Berkeleyside is Berkeley, California’s, independently owned local news site. It was founded in 2009, and is a “local newspaper without the paper”. It reports news and the extraordinary diversity of people, issues, events, food, and environment in Berkeley. They recently released the first five episodes of the Uncharted: Berkeley podcast.

Uncharted:Berkeley brings listeners fascinating conversations with some of the world’s edgiest thinkers and creatives, as recorded at Uncharted: The Berkeley Festival of Ideas. The episodes are produced by Sarah Baughn and supported by North Berkeley Investment Partners. The concepts and ideas covered in the episodes are large and interesting to a national audience.

The first five episodes have been released. They include:

Episode 1: What’s next for #BlackLivesMatter?
The conversation is between Pastor Michael McBride and Joshua Johnson. Pastor Michael McBride, who went to Ferguson, Missouri, shortly after Michael Brown was shot dead. He has become a spokesperson on gun violence prevention. Joshua Johnson is a news anchor for KQED. They talk about the roots of the Black Lives Matter movement and where it goes from here.

Episode 2: Bring back the firing squad
The conversation is between Alex Kozinski and William Turner. Alex Kozinski is a Ninth Circuit Court Judge who believes our criminal justice system is broken. William Turner is a first-amendment expert who teaches at UC Berkeley.

Episode 3: Too much medicine is making us sicker
The conversation is between Shannon Brownlee and Lisa Aliferis. Shannon Brownlee is a national leader in highlighting the scope and consequences of overuse in healthcare. Her book is titled: “Overtreated – Why too much Medicine is Making us Sicker and Poorer”. Lisa Aliferis is the KQED Health Editor.

Episode 4: How I learned to stop worrying and love drones
The conversation is between Chris Anderson and Peter Leyden. Chris Anderson is a former Editor in Chief of Wired Magazine. He sees exciting possibilities for how drones can be put to work to solve our most pressing problems (like agriculture and climate change). Peter Leyden is a journalist and media innovator.

Episode 5: Is Gwyneth Paltrow wrong about everything?
The conversation is between Timothy Caulfield and Lance Knobel. Timothy Caulfield is a health-science expert whose newest book is titled “Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: How the Famous Sell Us Elixers of Health, Beauty & Happiness”. Lance Knobel is the Uncharted Festival curator. (Gwyneth Paltrow herself does not appear in this episode.)