The Break Room: Recent Episodes
Bruin Review
Welcome to The Break Room, a podcast brought to you by the Bruin Review. The Bruin Review is UCLA's only non-partisan student publication committed to promoting productive, thought-provoking discourse on a wide range of topics. The Break Room seeks to further the Bruin Review's mission by delivering these conversations straight to listeners in a format they can enjoy and learn from at home, in the dorms, or on the way to class. If you're interested in being on the podcast, please shoot us an email at: bruinreviewpodcast@gmail.com
Jumpstart your day with a thought-provoking discussion on what is often a taboo topic: alcoholism. As it pertains to college students, hosts Anu and Julia break down this idea on another episode of The Break Room.
As previously aired on UCLA Radio, this episode was recorded from inside the inverted fountain. Your hosts jump into this discussion the same way graduating seniors jump into this very fountain, as is UCLA tradition.
Tune in to The Break Room live on UCLA Radio, every Friday at 8am.
Follow us on Spotify and on Instagram @bruinreview
Join Anu and Julia on another episode of The Break Room, where the idea of casual polygamy in the modern day, as it applies to the average college student, is unpacked.
As previously aired on UCLA Radio, this episode was recorded from the Powell Cat memorial in the heart of campus, where your hosts leave no stone unturned in discussing this phenomenon.
Tune in to The Break Room live on UCLA Radio, every Friday at 8am.
Follow us on Spotify and on Instagram @bruinreview
In this episode of The Break Room, we are joined by the former President and Editor-in-Chief: Eleanor Murphy and Bailey Meyers, respectively. We discuss the role of Bruin Review in their lives, the importance and need for discourse on campus, and everything in between.
The circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic forced many universities to quickly adopt online teaching as their primary form of education. While many students now prefer remote learning, opinions amongst professors regarding teaching online have been mixed. As COVID restrictions loosen, discussion has arisen about whether or not remote classes should remain an option going forward. In this episode, co-hosts Larry and Lulu are joined by Michael Suman, UCLA Communications professor and former research director for the USC Annenberg Center for the Digital Future. They discuss the parts of the classroom that were lost in the switch to remote, whether remote learning has a place in the post-COVID classroom, student opinion on making classes in-person, and the wider effects of technology on college youth.
In this episode of the Break Room, UCLA students Brian, Anu and Lulu, discuss their personal experiences with the onset feeling of loneliness triggered by the Coronavirus pandemic. Exploring the many caveats of loneliness, this episode covers the science-based health consequences of this lonely period, and the real-life healthy and unhealthy coping mechanism that manifest as a result.In this episode of the Break Room, UCLA students Brian, Anu and Lulu, discuss their personal experiences with the onset feeling of loneliness triggered by the Coronavirus pandemic. Exploring the many caveats of loneliness, this episode covers the science-based health consequences of this lonely period, and the real-life healthy and unhealthy coping mechanism that manifest as a result.
In this episode of the Break Room, Bruin Review hosts Shay and Avijit join Anjali Nagaraja and Victoria Kuang, the cofounders of Impact Investing Group, UCLA’s first Impact Investing club. We discuss what impact investing means, its future, how students at all financial levels can get involved in promoting sustainable companies, and debunk many myths surrounding this topic regarding financial returns and legitimacy of sustainability metrics in business.
In this episode of the Break Room, Shay joins Dylan Djoenadi from Kids React and Teens React to tell us how he started in the industry with background roles in Hannah Montana, Parenthood, and more as well as speak about spending the last ten years starring on the FineBros’ React channel.
In this episode of the Break Room, Sophia, Eleanor, and Anu discuss college hookup culture and how it’s changed in the age of coronavirus along with our relationships with relationships, funny stories, and dating app usage.
In this episode of The Break Room, hosts Sophia and Lauren are joined by Dr. Jessica Harris, assistant professor in the UCLA Graduate School of Education, and Kamilah Zadi, past president of Mixed Student Union at UCLA, to discuss the experiences of mixed or multiracial students on campus. Listen in as they explain the mixed identity crisis, exposing the role of microaggressions in friendships, reveal their best practices for Tinder, and explore the future of critical multiracial theory in education.
In this episode of The Break Room, host Lauren is joined by Jake Saper, a partner at Emergence Capital. They discuss Jake’s career path from startups to venture capital; the emerging technology of Coaching Networks; how AI can help fight bias in the hiring process, improve experiences in remote yoga classes, and provide real-time advice to interviewees; potential future uses of Zoom in the spheres of religion and online dating; and more.
In this episode of The Break Room, host Shay is joined by UCLA third-year Brielle Kinkead, director of 1 Student at a Time. Through its Students for Students Solidarity Fund, this student-led organization raises and redistributes funds for students whose finances have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through September they have collected over $12,000 for students in need through GoFundMe and Venmo.
GoFundMe: bit.ly/UCLA-Solidarity-Fund
Venmo: @UCLA-Solidarity-Fund
Instagram: @1st_losangeles
Linktree: linktr.ee/1st_losangeles
In this episode of The Break Room, host Shay is joined by Bri-Ann Hernandez, a Master’s student at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health specializing in Community Health Science and Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights. Shay and Bri-Ann discuss the role of psilocybin (magic mushrooms) in indigenous Mexican cultures, the history of psychedelics in the US, how psilocybin acts on the brain, potential uses for psychedelics as treatments for anxiety and depression, expert advice on how to trip safely, the future of psilocybin research, and more.
In this episode of The Break Room, host Casey is joined by Justin Mott, an award winning photojournalist based in Vietnam, specializing in wildlife and conservation photography. Justin’s work has appeared in a variety of publications, including TIME, the Washington Post, and The New York Times. Casey and Justin discuss travelling across the world to photograph animals, imitation photography and ethics, doing shoots during COVID, staying creative while staying safe, looking back at old work, and more.
In this episode of The Break Room, host Sophia is joined by Dr. Michelle Dee, an anesthesiologist and first-line responder at Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Sophia and Dr. Dee talk about the experience of treating COVID-19 patients, including dealing with the constant threat of infection and how doctors decide which patients to save when they cannot treat everyone. They also discuss the effectiveness of COVID-19 responses across the globe, lifting quarantine, and the effectiveness of online classes.
In this episode of The Break Room, host Jonah is joined by Izzy Sumner, a rising fourth-year at UCLA who designed and taught a course on behavioral economics, the intersection of psychology and economics. They discuss the field of behavioral econ; the cognitive biases that affect us in everyday life; how to use psychology to encourage eating healthier foods, investing more in retirement, and reducing energy consumption; why people tend to use intuition over reason; Izzy’s experience teaching a self-designed class as an undergraduate; and more.
In this episode of The Break Room, host Lauren is joined by Julia Mariano and Samantha Smith of Reform Revolution Project, an organization that promotes resources for anti-racist education. They discuss convenient resources for learning about social justice, cancel culture and the impediment to lifelong learning it creates, prospects for improving ethnic studies curricula, how social media encourages performative activism, the power of youth-led advocacy, and more.
In this episode of The Break Room, host Shay is joined by Thao Do, a master's student in the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA who specializes in the health and well-being of underrepresented communities. They discuss the neurological roots of racism, the shortcomings of colorblindness, the psychological harm done to victims of racial bias, the potential for unlearning racial prejudice, and more.
In this episode of The Break Room, host Sophia is joined by Xavier Brown, an activist and rising sophomore at UCLA. Xavier recently organized and helped lead a 15,000-person march in Oakland in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, making it one of the East Bay’s largest protests following the killing of George Floyd. Xavier and Sophia discuss his experience as a student activist, the meaning of white privilege, the connection between redlining and police brutality, the slogans “defund the police” and “all cops are bastards,” media misrepresentation of the protests, the dangers of performative activism, and more.
In this episode of The Break Room, host Jonah is joined by Rob Wiener, founder and executive director of the California Coalition for Rural Housing, a nonprofit that advocates for investment in low-income housing. They discuss the causes and consequences of California’s housing crisis, the upsides and downsides of rent control, the legal and practical challenges of building new housing, the potential legacy of COVID-19 on housing policy in California, and more.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic scattering members of the Bruin Review back to their homes all around the world, The Break Room is giving listeners an inside look into how life in quarantine compares and differs from city to city and country to country.
In this combo episode of The Break Room, host Keaton is joined by Sahil Jog, a UCLA freshman quarantining at home in Riverside, California. They discuss Riverside County’s response to the pandemic, new hobbies college students can pick up while social distancing, and more. Next, Keaton speaks with Nel Alpysbayeva in Astana, Kazakhstan, on her journey back home, her time spent quarantining alone, design classes, and more.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic scattering members of the Bruin Review back to their homes all around the world, The Break Room is giving listeners an inside look into how life in quarantine compares and differs from city to city and country to country.
In this combo episode of The Break Room, host Keaton is joined by Eleanor Murphy, a UCLA freshman in Brooklyn, New York, and Brian Chang, a UCLA sophomore in Singapore. Keaton and Eleanor discuss the upsides of studying from home; the creative solutions Eleanor’s parents, who are both summer camp directors, are exploring for virtual camp; the challenges of living in a global COVID hotspot; and more. Keaton and Brian discuss the Singaporean government’s response to the outbreak, the challenges faced by migrant workers, and the shortcomings of UCLA’s accommodations for international students.
In this episode of the Break Room, host Shay is joined by Dr. Alex Korb, professor of psychology at UCLA and author of The Upward Spiral. Shay and Dr. Korb discuss different ways of staying active in quarantine, setting healthy expectations for productivity, and how to study efficiently while working from home.
In this episode of the Break Room, host Jonah talks to Jayesh Menon, a fourth year student in the Microbiology, Immunology, & Molecular Genetics major at UCLA. Jayesh and Jonah discuss the mechanisms of respiratory viruses, the inner workings of the immune system, how to reduce risk of infection, and the effectiveness of potential treatment methods like antibodies and vaccines.
In this episode of The Break Room, host Larry is joined by John Chen M.D., Ph.D., a partner physician with Minnesota Gastroenterology. They discuss how the COVID-19 has affected medical professionals, the government and population's response to the pandemic, and its implications on society moving forward.
In this episode of The Break Room, Alli is joined by Carl Hatch and Michael Pile of Shenanigans Comedy Club and UCLA Radio. They discuss “edgy” humor, cancel culture, the evolution of comedy, how soon is too soon, and the potential benefits of political correctness to comedy. Check out Carl and Michael on UCLA Radio every Tuesday at 9 pm, where they host a show about all things comedy.
In this episode of The Break Room, Alli is joined by Joe Rainey and Rushabh Nagori, co-founders of the Bruin Review, the student organization behind The Break Room. They discuss the reasons behind starting the Bruin Review, the importance of disagreement, and the line between contrarian and intentionally provocative arguments, among other topics.
In this episode of The Break Room, the topic of interest is Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is rapidly becoming a powerful and prevalent tool. However, to many people the mechanisms and implications of AI are still shrouded in mystery. To explain this exciting technology, host Alli is joined by Aaron Hui, president of the UCLA chapter of the AI Robotics Ethics Society (AIRES). Alli and Aaron discuss some of the most pressing ethical questions in the field of artificial intelligence, such as: How will AI affect human creativity? Can AI become godlike? Will sentient AI one day be entitled to citizenship and voting rights? Could humans ever trust AI to help them make important medical decisions?
Welcome to The Break Room. In our inaugural episode, we talk about who we are, and what we do. Stick around the water cooler, our next episode on the ethics of AI will be uploaded soon.