UConn 360: The UConn Podcast

How You Like Them Apples?

Once upon a time, UConn was home to abundant orchards - where Gampel Pavilion sits now, and later at the Cold Spring Orchard not too far away. It's been many years since UConn grew its own apples, pears, and other tree fruit, but that's about to change.

 

The Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources is working to revive UConn's status as an orchard-having university, and this time, in addition to apples, there will be an impressive variety of fruits both familiar and new. Here to tell us all about these efforts is Evan Lentz, assistant extension educator of fruit production and integrated pest management. Evan graduated from UConn in 2022 with his master's in plant science and before that earned his bachelor's here in sustainable plant and soil systems. 

 

After we speak with Evan, Tom and Julie find a University guide to managing email from the dawn of the Internet era, and see how much has changed since then. 

Reliving UConn’s Dream Season

It may seem hard to believe, as we bask in the glow of a fifth national championship, but there was a time when the UConn men's basketball team was little more than an afterthought.

The Huskies had joined the newly created Big East Conference in 1979, which coincidentally would be the last time they'd play in the NCAA tournament for more than a decade. A doormat in the best basketball conference in the country, UConn's fortunes would only start to change when they hired a new head coach in 1986.

In his second year at UConn, Jim Calhoun led the Huskies to a victory in the National Invitation Tournament, their first ever national championship. But it would be the 1989-90 season that would capture the imagination of the entire state and announce UConn's arrival as a national contender.

The Dream Season, as it's become known, saw the Huskies reach their first NCAA tournament since 1979, a run capped off by the unforgettable Sweet 16 victory over Clemson, won in the very last second by a Tate George jump shot. 

It would all end in tears in the following round against Duke, but even though the Huskies would cut down the nets five times in the next 33 years, that season retains a special place in the hearts of UConn fans.

Matt Edwards is one of those fans. But unlike most fans, he's not content to simply cherish his memories.

Since April 2022, Matt has been producing the Dream Season Podcast, an in-depth oral history of the 1989-90 season, featuring interviews with players, coaches, and journalists who relive that incredible time and offer their insights on what made it so special.

 

After the interview, Matt sticks around while we answer a history question he posed on Twitter: What's the story behind a UConn-related publication with a memorable name that we're not sure we can say on the podcast? 

Learning to Live in the Anthropocene

Tom and Julie get a break this week from their hectic podcast production schedule when colleague Elaina Hancock interviews Professor of Earth Sciences Robert Thorson - known far and wide as "Thor" - whose expertise runs from Henry David Thoreau to New England stone walls to cutting-edge geology. In this interview, Elaina and Prof. Thorson talk about the "Anthropocene" - the current age the earth finds itself in, when human civilization is bringing unprecedented changes to the climate and environment. What does it mean to live in a time when people are a leading factor in shaping the very conditions of life on Earth? 

 

Meanwhile, Tom and Julie travel back to a lost age of slightly less dramatic scope: the age of public access television. There, they discover that UConn Waterbury once had its own regular show on cable systems throughout Connecticut, episodes of which seem to be lost, much to our hosts' chagrin.

Getting It Right on Substance Use Disorder

Nationally, about 12% of children live with a parent who abuses alcohol or other drugs, and about 80% of parents in the child welfare system have substance use disorder.

Margaret Lloyd Sieger is an Assistant Professor in the UConn School of Social Work who teaches courses in substance use disorder, research, program evaluation, and social policy. Her professional and practice background includes clinical work with children and adolescents affected by parental addiction at the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and as a civil litigation paralegal. She now studies mothers and infants with prenatal substance exposure, child protection policies and systems, and family treatment courts.

Professor Lloyd Sieger is leading Connecticut's evaluation of the implementation of the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, known as CAPTA, which requires states to collect notifications when infants are born and found to have been exposed to certain drugs in utero. 

In this episode, she talks about Connecticut's national-model data gathering system on substance abuse disorder, how to help make social workers' lives easier, and what it's like to be part of drafting a new law. 

On this month's visit to Tom's History Corner, we talk about some big anniversaries for UConn, involving intra-university lawsuits, an especially momentous day in the life of Charles Lewis Beach, and the last class in University history who could truthfully say they earned their sheepskins. 

How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worthwhile

Dimitris Xygalatas is an anthropologist and cognitive scientist who studies some of the more peculiar aspects of what it means to be human: ritual, music, sports fandom, and other things that help people connect with each other and make sense of their lives. He is an associated professor in anthropology and psychological sciences at UConn, and the head of the Experimental Anthropology Lab.

His most recent book is “Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living,” which is available wherever you can get books. We’ve been trying to make this interview happen for a while, and we’re thrilled it happened for this great conversation about personal superstition, public ritual, and why it sort of makes sense to wear the same pair of underwear during a historic NCAA tournament run. 

 

After we speak with Professor Xygalatas, Tom and Julie break out the UConn History Bagatelles and indulge in the decadent fantasy of dedicated parking. 

We Are the Champions, My Friend

Hey! Have you heard that the UConn Huskies men's basketball team are YOUR 2023 NCAA national champions? OF COURSE YOU HAVE. In this episode, recorded hours after the final game, Julie and Tom talk about it in a very sleep-deprived way that will either capture the lingering excitement of the moment or make you wonder if the fumes from the soundproof paneling have started to finally get to us.

 

Then, professionalism kicks in once again, and we have a fascinating chat with Nidhi Nair '23 (CLAS), UConn's first-ever Schwarzman Scholar and someone with a keen grasp of economics in both the macro and micro arenas. In this wide-ranging discussion, we talk about how she started an effort to boost financial literacy among her fellow students, the United Nations COP26 conference in Glasgow which she attended as a student fellow, her future plans to study in China, and much more. 

 

We then travel back to the magical summer of 1966 to learn about the best spots on campus to listen to recordings and check out pamphlets. Take a listen!

Perception Matters: Supreme Court Edition

This week, we sit down with UConn School of Law Dean Eboni S. Nelson for a wide-ranging discussion on everything from the U.S. Supreme Court to the future of legal education. Dean Nelson, who arrived at UConn in July 2020, says that the growing public impression of the nation's top court as essentially a political body doesn't bode well for its ability to fulfill its mission as ultimate arbiter of the country's laws. She also talks about an anticipated Court decision that could radically change the college admissions process, the importance of diverse viewpoints and backgrounds on the Court, and what she wants to see happen at UConn Law as it enters its second century.

 

After that, the band gets back together when Ken Best returns, IN STUDIO, to talk about a new exhibition he curated at Homer Babbidge Library on the history of rock and roll. Ken has forgotten more about rock music than most of us will ever learn, so don't miss either this conversation or the exhibit, which runs through June. 

A Big Mountain to Climb: Neurodivergency and the Workplace

“Neurodiversity” has become a familiar term across American society, but mere awareness of autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia, and other neurological differences doesn’t mean much for the people who live with these – especially when it comes to finding work.

Studies differ on exact numbers, but the unemployment rate among neurodivergent people (a more precise term than neurodiversity) is definitely higher than among the overall population, probably by a double-digit factor.

“It’s not just awareness,” says Judy Reilly, Judy Reilly, the director of the Werth Institute’s Center for Neurodiversity & Employment Innovation at UConn. “The heavy lift is really in, Ok, so now what do we do? How do we build a process to include these candidates better for the jobs they’re talented enough to do, and then how do we support them when we hire them?”

The new Center, under Reilly, is at the forefront of a growing move in higher education and the American workplace to appreciate the skills and talents of neurodivergent individuals, and create environments where they can succeed.

In this episode of UConn 360, Reilly talks about the shifting landscape in employment, the challenges of culture change in the workplace, and the reasons she’s so passionate about her work.

Then, in this episode's installment of Tom's History Shelf, Tom and Julie discover which building is the oldest on the UConn campus, and explain why it isn't the one you might be thinking of.

The Person Who Makes Sure UConn is Picture-Perfect

If you've ever looked at a copy of UConn Magazine, visited the UConn Today website, or received any UConn-related material in the mail, you've probably seen the work of Peter Morenus. University photographer for nearly three decades, Morenus has photographed everyone from first-year students on their first day moving in to U.S. presidents. Here, he talks with UConn 360 about some of his most memorable assignments, the changes he's seen in photography since he started out as a freelancer in New York putting rolls of film on Greyhound buses, and even a little bit of K-Pop. Also, Julie and Tom discuss where on campus you can find a really old bog. 

First Year Programs and the Limo Code

In this episode, we sit down (finally in our real studio!) with Leo Lachut '89, Director of Academic Support and Assistant Director of First Year Programs and Learning Communities. A first-generation college student himself, Leo talks about how, while student needs have remained roughly the same since his undergraduate days, the resources to help them succeed have vastly expanded.

 

But there's another side to Leo Lachut: a limousine-driving side. Moonlighting as a limo driver since he was in graduate school, Leo tells us about the 'Limo Code,' and the time he almost found himself on a Broadway stage by accident.

 

Tom and Julie round out this episode by reminding people not to spell "UConn" in all capital letters, in hopes of furthering a surprisingly intense online debate.