This UVA Speaks podcast features Andrew Mondschein, Associate Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning and Associate Dean of Research at the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia. Mondshein provides an overview of the U.S. transportation system, which relies heavily on cars and often leads to traffic congestion and rising traffic fatalities. He highlights the importance of exploring multimodal transportation options to create more walkable, bikeable, and transit-friendly cities and municipalities. When making infrastructure decisions, Mondshein emphasizes that transit choices cannot be made in isolation; broader equity and affordability considerations must also be considered.

Transcripts of the audio broadcast can be found here.

Andrew Mondschein is an Associate Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning and Associate Dean of Research at the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia. He studies transportation systems and travel behavior to foster equitable and sustainable accessibility in cities and regions. Mondschein’s research addresses the rapidly changing terrain of transportation and information technologies.

This UVA Speaks podcast features Crystal Shin, a Professor of Law and Director of the University of Virginia School of Law's Holistic Youth Defense Clinic. Shin explains that the clinic’s faculty and students represent their young clients in court proceedings, particularly those facing felony and misdemeanor charges. The clinic’s primary objective is to advocate for their young clients to keep them out of the system and in their homes, schools, and communities. Given the challenges and biases inherent in the criminal justice system, Shin highlights programs, such as the Restorative Justice program, that offer an alternative to traditional prosecution and incarceration.

Transcripts of the audio broadcast can be found here.

Crystal Shin is a Professor of Law at the University of Virginia’s School of Law and Director of the Holistic Youth Defense Clinic. She joined the Law School in 2017 and served as the first full-time faculty director of the Program in Law and Public Service until 2020. Before entering academia, Shin was an attorney for the JustChildren Program of the Legal Aid Justice Center, where she provided legal representation to children and families in special education, school discipline, juvenile justice, and immigration.

This UVA Speaks podcast features Melissa Lubin, Dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS) at the University of Virginia. Lubin discusses the school's mission to provide affordable, accessible, and achievable education that expands the University's reach to non-traditional learners and working adults. SCPS offers an essential pathway to degree completion, certificate programs, and lifelong learning opportunities for students to pursue personal and professional growth.

Transcripts of the audio broadcast can be found here.

Melissa Lubin is Dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS) at the University of Virginia. Since joining SCPS in 2022, Dean Lubin has launched a strategic plan that links to UVA's 2030 Plan, expanded scholarship opportunities for students in need, and launched UVA Enlighten, a program to build a pathway to undergraduate degrees. Before joining UVA, Lubin served as Dean of the School of Professional & Continuing Education and Chief Economic Engagement Officer at James Madison University, where she was the university’s champion for community engagement and economic development. She also directed Virginia Tech’s Commonwealth Campus Centers in Richmond, Newport News, and Virginia Beach.

This UVA Speaks podcast features John M. Owen, IV, Ambassador Henry J. and Mrs. Marion R. Taylor, Professor of Politics in the Department of Politics and a Senior Fellow at the Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Owen explores NATO's 75-year history, from its Cold War origins to its pivotal role in global security and stability. He discusses how NATO’s mission has adapted, how Artificial Intelligence and quantum computing impact global affairs, and how the war in Ukraine has reshaped the alliance.

Transcripts of the audio broadcast can be found here.

John Owen is the Ambassador Henry J. and Mrs. Marion R. Taylor, Professor of Politics in the Department of Politics at the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture and the Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. From January to June 2024, Owen served as an Academic Visitor at Nuffield College at the University of Oxford in England. His latest book is The Ecology of Nations: American Democracy in a Fragile World Order (Yale University Press, 2023).

This UVA Speaks podcast features Craig Konnoth, the Martha Lubin Karsh and Bruce A. Karsh Bicentennial Professor of Law at the University of Virginia’s School of Law. Konnoth explains that over the past decade, the LGBTQ movement has shifted its focus from marriage equality and employment discrimination to other critical issues. These include exemption claims like those upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 303 Creative case that allows individuals to deny services to LGBTQ individuals based on their speech or religious rights. Konnoth emphasizes the need to form alliances with other minority groups to safeguard their hard-won progress.

Transcripts of the audio broadcast can be found here.

Craig Konnoth is the Martha Lubin Karsh and Bruce A. Karsh Bicentennial Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law. Professor Konnoth writes about health, civil rights, and health data regulation. He is also active in LGBTQ rights litigation and has filed briefs on LGBTQ rights issues in the U.S. Supreme Court and the Tenth Circuit. His publications have appeared or will appear in the Yale Law Journal, the Stanford Law Review, the Hastings Law Journal, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the Iowa Law Review, the online companions to the Penn Law Review, and the Washington & Lee Law Review, and as chapters in edited volumes.

On this UVA Speaks podcast, Leora Friedberg, Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, shares with us the history of Social Security and concerns for the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund. Friedberg explains that the U.S. government has known about the future shortfalls for decades and describes proposed reforms. Her research details inequalities inherent in the system that could inform policy revisions.

Transcripts of the audio broadcast can be found here.

Leora Friedberg, Associate Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Economics in the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Her research interests include public and labor economics and domestic policy. Friedberg is the Co-Director of the Retirement Research Institute and a Faculty Affiliate at the Virginia Center for Tax Law.

On this UVA Speaks podcast, Shawn Pelletier, MD, Professor and Chief of the Division of Transplant Surgery at the University of Virginia Health System, shares with us. He explains the different aspects of organ donation from living donors who donate their kidneys or part of their liver and those who arrange to donate their organs after death. Dr. Pelletier shares medical advances that have enabled surgeons and transplant teams to provide life-saving care to more patients. The need for transplanted organs outpaces the available supply. In 2023, there were 46,000 transplants performed; however, over 103,000 patients are currently on the transplant waiting list.

Transcripts of the audio broadcast can be found here.

Shawn Pelletier, MD, is a Professor, Chief of the Division of Transplant Surgery, Director of the Transplant Service Line, and Surgical Director of the Liver Transplant Program at UVA Health Systems. He has been on the faculty at UVA for 12 years, is a leader in several professional organizations, and has contributed to more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals.

On this UVA Speaks podcast, Bonnie Hagerman, Associate Professor in Women, Gender, & Sexuality and Director of Undergraduate Programs at the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia, describes the history of participation of American women in the Olympics and sports. She discusses athletes like Margaret Abbott, the first American woman to win an Olympic medal, and Althea Gibson, who broke the color barrier in women’s tennis and golf. Hagerman also highlights the importance of athletes like Venus Williams, who advocated for pay equity for women in her sport, and gymnast Simone Biles, whose withdrawal from the 2020 Olympics led her to become a mental health advocate.

Transcripts of the audio broadcast can be found here.

Bonnie Hagerman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Women, Gender, & Sexuality and Director of Undergraduate Programs at the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia. Her research focuses on women, gender, sport, and 20th Century American social history. She is the author of the book “Skimpy Coverage: Sports Illustrated and the Shaping of the Female Athlete.” This Spring, Professor Hagerman is teaching a course entitled “Gender & the Olympic Games.”