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Welcome to our podcast, UCLA LiveWell!

Hello, my name is Dr. Wendy Slusser and here at the Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center at UCLA we strive to be trailblazers in building a culture of health and well-being. Starting in our own backyard, Semel HCI transforms ideas into reality to create a campus-wide culture of health by promoting physical, emotional and social well-being. Welcome to our center’s podcast, UCLA LiveWell!

Join us as we interview leading experts and discover new perspectives on health and wellbeing. Each episode, we will bring to you scientists and world-class operators who will share with you cutting-edge research and practices, and never-before broadcasted tips to live a more healthful life for yourself, community and our planet.

EPISODES

All Podcasts Social Justice Food & Climate Emotional Well-being Physical well-being Social well-being

Where Food Meets Performance

A PhD candidate at UCLA in Theater and Performance Studies with a graduate certificate in Food Studies, Elizabeth discusses how she approaches food experiences and food justice through an artistic research lens.

Coffee, Community, Connection

Coffee, community, and connection are the ways that Joe and Celia Ward-Wallace advocate for their South Central LA community as founders of the South LA Cafe and the South LA community nonprofit.

Food Law

Executive Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy and Professor at the UCLA School of Law, Michael Roberts, joins us to explain the complexities of governing food and why he makes always checks the labels before buying olive oil.

Eco-Conscious Teaching, Living, and Community Building

Join us today for a lesson in environmental storytelling with Tamar Christensen. Everything about Tamar’s story is fascinating– she is a writing instructor at UCLA, a Veteran, a composter, a chicken mom, and a zero-waste lifestyle icon.

Part 2: A Culture of Care

How is controversy a good thing? Join us as we discuss imagining new and revolutionary solutions to issues and injustices by centering art and community care.

Part 1: A Culture of Care

In this episode, Peter Sellars, with his gift of storytelling, takes us on a journey to the Olympics in ancient Greece, where health, theater, and the arts were of equal importance in this celebration of togetherness.

Food Forward

In today’s episode, Rick Nahmias, founder and CEO of Food Forward, tells us that story and gives us insider tips to starting your own nonprofit, growing a team, and building meaningful relationships that help bring food where it belongs.

Making Change By Meeting People Where They Are

In today’s episode, Olivia Farr, nonprofit and environmental activist extraordinaire leading the Bedford 2030 campaign, tells us the why and how of meeting people where they’re at, and ultimately, creating ripple effects when it comes to making change in your community.

The Universal Language of Cooking

In this episode, Bill Yosses, former White House Pastry Chef, teaches us how cooking has transcended language, and how innovative chefs and food leaders across the globe are using simple, ancient practices to make food more nutrient-dense and delicious.

Food as Medicine

This episode dives into the importance of building trust between researchers and communities and most importantly, bringing different groups together with cross-sector knowledge to create meaningful change in the food equity world.

Mindfulness, Connection, and Letting Go of Suffering

How is pain different from suffering? Why is community a spiritual practice? In this episode, you’ll not only learn the answers to these questions, but uncover the story of Dr. Bill Resnick’s journey.

Ease, Belonging, and The Alchemy of Yogurt

Today, we’re learning why yogurt is more than just protein and probiotics, but is the final result of an intricate and ancient yogurt-making practice that creates ease and cultivates belonging.

Empowering Others and Mental Health

Join us (again) for a conversation with the former NBA World Champion and one of the premier NBA defenders of his era, Metta Sandiford-Artest, previously known as Metta World Peace.

Why Study Food? A deep-dive into the why and the how.

Food is a lens for understanding environmental, social, and political issues, near and far. How do we leverage the power of food? What does it mean to prioritize Food Studies in a large university setting?

Food as Transformation

This conversation with Evan Kleiman is a breath of fresh air, covering the practices and perspectives that sustain Evan’s regenerative, equitable, and of course, delicious approach to preparing a meal.

Part 2: Why Can Preventive Health Services Be Covered by Health Insurance?

Today, our guest, past appointed chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and UCLA professor and physician, guides us through getting onboarded, choosing recommendations, bridging evidence to make preventive services more accessible for everyone.

Part 1: Why Can Preventive Health Services Be Covered by Health Insurance?

Finding the Path Back to Meaning and Joy

What are the little things we can do to create ritual, reflection, and reduce stress as we navigate new transitions? As we enter into this upcoming school year, this re-released episode with Dr. Brenda Bursch will walk us through resilience tools.

The Fresh Food Farmacy and Preventive Care

Join us today for a deep dive into how social determinants of health, the non-medical influences that contribute to someone’s health outcomes, can be addressed with a preventive, population-based approach, like Geisinger’s Fresh Food Farmacy.

Eco-Conscious Teaching, Living, and Community Building

Wendy Slusser – Behind the Mic

Learn more about Dr. Wendy Slusser’s career, inspirations, mentors, and how the Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center came to be. She has been leading the Semel HCI center for nearly a decade to advance health research and embed health equity across campus.

Student Advocacy as the Conscience

Wendy chats with Matt St.Clair to learn about his advocacy work, starting with the ground-breaking UC Go Solar Campaign in 2003 to his current position as the UC’s Chief Sustainability officer.