Video of Programs (search and sort)

Griefbots, LLMs, and the Technological Uncanny
06/01/2025
Prof. Kirk Besmer

 

Over Zoom, Prof. Kirk Besmer presents how radically novel technologies produced by rapid innovation - such as ‘lab-grown meat’ and CRISPR gene editing - may engender an unsettling experience that something fundamental has been altered, an experience he calls the ‘technological uncanny,’ He will explore the notion with two current technologies that can induce the experience, griefbots and companion chatbots, as a place to begin philosophizing about our technological condition. Kirk Besmer is currently a Professor of Philosophy at Gonzaga University, and a Co-Editor-in-Chief of Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology. Note: 1st Sundays have more interaction, and some live music.

 

The Neurobiology of Religious Experiences
05/25/2025
Dr. Sarah Strand

 

Dr. Sarah Strand returns to discuss the neurobiological basis of out-of-body experiences (OBEs), beginning with a description and testimony given by those who have had an OBE, then a brief tour of the brain and the neuroanatomy responsible for OBEs. While OBEs are not always interpreted as religious, there is a compelling neurobiological explanation for why they often are. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings on the role of religion in the lives of individuals as well as in our worldwide community.  Dr. Strand is an associate lecturer in the Psychology Department at California State University, Sacramento. She received her Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has been lecturing about religion and neuroscience since 2010. In 2019, she created a Psychology of Religion course for Sacramento State, and in 2022, extended her teaching to Finland and Sweden.

 

Legacy Lost: Passing Across the Color Line
05/18/2025
Barbara Hilyer

 

Our presenter, Barbara Hilyer, was raised as white on the west coast, learning in her 30s that her father came from an accomplished African American family. Finding his sister, she learned their story which inspired her research, while meeting a variety of people in Washington DC, Montgomery, Alabama and Tallahassee Florida who helped her recover what had been lost. Her book “Legacy Lost: Passing Across the Color Line” shares this testament to how individuals lived and thrived over centuries in America’s race conscious society, and how American history has never been good at truth telling. Race is deeply woven into the American fabric and yet we are currently witnessing the attempt to unravel who we are. Barbara Hilyer holds a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instructional Leadership, and taught social studies and US History in public schools in Ashland, Oregon, residing now in Portland.

 

Snake Venoms: From Deadly Toxins to Potential Therapeutics
05/11/2025
Steve Mackessy

Dr. Stephen Mackessy discusses the evolution and diversification of snake venoms and their effects, finishing with a discussion of how therapeutics can and will be developed from venom compounds. His lab at U. of Northern Colorado (UNC) investigates fundamental questions in biology using venomous snakes and their venoms as a basic platform. He has published over 200 scientific papers, book chapters and natural history notes, several books, and special editions of several journals, with research including many students, and colleagues from nine countries and other US universities. He has received UNC awards in research and teaching (biomedicine and vertebrate biology), and has a B.A. and M.A. in Biology from UC Santa Barbara, and a Ph.D. from Washington State University.

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