UConn 360: The UConn Podcast
Education & Explainer
About
Bringing you everything that's fun, surprising, and unique about Connecticut's Top 20 public research university. Join us every other week for things you never knew about UConn.
Episodes
- Episode 162: Let’s Meet Coach Candle
Jason Candle, named UConn's football coach last December after an 11-year stint at Toledo, joins UConn 360 to discuss his career, including his time as head coach for the Rockets and his current work rebuilding the Husky roster. The episod…
- Episode 161: A Children’s Book Author Is a Soon-To-Be Grad
Luisana Duarte Armendáriz, a graduating doctoral student at UConn, has authored children
- Episode 160: Final Four(s) Here We Come!
UConn 360 discusses the UConn men's and women's basketball teams advancing to the NCAA Final Four. The episode features color announcer Wayne Norman and student journalists discussing the teams and their experiences covering college sports.
- Episode 159: Dance The Night Away
This episode features Paige O'Keefe discussing HuskyTHON 2026, a UConn student effort raising funds for Connecticut Children’s. The year-long initiative concluded with an 18-hour dance marathon, generating over $2.2 million. HuskyTHON is r…
- Episode 158: A Positive Voice at UConn
Jonelle Reynolds, Director of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives at UConn, joins UConn 360 to discuss her role in developing university-wide inclusion strategies. With a background in marriage and family therapy, she also offers insights…
- Episode 157: Inclusion and Civil Rights at UConn
Our guest on this episode is Dr. Jeffrey Hines, who leads the Office for Inclusion and Civil Rights for both UConn and UConn Health. The office ensures the University’s commitment and responsibility to foster equitable and inclusive workin…
- Episode 156: A New Look at Resiliency
Keith Bellizzi is a professor of gerontology in Human Development and Family Sciences here at UConn. He has spent the last two decades studying resilience, cancer survivorship, healthy aging, and behavioral change. Keith recently published…
- Episode 155: Baking For All the Huskies
Eric Merkle is the long-time Bakery Manager for UConn Dining Services and oversees a staff of over 20 full-time bakers and student workers. The UConn Bakery produces thousands of muffins, cookies, and baked goods each week. The bakery star…
- Episode 154: Starting 2026 With Women’s Ice Hockey
Happy New Year to all of our UConn 360 Podcast listeners. Women’s ice hockey coach Chris MacKenzie is our guest on this episode and his team is currently ranked fifth in the country. He is in his 13th year in charge of the Huskies and has…
- Episode 153: Healthy Rounds Moves to Podcast Format
Our guest on the final UConn 360 podcast of the year is a familiar one to listeners of the Healthy Rounds radio show. Dr. Anthony Alessi of UConn Health is a neurologist specializing in general neurology, neuromuscular diseases, EMG and sp…
- Episode 152: Thanksgiving with UConn Dining Services
Rob Landolphi is the Director of Culinary Development for UConn Dining Services. In his role, he and his team develop the menus to the over 200,000 meals served to students each week in Storrs. Rob joins us on his episode to talk about how…
- Episode 151: Are Students Bouncing Back from the Pandemic?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, over half a million K-12 students in Connecticut had to rapidly pivot to remote and hybrid learning. Now, after five years, schools have reestablished their regular rhythms, and it’s easy to imagine that the p…
- Episode 150: The Lucky Husky
Bethany O’Brien is the author of a new UConn children’s book and is a proud UConn graduate. She met her husband in the first month of college in the West Campus residence halls and lives with her family in nearby Tolland, as they share the…
- Episode 149: It’s Halloween Time, Let’s Study Horror Films!
It’s October here at UConn (and everywhere else!), which means it is almost Halloween and horror film season. Our guest on this episode of the UConn 360 podcast is professor of English Greg Semenza, who has been a member of the UConn facul…
- Episode 148: A Community Program for Literacy and Nutrition
Husky Reads is one of the longest-running community impact programs for UConn Husky Nutrition & Sport out of the Neag School of Education here at UConn. Husky Reads is designed to promote nutrition and literacy among preschool children. Th…
- Episode 147: Caring For Family Members With Dementia
Amanda Cooper is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication and her research focuses on the ways in which individuals and families navigate difficult transitions across the lifespan, particularly at the end of life. She has…
- Episode 146: Happy Birthday School of Pharmacy!
It’s a special year for the UConn School of Pharmacy in 2025-26 as it celebrates its centennial year. Dean Phil Hritcko joins us on the UConn 360 podcast to tell us about all the festivities that are planned, including the Centennial Celeb…
- Episode 145: A Special Summit Comes to UConn
The Dodd Center for Human Rights will be presenting its Second Human Rights Summit from October 22 and 24 and this year’s event will focus on Sport and Human Rights. The opening keynote event of the summit will feature a conversation with…
- Episode 144: Kicking Off a New Season
It is a new season for athletics at UConn and it all starts with the women’s soccer team hosting an exhibition game on Wednesday night. Head coach Margaret Rodriguez is our guest for this episode as her Huskies won the Big East tournament…
- Episode 143: Keeping UConn in Tip-Top Shape
Eric Kruger is UConn’s Vice President of Facility Services and University Planning and took time out of his busy schedule to join us on the UConn 360 podcast. Eric oversees a team of skilled and dedicated workers who keep the UConn campuse…
- Episode 142: Weathering the Storm
It’s the middle of summer and the weather is great! But, we all must be aware that hurricane season is upon us. Fortunately, the UConn Extension works with colleagues from across the United States as part of the national Extension Disaster…
- Episode 141: Well, Well, Well…
Episode 141: Well, Well, Well… Water affects every part of our life, especially when it comes to our supply where we live. Mike Dietz is director of the Connecticut Institute of Water Resources , which is part of the UConn Extension. Among…
- Episode 140: A Large and Historic Puppet Collection
Professor of puppet arts Matthew Isaac Cohen has laid hands on each of the 23,000 puppets that comprise the largest Indonesian puppet collection in the world. Over the last eight years, he has researched the Dr. Walter Angst and Sir Henry…
- Episode 139: Takin’ Our Licks
UConn is known for many things – great academics, championship sports …. and the world’s great ice cream (in our humble opinion!). Joining us on this edition of the podcast is Bill Sciturro, who is the manger of the UConn creamery that is…
- Episode 138: Novel Brands Give Consumers New Choices
When somebody scrolls through the top product categories on Amazon odds are some 60% of the brands for sale will be ones you’ve never heard of before. That poses a challenge for marketers looking for their brands to be chosen among the man…
- Episode 137: UConn’s Rudd Center Studies Various Food Issues
UConn’s nationally-renowned Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health promotes solutions to food insecurity, poor diet quality, and weight bias through research and policy. Marlene Schwartz is the director of the Rudd Center and joins us on t…
- Episode 136: UConn Professor Looks at Role of Law in Businesses
Robert Bird, a professor of business law in UConn’s School of Business, has a new book out - “Legal Knowledge in Organizations: A Source of Strategic and Competitive Advantage.” Bird tells us that most companies believe that lawyers and le…
- Episode 135: The Future of Clothing Is So Smart
John Toribio is a doctoral student at UConn in polymer chemistry – and is the first student to join us in this current format of the UConn 360 podcast. In addition to his studies, he is the CEO and CTO of Zemi Labs, (zemilabs.com), which i…
- Episode 134: Irish Studies at UConn
It is March, which means Saint Patrick’s Day and Irish-American Heritage Month in the United States. Here at UConn, Mary Burke is a professor in the Department of English and oversees the Irish Literature Concentration. She joins us on thi…
- Episode 133: A New Book from Coach Calhoun
Former UConn men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun won three national championships for the Huskies, but the relationship he has with players goes well beyond in the court. Calhoun has recently finished his third book - “More Than a Game: How…
- Episode 132: Helping High School Athletes Eat Right
Jennifer Fields is an assistant professor of nutritional sciences at UConn and recently published a study about high school athletes and their lack of knowledge in nutrition. Fields knew that college student-athletes often turned to unscie…
- Episode 131: Hope Springs Eternal
Husky baseball coach Jim Penders joins this edition of the UConn 360 podcast as he enters his 22nd season guiding this historic program. He is just the fifth coach to guide the team in the past 100 years and Penders talks about the respons…
- Episode 130: Trying to Make the Roads Safer
There are many ways that UConn impacts the citizens of Connecticut beyond its obvious academic mission. The Connecticut Transportation Institute is one of the outlets and it is led by director and associate research professor Eric Jackson.…
- Episode 129: Stopping the Loneliness on Campus
Anna Mae Duane is the director of the UConn Humanities Institute and is currently coordinating a year-long series of events to address the feeling of loneliness that some college students have. Anna was inspired to do this when she receive…
- Episode 128: Seeing the Skies in Storrs!
UConn is the home to the oldest planetarium in the state of Connecticut as it was originally built in 1954. The facility underwent extensive renovations in 2023-24, led by the efforts of assistant professor of physics in residence Matt Gut…
- Episode 127: Togetherness in Tradition
It’s the start of the holiday season and people are getting ready to celebrate all kinds of traditions. Associate professor of anthropology Dimitris Xygalatas joins the UConn 360 podcast to talk about his research in why rituals and events…
- Episode 126: Off to Mars…Via Houston!
Jason Lee, an associate professor in the College of Engineering at UConn, has wanted to travel into space since he was a child. He got a chance to do that for 45 days – without ever leaving earth! For 45 days, Lee, lived in NASA’s Human Ex…
- Episode 125: Cheese, Glorious Cheese
UConn is known around the country for great academics, championship basketball and the greatest ice cream you can find. Now, award-winning cheese can be added to that list! Cheeses produced at UConn’s Creamery have recently won major award…
- Episode 124: Hoop Dreams
Coach Tom Moore is entering his 20th season (during two stints) on the UConn men’s basketball coach staff and has been part of four national championships with the Huskies. He has been involved in college basketball at every level – a head…
- Episode 123: Holocaust Education
Alan Marcus is a professor in UConn’s Neag School of Education and among his areas of focus is global education with an emphasis on the Holocaust and teaching difficult history. Last year, he led a program at E.O. Smith High School in Stor…
- Episode 122: Meet Our Dean of Students
Fany DeJesus Hannon serves as the Dean of Students and absolutely loves her job…and UConn students. A native of Honduras, she embraces her Latino heritage and applies it to how she and her office help Huskies succeed. The Dean of Students…
- Episode 121: Helping Huskies Earn Scholarship and Fellowships
It’s the second week of classes on all of UConn campuses and our guest on this week’s UConn 360 podcast is busier than ever. Vin Moscardelli is the director of the Office of National Scholarships & Fellowships, which helps identify student…
- Episode #120: A Real Pain in the Knee
Neal Glaviano is an assistant professor at UConn in the Department of Kinesiology and serves as the clinical education coordinator for the master’s in athletic training program. He works with a number of areas on campus ranging from athlet…
- Episode 119: A Firefighter for UConn... and Beyond
UConn Deputy Fire Chief Chris Renshaw is involved in virtually every aspect of campus life. He is a key part of the Division of University Safety whose mission is to make sure the entire campus community is safe on a day-to-day basis. Chri…
- Episode 118: Researching the Arctic
UConn faculty have performed research all over the globe, but few have gone to a more remote place than professor of marine science Penny Vlahos. Vlahos, along with two other UConn researchers, travelled to the Arctic in May of 2023 to gat…
- Episode 117: Hittin’ the Links with Coach Pezzino
UConn golf coach Dave Pezzino has been on campus for 17 seasons and has led the elevation of the program to the national scene. He joins us on the latest version of the UConn 360 podcast to talk about that climb and what it is like to be p…
- Episode 116: The New Kids…and Children’s Lit
The UConn 360 podcast is back…with some new co-hosts. Izzy Harris and Mike Enright of University Communications have taken over the reins of UConn 360 and hope to live up the high standards of information and entertainment provided by coll…
- Goodbye - or Maybe Au Revoir?
After six years, 115 episodes, two national awards, and countless memories that will last a lifetime, UConn 360 is going on indefinite hiatus. Does this mean you'll never again hear from the only podcast known to science that covers the Un…
- The Politics of Wild Weather
From raging wildfires in Canada to record rainfall in New York City to an out-of-nowhere hurricane slamming into Mexico, 2023 has been yet another year with abundant evidence that our weather is getting harder to predict - and disasters ha…
- How Hip Hop Conquered the World
This year marks the 50th anniversary of hip hop, which emerged from block parties in the South Bronx to become the dominant form of popular music in the United States and beyond. How did this unlikely underdog story happen? What kind of ch…