UCLA LiveWell

What if healing didn’t start in a clinic—but in the soil?On the newest episode of LiveWell, we explore how nature, community, and purpose are transforming Veteran care with Dr. Kaitlyn Fruin, UCLA preventive medicine fellow, and Air Force Veteran Cyntrea Cotton, founder of the Veterans Garden Initiative.This inspiring episode reveals: • How therapeutic gardening is easing PTSD, anxiety, and depression for veterans. • Why growing organic food can support whole-person healing—from the inside out. • The challenges and triumphs of reviving a 15-acre clinical garden on VA grounds.Cyntrea shares her personal journey of struggling with panic attacks, isolation, and chronic stress—and how reconnecting with the earth sparked her recovery and purpose. Katie walks us through the science and systems behind food as medicine, highlighting how gardens can be powerful entry points for mental and physical health.If you’ve ever wondered how nature can heal trauma, build community, and restore well-being, this episode will plant a seed.Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! Episode Resources + Mentions: -       Transcript -       GrowGood-       Restoring The Veterans GardenToday’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling. We also have links in the show notes on our website: https://healthy.ucla.edu/ If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu  To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @healthyucla

Welcome back for Part 2 and a sneak peek into Emily Falk's upcoming book, What We Value? Curious about why we make the choices we do? Want to explore how to make more intentional and fulfilling decisions? In our latest LiveWell episode, Emily Falk unpacks her groundbreaking research in neuroscience, psychology, and communication. Through personal stories and compelling research, she shares:- What makes an effective message and how ideas spread- How to be a more effective communicator- The key ingredients for happiness and well-beingTune in and discover how to approach everyday life with insights from a neuroscientist and a storyteller’s lens. There’s much to reflect on and put into action!More information on her book and to pre-order: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324037101Catch Part 1 here - https://healthy.ucla.edu/media/livewellpodcast/ep-83/ - where we discussed her research and collaborations exploring key brain systems that influence what we choose and why we choose, our behaviors and forming a value system, and the power of storytelling.Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling. We also have links in the show notes on our website: https://healthy.ucla.edu/ If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu  To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @healthyucla

Our latest episode of LiveWell is a two-parter with guest Emily Falk and a preview to her upcoming book, "What We Value". An expert in the science of behavior change, Emily is a Professor of Communication, Psychology, Marketing, and Operations, Information, and Decisions at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Vice Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication. In episode 1, we discuss her research and collaborations exploring key brain systems that influence what we choose and why we choose, our behaviors and forming a value system, and the power of storytelling. In episode 2, we get a preview of her upcoming book, “What We Value”, and go deeper into her research in neuroscience, psychology and communication. Through personal stories and research studies, she examines what makes certain messages influential, how and why ideas spread, what makes an effective communicator and what are key ingredients for happiness and well-being. For those curious about why we choose the things we do, how to explore ways to make more intentional and rewarding choices, and methods of changing behavior and opening perspectives – approaching daily decisions with a neuroscientist and storytelling lens – there’s much to ponder and put into practice. Enjoy this 1st episode - part 2 releasing next week! - and many thanks to Emily for being part of our LiveWell community!Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling. We also have links in the show notes on our website: https://healthy.ucla.edu/ If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu  To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @healthyucla

Morgan Tingley, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and faculty in the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, is an expert on how climate change and other environmental changes impact biodiversity, primarily birds. His research, which largely focuses on birds in temperate mountain environments, including California’s Sierra Nevada, examines how species shift their ranges and the timing of their activities in response to rising temperatures and other effects of climate change. Tingley is a leading authority on the effects of wildfire on biodiversity, specifically in the western United States. For over a decade, he has studied how birds respond during and after fires and, in particular, how the increase in massive forest fires is negatively affecting species.For Morgan’s lab website and more information about the research he conducts, please visit https://www.morgantingley.com/. Check out his Bird of the Day at https://www.morgantingley.com/botd/ and a fantastic resource for all bird enthusiasts - Cornell Lab All About Birds - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/.  Outdoors and onscreen, check out a movie that Morgan was the “ornithological consultant” on to ensure an accurate portrayal of birding and matching bird sounds to the images - “Birder’s Guide to Everything” - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6375322/.Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling. We also have links in the show notes on our website: https://healthy.ucla.edu/ If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu  To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @healthyucla

Original air date: May 2023.You don’t want to miss today’s episode--mainly because Wendy and Elizabeth reveal their reigning favorite salt! How’d we get there? Because Elizabeth shares how she guides her students through a mindful salt tasting--an exercise that embodies her research at the intersection of food and performance. A PhD candidate at UCLA in Theater and Performance Studies with a graduate certificate in Food Studies, Elizabeth discusses how she approaches food experiences and food justice through an artistic research lens. Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, provide feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! Episode Resources + Mentions: Elizabeth’s Recent Newsroom article Sustainable LA Grand ChallengeDonna Haraway, Staying with the TroubleUCLA REC Teaching Kitchen Common Threads Non-Profit Black Panther Movement + Breakfast ProgramToday’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling. We also have links in the show notes on our website: https://healthy.ucla.edu/ If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu  To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @healthyucla

Original air date: March 2023 Coffee, community, and connection are the ways that Joe and Celia Ward-Wallace advocate for their South Central LA community. As founders of the South LA Cafe and the South LA community nonprofit, this dynamic duo is paving the path toward food justice and community health. Learn how Celia, with her coaching and consulting background, and Joe, with his firefighting background, came together to create a place of gathering. Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, provide feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast!Podcast Resources:  South LA website Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling. We also have links in the show notes on our website: https://healthy.ucla.edu/ If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu  To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @healthyucla

Original air date: May 2022. Executive Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy and Professor at the UCLA School of Law, Michael Roberts, joins us to explain the complexities of governing food and why he always makes sure to check the labels before buying olive oil. Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! Episode Resources + Mentions: Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling. We also have links in the show notes on our website: https://healthy.ucla.edu/ If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu  To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @healthyucla

Original air date: July 2023. Join us today for a lesson in environmental storytelling with Tamar Christensen. Everything about Tamar’s story is fascinating-- she is a writing instructor at UCLA, a Veteran, a composter, a chicken mom, and a zero-waste lifestyle icon. We hear about how she sold her car after a transformative trip to Europe, how she gave food nonprofit Nourish LA a home at UCLA, and how she structures her creative writing classes around navigating eco-anxiety and knowing one’s place in the climate crisis. Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, provide feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! Episode Resources + Mentions: Nourish LA Daily Bruin Article Tamar Christensen Writing Programs Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling. We also have links in the show notes on our website: https://healthy.ucla.edu/ If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu  To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @healthyucla

This is the story of how noticing the abundant produce on citrus trees turned into what is now a 15 year old nonprofit, Food Forward, that transports nearly 90 million pounds of food to communities in need. Join us today as Rick Nahmias, founder and CEO of Food Forward, tells us that story and gives us insider tips to starting your own nonprofit, growing a team, and building meaningful relationships that help bring food where it belongs. Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! Episode Resources + Mentions: Food Forward Food Forward is Recognized by the White House For Its Commitment to End Hunger Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling. We also have links in the show notes on our website: https://healthy.ucla.edu/ If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu  To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @healthyucla

If you’re even the slightest bit curious about community movement building, look no further. In today’s episode, Olivia Farr, nonprofit and environmental activist extraordinaire leading the Bedford 2030 campaign, tells us the why and how of meeting people where they’re at, and ultimately, creating ripple effects when it comes to making change in your community. Visit our website to explore other episodes, suggest guests, offer feedback, or invite Wendy to be a guest on your podcast! Episode Resources + Mentions: Hannah Richie’s “Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet”Bedford’s Recyclopedia Bedford 2030 Today’s podcast was brought to you by UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. It really means a lot to our team when you rate and review LiveWell on your preferred listening platform. Thank you so much for supporting our storytelling. We also have links in the show notes on our website: https://healthy.ucla.edu/ If you have any questions or want to suggest a guest to be interviewed, please reach out at: livewell@ucla.edu  To stay up to date with our latest podcasts, make sure to follow us on Instagram @healthyucla