Category: Video

“Science Friday” Interviews Brian May and Derek Ward-Thompson

Posted on by maryreynolds

March 6, 2024

Brian May and Derek Ward-Thompson, authors of Islands in Infinity: Galaxies 3-D, were interviewed by host Flora Lichtman for Science Friday. She talked with them about the enchanting nature of space and the collision of art and astronomy. And yes, they get into the music of Queen, because May is guitarist for the band.

When Lichtman explained that she’d seen many pictures of galaxies, but was surprised to see so many different galaxies shapes in this book, May replied, “Until you actually see it in 3-D, you don’t have the right image in your head, something that ticks.” Ward-Thompson said, “We talk about the true shapes of galaxies and in one chapter in the book, we talk about so-called ‘interacting galaxies.’ These are galaxies in the process of colliding with each other.”

Listen to Science Friday on your favorite public radio station on Friday, March 5, for the interview; or listen to the the extended podcast interview.

About the book:

This groundbreaking book brings the cosmos to life like never before. Featuring more than two hundred stunning color photographs from the world’s leading observatories and eighty detailed diagrams, this large-format book offers a mesmerizing journey through the formation, nature, evolution, and classification of galaxies.

Highlights include:

  • A look at the universe in three dimensions with Brian May’s patented 3-D viewer,
  • Accessible science, offering a non-mathematical review of modern cosmology and astronomy
  • An exploration of the chaotic beauty of colliding and merging galaxies,
  • A reference section on historical galaxy catalogues, plus a comprehensive index.

Authored by renowned astrophysicist Derek Ward-Thompson and the world’s most famous astronomer Brian May, with ground-breaking stereos by J-P Metsävainio, Islands of Infinity is a must-have for anyone fascinated by the night sky.

Brian May Video on His New Book “Islands in Infinity: Galaxies 3-D”

Posted on by maryreynolds

December 17, 2024

Brian May, editor with Derek Ward-Thompson (Author) and J-P Metsävainio (Illustrator) of Islands in Infinity: Galaxies 3-D, sent us this video about why they created this book.

Readers in North America can pre-order this amazing book through our website now, with delivery scheduled for early February.

About the book:

This groundbreaking book brings the cosmos to life like never before. Featuring more than two hundred stunning color photographs from the world’s leading observatories and eighty detailed diagrams, this large-format book offers a mesmerizing journey through the formation, nature, evolution, and classification of galaxies.

Highlights include:

  • A look at the universe in three dimensions with Brian May’s patented 3-D viewer,
  • Accessible science, offering a non-mathematical review of modern cosmology and astronomy
  • An exploration of the chaotic beauty of colliding and merging galaxies,
  • A reference section on historical galaxy catalogues, plus a comprehensive index.

Authored by renowned astrophysicist Derek Ward-Thompson and the world’s most famous astronomer Brian May, with ground-breaking stereos by J-P Metsävainio, Islands of Infinity is a must-have for anyone fascinated by the night sky.

Video: Stephen Strom on Forging a Sustainable Southwest

Posted on by maryreynolds

July 24, 2025

Stephen E. Strom, author of Forging a Sustainable Southwest: The Power of Collaborative Conservation, spoke with hydrologist Julia Fonseca in the spring as part of the Tumamoc Author Series. In this Southwest Center video of the event, Strom explains how diverse groups of people came together for the good of the Sonoran Desert in Pima County, preserving open spaces that you can see from Tumamoc Hill. We are faced today with an existential environmental and moral challenge: can we find common purpose in protecting and cherishing these masterpieces and in restoring a sense of shared responsibility for stewarding our endowment?

Watch the video here.

The event was presented by the Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill, The University of Arizona Press, and The Southwest Center.

Stephen E. Strom began photographing in 1978, after studying the history of photography and silver and nonsilver photography at the University of Arizona. His photography complements poems and essays in six books published by the University of Arizona Press. Forging a Sustainable Southwest introduces readers to four conservation efforts that provide insight into how diverse groups of citizens have worked collaboratively to develop visions for land use that harmonized sometimes conflicting ecological, economic, cultural, and community needs.

Video: Michelle Téllez on Border Women

Posted on by maryreynolds

July 10, 2025

Michelle Téllez author of Border Women and the Community of Maclovio Rojas, spoke with Desert Laboratory at Tumamoc Hill Director Elise Gornish in the spring as part of the Tumamoc Author Series. In this Southwest Center video of the event, hear Téllez read a short excerpt from her book, then talk about the book with Gornish. Asked about the transnational lens through which she tells the stories of the women of Maclovio Rojas, Téllez responded, “Maclovio not just a place or location, it’s embedded in longer histories, colonial histories, economic histories that shape the lives of people who live there. So when I say transnational that’s what I mean.”

Watch the video here.

The event was presented by Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill, The University of Arizona Press, and The Southwest Center.

Michelle Téllez, an associate professor in the Department of Mexican American Studies at the University of Arizona, writes about transnational community formations, Chicana feminism, and gendered migration. Border Women and the Community of Maclovio Rojas tells the story of the community’s struggle to carve out space for survival and thriving in the shadows of the U.S.-Mexico geopolitical border. This ethnography demonstrates the state’s neglect in providing social services and local infrastructure. This neglect exacerbates the structural violence endemic to the border region—a continuation of colonial systems of power on the urban, rural, and racialized poor.

Video: Melani Martinez on “The Molino”

Posted on by maryreynolds

July 9, 2025

Melani Martinez, author of The Molino: A Memoir, spoke with poet Logan Phillips last winter as part of the Tumamoc Author Series. In this Southwest Center video of the event, hear Martinez read a short excerpt from her memoir. She then tells stories of her family, who owned and operated El Rapido restaurant in downtown Tucson. Phillips asked about how she came up with the format of her memoir, and Martinez responded, “I understood what the book could be structurally after having found the character of ‘El Pensamiento’ [the thinker] to help shape the stories. There are two narrative voices: my narrative voice and the other persona is a character called El Pensamiento. To some degree, I needed a conversation to do the book, so he allowed me to converse with him.”

Watch the video here.

The event was presented by Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill, The University of Arizona Press, and The Southwest Center.

Melani “Mele” Martinez is a senior lecturer at the University of Arizona, where she teaches writing courses. Her family has lived in the Sonoran Desert for at least nine generations. The Molino weaves together history, culture, and Mexican food traditions, in the story of her family’s life and work in the heart of their downtown eatery, El Rapido. Opened by Martinez’s great-grandfather, Aurelio Perez, in 1933, El Rapido served tamales and burritos to residents and visitors to Tucson’s historic Barrio Presidio for nearly seventy years. For the family, the factory that bound them together was known for the giant corn grinder churning behind the scenes—the molino.

Video: William L. Bird on Saguaro Imagery

Posted on by maryreynolds

June 30, 2025

William L. Bird Jr., author of In the Arms of Saguaros, spoke with Bruce Dinges, former editor of the Journal of Arizona History last fall as part of the Tumamoc Author Series. In this Southwest Center video of the event, see historic photos and learn how in the late 1800s, the saguaro became a symbol of the west. The railroad first used saguaros to market new destinations in the American West, then all kinds of tourist destinations used saguaro iconography to attract customers to everything from health resorts to dude ranches to shopping centers. Today, the saguaro touches us as a global icon in art, fashion, and entertainment.

Watch the video here.

The event was presented by Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill, The University of Arizona Press, and The Southwest Center.

William L. Bird Jr. is a curator emeritus of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. His interests lie at the intersection of politics, popular culture, and the history of visual display. Through text and lavish images, In the Arms of Saguaros explores the saguaro’s growth into a western icon from the early days of the American railroad to the years bracketing World War II, when Sun Belt boosterism hit its zenith and proponents of tourism succeed in moving the saguaro to the center of the promotional frame.

Video: David DeJong on Gila River Water Rights

Posted on by maryreynolds

June 10, 2025

David H. DeJong, author of Damming the Gila: The Gila River Indian Community and the San Carlos Irrigation Project, 1900-1942, spoke about his book as part of the Tumamoc Author Series last fall. In this Southwest Center video of the event, DeJong starts by telling how he came to write his books: “The story that’s told here about the San Carlos irrigation project is a story that I live every day. How do I live it? The system that was built in the 1920s is the system we are modernizing today. So it was a very natural step for me, and I had always been interested in going all the way back to when I was sixteen years old and wanting to know what happened [to water in the Gila River]. So this is my forty-first year of researching and writing on the history of the community.”

Watch the video here.

The event was presented by Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill, The University of Arizona Press, and The Southwest Center.

DeJong is director of the Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project, a construction project funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and designed to deliver water—from the Central Arizona Project, the Gila River, and other sources—to the Gila River Indian Reservation. Damming the Gila chronicles the history of water rights and activities on the Gila River Indian Reservation. Centered on the San Carlos Irrigation Project and Coolidge Dam, it details the history and development of the project, including the Gila Decree and the Winters Doctrine. Embedded in the narrative is the underlying tension between tribal growers on the Gila River Indian Reservation and upstream users.

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