Beyond the Hedges

Rice University is home to an abundance of brilliant minds, game-changing research and unique stories. Now alumni and friends don’t have to be on campus — or even in Houston — to experience Rice’s vibrant intellectual life. Each month, join Rice alumna Kate Coley ’11, associate director of alumni programs, as she sits down with those on campus and those out in the world to explore a range of fascinating topics. We’re bringing Rice’s spirit of lifelong learning beyond the hedges, to you!

What is Hate? 04/19/2022

What is Hate? “Hate is not something you can be indifferent about and just find middle ground. You have to denounce it whenever you find it,” says Luis Duno-Gottberg. In this episode, the Professor of Caribbean and Film Studies discusses his experience teaching one of the Humanities Department’s “Big Question Courses.” The question he and his students contend with is “what is hate?” Duno-Gottberg’s cross-discipline approach to the course and this conversation leaves a lot the think about both within ourselves and in our global community. His research on how subverting images of hate can be incredibly impactful hits home within the hedges, as he discusses the decision to move the statue of William Marsh Rice instead of removing it from the quad entirely. /episode/index/show/beyondthehedges/id/22843901

Workplace Allyship 03/01/2022

Workplace Allyship How do unconscious, embedded stereotypes shape our behavior towards each other? And how do these behaviors subtlety affect a person’s self-confidence? Eden King, Lynette S. Autrey Professor of Psychology, does research that seeks to guide the equitable and effective management of diverse organizations. Listen in as she discusses her eye-opening findings on women in the workplace, parenting during lockdown and how to be an ally to your colleagues. /episode/index/show/beyondthehedges/id/22300607

Disability is a Diversity Issue 09/23/2021

Disability is a Diversity Issue “Am I disabled because of my impairment or am I disabled because of attitudes in society?” This thought-provoking question is posed by this episode’s guest, the Director of the Disability Resource Center here at Rice University, Alan Russell. Russell discusses barrier free accessibility, making sure to practice compassion instead of pity, and the importance of intersectional work that includes disability within the movement for diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice. /episode/index/show/beyondthehedges/id/20578625

The Docs 02/10/2021

The Docs Get to know these revolutionary Rice leaders in a more intimate setting on the Beyond the Hedges podcast as Byrd and McDaniel give listeners a behind-the-scenes look into their journeys at Rice, the process for creating and making Doc Talks, interesting findings thus far and more. Stay tuned until the end to hear from undergraduate student researcher, Indya Porter, talk about what she’s been working on for the Task Force. /episode/index/show/beyondthehedges/id/17895584

Houston Part Three: It's Up to Us 02/08/2021

Houston Part Three: It's Up to Us In the final episode of our three part series with Stephen Klineberg, we grapple with how to make Houston successful in the 21st century given the deep class divides, inaccessibility to quality education, and exploitation of immigrant workers. Steve says “the story of America is the story of immigrants, and we need to get back to that. That is who we are and will be as the 21st century unfolds.” /episode/index/show/beyondthehedges/id/17857970

Houston Part Two: Unequal Opportunity in a Paradoxical City 12/07/2020

Houston Part Two: Unequal Opportunity in a Paradoxical City /episode/index/show/beyondthehedges/id/17091671

Houston Part One: Oil Boom to Bust 10/27/2020

Houston Part One: Oil Boom to Bust In the first episode of this three-part series, Stephen Klineberg discusses the research found in his book “Prophetic City: Houston on the Cusp of a Changing America,” covering the early days of Houston up until the oil bust in 1982. Klineberg is a professor emeritus of sociology at Rice and the founding director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research. His surveys of Houston over the last 40 years have captured the city’s transformation, and why Houston, as he puts it, “is where, for better or worse, the future of our nation is going to be worked out.” /episode/index/show/beyondthehedges/id/16565570

Voting in 2020 09/29/2020

Voting in 2020 With the huge political divide in the United States, fears around how to vote safely during a pandemic and the recent passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the upcoming presidential election is unlike anything we’ve seen before. What will it take for Americans to feel safe while voting in the wake of COVID-19? What are the concerns around mail-in voting, and are they valid? In this episode, Robert Stein, the fellow in urban politics at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Lena Grohlman Fox Professor of Political Science, discusses his research on voting in a pandemic, mail-in voting and what it truly means to exercise your right to vote. /episode/index/show/beyondthehedges/id/16204196

The Fallacy of Racial Colorblindness 08/25/2020

The Fallacy of Racial Colorblindness In this episode, Professor Pinn discusses the fallacy of colorblindness as an anti-racist solution, the sustainable changes hip hop has created for the Black community, and what the global Rice community can do to fight racial injustice. /episode/index/show/beyondthehedges/id/15747881

Racial Trauma 08/11/2020

Racial Trauma The killing of George Floyd has caused global protests around racial injustice and white supremacy. How does the stress of racial trauma play out in the lives of people in Black and Brown communities? What can we do as a global Rice community to fight racial justice? Join guest host Vanity Hill, assistant director of alumni regional outreach, as she explores these topics with Tony Brown, sociology professor, race and racism scholar and director of the Racism and Racial Experiences Workgroup. /episode/index/show/beyondthehedges/id/15574934

Contagion Media and COVID-19 05/26/2020

Contagion Media and COVID-19 COVID-19 is constantly on our minds and on our screens. How has the history of contagion media shaped the way we respond to and think about pandemics like this? How do we handle the shifting paradigm of health communications in a digital age? In this episode, Kirsten Ostherr, director of Rice’s Medical Humanities Program and Medical Futures Lab, discusses representation, social media, marginalized communities and the dangers of misinformation around the global crisis. /episode/index/show/beyondthehedges/id/14562644

Wisdom of the Ants 05/06/2020

Wisdom of the Ants How can ants teach us to be efficient? Most of us think ants are picnic pests on the hunt for food, but ants are actually members of societies that function as complexly as ours with divisions of labor and specialties. They grow their own food on a mass scale, develop pesticides and prepare in case of food scarcity without experiencing a traffic jam. In this episode, Rice Associate Teaching Professor and Evolutionary Biologist Scott Solomon will discusses what makes ants a successful model for efficiency. /episode/index/show/beyondthehedges/id/14308160

Beyond the Hedges

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