What happens when someone you love needs more care than you can give? In June's Vital Aging Forum, a panel of experts and caregivers will discuss the resources available to help guide this difficult decision, as well as the challenges and benefits of making one. Moderated by OLLI faculty member Sara Orem.
The event will be held in person only at the OLLI office at 1995 University Ave., Suite 365, Berkeley. Doors will open at 3:10 PM. Paid parking is available on site and on neighboring streets.
[For members only • In person only]
May 2025
Daren Fields served in local government for 30 years including as a city manager.
Feeling anxious these days? In May's Vital Aging Forum, David Presti, Berkeley professor of neurobiology, psychology and cognitive science, will share how we might transform our distress into collective hope, empowerment and action. In addition to his work at Berkeley, Dr. Presti also teaches neuroscience to Buddhist monks and nuns in India and Bhutan. He is the author of Foundational Concepts in Neuroscience: A Brain-Mind Odyssey (2016).
[For members only • Online]
Are predictions of the dollar's demise greatly exaggerated? Economist Barry Eichengreen, one of nation's foremost experts on the international financial system, will discuss the implications of the U.S. dollar in the age of cryptocurrency and government deregulation, and the forces propelling both. A facilitated Q&A will follow.
Barry Eichengreen is the George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Chair and Distinguished Professor of Economics and Political Science at UC Berkeley. His research lies at the intersection of economic history and international macroeconomics. His body of work — including more than 25 books — has generated some of the field’s most influential research on the Great Depression and the design of international monetary systems. He has held many prestigious appointments: Research Associate of the NBER, Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research, Senior Policy Advisor at the IMF, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Not yet an OLLI @Berkeley member? Now is the time to join. Members receive exclusive access to 100+ courses per year, town halls, intergenerational dialogues, field trips, travel, socials, and more.
Summer Shorts are one-time events open to OLLI @Berkeley members and non-members. Each Short features acclaimed speakers discussing issues impacting the state of our country, Constitution, and shared humanity.
[Members, be sure to log into your OLLI account before registering to receive your $20 discount.]
Can the President deport legal residents to a prison in a foreign country or unilaterally dismantle government agencies? Can the Secretary of State revoke a visa based on someone’s speech or writing? Can the government cut university funding because of campus protests? Erwin Chemerinsky, one of the nation's leading constitutional law scholars, and interlocutor Bill Sokol will examine the attack on the rule of law in the Trump administration and propose how best to counter it.
Erwin Chemerinsky is the Dean of the UC Berkeley Law School. He is the author of nineteen books, including leading casebooks and treatises about constitutional law, criminal procedure, and federal jurisdiction. His most recent major books are Worse than Nothing: The Dangerous Fallacy of Originalism (2022) and Presumed Guilty: How the Supreme Court Empowered the Police and Subverted Civil Rights (2021). He also is the author of more than 200 law review articles. He frequently argues appellate cases, including in the United States Supreme Court.
Bill Sokol is a Bay Area labor and employment lawyer, a lecturer at SF State University, a gubernatorial appointee to the CalSavers Retirement Investment Board, and was a talk show host on Pacifica Radio for 25 years. He holds a J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law.
Not yet an OLLI @Berkeley member? Now is the time to join. Members receive exclusive access to 100+ courses per year, town halls, intergenerational dialogues, field trips, travel, socials, and more.
Summer Shorts are one-time events open to OLLI @Berkeley members and non-members. Each Short features acclaimed speakers discussing issues impacting the state of our country, Constitution, and shared humanity.
[Members, be sure to log into your OLLI account before registering to receive your $20 discount.]
This exploration will trace the evolution of Silicon Valley companies, culture, and customers from the early days of marginal idealistic geekery to today — a world in which Silicon Valley products have redefined nearly all aspects of how we live and think, and which mediate our every action.
David Temkin is the editor-in-chief of In Formation, a magazine focused on what tech is doing to us. He’s been a software engineer at Apple, a privacy leader at Google, and has co-founded three tech startups. Originally launched during the dot-com era, In Formation has always and solely been about serious and satirical critiques of tech culture. The magazine is being relaunched in 2025.
Contributing editor Paulina Borsook has been immersed in Silicon Valley culture since the mid-1980s. She is best known for her essay “How the Internet ruined San Francisco" and for her book Cyberselfish: A Critical Romp Through the Terribly Libertarian Culture of High Tech.
Not yet an OLLI @Berkeley member? Now is the time to join. Members receive exclusive access to 100+ courses per year, town halls, intergenerational dialogues, field trips, travel, socials, and more.
Summer Shorts are one-time events open to OLLI @Berkeley members and non-members. Each Short features acclaimed speakers discussing issues impacting the state of our country, Constitution, and shared humanity.
[Members, be sure to log into your OLLI account before registering to receive your $20 discount.]
As Viktor Orbán dismantles Hungary’s democratic institutions, three women — a journalist, a politician, and a nurse — work tirelessly to fight for their country’s soul in Democracy Noir, a chilling expose of far-right nationalism and an inspirational beacon of resistance. After the screening, director Connie Field will discuss the making of the film and what drew her to the subject of the grassroots fight for democracy in Hungary.
"Field is careful not to slip into sloganeering and preaching to the choir. The film is most effective as a foreshadowing of the future we are heading toward in our own country with shocking parallels between Trump’s statements and actions and Orbán’s."- Michael Fox, KQED
Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning director Connie Field is a pioneering social documentary filmmaker. Before getting involved in film she worked as an organizer in many social and human rights organizations where she established her commitment to progressive social change which she has carried into her film career. Many of her films focus on hidden histories, stories that had not been told before which should be an important part of our collective memories.
Not yet an OLLI @Berkeley member? Now is the time to join. Members receive exclusive access to 100+ courses per year, town halls, intergenerational dialogues, field trips, travel, socials, and more.
Summer Shorts are one-time events open to OLLI @Berkeley members and non-members. Each Short features acclaimed speakers discussing issues impacting the state of our country, Constitution, and shared humanity.
[Members, be sure to log into your OLLI account before registering to receive your $20 discount.]
Curious about OLLI's new travel program and who else might be interested in going? Join us in the lobby of Freight & Salvage (2020 Addison St., Berkeley) at noon to get the scoop about our November trip to Ireland, including Northern Ireland (book before May 1 for $250 savings!) and to Costa Rica in January. Plus a trip to Southeast Asia in April 2026. (Shh. Not official yet.)