is achievable if the agency simply improves its access to information collection and processing. Drawing from social science scholarship that addresses the social processes that support scientific learning and policymaking in contested political environments, I ask whether science-informed policy can emerge without controversy and deliberation. Finally, this talk examines what standards public health officials can be held to when one replaces the goal of omniscience with one of transparent learning.

Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence, Feb 2024

Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence

Europe's Two Land Empires, Feb 2024

Europe's Two Land Empires

Russia's War on Ukraine and the Crisis of Democracy in Eastern Europe, Jan 2024

Russia's War on Ukraine and the Crisis of Democracy in Eastern Europe

War Economy in Ukraine, Jan 2024

War Economy in Ukraine

Understanding Generative AI and Language: Humans, Animals, and Machines, Nov 2023

Understanding Generative AI and Language: Humans, Animals, and Machines

AI, Medicine, and the Limits of the Human Mind, Nov 2023

Learning in Retirement AI, Medicine, and the Limits of the Human Mind

The Big Picture of Large Carnivore Decline and Recovery: From West Africa to the Western U.S, Oct 2023

The Big Picture of Large Carnivore Decline and Recovery: From West Africa to the Western U.S