CCEP Podcast
About the Podcast
Established in 2018 at Cal Poly Pomona, the California Center for Ethics and Policy (CCEP) investigates pressing national and global challenges—such as climate policy, healthcare, artificial intelligence, immigration, and racism—through a Californian lens. Our podcast brings together students, artists, philosophers, social scientists, and advocates to debate, tell stories, and share ideas.
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Season 5
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Season 5 of Insert AI-Generated Title explores the ethical and social questions raised by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence. Produced by the CCEP at Cal Poly Pomona, this season features conversations that examine how AI is shaping technology, communication, and society.
Tone It Down
In the first episode, “Tone It Down,” CCEP student fellow Jonathan Carrigan speaks with linguist Sylvan Jesien about prescriptive language devices and how they influence the way we write and communicate.
AI In The Classroom
In episode two, CCEP student fellows Rebecca Garcia-Marguez and Destiny Lorenz examine the role of generative AI in the classroom. They discuss how students and professors are navigating the opportunities and challenges that AI brings to learning, academic integrity, and the future of education.
What Is Real?
In episode three, CCEP student fellow Jazmine Quinones explores how generative AI is changing our perception of reality. The episode focuses on the rise of AI-generated images, the challenges of identifying misinformation in visual media, and the importance of developing stronger media and AI literacy.
Painted Hands Along Cave Walls
In episode four, CCEP student fellow Nancy Garay explores the growing relationship between AI and artistic creation. Through conversations with students, artists, and experts, the episode examines whether AI-generated art could reshape the future of creativity and what these developments might mean for human artists.
The Impact of AI in the Programming and Computer Science Landscape
In episode five, CCEP student fellow Mark Haddad discusses how AI is changing the work of software engineers. Joined by Dr. John Korrah, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Cal Poly Pomona, they explore how AI tools are shaping coding practices and career paths for computer science students.
A Conversation about AI and Mental Health
In episode six, CCEP fellows Erik Jaimes-Garcia, Kevin Tapia, Anton Van Oppen, and Jesse Reyes explore the relationship between AI, social media, and mental health. The episode discusses issues such as social isolation, alienation, and the pressures of toxic productivity in an increasingly AI-driven online world.
Algorithmic Identities: Race, Gender, and Power in AI and Social Media
In episode seven, we share a panel discussion from Cal Poly Pomona titled “Algorithmic Identities? Race, Gender, and Power in AI and Social Media.” Featuring Tiffany Tsantsoulas and Rayheem Eskridge, the conversation explores how AI and social media shape narratives around gender, power, and the myth of AI neutrality.
How AI Can Harm Young People
In episode eight, CCEP fellow Lana Kasfy examines the risks AI may pose to young people. Through recent events and a conversation with a school counselor, the episode explores how parents, schools, and policymakers can help protect youth from potential harms associated with AI.
Deep Fakes
In episode nine, CCEP fellow Monserrat Perez Cabrales explores how generative AI can blur the line between what is real and what is fake. By testing students’ ability to identify AI-generated images, the episode examines the risks of deepfakes and the challenges of preventing harm caused by misleading visual content.
BOB in the Black Box
In episode ten, CCEP student fellow Karina Shah introduces “Bob,” a character representing the unknown aspects of generative AI models. Through a dialogue between “Dr. Karina” and Bob, the episode highlights the limitations and risks of AI systems and calls attention to the need for thoughtful regulation.
The AI Renaissance
In the season’s final episode, CCEP student fellow Ilke Suzer explores the ethical question of what happens when AI begins shaping our sense of truth. In a conversation with Merve Isler, founder of Marvelous, they discuss synthetic storytelling, deepfakes, and the cultural impact of AI-generated content.
Season 4
The Multiverse of Misinformation
Season 4 of our podcast, The Multiverse of Misinformation, explores how misinformation affects many facets of our lives. In this season of CCEP’s ethics and policy podcast, we examine the challenges misinformation poses and its impact on society.
Scroll for your Health
CPP student fellows Katie Priest and Charlotte Hill examine the effects of misinformation, specifically as it relates to health information in a post-COVID world.
Financial Literacy in the Age of Misinformation
CPP student fellow Joshua Ramirez will discuss the phenomenon of online financial misinformation with Angel Campos, President of the CPP Student Managed Investment Club, and David Rivera, President of the CPP Finance Society.
CreepyPastas
CCP student fellow Anna Bachman takes us on a trip down memory lane by exploring the chilling world of Creepypastas.
Misinformation and Democracy
CCEP hosted a panel titled “Misinformation and Democracy,” which explored the threat misinformation poses to democratic processes, with a focus on elections in California. The panel featured Hannah Cole, Dr. Hyungjin Gill, and CCEP Student Fellow Katie Priest from Cal Poly Pomona.
Misinformation in Religious Environments
Student fellows Allen Durghalli, Sebastian Gomez, and Connor Ruiz explore how misinformation can shape religious environments through a conversational discussion of personal experiences, religious authority, and the pressures faith communities can place on individuals and families, along with interviews with religious community members and leaders.
Author Meets Critics With Desiree Lim
CCEP also hosts forums and panels on its annual theme. In the “Author Meets Critics” event, Desiree Lim discussed her book Immigration and Social Equality: The Ethics of Skill-Selective Immigration Policy, with responses from Dr. Itzel Garcia, Leonel Alvarez Ceja, and CCEP Fellow Luis Gama.
Season 3
Movements in California
Season 3 of our podcast, Movements in California, will explore how migration and mobility are embedded in many of our public discourses, practices, and politics.
Recalcitrant Pride
CPP Poli Sci student Andrew Zableckis on trans political refugees who flee their states for refuge in another — often California.
Uncle Frankie
CPP Philosophy student interviews her godfather about the impact of immigration policy and his journey from Nicaragua to the U.S.
Untold Stories
CPP Urban & Regional Planning student Jaden Oloresisimo speaks with residents and visitors in San Diego's Barrio Logan & Chicano Park to discuss displacement and growth.
Access LA
CPP History student Gabriel Esparza shares with us the experiences of disabled students at Cal Poly Pomona as they navigate transportation infrastructure.
Pushing Perspectives
CCEP student fellow Rena Miller offers us two stories of immigrant families coming to the United States--one from Mexico and one from China.
Climate Change and the Future of Mobility in California
CCEP student fellow Edward Nunez compels listeners to think about the effects that climate change will have on migration and mobility patterns in the California of the future.
Season 2
Uncertain Forecast
Season 2 of our podcast, Uncertain Forecast, addresses climate justice, an issue that affects people worldwide, particularly where inequality is greatest, but which is often disguised or invisible.
What is Plastic?
CPP bio student Alec Iskenderian takes a close look at what people think of plastics.
How the Unhoused Experience Climate Change
CPP philosophy student Emily Reyes looks specifically at the impact of climate change on houseless people in Pomona, the surrounding community outside of the Cal Poly Pomona campus.
Three Stories of Extreme Heat
CPP political science student Melane Olmeda takes a close look at how the most invisible yet deadliest climate change-related issue, that of extreme heat, affects the lives of ordinary people.
California Wildfires & Climate Justice
Panel discussion hosted by CCEP on the topic of wildfires, an important topic for California.
Looking for Nature in the San Gabriel River
CCEP student fellow Rebecca Prentice records a walking journey along the San Gabriel Valley, capturing the sound of the environment around her and reflecting on the meaning of nature as it relates to cities and the built environment.
The Gold of California
CCEP student fellow Victoria Tran examines what it means to be Asian American in the Golden State.
How the Unhoused Experience Climate Extremes
CCEP student fellows Ana Ruiz and Cristian Arduz examine the connection between housing insecurity and climate change.
Season 1
Securing Justice
Season 1 of our podcast, Securing Justice, focuses on housing insecurity, an issue that affects millions in the United States and is particularly acute here in California. This season explores housing insecurity through a variety of means—panel discussions, interviews, and creative works by faculty and students. From artists and activists to philosophers and policy wonks, we hope to provide listeners with a varied and nuanced look at how housing insecurity affects the lives of Californians, and what we—and you—can do about it.
Housing Justice: From Trump to Biden
CCEP brings together four panelists to discuss the role and impact of the federal government on housing insecurity under the Trump and Biden administrations.
Representations of Place, Home, and Security
In this panel discussion, CCEP brings together three creatives—a filmmaker, a visual artist, and a theater maker—to examine themes of place, home, and security.
Moving Forward in Affordable Housing: The Role of Architects
CCEP’s 2020-21 student fellows, Itzia Salinas Cortes interviews Jim Broeske, an architect with 40 years of experience working in Southern California, to better understand the role that architects can play in addressing housing affordability.
The Eviction Crisis on the Horizon: Rent Relief and Pandemic Recovery in California
A panel discussion with three individuals leading the fight for rent relief in California, and particularly in Los Angeles.
#CancelRent: Digital Organizing and Collective Struggle in a Global Pandemic
A story about collective struggle during the pandemic by tuning into the ways the Healthy LA coalition navigates the bureaucratic dissonance of a call-in public comment system.
Racial Gaps in Homeownership, Income, and Savings (And Why They Matter)
A panel discussion bringing together three experts on the history of housing and wealth inequality in the US, and Los Angeles.
Reflections on Housing and Home
CCEP’s 2020-21 student fellows, Octavio Cuevas and Victoria Torres on housing insecurity in California.