Marcia Angell, MD, MACP, Sr. Lecturer, Dept. of Global Health & Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Faculty Assoc. in the Ctr for Bioethics. Trained in internal medicine and anatomic pathology at Boston Univ. School of Medicine, she joined the editorial staff of the New England Journal of Medicine in 1979, was named Exec Editor in 1988, and Editor-in-Chief in 1999.
Summary: Dying in America changed greatly after World War II, mainly because of the development of new drugs and technologies. Although that resulted in many welcome cures, it also created great suffering in patients who were terminally ill. Starting in the 1970s, the problem began to attract attention and by 1990, the right of patients or their proxies to refuse life-sustaining treatment became recognized. But the right to forego life-sustaining treatment left the problem of what to do for terminally ill patients not receiving such treatment. In the 1990s, a controversial movement argued that physicians should have the right to help such patients end their lives faster and more peacefully. Now, assisted dying (physician-assisted suicide) is legal in five states, including California.
Congress, Globalization, and the Economic Crisis, James A. Leach, Former Chairman of the House Banking and Financial Services Committee
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes former Iowa Congressman James A. Leach for a discussion of his 30 year career in the U.S. House of Representatives. Topics covered include: how principles are affected by interest group pressure, how the Republican Party and Congress changed during his tenure, how the U.S. electorate will respond to the changed economic circumstance, and how Congress will navigate between nationalism and internationalism as it legislates on the current crisis. Leach also discusses the successes and failures of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act which changed the nature of the financial industry. He also analyzes the domestic and global implications of the relative decline of American power. In conclusion, he reflects on the leadership needed in the executive and legislative branches during the difficult days ahead.
Recorded March 17, 2009
http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/iis/Kreisler.html
http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/conversations
The Philomathia Foundation Symposium at Berkeley: Pathways to a Sustainable Energy Future
Bioenergy
Chris Somerville, Director, Energy Biosciences Institute and Philomathia Chair in Alternative Energy, UC Berkeley
Chemical Strategies for Converting Biomass to Fuels
Alex Bell, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UC Berkeley; Senior Faculty Scientist, Berkeley Lab
The Carbon Cycle 2.0 Initiative at the Berkeley Lab
Paul Alivisatos, Director, Berkeley Lab and Professor of Chemistry and Material Sciences, UC Berkeley
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