Beyond the Headlines

POL SCI 747

Osher (50+). This current events lecture series features a different speaker each week. Guest speakers are experts in their field who provide a one-hour lecture followed by a thirty-minute Q&A.

View Course Options

About this course:

Pulled from today’s headlines, this exclusive speaker series offers an in-depth analysis of significant contemporary issues. Each week, an expert from the political, social, technological, or economic spectrum provides a 1-hour lecture focused on a major global, national, or local issue. Afterwards, students participate in a 30-minute Q&A session with the speaker. A list of speakers for this term will be available online approximately one month before the course begins. This course uses the Hybrid format which allows students to participate remotely and/or in the classroom. Speakers will be in the classroom. This course will be recorded. Students will have access to videos for the duration of the course.

Series Speakers & Topics

Moderator: James Aldinger

Winter 2025

DATE			LECTURE
Jan. 7			An Update on the Status of Iran's Nuclear Program Nader Bagherzadeh, PhD Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, UCI
Jan. 14			Big Business and the American Government John Bransetter, PhD Lecturer, Department of Political Science, UCLA
Jan. 21			The Past, Present, and Future of the Oceans Jared Diamond, PhD Professor, Department of Geography, UCLA: Pulitzer-prize-winning author of five best-selling books
Jan. 28			Misogyny and Authoritarianism: What it means for the US Kyleanne Hunter, PhD Lead, RAND Women, Peace, and Security Initiative; Senior Political Scientist; Professor of Policy Analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School
Feb. 4			FBI Los Angeles - Counterterrorism Presentation (working title/not recorded) Amir Ehsaei Special Agent in charge, FBI the Los Angeles Field Office Counterterrorism Division
Feb. 11			Prospects for Russian and Chinese Cooperation: A Friendship Without Limits Alexis Blanc, PhD Senior Political Scientist and Professor of Policy Analysis at Pardee RAND Graduate School
Feb. 18			Transitioning Research into the Real World in an Effort to Combat Climate Change David Jassby, PhD Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UCLA
Feb. 25			Religion and the Supreme Court: A Shifting Balance Chris Soper, PhD Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Pepperdine University

Spring 2025

DATE			LECTURE
Apr. 1			The Post-Inauguration Economic Horizon, U.S. & California Jerry Nickelsburg, PhD UCLA Anderson Forecast, UCLA
Apr. 8			Taiwan and the South China Sea (not recorded) Yuen-Ching Bellette Lee, PhD Lecturer, Department of Political Science, UCLA
Apr. 15			Democratic Elitism: The Founding Myth of American Political Science (not recorded) Natasha Piano, PhD Assistant Professor of Political Theory in the Department of Political Science at UCLA; author, Democratic Elitism: The Founding Myth of American Political Science
Apr. 22			California Wildfires: Can Insurance Markets Handle the Risk? Lloyd Dixon, PhD Senior Economist, Director, Kenneth R. Feinberg Center for Catastrophic Risk Management and Compensation, RAND Corporation
Apr. 29			100 Years of American Dreaming Steven Bilakovics, PhD Lecturer, UCI, Pepperdine University School of Public Policy; author, The Anxiety of American Dreaming
May 6			Reproductive and LGBTQ+ Rights After the Fall of Roe v. Wade Cary Franklin, DPhil, JD Faculty Director at the Williams Institute and the McDonald-Wright Chair of Law at UCLA School of Law, Professor, School of Law, UCLA
May 13			U.S. Health System Performance: Prospects During the Second Trump Administration Thomas Rice, PhD Distinguished Professor of the Department of Health Policy and Management, UCLA
May 20			Early Predictors of Cognitive Impairment and the Future of Dementia Péter Hudomiet, PhD Economist at RAND Corporation

Fall 2025 Schedule

January 6 - February 24

Tuesday 10:30AM - 12:00PM PT

Future Offering (Opens July 28, 2025 12:00:00 AM)

See Details

Instructor: Jim Aldinger

404719

Fee:

$120.00

Hybrid

Location: UCLA Extension Gayley Center in Westwood

Updating...

See Details

Notes

Hybrid course: combination of in-person and live-online.

Course fee is $120 for both OLLI Basic and Plus members. Enrollment limited; enrollment prior to the first class required. Visitors not permitted.

You must be at least 50 years old and a current member of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UCLA to enroll in this course. If your membership has expired or if you wish to become a new member, please proceed with enrolling in courses and you will be automatically prompted to add a membership during checkout.

If you participate remotely, please download a free version of Zoom at https://zoom.us/ to participate in this course.

Refund Deadline

Refunds only available from July 28, 2025 to October 12, 2025

Schedule

Type

Date

Time

Location

Lecture

Tue Jan 6, 2026

10:30AM PT - 12:00PM PT