Patrick, William — Loneliness and How It Affects Us

How many of us are lonely?  What is loneliness and how does it affect us?  Approximately 25 years ago, when asked the number of friends in whom we could confide, most people in the United States said “three.”  When that question was asked recently most people said “none.”

Inquires reveal that 20% of people, — 60 million in the Untied States alone – are feeling lonely at any given moment.  And, it appears that chronic loneliness may well compete with smoking, obesity and lack of exercise as a significant health risk.

In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with William Patrick, the founding editor of The Journal of Life Sciences and co-author of “Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection,” along with University of Chicago psychology professor John Cacioppo.

My conversation with William Patrick, recorded on October 13, 2008, began when I asked him to define loneliness as used in their book.

The book William Patrick recommends is “The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q and Christian Origins,” by Burton Mack.

Originally Broadcast: October 18th, 2008.

Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below.

Click here to download and subscribe to our podcast.

Socrates & Ron Gross – Socrates of Athens, in Conversation

Socrates’ Way: Seven Masterkeys to Using Your Mind to the Utmost

Socrates of Athens, who lived before the Common Era, is respected as one of the greatest independent thinkers of all time. Socrates himself refused to be recognized as a teacher. Instead, Plato, his well-known student and reporter of Socrates’ dialogues, tells us he asked to be seen as a “midwife of ideas.” Socrates’ passion to achieve self-understanding, and the proper ways to live, continues to be studied and emulated to this day.

Socrates recommends “The Trojan Women,” by Euripides. Ron Gross recommends “The Clouds,” by Aristophanes.

Originally Broadcast: January 13, 2003

Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below.

Click here to download and subscribe to our podcast.

Alibek, Dr. Ken – Soviet Germ Warfare Part 2

Biological warfare is the use of weapons that cause death by disease. The largest and most sophisticated biological weapons program in the world, which cultivated and stockpiled anthrax virus, brucellosis, the plague and genetically altered strains of small pox, employed more than 6000 people at over 100 facilities in the former Soviet Union. For 15 years, ending in 1992, Dr. Ken Alibek, a doctor of medicine and a Ph.D. in microbiology, was the scientific leader of Bio-Preparat, the civilian branch of that secret biological weapons program, masquerading as a pharmaceutical company. In 1992, Dr. Alibek defected to the United States. Several years later, he wrote “Bio-Hazard,” a book detailing the development of biological weapons, the horrors of his former life and why he chose to defect. This is a two-part program with Dr. Ken Alibek, recorded in 1999.

In part two, Dr. Ken Alibek discusses the morality of biological warfare.

Dr. Ken Alibek recommends “Prevent,” by Richard Preston & “Vector,” by Robin Cook.

Originally Broadcast: May 11, 1999 & May 18, 1999

Click here to listen to part 2 of the program or on the media player below.

Click here to listen to part 1.

Click here to download and subscribe to our podcast.

Feigin, Keith — Liquid Gold on Lovers Lane

This program is about honey. We visit with Keith Feigin, owner of Lovers Lane Farm, at his bee keeping center in Ukiah, California. We discuss bees on the loose, how they orient themselves to a new location, communicate with each other and how Keith harvests the “liquid gold.”  Keith was just leaving to catch up with some bees on the loose when I arrived, and that’s when our conversation began in mid August 2011.

The book that Keith Feigin recommends is the “Secret Life of Bees,” by Sue Monk Kidd.  You may contact Keith Feigin via email at loverslanefarm@gmail.com.

This interview was recorded on the streets of Ukiah and at Lovers Lane Farm in Ukiah, California on August 15, 2011.

Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below.

Click here to download and subscribe to our podcast.

Aanestad, Christina — Gold, Oil and a Journalist’s Adventure in Ecuador

One of the things I learned in law school about bankruptcy was that if you have to borrow money to take a trip and then go bankrupt, the judge can’t take the trip away from you. In this edition we have a travel report from Christina Aanestad the Associate Producer for Radio Curious. Christina recently returned from a 6 week exploratory, journalist visit from Ecuador, a favorite country of mine.

We visited at the Radio Curious studios on August 29, 2011, to discuss her adventures and what she learned about oil drilling, gold mining and dam construction, as well as what motivated her to take this trip.

The books that Christina Aanestad recommend are, “Now is the Time to Open Your Heart,” by Alice Walker and “Pronoia is the Antidote to Paranoia: How the Whole World is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings,” by Rob Brezney.

Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below.

Click here to download and subscribe to our podcast.

Allman, Sheriff Tom — The Moral Dilemma of Growing Marijuana, Part Two

This program is the second of a two part series with Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman.  We begin when Sheriff Allman explains the “moral dilemma” and then discuss what can be done about it, as well about a lot about Sheriff Tom Allman.

This program was recorded in the Radio Curious studios on August 8, 2011.

The book Sheriff Tom Allman recommends is “Outliars,” by Malcolm Gladwell.

Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below.

Click here to download and subscribe to our podcast.

Allman, Sheriff Tom — Growing Marijuana in Northern California, Part One

This program is the first of a two part series with Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman.  Sheriff Allman when he and Radio Curious Host and Producer  Attorney Barry Vogel discuss the procedures to legally grow marijuana in Mendocino County, the problems of large illegal grows, and what is being done about them, the extent the marijuana is a cash crop in Mendocino County, and a lot about Tom Allman. The next edition will be the second half of our conversation. That’s when we discuss the Sheriff’s “eureka” moment, what he wants to do with the rest of his life and a book he recommends.

The interview with Sheriff Tom Allman was recorded on August 8, 2011 in the Radio Curious studios.

Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below.

Click here to download and subscribe to our podcast.

Caldicott, Dr. Helen — A Nuclear Catastrophe Never Seen Before

Dr. Helen Caldicott describes how the nuclear disasters that began in Japan on March 11, 2011, with the massive 9.0 point earthquake and resulting tsunami, present catastrophes the likes of which human kind has never seen before.  We discuss what happened, the medical and health consequences around the world, why public information has not been forthcoming, and what can be done to protect ourselves.  In response to the question, what can be done to prevent similar disasters in the future, Dr. Caldicott’s suggested action is somewhat reminiscent of the 1960s civil right’s movement in the United States.

Born in Melbourne, Australia in 1938, Dr. Caldicott received her medical degree from the University of Adelaide Medical School in 1961, she was a co-founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, and has devoted the last 35 years to an international campaign to educate the public about the medical hazards of the nuclear age and what she believes are necessary changes in human behavior.

Our conversation, recorded by phone from her home in southeast Australia on June 26, 2011, begins with her explanation of what occurred at the Fukushima Nuclear Power plants in Japan after the March, 2011 earthquake.

The books Helen Caldicott recommends are “On The Beach,” by Nevil Shute, and her book, “Nuclear Power Is Not the Answer.”

Click here to listen.

Click here to download and subscribe to our podcast.

Franco, Mark — U.S. Cultural Genocide: Winnemem Wintu Declare War

Independence Day begs the question of what freedom and independence means. For Independence Day, Radio Curious brings you an interview with the Headman and War Chief of the Winnemem Wintu tribe in Northern California.  The Winnemem Wintu declared war on the United States in 2004, in response to the “continued cultural genocide” against the indigenous tribe.  Since that time they have been in a state of war against the US Government, which refuses to officially recognize the tribe as Native Americans.  The Winnemem Wintu began their war by holding a traditional war dance at the California State capitol building in Sacramento.

In honor of Independence Day Radio Curious Associate Producer, Christina Aanestad, visits with Mark Franco, Headman and War Chief of the Winnemem Wintu tribe. His wife, Caleen Sisk-Franco is the Chief and Spiritual Leader of the Winnemem Wintu tribe. This interview was recorded in July 2010, at a coming of age ceremony on tribal land along the McCloud River in northern California, near an area where their former villages were flooded to make the Shasta Dam. The conversation began with Mark Franco describing what it means to be the Headman of the Winnemem Wintu tribe.

The Winnemem Wintu website is www.winnememwintu.us/. You may enjoy Christina Aanestad’s interview with Caleen Sisk-Franco, the Chief and Spiritual Leader of the Winnemem Wintu tribe, found here.

The book Mark Franco recommends is “Cadillac Desert:The American West and Its Disappearing Water,” by Marc Reisner.

Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below.

Click here to download and subscribe to our podcast.

Most, Stephen — River of Renewal, Myth & History in the Klamath Basin

Since the last Ice Age ended about 12,000 years ago, human beings have traveled along the Klamath River and it tributaries in the northwest corner of California and the coast of southern Oregon.  Many people finding an abundance of food, have stayed. The main source of their food was salmon. The power of the myth of the salmon may derive from the fact that wild salmon spread out across the Pacific Northwest about the same time that human beings did, at the end of the last Ice Age.

In this edition of Radio Curious we have an archived visit with Steve Most, author of “River of Renewal, Myth & History in the Klamath Basin,” a book that tells the story of the history of the Klamath River and the people who have continuously lived there for the past 12,000 years. Steve Most is a playwright and documentary storyteller. Among many other works, he wrote the texts of the audio voices and videos for the permanent exhibit of the Washington State History Museum. In this interview recorded in mid-March 2007, I spoke with Steve Most from his home in Berkeley, California. We began our conversation when I asked him to give a perspective of the geological and human aspects of the Klamath River and its place in history.

Stephen Most recommends the “Essays and Letters of Ralph Waldo Emerson.”

Originally Broadcast: March 21, 2007

Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below.

Click here to download and subscribe to our podcast.