Featured podcast episode

In this episode of Access to Excellence, associate professor of computational and data sciences Anamaria Berea discusses her research on Mars settlements and Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon as she and Dr. Gregory Washington debate the question on everyone’s mind: is there life beyond Earth?

Every day at George Mason University, faculty like assistant professor Jeffrey Moran develop innovative solutions to the world’s grand challenges. And sometimes those grand challenges can have small solutions that come from the most unlikely of places.

To recognize Mason Korea's 10th anniversary, President Gregory Washington is joined by former campus dean Robert Matz and associate professor Gyu Tag Lee to discuss the growth of Mason Korea, the influence of Korean pop on global culture, and more.

Jamil Jaffer and Gregory Washington discuss the U.S.'s position on the global stage, the power of the American Dream, and what we as citizens can do to start solving some of the country's stickiest problems.

Jeremy Campbell, associate director for strategic engagement in Mason’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth, says that at the current pace the Amazon rainforest, in five to 10 years, could pass a tipping point in which it could transform into grasslands. That process, fueled by deforestation and climate change, has already begun and is a threat to the biodiversity and socio-cultural aspects that define the region.

Catherine Read is the first woman and first Mason graduate (BA government and politics ’84) to be mayor of Fairfax City, Va., the university’s hometown, and she isn’t shy about touting a university she says helped teach her how to think critically. Want to know why it’s good to “disrupt the system,” why it’s important to get more women into policy-making decisions, and why our educational system doesn’t reward bold ideas? Read tells you.

Rev. Jeffery Johnson, pastor of Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Fairfax, Virginia, and Dr. Vernon Walton, pastor of First Baptist Church in Vienna, Virginia, guide us through some of the history and aspirations of the Black community through the lens of Black and African American History Month and their perspectives as long-time leaders of their parishes, both of which were founded by former slaves.

Mary Ellen O’Toole, director of the Forensic Science Program in Mason’s College of Science, gives a behind-the-scenes look at the university’s new “body farm,” an outdoor research and training laboratory on its SciTech Campus that will allow crime-scene research in forensic science and forensic anthropology using human donors.

Thalia Goldstein, associate professor of applied developmental psychology explains how kids benefit socially and emotionally from finding out Santa Claus isn’t real. Even so, Goldstein admits she is still disappointed about hearing the truth. A conversation with real holiday spirit.

Robyn Mehlenbeck, director of Mason's Center for Psychological Services, discusses how colleges can help students, faculty and staff cope with the well-being stresses that have resulted from the pandemic, and how her center is extending services to the broader community.