The following video programs of previously presented OLLI at UNL courses are on demand on the online platform CANVAS. Learn at your own pace, on your own time and at your convenience. This programming is available for a single cost of $30. After registration, you will receive an email with a “Join Code” and instructions for how to access programming.
Food for Thought: Nutrition and the Aging Brain – Part II
Dick Dienstbier, professor emeritus of Psychology at UNL continues his discussion about how nutrition preserves cognition and delays dementia in aging brains. After a refresher from Part I (Mediterranean diet, plant-based nutrients, caffeine, alcohol, andsome vitamins), he will continue by exploring more vitamins, and then metals like zinc, magnesium, and iron. Diets designed to affect energy-generating mitochondria, the keto and periodic fasting will be explored. Finally, he will discuss gut bacteria - the “microbiome” and the “gut-brain axis,” and nutritive impacts on depression, anxiety, and stress tolerance.
Just Do It – Or Don’t: Ethics in Advertising and Public Relations
Ads inform, entertain, annoy, engage, bore, and sometimes persuade. But how do ads affect society? Explore the social impact and ethics of promoting products and ideas,investigating these and other questions: Can advertising make you buy things you don’t need? Does advertising make us as a society more materialistic? Does advertising mirror or shape what we think? Are portrayals of people in ads fair and accurate? What is the line between advertising, public relations and news? Instructors include Nancy Mitchell, professor emeritus, Advertising and Public Relations in the College of Journalism,UNL; Josh Planos, director, Public Relations and Communications, BBB; Jim Lauerman, founder/CEO of Bailey Lauerman; Meg Lauerman, communications consultant.
It's Fun to Find Out: Local Historic Research
Prior to his 35 years as Lincoln’s historic preservation planner, Ed Zimmer was a freelance architectural historian in Boston for more than a decade. Zimmer will share his exploration of a number of research projects, including the following: 1) Rediscovering the origins of an 18th century paneled room in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, 2) Exploring the identity of an early 20th century photographer of Lincoln’s African-American community, 3) Providing content to “History Nebraska’s” website on Nebraska architects and a publicly accessible home for 35 years of accumulated research, 4) Researching and authoring walking tour booklets for Lincoln neighborhoods such as Haymarket, Wyuka, and Near South, and 5) Tracing the origins of Ponca Chief Standing Bear’s eloquent statements of advocacy in 1879, and the subsequent literary evolution of his words.
What You Need to Know about Residential Solar Energy
F. John Hay, extension educator at UNL discusses how residential solar prices have declined in recent years. Many companies have begun campaigns on social media and by mail. Yet, many questions remain. What is the economic return? How much energy will they generate? Can I sell excess energy to “the grid”? How do I select an installer or evaluate a quote?
The Future of the Hemp Industry in Nebraska
Industrial Hemp is a cannabis plant closely related to marijuana, which has delta-9- tetrhydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound found in marijuana. Mark Wilkins, professor and director of Industrial Ag Products at UNL, discusses the legalization and production of industrial hemp in the United States. Nebraska established a hemp production program in 2019. A multitude of products can be produced from industrial hemp. Wilkins discusses how hemp is cultivated and the potential products that can be produced from it within the context of Nebraska and surrounding states.
The History of Wind Energy in Nebraska
Electric generating wind turbines are popping up all over Nebraska and the Great Plains. You will be surprised to learn that this has all happened before. Rural America was filled with electricity generating wind turbines from the 1920s to the 1940s. F. John Hay, extension educator at UNL, explores some of the history of these wind generators and the reasons for their rapid delicne and expansion.
Apocalyptic Imagination
For centuries, particular readings of biblical text have shaped the course of Western history. Scripture, used as a political totem for those in power, gives divine weight to political agendas. Jonathan Redding, assistant professor of Religion at Nebraska Wesleyan University, explores a religiously diverse range of end of time stories. Apocalyptic scenarios (ancient, modern, oral, written) can function as ethical and political criticism of the status quo–a literature of, by, and for the marginalized. It can offer alternative, cosmic juice or future renewal.