http://www.radiocurious.org Fri, 01 May 2026 04:07:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.1 Welcome to the 20th year of Radio Curious, half hour interviews on a curiously wide variety of topics about life and ideas. All of the almost 400 half-hour archive editions on our website are free for you to enjoy, download, copy, share or rebroadcast as you wish. Please give credit to Radio Curious and let us know what you like about the program. www.radiocurious.org Radio Curious clean Radio Curious curious@radiocurious.org curious@radiocurious.org (Radio Curious) Creative Commons-Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Radio Curious Radio Curious, Interviews, Environment, Education, Chautauquan, Psychology/Psychaitry, Sex, Mendocino, Law, Religion, Feminism http://www.radiocurious.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/radio-curious-rss-logo.jpg http://www.radiocurious.org/category/race/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2023/11/10/martha-mccabe-culture-and-racism-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2023/11/10/martha-mccabe-culture-and-racism-2/#comments Fri, 10 Nov 2023 06:26:53 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=5198 http://www.radiocurious.org/2023/11/10/martha-mccabe-culture-and-racism-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening.  - Originally Broadcast: August 2, 2006 - Praise At Midnight - Life, culture and racism are the topics of this edition of Radio Curious, in conversation with attorney/novelist Martha McCabe, author of, Click here to begin listening.  Originally Broadcast: August 2, 2006 Praise At Midnight Life, culture and racism are the topics of this edition of Radio Curious, in conversation with attorney/novelist Martha McCabe, author of, “Praise at Midnight.” Martha McCabe worked as a civil rights and criminal trial lawyer in deep east Texas from 1974 to 1985. Her goal was to pour the raw material from her personal experiences as a lawyer into her story. The deeper level into which she fell during the ten year period it took her to complete, “Praise at Midnight,” was the importance of consciousness and self awareness in avoiding the projection of one’s own dark side on to other people and then killing them. She applies this to both local and international levels in her considerations. She and I have been associates, good friends and colleagues since 1969 when we met at the University of Santa Clara where I was a law student. When I spoke with Martha McCabe from her home in San Antonio, Texas on July 29, 2006, we began with her description of the culture of deep east Texas at the time she was living there, 1974 to 1985. Martha McCabe recommends, “Reading Lolita in Teheran,” by Azar Nafisi and, “Caballero: A Historical Novel,” by Jovita Gonzalez and Eve Raleigh. Ignacio Ayala clean http://www.radiocurious.org/2023/06/01/sam-totten-genocide-in-darfur-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2023/06/01/sam-totten-genocide-in-darfur-2/#comments Fri, 02 Jun 2023 01:53:28 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=5114 http://www.radiocurious.org/2023/06/01/sam-totten-genocide-in-darfur-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening.  Genocide is the intent to exterminate in whole or in part a specific group of people often based on nationality, ethnicity, race or religion. For the past two years, in the Darfur region of the nation of Sudan, Click here to begin listening.  Genocide is the intent to exterminate in whole or in part a specific group of people often based on nationality, ethnicity, race or religion. For the past two years, in the Darfur region of the nation of Sudan, located in north central Africa and populated primarily by black Africans, the Sudanese government has been committing racial genocide. Reports are that as many as 400,000 black African civilians have been murdered by the Sudanese government together with Arab rebel groups in Darfur. Professor Sam Totten, a scholar in Genocide Studies at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, visited the Darfur area in the fall of 2004 and has been examining this present day massacre that most of the world has chosen to ignore. I spoke with Professor Totten from his home in Arkansas and asked him to explain the reasons behind the genocide. www.savedarfur.org (http://www.savedarfur.org/) Sam Totten recommends “Shake Hands With the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda,” by Romeo Dallaire. Originally Broadcast: June 7, 2005 Ignacio Ayala clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/12/29/dr-francis-adams-are-we-still-racists-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/12/29/dr-francis-adams-are-we-still-racists-2/#comments Fri, 30 Dec 2022 04:49:42 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=5038 http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/12/29/dr-francis-adams-are-we-still-racists-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening.  Alienable Rights: The Exclusion of African Americans in a White Man’s Land, 1619 to 2000 “Alienable Rights: The Exclusion of African Americans in a White Man’s Land, 1619 to 2000” is a book in part written by Francis A... Click here to begin listening.  Alienable Rights: The Exclusion of African Americans in a White Man’s Land, 1619 to 2000 “Alienable Rights: The Exclusion of African Americans in a White Man’s Land, 1619 to 2000” is a book in part written by Francis Adams, an independent scholar living in Los Angeles, California. The book posits that the drive for equal rights for black people in the United States has never had the support of the majority of America. Rather, racial progress has been made in brief historic bursts, lead by the committed militant minorities of abolitionists, radical republicans, and civil rights activists. In this program, we visit with Dr. Francis D. Adams. I asked him to explain the importance of the trial of James Somerset that took place in England in 1772. Dr. Francis Adams recommends “Collapse,” by Jared Diamond. Originally Broadcast: January 29, 2005 Ignacio Ayala clean 29:21 http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/06/29/brooke-kroeger-when-people-cant-be-who-they-are-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/06/29/brooke-kroeger-when-people-cant-be-who-they-are-2/#comments Wed, 29 Jun 2022 19:36:39 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4960 http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/06/29/brooke-kroeger-when-people-cant-be-who-they-are-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening.  Passing: When People Can’t Be Who They Are “Passing: When People Can’t Be Who They Are,” was written by Brooke Kroeger, an Associate Professor of Journalism at New York University. Click here to begin listening.  Passing: When People Can’t Be Who They Are “Passing: When People Can’t Be Who They Are,” was written by Brooke Kroeger, an Associate Professor of Journalism at New York University. Her book reveals why many ‘passers’ today are people of good heart and purpose whose decision to pass is an attempt to bypass injustice and to be more truly themselves. Brooke Kroeger recommends “Middlesex,” Jeffrey Eugendies, “Amerca’s Women,” by Gail Collings & “They Marched Intro Sunlight,” by David Marinis. Originally Broadcast: February 17, 2004 Ignacio Ayala clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/06/03/robert-benton-the-human-stain-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/06/03/robert-benton-the-human-stain-2/#comments Fri, 03 Jun 2022 06:03:37 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4942 http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/06/03/robert-benton-the-human-stain-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening.  - Director of, The Human Stain - Robert Benton is the director of “The Human Stain,” which is based on the third novel of Philip Roth’s trilogy describing the turmoil of post-WWII America. Click here to begin listening.  Director of, The Human Stain Robert Benton is the director of “The Human Stain,” which is based on the third novel of Philip Roth’s trilogy describing the turmoil of post-WWII America. It exposes the life of Coleman Silk, a Professor of Classics at a small New England College, an eminent Jewish intellectual and a devoted husband. Roth describes Silk as “ensnared by a history he hadn’t quite counted on.” Originally Broadcast: November 1, 2003 Ignacio Ayala clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/04/20/alexandra-fuller-growing-up-white-in-africa-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/04/20/alexandra-fuller-growing-up-white-in-africa-2/#comments Thu, 21 Apr 2022 03:48:07 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4915 http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/04/20/alexandra-fuller-growing-up-white-in-africa-2/feed/ 0 This episode was first broadcasted on September 2, 2003. Click here to begin listening. Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood Our guest in this program lived in Rhodesia, Malawi and Zambia from 1972 to 1990. This episode was first broadcasted on September 2, 2003. Click here to begin listening. Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood Our guest in this program lived in Rhodesia, Malawi and Zambia from 1972 to 1990. Her father joined up on the side of the white government in the Rhodesian civil war, and was often away fighting against the guerilla factions. Her mother dove into their African life and its rugged farm work. Resilient and self-sufficient she taught her children to have strong wills and opinions, and to embrace life whole-heartedly, despite and because of difficult circumstances. Alexandra Fuller is the author of “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, an African Childhood.” Alexandra Fuller recommends “Echoing Silences,” by Alexander Canigone. Originally Broadcast: September 2, 2003 Ignacio Ayala clean http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/02/16/nelson-dr-alondra-race-reparations-and-reconciliation-after-the-genome-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/02/16/nelson-dr-alondra-race-reparations-and-reconciliation-after-the-genome-2/#comments Thu, 17 Feb 2022 04:20:38 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4875 http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/02/16/nelson-dr-alondra-race-reparations-and-reconciliation-after-the-genome-2/feed/ 0 This program was originally recorded on February 19, 2016. - Click here to begin listening.  - Who we are and where we come from is a crucial question that now we are more able to answer than ever before. This program was originally recorded on February 19, 2016. Click here to begin listening.  Who we are and where we come from is a crucial question that now we are more able to answer than ever before. The examination and analysis of our individual DNA, in addition to answering a myriad of medical and forensic secrets also reveals the mix of our individual ancestors and the paths they took. This analysis provides significant and untold information about who we are, from where we came and how we may connect with our relatives. Dr. Alondra Nelson, the Dean of Social Science and professor of sociology and gender studies at Columbia University, in New York City, is our guest in this edition of Radio Curious. Professor Nelson is the author of The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome. She s also the author of Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination, which she and I have previously discussed on Radio Curious. To discuss The Social Life of DNA, Professor Nelson and I visited by phone from her office n New York City, on February 19, 2016. We began by noting that although all human beings are members of the human race, people are grouped by skin color and/or facial features and characterized as being of a different race. The book she recommends is Come Out Swinging, by Lucia Trimbur. Ignacio Ayala clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/02/09/nelson-alondra-health-care-the-black-panthers/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/02/09/nelson-alondra-health-care-the-black-panthers/#comments Thu, 10 Feb 2022 02:54:42 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4868 http://www.radiocurious.org/2022/02/09/nelson-alondra-health-care-the-black-panthers/feed/ 0 Originally Broadcast: February 13, 2012 - Click here to begin listening.  - The exodus of approximately six million black people from the American South between 1915 and 1970 had a significant role in setting the stage of the civil rights movement of... Originally Broadcast: February 13, 2012 Click here to begin listening.  The exodus of approximately six million black people from the American South between 1915 and 1970 had a significant role in setting the stage of the civil rights movement of the early 1960s. Many of the children of those who left the south participated in desegregation efforts which included the Freedom Rides and lunch counter sit-ins. The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 which attempted to resolve employment discrimination and define voting rights, only changed the law. Many young blacks however did not see changes in their everyday life. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was born out of this disillusionment. Although infiltrated and feared by the F.B.I., the Black Panther Party pioneered social and community programs, including free medical clinics, free meals, and educational programs. Our guest in this edition of Radio Curious is Columbia University Sociology and Gender Studies Professor Alondra Nelson, author of “Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination.” We visited by phone from her Office in New York City, on February 13, 2012 and began our conversation when I asked her to describe the Black Panther Party. The book she recommends is “Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems,” by Elizabeth Alexander. Professor Nelson’s website is http://www.alondranelson.com (http://www.alondranelson.com/). Ignacio Ayala clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/12/15/randall-kennedy-black-and-white-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/12/15/randall-kennedy-black-and-white-2/#comments Thu, 16 Dec 2021 02:36:43 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4829 http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/12/15/randall-kennedy-black-and-white-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening.  - "Interracial Intimacies: Sex, Marriage, Identity, and Adoption," is a book written by Randall Kennedy, a Harvard University Law School Professor. He takes an in-depth look at the issue of black and white relationships... Click here to begin listening.  "Interracial Intimacies: Sex, Marriage, Identity, and Adoption," is a book written by Randall Kennedy, a Harvard University Law School Professor. He takes an in-depth look at the issue of black and white relationships set against the ever-changing social mores and laws of this country. Fears of interracial relationships, influenced over the centuries by racial biases and fantasies still widely linger in American Society today. Randall Kennedy, a professor at Harvard University Law School is the author of “Interracial Intimacies: Sex, Marriage, Identity, and Adoption,” in which he takes an in depth look at the issue of black and white relationships set against the ever-changing social mores and laws of this country. From pre-civil war to the present, this book explores the historical, sociological, legal and moral issues that continue to feed and complicate those fears. Professor Kennedy and I visited by phone in March 2003 and began by our conversation with his description of what he calls a “pigmentocracy” in the United States. The book Professor Randall Kennedy recommends is “The Biography of Walter White,” by Robert Jankin. Ignacio Ayala clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/10/06/lerner-gerda-ph-d-the-foremother-of-womens-history/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/10/06/lerner-gerda-ph-d-the-foremother-of-womens-history/#comments Thu, 07 Oct 2021 03:16:31 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4771 http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/10/06/lerner-gerda-ph-d-the-foremother-of-womens-history/feed/ 0 http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/06/16/randall-kennedy-can-you-say-this-word-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/06/16/randall-kennedy-can-you-say-this-word-2/#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2021 03:02:43 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4698 http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/06/16/randall-kennedy-can-you-say-this-word-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening.  - Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word - Few words in the English language have caused so much pain, hurt and emotion as the N-word. It is arguably the most consequential social insult in American history. Click here to begin listening.  (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-KENNEDY_RANDALL_N-WORD_6.16.21_IA.mp3) Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word Few words in the English language have caused so much pain, hurt and emotion as the N-word. It is arguably the most consequential social insult in American history. The long history of the pejorative use of the N-word has given it an unusual power that extends to the judicial system, literature and social settings. Randall Kennedy, a professor of Law at Harvard University Law School, is the author of “Nigger-the Strange Career of a Troublesome Word.”  His book chronicles the history of this word, in an effort to diffuse and neutralize it. At the end of his book he writes, “There is much to be gained by allowing people all backgrounds to yank the N-word away from white supremacists to subvert its ugliest denotation, and to convert the N-work from a negative into a positive appellation.” I spoke with Professor Randall Kennedy in the winter of 2002 while he was in California and asked him to begin our conversation by explaining this conclusion. The book Randall Kennedy recommends in “The Negro in the American Revolution,” by Benjamin Quarles, written in 1961. Originally Broadcast: March 19, 2002 Ignacio Ayala clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/06/09/lynda-koolish-ph-d-african-american-writers/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/06/09/lynda-koolish-ph-d-african-american-writers/#comments Thu, 10 Jun 2021 02:21:23 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4694 http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/06/09/lynda-koolish-ph-d-african-american-writers/feed/ 1 Click here to begin listening.  African American Writers: Portraits and Visions The voice of a writer can be heard in words, and sometimes seen in the writer’s face. It is unusual to find both in a book in which the creator is both the author and the... Click here to begin listening.  (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-Koolish_Lynda_6.9.21.mp3) African American Writers: Portraits and Visions The voice of a writer can be heard in words, and sometimes seen in the writer’s face. It is unusual to find both in a book in which the creator is both the author and the photographer. Lynda Koolish, our guest on this archive edition of Radio Curious, is a professor of African American literature at San Diego State University and an accomplished photographer. She is the author of a book entitled “African American Writers: Portraits and Visions” in which she reveals the visage of 59 African American writers along with a thumbnail biography and summation of each writer’s vision. Lynda Koolish, Ph.D. recommends “Dien Cai Dau” and “Neon Vernacular” by Yusef Komunyakaa. Originally Broadcast: February 19, 2002 Ignacio Ayala clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/03/17/kennedy-randall-can-you-say-this-word-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/03/17/kennedy-randall-can-you-say-this-word-2/#comments Thu, 18 Mar 2021 02:13:17 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4633 http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/03/17/kennedy-randall-can-you-say-this-word-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening.  - Few words in the English language have caused so much pain, hurt and emotion as the N-word. It is arguably the most consequential social insult in American history. The long history of the pejorative use of the N-word... Click here to begin listening.  (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-KENNEDY_RANDALL_N-WORD_3.17.21_IA.mp3) Few words in the English language have caused so much pain, hurt and emotion as the N-word. It is arguably the most consequential social insult in American history. The long history of the pejorative use of the N-word has given it an unusual power that extends to the judicial system, literature and social settings. Randall Kennedy, a professor of Law at Harvard University Law School, is the author of “Nigger-the Strange Career of a Troublesome Word.”  His book chronicles the history of this word, in an effort to diffuse and neutralize it. Originally Broadcast: March 19, 2002 Ignacio Ayala clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/03/10/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-two-4/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/03/10/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-two-4/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2021 00:42:38 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4629 http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/03/10/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-two-4/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening.  - In part 2 of our conversation with Pulitzer Prize winner, Isabel Wilkerson, author of “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration,” we continue our discussion of the migration of almost six ... Click here to begin listening.  (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-1197-1-WILKERSON_ISABEL_INTERVIEW_RC_IA_2.12.19_.mp3) In part 2 of our conversation with Pulitzer Prize winner, Isabel Wilkerson, author of “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration,” we continue our discussion of the migration of almost six million black American citizens from the south to northern and western cities between the years of 1915 and 1970. Her book tells the untold experiences of the African-Americans who fled the south over three generations. Wilkerson interviewed more than 1,000 people for her book. She is the first black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize and is a recipient of the George Polk Award and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. Her parents were part of the great migration, journeying from Georgia and southern Virginia to Washington D.C. The book Isabel Wilkerson recommends is “The Ark of Justice,” by Kevin Boyle. Ignacio Ayala clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/03/03/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-one-3/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/03/03/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-one-3/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2021 05:11:12 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4623 http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/03/03/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-one-3/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening.  - In the years between 1915 and 1970 almost six million black American citizens from the south migrated to northern and western cities seeking freedom and a better life. Our guest is Pulitzer Prize winner, Click here to begin listening.  (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-1197-1-WILKERSON_INTERVIEW_1_IA_2-5-19.mp3) In the years between 1915 and 1970 almost six million black American citizens from the south migrated to northern and western cities seeking freedom and a better life. Our guest is Pulitzer Prize winner, Isabel Wilkerson author of “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration.” Her book tells the untold experiences of the African-Americans who fled the south over three generations. Wilkerson interviewed more than 1,000 people for her book. She is the first black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize and is a recipient of the George Polk Award and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. Her parents were part of the great migration, journeying from Georgia and southern Virginia to Washington D.C. In the first of two interviews recorded from Isabel Wilkerson’s home near Atlanta, Georgia, on September 28, 2012, she begins with a description of the “biggest untold story of the 20th century.” The book Isabel Wilkerson recommends is “The Ark of Justice,” by Kevin Boyle. Ignacio Ayala clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/02/10/annie-barnes-racism-in-america-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/02/10/annie-barnes-racism-in-america-2/#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2021 03:34:05 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4609 http://www.radiocurious.org/2021/02/10/annie-barnes-racism-in-america-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening.  Everyday Racism: A Book For All Americans Racism has too long been a part of the American experience. The Civil War and the Constitutional amendments that followed, the Supreme Court decisions ordering the desegregatio... Click here to begin listening.  (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-BARNES_ANNIE_2.10.21_IA.mp3) Everyday Racism: A Book For All Americans Racism has too long been a part of the American experience. The Civil War and the Constitutional amendments that followed, the Supreme Court decisions ordering the desegregation of schools, and the Civil Rights movements did not end racism in America. Annie S. Barnes, holds a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the University of Virginia and is a retired Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Norfolk State University in Virginia. She is the author of “Everyday Racism, A Book for All Americans,” a book based on the racist experiences suffered by 146 black college students. Professor Barnes describes effects of racism on black people and what black people and white people can do to combat it. Annie Barnes recommends “Driving While Black,” by Kenneth Meeks. Originally Broadcast: February 27, 2001 Ignacio Ayala clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2020/07/10/mello-mark-reflections-on-the-underground-railroad-what-now-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2020/07/10/mello-mark-reflections-on-the-underground-railroad-what-now-2/#comments Sat, 11 Jul 2020 01:22:02 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4343 http://www.radiocurious.org/2020/07/10/mello-mark-reflections-on-the-underground-railroad-what-now-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Imagine growing up in a tightly bound community of no more than 60 people who worked from dawn to dusk and who were subjected to unimaginable indignities and torture. Why? Because they were African Americans born into s... Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-radiocurious_20161019.mp3) Imagine growing up in a tightly bound community of no more than 60 people who worked from dawn to dusk and who were subjected to unimaginable indignities and torture. Why? Because they were African Americans born into slavery in the United States prior in the first half of the 19th century. They hoped and dreamed of freedom, freedom to an unknown place; that freedom served as a guide for those who risked their lives to flee the bondage. Freedom for some was found in the seaport town of New Bedford, Massachusetts, where escaped former slaves were welcome. New Bedford was the richest city in the world in the 1850s, a city run by Quakers and other abolitionists, who created a safe haven for black people from the south. The 1,000 plus men and women who found refuge in New Bedford were more than enough to hide the newcomers as they arrived. Often the men found work on the whaling ships that ventured forth around the world from the New Bedford harbor. More can be learned about whaling in New Bedford in a two part Radio Curious program here. In this series about New Bedford as a safe haven on the Underground Railroad, we explore the lives of freedom seeking ex-slaves who safely made the journey to the south east corner of Massachusetts. In this, the second of a two part program, we continue our visit with National Park Ranger Mark Mello. Part of Ranger Mello’s work is that of a tour guide interpreting the history and stories of pre-civil war New Bedford. His interpretations focus on the bravery and dedication of New Bedford residents at that time. I joined Mark Mello’s walking tour about the Underground Railroad’s connection to New Bedford in the Old Town Section on September 2, 2016. This edition of Radio Curious begins with Ranger Mello’s story of Nathan and Polly Johnson, a free black couple who lived and worked there--he as a pharmacist and she a confectionary. The books Mark Mello recommends are “Fugitive's Gibraltar: Escaping Slaves and Abolitionism in New Bedford, Massachusetts,” by Kathryn Grover; "Whale Hunt," by Nelson Cole Haley; and "Leviathan," by Philip Hoare. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/03/19/sandra-kamusukiri-as-maria-stewart-a-visit-with-a-free-black-woman-boston-1840/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/03/19/sandra-kamusukiri-as-maria-stewart-a-visit-with-a-free-black-woman-boston-1840/#comments Tue, 19 Mar 2019 17:58:13 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4410 http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/03/19/sandra-kamusukiri-as-maria-stewart-a-visit-with-a-free-black-woman-boston-1840/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Maria W. Stewart, as characterized by professor and scholar Sandra Kamusakiri, was a free black woman who lived in Boston, MA, from the 1820s to the early 1840s. She was the first American born woman to lecture in publi... Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-1197-1-STEWART_MARIA_3-18_19_IA.mp3) Maria W. Stewart, as characterized by professor and scholar Sandra Kamusakiri, was a free black woman who lived in Boston, MA, from the 1820s to the early 1840s. She was the first American born woman to lecture in public on political themes and likely the first African-American to speak out in defense of women’s rights. A forerunner to Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, she was intensely religious and regarded as outspoken and controversial during her time. For more than a century, Maria W. Stewart’s life contributions remained obscured, illustrating the double pressures of racism and sexism on the lives African-American women. I met with Mariah W. Stewart in the person of Professor Sandra Kamusukiri during the 1996 Democracy in America Chautauqua, held in Ukiah, California. Maria Stewart recommends “The Fair Sketches of Women,” by John Adams and “The Bible.” Originally Broadcast: November 27, 1996 LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/02/12/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-two-3/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/02/12/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-two-3/#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2019 02:32:45 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4406 http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/02/12/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-two-3/feed/ 0 http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/02/05/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-one-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/02/05/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-one-2/#comments Wed, 06 Feb 2019 02:30:36 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4404 http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/02/05/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-one-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - In the years between 1915 and 1970 almost six million black American citizens from the south migrated to northern and western cities seeking freedom and a better life. Our guest is Pulitzer Prize winner, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-1197-1-WILKERSON_INTERVIEW_1_IA_2-5-19.mp3) In the years between 1915 and 1970 almost six million black American citizens from the south migrated to northern and western cities seeking freedom and a better life. Our guest is Pulitzer Prize winner, Isabel Wilkerson author of “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration.” Her book tells the untold experiences of the African-Americans who fled the south over three generations. Wilkerson interviewed more than 1,000 people for her book. She is the first black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize and is a recipient of the George Polk Award and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. Her parents were part of the great migration, journeying from Georgia and southern Virginia to Washington D.C. In the first of two interviews recorded from Isabel Wilkerson’s home near Atlanta, Georgia, on September 28, 2012, she begins with a description of the “biggest untold story of the 20th century.” The book Isabel Wilkerson recommends is “The Ark of Justice,” by Kevin Boyle. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/11/13/fuller-alexandra-growing-up-white-in-africa-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/11/13/fuller-alexandra-growing-up-white-in-africa-2/#comments Wed, 14 Nov 2018 02:03:35 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4379 http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/11/13/fuller-alexandra-growing-up-white-in-africa-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - In the late summer of 2003 Radio Curious visited with Alexandra Fuller who, as a child lived in Rhodesia, Malawi and Zambia in southeast Africa between 1972 and 1990.  After her father sided with the white government in... Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-1197-1-FULLER_ALEXANDRA_2018_IA.mp3) In the late summer of 2003 Radio Curious visited with Alexandra Fuller who, as a child lived in Rhodesia, Malawi and Zambia in southeast Africa between 1972 and 1990.  After her father sided with the white government in the Rhodesian civil war, he was often away from home.   Fuller’s resilient and self-sufficient mother immersed herself in their rural and rugged life. She taught her children to have strong wills and opinions, and to whole-heartedly embrace life, despite and because of their difficult circumstances.  Alexandra Fuller, author of “Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood,” known as Bobo to her family, developed a love of reading and story telling early on in her life. When I spoke with Alexandra Fuller in September 2003 her home was in rural Wyoming.  We visited by phone and began our conversation when I asked her how she choose the title for her book, “Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood.” The book Alexandra Fuller recommends is “Echoing Silences,” by Alexander Canigone. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/07/17/totten-dr-samuel-genocide-in-south-sudan/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/07/17/totten-dr-samuel-genocide-in-south-sudan/#comments Wed, 18 Jul 2018 01:24:58 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4345 http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/07/17/totten-dr-samuel-genocide-in-south-sudan/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Once again we focus on the continuing genocide in the northeast African countries of Sudan and South Sudan. When the nation of South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-TOTTEN_SAM_7-17-18_CA.mp3) Once again we focus on the continuing genocide in the northeast African countries of Sudan and South Sudan. When the nation of South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011, the hopes for peace and safety of its citizens were high. That reality however has not come to be. The people of this area, especially those from the Nuba Mountains, continue to flee for their lives amidst an ongoing deadly famine. Professor Emeritus, Samuel Totten, Ph.D., a genocide scholar, now retired from the University of Arkansas, is our guest for the fifth time on Radio Curious. Professor Totten, who has visited Sudan and South Sudan multiple times in the past decade, hopes to visit there again the end of July, 2018. In this program, he describes recent conditions in this remote part of Africa; the heroic efforts of others who have devoted their lives to the betterment of the people of South Sudan—told in the book he edited in 2017, “Sudan's Nuba Mountains People: Accounts by Humanitarians in the Battle Zone”—and the plans for his pending trip there. He also explains what motivates him to risk his life by doing this work. When Dr. Sam Totten and I visited by phone from his home in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on July 9, 2018, we began when I asked him to describe the location of Sudan and South Sudan on the African continent. The book Sam Totten recommends is “The Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency,” by Barton Gellman. LeGov clean 28:56 http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/07/03/mello-mark-the-underground-railroad-in-new-bedford-massachusetts-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/07/03/mello-mark-the-underground-railroad-in-new-bedford-massachusetts-2/#comments Wed, 04 Jul 2018 01:19:59 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4340 http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/07/03/mello-mark-the-underground-railroad-in-new-bedford-massachusetts-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - New Bedford, Massachusetts, a sea port located in the southeast corner of Massachusetts, at the base of Cape Cod is the locale of our program. Early in New Bedford’s history a group of Quakers from Boston moved there an... Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-MELLO_MARK_P1_2016_CA.mp3) New Bedford, Massachusetts, a sea port located in the southeast corner of Massachusetts, at the base of Cape Cod is the locale of our program. Early in New Bedford’s history a group of Quakers from Boston moved there and “New Bedford became a safe haven for formerly enslaved African-Americans" who had been able to escape bondage. The stories of those who safely arrived in New Bedford on the Underground Railroad are presented at the 34 acre New Bedford National Historical Park in the Old Town section of New Bedford. This two part series on the New Bedford Underground Railroad with National Park Ranger Mark Mello was recorded on September 2, 2016, with the sound of wind and street traffic in the background. Part one begins with a historical perspective of the Underground Railroad and the way in which New Bedford, Massachusetts was a safe haven for former slaves. The books Mark Mello recommends are “Fugitive's Gibraltar: Escaping Slaves and Abolitionism in New Bedford, Massachusetts,” by Kathryn Grover; "Whale Hunt," by Nelson Cole Haley; and "Leviathan," by Philip Hoare. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/03/14/phillips-barbara-the-dialogue-of-race/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/03/14/phillips-barbara-the-dialogue-of-race/#comments Thu, 15 Mar 2018 00:33:44 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4303 http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/03/14/phillips-barbara-the-dialogue-of-race/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - This is the second of two interviews with civil rights Attorney Barbara Phillips. She is a contributor to the book “Voices of Civil Rights Lawyers: Reflections From the Deep South: 1964-1980, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-PHILLIPS_BARBARA_P2_CA_.mp3) This is the second of two interviews with civil rights Attorney Barbara Phillips. She is a contributor to the book “Voices of Civil Rights Lawyers: Reflections From the Deep South: 1964-1980,” whose editor Kent Spriggs we interviewed in December 2017. In part one Phillips shared stories and experiences from her 40 year legal career as a community organizer and Civil Rights Lawyer.  In this, part two of our conversation, we discuss her essay “Framing the Contemporary Dialogue of Race,” that is featured in “Voices of Civil Rights Lawyers.”  We discuss the changing rhetoric about race, the Second Reconstruction and a Supreme Court decision addressing race prior to the 1980s.  These decisions defined a broad scope for just and equal rights for black people in the United States. As a retired civil rights attorney and retired professor of law at the University of Mississippi, and formerly a Program Officer of the Ford Foundation in the Human Rights unit of the Peace and Social Justice Program, she continues her life’s work as a community organizer in Oxford, Mississippi, and continues promote community justice programs around the world. When Barbara Phillips and I visited by phone from her home in Oxford, Mississippi, on March 6, 2018, we began our conversation when I asked her about the essay “Framing the Contemporary Dialogue About Race.” The books Barbara Phillips recommends are “What’s the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America,” by Thomas Frank, and “Transforming Feminist Practice: Non-Violence, Social Justice, and the Possibilities of a Spiritualized Feminism,” by Leela Fernandes. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/03/07/phillips-barbara-protecting-and-defending-civil-rights/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/03/07/phillips-barbara-protecting-and-defending-civil-rights/#comments Thu, 08 Mar 2018 00:31:26 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4301 http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/03/07/phillips-barbara-protecting-and-defending-civil-rights/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - We continue our series on "Voices of Civil Rights Lawyers," a book in which our guest Attorney Barbara Phillips is a contributor, and Attorney Kent Spriggs, our guest in December 2017, is the editor.  Now retired, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-PHILLIPS_BARBARA_3-5-18_CA.mp3) We continue our series on "Voices of Civil Rights Lawyers," a book in which our guest Attorney Barbara Phillips is a contributor, and Attorney Kent Spriggs, our guest in December 2017, is the editor.  Now retired, Barbara Phillips first worked as a community organizer in rural Mississippi.  Later, as an attorney she protected and defended the civil rights of women and people of color while based primarily in Mississippi and then California. Eventually, she became a professor at the University of Mississippi Law School. In this, part one of two interviews with Barbara Phillips, she shares her stories and experiences of her 40 year legal career.  In part two we discuss her opinions on how to frame the contemporary dialogue of race. When she and I visited by phone from her home in Oxford, Mississippi, on March 5, 2018, we began our conversation when I asked her to describe her experience as an intersectional black, female lawyer. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/02/06/sullivan-michael-gene-political-theater-black-men-and-the-police-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/02/06/sullivan-michael-gene-political-theater-black-men-and-the-police-2/#comments Wed, 07 Feb 2018 00:21:16 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4292 http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/02/06/sullivan-michael-gene-political-theater-black-men-and-the-police-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Theatre as a commentary on the condition of society is the subject of this edition of Radio Curious. The topic is the relationship of police and black men in America in 2015. Our guest is Michael Gene Sullivan, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-SULLIVAN_2-6-18_JG-1.mp3) Theatre as a commentary on the condition of society is the subject of this edition of Radio Curious. The topic is the relationship of police and black men in America in 2015. Our guest is Michael Gene Sullivan, the resident playwright, director and a principal actor in “2015: Freedomland,” this year’s production by the San Francisco Mime Troupe. The first question and answer on the frequently asked questions page on the San Francisco Mime Troupe website is: “Why do you call yourself a Mime Troupe if you talk and sing?” The answer is: “We use the term mime in its classical and original definition, ‘The exaggeration of daily life in story and song.'” When Michael Gene Sullivan and I visited by phone from his home in San Francisco on June 29, 2015, I asked him if “2015: Freedomland” was an exaggeration of daily life in story and song from his perspective. The book Michael Gene Sullivan recommends is “The Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Force,” by Redley Balko. LeGov clean 29:05 http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/01/16/massey-orell-the-impact-of-martin-luther-king-jr-on-one-man/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/01/16/massey-orell-the-impact-of-martin-luther-king-jr-on-one-man/#comments Wed, 17 Jan 2018 00:13:04 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4286 http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/01/16/massey-orell-the-impact-of-martin-luther-king-jr-on-one-man/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - To assist in the consideration of the impact of Martin Luther King, Jr. on the United States, I invited my friend Orell Massey to join us again here at Radio Curious.  In February 2014, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-MASSEY_ORRELL_2018_CA.mp3) To assist in the consideration of the impact of Martin Luther King, Jr. on the United States, I invited my friend Orell Massey to join us again here at Radio Curious.  In February 2014, when Massey first visited us he shared his experiences as the first and, so far, the only black law enforcement officer in the history of Mendocino County, California.  Prior to becoming a Deputy Sheriff here 23 years ago, Massey served in the U.S. Marine Corps and was primarily assigned to the Foreign Service Embassy detail. A native of rural South Carolina, he suffered under the cloud, terror, threats and fears brought on by racial segregation throughout his childhood and early adult years before joining the Marine Corps.   Now, he continues to work part time as a Mendocino County Deputy Sheriff, since his retirement in 2017. When Orell Massey visited the Radio Curious studios on January 14, 2018, we focused on the effect that Martin Luther King, Jr. had on his life. The Civil Rights song featured is "Can't Turn Me 'Round" performed by The Roots. The book Orell Massey recommends is “I Never Had it Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson,”  by Jackie Robinson and Alfred Duckett. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/12/05/spriggs-kent-legal-heroes-of-the-civil-rights-movement/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/12/05/spriggs-kent-legal-heroes-of-the-civil-rights-movement/#comments Tue, 05 Dec 2017 22:38:51 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4274 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/12/05/spriggs-kent-legal-heroes-of-the-civil-rights-movement/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - In all successful social and political changes in here in the the United States and elsewhere, civil disobedience plays a significant role. Bus boycotts, sit-ins and marches, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-SPRIGGS_KENT_CA_2017.mp3) In all successful social and political changes in here in the the United States and elsewhere, civil disobedience plays a significant role. Bus boycotts, sit-ins and marches, coordinated with constitution based legal challenges to blatant racially based restrictions imposed by the white supremacy in the American south, were at the core of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Our guest in this edition of Radio Curious is Attorney Kent Spriggs, the editor of “Voices of Civil Rights Lawyers: Reflections from the Deep South, 1964-1980.”  Spriggs compiled the voices of 26 lawyers, black and white, from the south and the north who began their law practices in the mid-1960s and successfully ended significant aspects of the then existing racial segregation. They describe their backgrounds and provide context for their civil rights litigation and other basic legal rights, as well as how their successes later advanced other movements for social justice. Kent Spriggs, raised in Washington, D.C. went to the Deep South in 1965 after finishing law school in New York.  He has been a Civil Rights lawyer since he arrived there over 50 years ago. Spriggs, now a resident and former mayor of Tallahassee, Florida, and I visited by phone from his home office on December 4, 2017.  We began our conversation when I asked him describe the contributors and some of their stories in “Voices of Civil Rights Lawyers.” The three books Kent Spriggs recommends are: "The Shock Doctrine," by Naomi Klein; "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations about Race" by Beverly Daniel Tatum; and "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness," by Michelle Alexander and Cornel West. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/11/29/zimring-frank-when-police-kill-part-two/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/11/29/zimring-frank-when-police-kill-part-two/#comments Wed, 29 Nov 2017 22:34:50 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4272 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/11/29/zimring-frank-when-police-kill-part-two/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - This is the second in a two part series on why police in the United States kill more citizens than in any other developed nation.  Our guest is Professor Franklin E. Zimring from the Law School at the University of Cali... Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-ZIMRING_FRANK_P2_2017_CA.mp3) This is the second in a two part series on why police in the United States kill more citizens than in any other developed nation.  Our guest is Professor Franklin E. Zimring from the Law School at the University of California at Berkeley.  He is the author of the 2017 book “When Police Kill.” In part one, Zimring discusses why police killings are such a serious problem in the United States. He asserts it is in large part because of widespread ownership and use of handguns, which increase the vulnerability of police to life-threatening assault. Here, in part two, Zimring explains how the problem of police killings can be effectively controlled without major changes in the performance or the effectiveness of police. When Frank Zimring and I visited by phone from his office in Berkeley, California, on November 17, 2017, we began with his discussion of ways to effectively address the problem of police killings. The book Frank Zimring recommends is “Memos From Midlife: 24 Parables of Adult Adjustment,” his only non-law related book. And finally for full disclosure, Frank and I met in elementary school in Los Angeles. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/11/21/zimring-frank-when-police-kill-part-one/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/11/21/zimring-frank-when-police-kill-part-one/#comments Tue, 21 Nov 2017 22:33:16 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4269 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/11/21/zimring-frank-when-police-kill-part-one/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - This program is devoted to some of the reasons why police in the United States kill and who the dead are. - Of the 1,100 killings by police in the United States in the year 2015, 85% were a result of a fatal shooting. Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-ZIMRING_FRANK_2017_CA.mp3) This program is devoted to some of the reasons why police in the United States kill and who the dead are. Of the 1,100 killings by police in the United States in the year 2015, 85% were a result of a fatal shooting. 95% of those victims were male.  The death rates for African Americans and Native Americans are twice their share of the population. Our guest in this first of a two part series on why police kill, is Franklin E. Zimring a law professor at the Boalt Hall Law School at the University of California at Berkeley.  He is also the author of “When Police Kill.” Zimring’s conclusions, based on evidence garnered from the empirical research revealed in his book show: 1) “Police use of lethal force is a very serious national problem in the United States”; 2) “Killings by police are a much larger problem in the United States than in any other developed nation, in large part because of widespread ownership and use of handguns which increase the vulnerability of police to life-threatening assault;” and 3) “Police killings are a very specific problem that can be effectively controlled without major changes in the performance or the effectiveness of police.”  This third point is the topic of part two in this series. And, for the sake of full disclosure, Frank Zimring and I have been friends since our early years in elementary school. Frank Zimring and I visited by phone from his office at Boalt Hall Law School in Berkeley, California on November 17, 2017.   We began our conversation when I asked him to discuss policing as a governmental function. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/11/08/best-george-john-brown-and-harpers-ferry/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/11/08/best-george-john-brown-and-harpers-ferry/#comments Wed, 08 Nov 2017 22:26:32 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4264 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/11/08/best-george-john-brown-and-harpers-ferry/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening Harper’s Ferry National Park is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers in the easternmost corner of what is now West Virginia. This tiny national park, just over a square mile in size, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-BEST_GEORGE_2017_CA.mp3) Harper’s Ferry National Park is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers in the easternmost corner of what is now West Virginia. This tiny national park, just over a square mile in size, is the location of the 1859 raid led by John Brown, a white abolitionist. Outraged by the sustained existence of slavery in southern United States, Brown and his armed supporters snuck across the river at night attempting to take over of the government arsenal, arm the nearby enslaved people and foment a revolt.  Brown’s intended efforts were ultimately unsuccessful and resulted in his conviction for treason and death by hanging.  Nonetheless, he foreshadowed the growing discontent of slavery that would lead to the civil war. I joined Ranger George Best on October 12, 2017, for a tour and stories, which began at the 1848 now defunct armory amid background sounds of the rivers, railroads and other machinery  He begins with a description of the Foundry, Harper’s Ferry largest building. The books George Best recommends are: “A Walker's Guide to Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia,” by Dave Gilbert, “The Strange Story of Harper’s Ferry” by Joseph Berry, and “Harpers Ferry Under Fire” by Dennis Fryer. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/08/29/pace-charles-wagner-sally-a-visit-with-elizabeth-cady-stanton-frederick-douglass/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/08/29/pace-charles-wagner-sally-a-visit-with-elizabeth-cady-stanton-frederick-douglass/#comments Tue, 29 Aug 2017 20:33:17 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4243 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/08/29/pace-charles-wagner-sally-a-visit-with-elizabeth-cady-stanton-frederick-douglass/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass were good friends from the mid 19th century to the late 19th century, and were active leaders in the fight for the rights of women and blacks throughout their lives. Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-STANTON-DOUGLAS-CA-2017.mp3) Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass were good friends from the mid 19th century to the late 19th century, and were active leaders in the fight for the rights of women and blacks throughout their lives.  From time to time they got together to visit and talk about America, as they knew it. In this archive edition of Radio Curious recorded in May 1998, I met with Chautauqua scholars Sally Roesch Wagner and Charles Pace who portrayed Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass. We began our conversation when I asked them each to tell us what it was like to be an American during their life time. The book Frederick Douglass recommends is, “The Columbian Orator: Containing a Variety of Original and Selected Pieces Together With Rules, Which Are Calculated to Improve Youth and Others, in the Ornamental and Using Art of Eloquence” by Caleb Bingham. The book Charles Pace recommends is, “W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868 to 1919,” by David Levering Lewis. The book Elizabeth Cady Stanton recommends is, “The Woman’s Bible” edited by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The book Sally Wagner recommends is, “The Homesteader: A Novel,” by Oscar Micheaux. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/08/23/adams-dr-francis-are-we-still-racists/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/08/23/adams-dr-francis-are-we-still-racists/#comments Wed, 23 Aug 2017 20:30:17 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4241 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/08/23/adams-dr-francis-are-we-still-racists/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - “Alienable Rights: The Exclusion of African Americans in a White Man’s Land, 1619 to 2000” is a book in part written by Francis Adams, an independent scholar living in Los Angeles, California. Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-ADAMS_FRANCIS_2017_CA.mp3) “Alienable Rights: The Exclusion of African Americans in a White Man’s Land, 1619 to 2000” is a book in part written by Francis Adams, an independent scholar living in Los Angeles, California. The book posits that the drive for equal rights for black people in the United States has never had the support of the majority of America. Rather, racial progress has been made in brief historic bursts, lead by the committed militant minorities of abolitionists, radical republicans, and civil rights activists. Dr. Francis Adams and I began our conversation when I asked him to explain the importance of the trial of James Somerset that took place in England in 1772. The book that Dr. Francis Adams recommends is: “Collapse,” by Jared Diamond. Originally Broadcast: January 29, 2005. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/03/21/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-part-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/03/21/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-part-2/#comments Tue, 21 Mar 2017 19:20:15 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4193 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/03/21/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-part-2/feed/ 0 Click here t0 begin listening - In PART TWO of our conversation with Pulitzer Prize winner, Isabel Wilkerson, author of “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration,” we continue our discussion of the migration of almost six ... Click here t0 begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-Wilkerson_Part_2_-_3-21-17_.mp3) In PART TWO of our conversation with Pulitzer Prize winner, Isabel Wilkerson, author of “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration,” we continue our discussion of the migration of almost six million black American citizens from the south to northern and western cities between the years of 1915 and 1970. Her book tells the untold experiences of the African-Americans who fled the south over three generations. Wilkerson interviewed more than 1,000 people for her book. She is the first black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize and is a recipient of the George Polk Award and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. Her parents were part of the great migration, journeying from Georgia and southern Virginia to Washington D.C. LeGov clean 29:03 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/03/13/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-part-1/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/03/13/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-part-1/#comments Mon, 13 Mar 2017 19:18:51 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4191 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/03/13/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-part-1/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - In the years between 1915 and 1970 almost six million black American citizens from the south migrated to northern and western cities seeking freedom and a better life. Our guest is Pulitzer Prize winner, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-WILKERSON_-_PART_1.mp3) In the years between 1915 and 1970 almost six million black American citizens from the south migrated to northern and western cities seeking freedom and a better life. Our guest is Pulitzer Prize winner, Isabel Wilkerson (http://isabelwilkerson.com/), author of “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration.” Her book tells the untold experiences of the African-Americans who fled the south over three generations. Wilkerson interviewed more than 1,000 people for her book. She is the first black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize, and is a recipient of the George Polk Award and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. Her parents were part of the great migration, journeying from Georgia and southern Virginia to Washington D.C. In the first of two interviews recorded from Isabel Wilkerson’s home near Atlanta, Georgia, on September 28, 2012, she begins with a description of the “biggest untold story of the 20th century.” The book Isabel Wilkerson recommends is “The Arc of Justice,” by Kevin Boyle LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/01/24/patterson-dr-victoria-it-does-not-require-many-words-to-speak-the-truth/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/01/24/patterson-dr-victoria-it-does-not-require-many-words-to-speak-the-truth/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2017 18:59:32 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4177 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/01/24/patterson-dr-victoria-it-does-not-require-many-words-to-speak-the-truth/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - This week, we continue our discussion with ethnologist Dr. Victoria Patterson. We talk about how the United States treated the Native people of North America initially, and later during the westward expansion. Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-Radio_Curious_-_20170123_-_Patterson_2.mp3) This week, we continue our discussion with ethnologist Dr. Victoria Patterson. We talk about how the United States treated the Native people of North America initially, and later during the westward expansion. We also discuss the consequences to the Native people when they entered into written treaties with the United States. Not having a written language, they relied on the carefully chosen words they spoke during the treaty negotiations and the words spoken by the representatives of the United States. Dr. Victoria Patterson is an ethnologist who has studied the Native people of what is now the United States for the past 40 years.  She lives and works in Ukiah, California. I invite you to listen to the 1999 two-part series with Dr. Patterson about the life of the Pomo People of northwestern California prior to contact with Europeans, and what occurred in the ten years thereafter. We began this interview with her elaborating on and putting into context the statement of Chief Joseph: “It Does Not Require Many Words to Speak the Truth.” The book Victoria Patterson recommends is “The Best American Travel Writing 2016,” by Bill Bryson. This program was recorded on January 23, 2017. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/01/24/patterson-dr-victoria-united-states-treaties-with-native-people/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/01/24/patterson-dr-victoria-united-states-treaties-with-native-people/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2017 18:56:23 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4175 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/01/24/patterson-dr-victoria-united-states-treaties-with-native-people/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - In the 56 years between 1774 and 1832, 368 Treaties were agreed upon between several sovereign nations of the native peoples of North America the United States.  Our guest is Victoria Patterson, Ph.D., Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-Radio_Curious_-_20170117_-_PATTERSON_PT_1_-_FINAL_NATIONAL.mp3) In the 56 years between 1774 and 1832, 368 Treaties were agreed upon between several sovereign nations of the native peoples of North America the United States.  Our guest is Victoria Patterson, Ph.D., an ethnologist who has studied the Native People of North America for the past 40 years. The 368 treaties were attempts to set the borders of the parties and set conditions of their behavior.  Once negotiated and consented to by and with the advice and consent of the United States Senate these treaties, like all other treaties, became the supreme law of the land. Conciliatory language, perhaps thought by some to establish an everlasting peace, was common in the words of many of the treaties.  The 1778 Treaty with the Delaware Indians and the United States memorialized that notion with a recital stating:  “That all offences or acts of hostilities by one, or either of the contracting parties against the other, be mutually forgiven, and buried in the depth of oblivion, never more to be had in remembrance.” History did not, however prove this notion to be true. Dr. Victoria Patterson visited Radio Curious on January 16, 2017 to discuss treaties and issues of native sovereignty.  We began with the condition of the Native people after the colonies separated from England and before the establishment of the United States. Join us again next week for part two of our visit with Dr. Victoria Patterson on the history treaty negotiations and issues of Native sovereignty. This program recorded on January 16, 2017. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/10/19/mello-mark-reflections-on-the-underground-railroad-what-now/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/10/19/mello-mark-reflections-on-the-underground-railroad-what-now/#comments Thu, 20 Oct 2016 01:41:47 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4148 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/10/19/mello-mark-reflections-on-the-underground-railroad-what-now/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Imagine growing up in a tightly bound community of no more than 60 people who worked from dawn to dusk and who were subjected to unimaginable indignities and torture.   Why? Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-radiocurious_20161019.mp3) Imagine growing up in a tightly bound community of no more than 60 people who worked from dawn to dusk and who were subjected to unimaginable indignities and torture.   Why? Because they were African Americans born into slavery in the United States prior in the first half of the 19th century.  They hoped and dreamed of freedom, freedom to an unknown place; that freedom served as a guide for those who risked their lives to flee the bondage. Freedom for some was found in the seaport town of New Bedford, Massachusetts, where escaped former slaves were welcome.  New Bedford was the richest city in the world in the 1850s, a city run by Quakers and other abolitionists, who created a safe haven for black people from the south.  The 1,000 plus men and women who found refuge in New Bedford were more than enough to hide the newcomers as they arrived.  Often the men found work on the whaling ships that ventured forth around the world from the New Bedford harbor. More can be learned about whaling in New Bedford in a two part Radio Curious program here. In this series about New Bedford as a safe haven on the Underground Railroad, we explore the lives of freedom seeking ex-slaves who safely made the journey to the south east corner of Massachusetts. In this, the second of a two part program, we continue our visit with National Park Ranger Mark Mello.  Part of Ranger Mello’s work is that of a tour guide interpreting the history and stories of pre-civil war New Bedford.  His interpretations focus on the bravery and dedication of New Bedford residents at that time. I joined Mark Mello’s walking tour about the Underground Railroad’s connection to New Bedford in the Old Town Section on September 2, 2016.   This edition of Radio Curious begins with Ranger Mello’s story of Nathan and Polly Johnson, a free black couple who lived and worked there--he as a pharmacist and she a confectionary. The books Mark Mello recommends are “Fugitive's Gibraltar: Escaping Slaves and Abolitionism in New Bedford, Massachusetts,” by Kathryn Grover;  "Whale Hunt," by Nelson Cole Haley; and "Leviathan," by Philip Hoare. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/10/04/mello-mark-the-underground-railroad-in-new-bedford-massachusetts/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/10/04/mello-mark-the-underground-railroad-in-new-bedford-massachusetts/#comments Wed, 05 Oct 2016 01:39:21 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4146 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/10/04/mello-mark-the-underground-railroad-in-new-bedford-massachusetts/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - New Bedford, Massachusetts, a sea port located in the southeast corner of Massachusetts, at the base of Cape Cod is the locale of our program.  Early in New Bedford’s history a group of Quakers from Boston moved there a... Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-MELLO_MARK_P1_2016_CA.mp3) New Bedford, Massachusetts, a sea port located in the southeast corner of Massachusetts, at the base of Cape Cod is the locale of our program.  Early in New Bedford’s history a group of Quakers from Boston moved there and “New Bedford became a safe haven for formerly enslaved African-Americans" who had been able to escape bondage. The stories of those who safely arrived in New Bedford on the Underground Railroad are presented at the 34 acre New Bedford National Historical Park in the Old Town section of New Bedford. This two part series on the New Bedford Underground Railroad with National Park Ranger Mark Mello was recorded on September 2, 2016, with the sound of wind and street traffic in the background.  Part one begins with a historical perspective of the Underground Railroad and the way in which New Bedford, Massachusetts was a safe haven for former slaves. The books Mark Mello recommends are “Fugitive's Gibraltar: Escaping Slaves and Abolitionism in New Bedford, Massachusetts,” by Kathryn Grover;  "Whale Hunt," by Nelson Cole Haley; and "Leviathan," by Philip Hoare. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/09/22/griffin-dr-paul-seeds-of-racism/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/09/22/griffin-dr-paul-seeds-of-racism/#comments Fri, 23 Sep 2016 01:29:08 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4140 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/09/22/griffin-dr-paul-seeds-of-racism/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Racism, as a part of the American religious culture, can be traced to the religious concepts of some of the earliest European settlers in North America. Professor Paul R. Griffin explores these roots in his book, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-GRIFFIN_PAUL_2016_CA.mp3) Racism, as a part of the American religious culture, can be traced to the religious concepts of some of the earliest European settlers in North America. Professor Paul R. Griffin explores these roots in his book, "Seeds of Racism in the Soul of America," linking the concepts in the Puritan belief system to long lasting racist effects. He argues that racism is itself a religion in the United States and is closely related to America Christianity. He claims that efforts to erase racism have failed because they have concentrated on its visible manifestations rather than its ideological character. The book Dr. Paul Griffin recommends is "The Rage of A Privileged Class," by Ellis Cose. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/09/06/woodbine-dr-onaje-black-gods-of-the-asphalt-part-two/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/09/06/woodbine-dr-onaje-black-gods-of-the-asphalt-part-two/#comments Wed, 07 Sep 2016 01:24:46 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4136 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/09/06/woodbine-dr-onaje-black-gods-of-the-asphalt-part-two/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - The transcendent experience of street basketball is the topic of two conversations with Onaje X. O. Woodbine, author of “Black Gods of the Asphalt: Religion, Hip-Hop, and Street Basketball. Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-WOODBINE_ONAJE_PART_TWO_9-6-16_CA.mp3) The transcendent experience of street basketball is the topic of two conversations with Onaje X. O. Woodbine, author of “Black Gods of the Asphalt: Religion, Hip-Hop, and Street Basketball.”  Woodbine grew up in the inner-city of Roxbury, Massachusetts, became a skilled street basketball player and attended Yale University on a basketball scholarship.  After two years as a star player on the Yale team, he chose a different life path and quit. After graduating from Yale, Woodbine earned his Ph.D. in religious studies from Boston University.  His book, “Black Gods of the Asphalt” presents a social-anthropological view of this inner-city sport where coaches often assume the role of father, mentor and friend.  He contrasts the lessons learned on the street basketball courts, with those learned at the predominantly white basketball courts and locker rooms of Yale University. Onaje Woodbine visited with Radio Curious by phone on August 13, 2016, from his home in Andover, Massachusetts. In part one we discussed his experiences growing up and playing on the basketball courts in the inner city and how that differend from the Ivy League schools he later went to. In part two, we began our conversation when I asked him to explain the ethnographic research and methods he used in making his book, “Black Gods of the Asphalt.” The book Dr. Onaje Woodbine recommends is “Jesus and the Disinherited” by Howard Thurman. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/08/30/woodbine-dr-onaje-black-gods-of-the-asphalt-part-one/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/08/30/woodbine-dr-onaje-black-gods-of-the-asphalt-part-one/#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2016 01:22:46 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4134 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/08/30/woodbine-dr-onaje-black-gods-of-the-asphalt-part-one/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - The transcendent experience of street basketball is the topic of two conversations with Onaje X. O. Woodbine, author of “Black Gods of the Asphalt: Religion, Hip-Hop, and Street Basketball. Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-WOODBINE_ONAJE_PART_ONE_8-30-2016_CA.mp3) The transcendent experience of street basketball is the topic of two conversations with Onaje X. O. Woodbine, author of “Black Gods of the Asphalt: Religion, Hip-Hop, and Street Basketball.”  Woodbine grew up in the inner-city of Roxbury, Massachusetts, became a skilled street basketball player and attended Yale University on a basketball scholarship.  After two years as a star player on the Yale team, he chose a different life path and quit. After graduating from Yale, Woodbine earned his Ph.D. in religious studies from Boston University.  His book, “Black Gods of the Asphalt” presents a social-anthropological view of this inner-city sport where coaches often assume the role of father, mentor and friend.  He contrasts the lessons learned on the street basketball courts, with those learned at the predominantly white basketball courts and locker rooms of Yale University. Onaje Woodbine visited with Radio Curious by phone on August 13, 2016, from his home in Andover, Massachusetts, and began by describing his relationship with his father, Dr. Robert Woodbine. The book Dr. Onaje Woodbine recommends is “Jesus and the Disinherited” by Howard Thurman. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/08/23/marshall-dr-joseph-police-policies-and-black-lives-matter/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/08/23/marshall-dr-joseph-police-policies-and-black-lives-matter/#comments Wed, 24 Aug 2016 01:20:11 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4132 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/08/23/marshall-dr-joseph-police-policies-and-black-lives-matter/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Police misconduct and accountability is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious. Out guest is Dr. Joseph Marshall, a member of the San Francisco Police Commission where he leads the Commissions efforts to reform poli... Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-MARSHALL_JOSEPH_2016_CA.mp3) Police misconduct and accountability is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious. Out guest is Dr. Joseph Marshall, a member of the San Francisco Police Commission where he leads the Commissions efforts to reform policing policies at the San Francisco Police Department. In addition Dr. Marshall is the executive director of Alive & Free, a non-profit organization that teaches inner city youth violence prevention and offers higher education scholarships.  He is the host of Street Soldiers Radio aired every Sunday evening live online from 8 to 10 pm on KMEL FM 106.1 in San Francisco, California. I spoke with Dr. Joseph Marshall on August 15, 2016 from his office in San Francisco, California and began our conversation when I asked him about Black Lives Matter. The book Dr. Joseph Marshall recommends is “The Autobiography of Malcom X.” Free & Alive's website is: http://stayaliveandfree.org/. Street Soldiers can be heard at: http://streetsoldiersradio.org/listen-watch/. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/08/02/massey-orell-racism-in-a-rural-california-sheriffs-department-part-two-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/08/02/massey-orell-racism-in-a-rural-california-sheriffs-department-part-two-2/#comments Wed, 03 Aug 2016 01:12:48 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4125 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/08/02/massey-orell-racism-in-a-rural-california-sheriffs-department-part-two-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Radio Curious revisits a conversation with Mendocino County Deputy Sheriff Orell Massey who, for the past 20 years has been the only black law enforcement officer in the county's history. A native of South Carolina, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-MASSEY-ORELL-PART-TWO-2016-CA.mp3) Radio Curious revisits a conversation with Mendocino County Deputy Sheriff Orell Massey who, for the past 20 years has been the only black law enforcement officer in the county's history. A native of South Carolina, Deputy Massey was a 21 year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps assigned to the Foreign Service Embassy detail before he moved to Mendocino County. When I asked Sheriff Massey to be a guest on this program and share his experience as a black Deputy Sheriff, he asked: “Are the people of Mendocino County ready to hear what I have to say?” In part one of our conversation, Deputy Massey described some people’s reaction to him while he is in on duty. In this program, part two, recorded on February 1, 2015, in the Radio Curious studios, Deputy Massey gives his personal response when asked, “what is it like to be the only black Deputy Sheriff ever in the history of Mendocino County?” Later he shares stories about his off duty life, his goals and aspirations. The book Deputy Massey recommends is “Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of World War Two,” by Chester Nez and Judith Schiess Avila. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/07/26/massey-orell-racism-in-a-rural-california-sheriffs-department-part-one-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/07/26/massey-orell-racism-in-a-rural-california-sheriffs-department-part-one-2/#comments Wed, 27 Jul 2016 01:10:50 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4123 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/07/26/massey-orell-racism-in-a-rural-california-sheriffs-department-part-one-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Radio Curious revisits a conversation with Mendocino County Deputy Sheriff Orell Massey who, for the past 20 years has been the only black law enforcement officer in the county's history. A native of South Carolina, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-MASSEYORELL_2016_P1_CA.mp3) Radio Curious revisits a conversation with Mendocino County Deputy Sheriff Orell Massey who, for the past 20 years has been the only black law enforcement officer in the county's history. A native of South Carolina, Deputy Massey was a 21 year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps assigned to the Foreign Service Embassy detail before he moved to Mendocino County. When I asked Sheriff Massey to be a guest on this program and share his experience as a black Deputy Sheriff, he asked: “Are the people of Mendocino County ready to hear what I have to say?” In this program, Part One of our conversation, Deputy Massey describes some people’s reaction to him while he is in on duty. In Part Two, recorded on February 1, 2015, in the Radio Curious studios, Deputy Massey gives his personal response when asked, “what is it like to be the only black Deputy Sheriff ever in the history of Mendocino County?” Later he shares stories about his off duty life, his goals and aspirations. The book Deputy Massey recommends is “Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of World War Two,” by Chester Nez and Judith Schiess Avila. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/04/12/benton-robert-the-human-stain/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/04/12/benton-robert-the-human-stain/#comments Wed, 13 Apr 2016 00:06:28 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4089 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/04/12/benton-robert-the-human-stain/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - This program is about “passing,” a term sometimes used to define a person of color who passes as white. From the 2004 Radio Curious archives we revisit a conversation with film director Robert Benton, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-BENTON_ROBERT_4-10-16_CA.mp3) This program is about “passing,” a term sometimes used to define a person of color who passes as white. From the 2004 Radio Curious archives we revisit a conversation with film director Robert Benton, about his film “The Human Stain.” It's a movie about the life of Coleman Silk, an eminent Jewish intellectual and devoted husband; a professor of classics at a small New England college.  The truth about Coleman Silk, portrayed by Anthony Hopkins, is far more complex than expected or thought to be.  He hid behind a veil of lies, having masked his African-American origins in order to find a freedom he thought would otherwise be impossible to achieve.  But his world of deception unraveled after embarking on a romance with a much younger woman. Our guest, Robert Benton, is a three time Academy Awards winner for his work as the Director of “Kramer Vs. Kramer,” “Places in the Heart,” and “Nobody's Fool.” His film, “The Human Stain,” takes place in the 1990s and is based on the third novel of Phillip Roth's “American Trilogy” describing the post World War Two turmoil in America. The title “The Human Stain” emerges from the idea that no matter what a person does, a human being leaves a mark on the world, whether by rage, desire, ambition or accident, a kind of scar; stain that cannot be undone.  For Coleman Silk that stain is the deception and concealment he carried for decades. The human stain is the mark we leave on everything.  It speaks to the fact that we can't get through life without marking the world around us in some way. We have no choice. It's part of being human. Robert Benton and I visited by phone in the fall of 2004. The books Robert Benton recommends are “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night” by Mark Haddon and "The Manuscript Found in Sargossa" by Jan Potocki. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/03/15/nelson-dr-alondra-race-reparations-and-reconciliation-after-the-genome/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/03/15/nelson-dr-alondra-race-reparations-and-reconciliation-after-the-genome/#comments Tue, 15 Mar 2016 23:51:02 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4078 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/03/15/nelson-dr-alondra-race-reparations-and-reconciliation-after-the-genome/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Who we are and where we come from is a crucial question that now we are more able to answer than ever before. The examination and analysis of our individual DNA, in addition to answering a myriad of medical and forensic... Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-Nelson_Alondra_2_YK.mp3) Who we are and where we come from is a crucial question that now we are more able to answer than ever before. The examination and analysis of our individual DNA, in addition to answering a myriad of medical and forensic secrets also reveals the mix of our individual ancestors and the paths they took. This analysis provides significant and untold information about who we are, from where we came and how we may connect with our relatives. Dr. Alondra Nelson, the Dean of Social Science and professor of sociology and gender studies at Columbia University, in New York City, is our guest in this edition of Radio Curious. Professor Nelson is the author of The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome. She s also the author of Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination, which she and I have previously discussed on Radio Curious. To discuss The Social Life of DNA, Professor Nelson and I visited by phone from her office n New York City, on February 19, 2016. We began by noting that although all human beings are members of the human race, people are grouped by skin color and/or facial features and characterized as being of a different race. The book she recommends is Come Out Swinging, by Lucia Trimbur. This program was recorded on February 19, 2016. LeGov clean 28:52 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/03/02/allen-dr-elizabeth-changes-in-segregation-since-1952-part-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/03/02/allen-dr-elizabeth-changes-in-segregation-since-1952-part-2/#comments Wed, 02 Mar 2016 23:40:46 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4073 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/03/02/allen-dr-elizabeth-changes-in-segregation-since-1952-part-2/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - In this edition of Radio Curious, we'll visit again with Dr. Elizabeth Allen, a Professor of nursing at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. As a high school student, Dr. Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-Allen_Elizabeth_Dr_Pt_2_YK.mp3) In this edition of Radio Curious, we'll visit again with Dr. Elizabeth Allen, a Professor of nursing at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. As a high school student, Dr. Allen was one of the first African American students to integrate the West Virginia high schools in 1957. We begin our conversation with Dr. Allen when she discusses how she was able to successfully get through the educational system, and what changes have occurred in education since then, as they relate to African American students. The book she recommends is 'The Price of Loyalty' by Ron Suskind, with former US Treasury Secretary, Paul O'Neil. This episode originally broadcast in May, 2004. LeGov clean 28:52 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/02/23/allen-dr-elizabeth-changes-in-segregation-since-1952/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/02/23/allen-dr-elizabeth-changes-in-segregation-since-1952/#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2016 23:37:10 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4071 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/02/23/allen-dr-elizabeth-changes-in-segregation-since-1952/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - In May, 1954 the United States Supreme Court unanimously declared, ”segregation in public education is a denial of the equal protection of the laws.” Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-Allen_Elizabeth_YK.mp3) In May, 1954 the United States Supreme Court unanimously declared, ”segregation in public education is a denial of the equal protection of the laws.” Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, was a leader of many that gave strength and support to the initial struggles for equal civil rights and equal access for all people regardless of skin color. Now 62 years later the concept of affirmative action admission policies for racial equality in public universities continues. In this 2004 archive edition of Radio Curious we visit with Dr. Elizabeth Allen, now a Professor Emeritus of Nursing at the University of Michigan. As a high school student in 1957, Dr. Allen was one of the first African-American students to integrate the West Virginia high schools. Later she was a Captain in the U.S. Army as Combat Nurse in Viet Nam, prior to obtaining a Master’s Degree and Ph.D. in nursing and becoming a professor of nursing at the University of Michigan. This is the first of a two part series recorded in April 2004, in commemoration of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, recorded in late April 2004, Dr. Elizabeth Allen and I began our visit with her description the changes in racial segregation between 1954 and 2004. Dr. Elizaeth Allen is an avid romance reader and recommends any book written by Linda Howard. She also recommends “The Price of Loyalty” by David Suskind with former US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill. This interview as originally broadcast in May 2004. LeGov clean 28:52 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/02/16/nelson-dr-alondra-healthcare-the-black-panther-party/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/02/16/nelson-dr-alondra-healthcare-the-black-panther-party/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2016 23:33:33 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4068 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/02/16/nelson-dr-alondra-healthcare-the-black-panther-party/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - The exodus of approximately six million black people from the American South between 1915 and 1970 had a significant role in setting the stage of the civil rights movement of the early 1960s. Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-Nelson_Alondra_YK.mp3) The exodus of approximately six million black people from the American South between 1915 and 1970 had a significant role in setting the stage of the civil rights movement of the early 1960s. Many of the children of those who left the south participated in desegregation efforts which included the Freedom Rides and lunch counter sit-ins. The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 which attempted to resolve employment discrimination and define voting rights, only changed the law. Many young blacks however did not see changes in their everyday life. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was born out of this disillusionment. Although infiltrated and feared by the F.B.I., the Black Panther Party pioneered social and community programs, including free medical clinics, free meals, and educational programs. Our guest in this edition of Radio Curious is Columbia University Sociology and Gender Studies Professor Alondra Nelson, author of “Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination.” We visited by phone from her Office in New York City, on February 13, 2012 and began our conversation when I asked her to describe the Black Panther Party. The book she recommends is “Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems,” by Elizabeth Alexander. Professor Nelson’s website is http://www.alondranelson.com. LeGov clean 28:52 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/02/09/stewart-maria-a-visit-with-a-free-black-woman-boston-1820-to-1840/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/02/09/stewart-maria-a-visit-with-a-free-black-woman-boston-1820-to-1840/#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2016 23:27:35 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4064 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/02/09/stewart-maria-a-visit-with-a-free-black-woman-boston-1820-to-1840/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Maria W. Stewart, was a free black woman who lived in Boston, Massachusetts, from the early 1820s to the early 1840s. She was the first American born woman to lecture in public on political themes and likely the first A... Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-Stewart_Maria_-_Kamusukiri_Sandra_YK.mp3) Maria W. Stewart, was a free black woman who lived in Boston, Massachusetts, from the early 1820s to the early 1840s. She was the first American born woman to lecture in public on political themes and likely the first African-American to speak out in defense of women’s rights. A forerunner to Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass, she was intensely religious and was regarded as outspoken and controversial in her time. For more than a century Maria W. Stewart’s life’s contributions have remained obscured, illustrating the double pressures of racism and sexism on the lives of African-American women. The life of Maria W. Stewart, a free black woman who lived in Boston, Massachusetts, from the early 1820s to the early 1840s is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious. Maria W. Stewart was personified by Chautauqua Scholar, Professor Sandra Kamusukiri, during the 1996 Democracy in American Chautauqua held in Ukiah, California. Professor Kamusukiri is an Associate Vice President Emeritus, of the Emeritus English Faculty of the California State University at San Bernardino. I met with her, posing as Maria W. Stewart, and began our visit when I asked Maria W. Stewart to explain the differences between the lives of free black women in the northern states and black women who were slaves in the southern states. The book that Maria W. Stewart recommends is the Bible. The book that Sandra Kamusukiri recommends is “Maria W. Stewart, America's First Black Woman Political Writer: Essays and Speeches,” edited by Marilyn Richardson The program was originally broadcast in 1996. LeGov clean 28:52 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/10/20/barnes-annie-ph-d-racism-in-america/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/10/20/barnes-annie-ph-d-racism-in-america/#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2015 17:46:22 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3879 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/10/20/barnes-annie-ph-d-racism-in-america/feed/ 0 race,racism Radio Curious revisits a conversation with Annie Barnes author of "Everyday Racism, A Book for All Americans.” Barnes describes effects of racism on black people, and what people can do to combat it. Racism has, for too long, been a part of the American experience: the Civil War and the constitutional amendments that followed, the Supreme Court decisions ordering the desegregation of schools, and the Civil Rights movements did not end racism in America. Annie S. Barnes, holds a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the University of Virginia and is a retired professor of sociology and anthropology at Norfolk State University in Virginia. She is the author of "Everyday Racism, A Book for All Americans," a book based on the racist experiences suffered by 146 black college students. Professor Barnes describes the effects of racism on black people, and what all people can do to combat it. The book Annie S. Barnes recommends is “Driving While Black: Highways, Shopping Malls, Taxi Cabs, Sidewalks: How to Fight Back if You Are a Victim of Racial Profiling,” by Kenneth Meeks. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/07/28/pico-pio-garza-robert-meet-the-last-mexican-governor-of-california/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/07/28/pico-pio-garza-robert-meet-the-last-mexican-governor-of-california/#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2015 05:48:53 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3780 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/07/28/pico-pio-garza-robert-meet-the-last-mexican-governor-of-california/feed/ 0 Mexico Radio Curious visits with the last Mexican Governor of California, Pio Pico, as portrayed by historian Roberto Garza. Pico fled California during the American takeover, but returned and later served on the Los Angeles City Council. Radio Curious goes back into California history about 165 years, and visits with the last Mexican governor of California, Pio Pico. Born at the San Gabriel Mission in 1801, Pico was of Spanish, Italian, Indian and African ancestry. Both as a politician and as an entrepreneur, he espoused the views of many native-born “Californarios” over distant seats of government. As the last Mexican Governor of California, he presided over the secularization of the missions, and turned over their vast land holdings to private hands. Although he fled California during the American takeover, Pio Pico returned to build the first major hotel in Los Angeles. Later, he served on the Los Angeles City Council. I met with Pio Pico, portrayed by Roberto Garza, in February of 1998.  When Pio Pico and I met in the person of Roberto Garza we began when I asked him to tell us about his life. The book Pio Pico recommends is “Pio Pico, A Historical Narrative,” by Pio Pico. Roberto Graza recommends “Pio Pico Miscellany,” by Martin Cole and “The Decline of the Californios: A Social History of the Spanish-Speaking Californians, 1846-1890,” by Leonard Pitt. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/07/14/sullivan-michael-gene-political-theater-black-men-and-the-police/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/07/14/sullivan-michael-gene-political-theater-black-men-and-the-police/#comments Wed, 15 Jul 2015 00:21:55 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3769 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/07/14/sullivan-michael-gene-political-theater-black-men-and-the-police/feed/ 0 theater Radio Curious visits with Michael Gene Sullivan, the Resident Playwright, Director and a principal actor in 2015: Freedomland, a political and theatrical production by the San Francisco Mime Troupe. Theatre as a commentary on the condition of society is the subject of this edition of Radio Curious.  The topic is the relationship of police and black men in America in 2015.  Our guest is Michael Gene Sullivan, the resident playwright, director and a principal actor in “2015: Freedomland,” this year’s production by the San Francisco Mime Troupe. The first question and answer on the frequently asked questions page on the San Francisco Mime Troupe website is:  “Why do you call yourself a Mime Troupe if you talk and sing?”  The answer is:  “We use the term mime in its classical and original definition, 'The exaggeration of daily life in story and song.'" When Michael Gene Sullivan and I visited by phone from his home in San Francisco on June 29, 2015, I asked him if “2015: Freedomland” was an exaggeration of daily life in story and song from his perspective. The book Michael Gene Sullivan recommends is “The Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Force,” by Redley Balko. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/07/07/patterson-dr-victoria-native-american-life-before-and-after-europeans-part-two/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/07/07/patterson-dr-victoria-native-american-life-before-and-after-europeans-part-two/#comments Tue, 07 Jul 2015 21:23:12 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3764 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/07/07/patterson-dr-victoria-native-american-life-before-and-after-europeans-part-two/feed/ 0 Radio Curious revisits the second part of a conversation with Dr. Victoria Patterson, an anthropologist based in Ukiah, California, who has worked with Native Americans for over 30 years. She shares their stories and her insights. Cultures that have no written language pass on their histories through oral traditions. The stories are the way that social values and traditions are taught by one generation to the next. Animals often play a significant character role in these stories. In the Native American traditions of the northwest part of California, the coyote is a popular character. Dr. Victoria Patterson, an anthropologist based in Ukiah, California, has worked with native peoples for over 30 years. She knows these stories, and she sees them as windows, allowing us to imagine how original native peoples of northern California thought and lived. I met with Dr. Victoria Patterson and asked her about the significance of the story where the coyote jumped off into the sky. Our discussion lead to a two-part program, originally broadcast in February of 1999.  In part one we discuss the indigenous stories and in part two we discuss how the northern California indigenous communities changed after European colonization. The books Dr. Victoria Patterson recommends are “Deep Valley,” by Bernard W. Aginsky and “Under the Tuscan Sun,” by Frances Mayes. Originally Broadcast: February 16, 1999 and February 26, 1999. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/05/26/lowe-felicia-chinese-immigration-the-veil-of-secrecy-and-silence/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/05/26/lowe-felicia-chinese-immigration-the-veil-of-secrecy-and-silence/#comments Wed, 27 May 2015 02:50:41 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3682 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/05/26/lowe-felicia-chinese-immigration-the-veil-of-secrecy-and-silence/feed/ 0 Radio Curious visits with Felicia Lowe the producer of “Chinese Couplets” a documentary about Lowe's quest to learn about her ancestral history by tracing her mothers immigration to the United States from rural China. Secrecy of and revelation about the trip to America to secure a new life during the Chinese Exclusion era is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious.  Our guest is Felicia Lowe, whose film “Chinese Couplets” tells her mother’s story.  Felicia Lowe was met with refusals and silence when as a child she asked her mother about her childhood. This shroud of silence was lifted when Felicia Lowe’s daughter found an old family photograph taken in China and asked her grandmother to tell the story related to the photograph.  The film “Chinese Couplets” shows and tells the story of a childhood in rural China, the new identity to secure passage to America, the fear of deportation if the truth were known, and a prosperous and successful life of an immigrant Chinese woman in Oakland, California.   The film “Chinese Couplets” will be shown at the Mendocino Film Festival on Saturday, May 30, 2015 at 10 am in the Village of Mendocino, California. When Felicia Lowe and I visited by phone from her home in San Francisco, California, May 17, 2015, I asked her to tell us about her mother. The book Felicia Lowe recommends is “The Blues Eye,” by Toni Morrison. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/05/13/schwartz-lacey-nobody-discussed-it-lacey-schwartz-and-little-white-lie/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/05/13/schwartz-lacey-nobody-discussed-it-lacey-schwartz-and-little-white-lie/#comments Wed, 13 May 2015 06:10:25 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3665 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/05/13/schwartz-lacey-nobody-discussed-it-lacey-schwartz-and-little-white-lie/feed/ 0 Radio Curious visits with Lacey Schwartz, director and producer of “Little White Lie,” a documentary about her experiences growing up as a white Jew and later learning that she is half black. The secret revealed in the life of Lacey Schwartz, born in 1987 to a white Jewish family in rural upstate New York, where she grew up, is that her biological father was black.  The few who knew her truth remained silent until after her first year of college when she asked her mother why she looked the way she did.  Lacey Schwartz is the producer and director of the film “Little White Lie,” which documents her family secret. "Little White Lie” will be shown at the Mendocino Film Festival on Friday, May 29, 2015, at 5:30 pm, in the Village of Mendocino, California. Lacey Schwartz and I visited by phone from her home near New York City, on May 11, 2015.  First we hear a clip of Lacey’s voice taken from the introduction of the film “Little White Lie,” and later intersperse our conversation with clips from the film.  The book Lacey Schwartz recommends is “How It Feels to Be Free:  Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement,” by Ruth Feldstein. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/05/05/marshall-joseph-ph-d-black-lives-alive-and-free/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/05/05/marshall-joseph-ph-d-black-lives-alive-and-free/#comments Tue, 05 May 2015 21:34:27 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3654 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/05/05/marshall-joseph-ph-d-black-lives-alive-and-free/feed/ 0 Radio Curious visits with Dr. Joseph Marshall, co-founder of Alive and Free, a community violence prevention effort for at-risk inner city youth to encourage their academic pursuits and obtain financial help for college.  Keeping young black men alive and free is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious.  Our guest is Dr. Joseph E. Marshall, who in 1987 co-founded the Omega Boys Club of San Francisco, now called “Alive and Free,” of which he is the executive director. Alive and Free is a community violence prevention effort for at-risk inner city youth and a surrogate family support system for young black men and women, based in San Francisco, California, to encourage their academic pursuits and obtain financial help for college.   Joseph Marshall is also the host of Street Soldiers Radio, broadcast every Sunday evening on KMEL 106.1 FM at 8 pm.  In 1994 he received a McArthur Foundation Genius Award for his skills and accomplishments. Dr. Joseph E. Marshall and I visited by phone, from his office in San Francisco, California on May 4, 2015, and began our conversation with his description of Alive and Free. The books Joseph Marshall recommends are “The Autobiography of Malcolm X,” and “Street Soldier:  One Man’s Struggle to Save a Generation – One Life at a Time,” by Joseph Marshall and Lonnie Wheeler. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/03/31/bayer-jaciara-jaciara-bayer-transracial-adoptions-and-white-privilege/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/03/31/bayer-jaciara-jaciara-bayer-transracial-adoptions-and-white-privilege/#comments Tue, 31 Mar 2015 17:52:55 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3616 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/03/31/bayer-jaciara-jaciara-bayer-transracial-adoptions-and-white-privilege/feed/ 1 Radio Curious visits with Jaciara Bayer, a transracial adoptee who shares her personal experiences of being told she’s different, growing up in a white family and her encounters with white privilege. We continue our discussion of racism and white privilege in Mendocino County, California, with a 30 year old Brazilian born woman,  who is currently studying for a master’s degree in social work at the California State University at Hayward. Jaciara Bayer was adopted and brought to the United States at age 11 months by her single, white-American mother and grew up in Ukiah, California.   A transracial adoption, which may be an international adoption, is the primary focus of Jaciara Bayer’s plan of study for her master’s degree.  Sharing her personal experiences, she tells us of being told she’s different, growing up in a white family and white privilege.  When Jaci, as she is often known, and I visited in the studios of Radio Curious on March 23, 2015, she began with her earliest memories. The book Jaciara Bayer recommends is “In the Meantime: Finding Yourself and the Love You Want,” by Iyanla Van Zant. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/03/17/kiggins-josanna-josanna-kiggins-on-skin-color-gender-and-song/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/03/17/kiggins-josanna-josanna-kiggins-on-skin-color-gender-and-song/#comments Tue, 17 Mar 2015 22:04:57 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3604 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/03/17/kiggins-josanna-josanna-kiggins-on-skin-color-gender-and-song/feed/ 0 Radio Curious discusses racial discrimination and cultural gender norms with Josanna Kiggins, a young black woman living in the small, predominantly white town of Ukiah, California. Radio Curious continues our conversation about racial discrimination, cultural gender norms and expected behaviors.  Our guest, Josanna Kiggins, is a parent, student, singer, singing and cultural education teacher, and a medical receptionist.  A native of Salvador, Brazil Josanna has lived here in Ukiah, California, for 30 years.  She’s someone I’ve known almost that long.     When Josanna Kiggins and I visited at Radio Curious on March 14, 2015, she described her experiences, values and goals.   Her story begins when she was 9 months old.  The book Josanna Kiggins recommends is “Hard Laughter,” by Anne Lamont. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/03/03/mbaabu-brenda-a-contemporary-black-womans-history/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/03/03/mbaabu-brenda-a-contemporary-black-womans-history/#comments Tue, 03 Mar 2015 21:55:31 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3591 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/03/03/mbaabu-brenda-a-contemporary-black-womans-history/feed/ 0 Africa,Kenya,Meru Radio Curious visits with Brenda Mbaabu, an immigrant woman in her mid-twenties from Nairobi, Kenya who shares her Meru tribal history and experiences living in the United States. The experience of immigrating, at age 13, to America from Nairobi, Kenya, and bringing the traditional roots of her ancestors’ lives from the remote village of the Meru people of northeast Kenya, are the stories told in this edition of Radio Curious by our guest Brenda Mbaabu. She shares her tribal legends, family background, and her experiences in the United States.  A woman in her mid-twenties, now working as an AmeriCorps Volunteer in Ukiah, California, Brenda Mbaabu and I visited in the studios of Radio Curious on February 28, 2015.  We began with her description of the Meru, her family and their importance to her. The books Brenda Mbaabu recommends are “The Bible” and “Little Bee” by Chris Cleve.     Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/02/24/totten-sam-genocide-by-attrition/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/02/24/totten-sam-genocide-by-attrition/#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2015 01:41:55 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3585 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/02/24/totten-sam-genocide-by-attrition/feed/ 1 Nuba Mountains,South Sudan,Sudan Radio Curious visits with Sam Totten, professor emeritus at the University of Arkansas and a genocide scholar about the on-going conflict in Sudan between the Nuba Mountains people and the Sudanese government. Black history is acknowledged in the month of February in the United States and is lived every day in the African continent. The history of the continuing genocide by attrition within the nation of Sudan is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious. Sudan is located in northeast Africa, south of Egypt, and east of the Red Sea and the nations of Eritrea and Ethiopia. The people of Sudan continue to be killed by war and famine as has happened for generations. Twice Radio Curious has considered this little discussed topic with University of Arkansas Professor Emeritus Sam Totten, author of "Genocide by Attrition: Nuba Mountains, Sudan," and "An Oral and Documentary History of the Darfur Genocide."  Totten is a scholar who has devoted his career to the study of genocide and genocide by attrition. In 2011, we first discussed the disaster in southern Sudan. Again in 2013, Totten described the genocide by attrition of the people of south Sudan, which has continued to become increasingly drastic in the past two years. Professor Totten continues to follow this crisis between the people of the Nuba Mountains and the Sudanese government in the state of South Kordofan, Sudan. In late December 2014, he returned from what he described as "a tough, tough trip to the Nuba Mountains in order to carry up ten tons of food to desperate civilians who face daily bombing sorties by the Government of Sudan using Antonov bombers." He reports some very close calls, traveling with rebels to recently bombed villages. When Sam Totten and I visited by phone from his home near Fayetteville, Arkansas, on February 19, 2015, he began with a brief history of this continuing crisis. The book Professor Sam Totten recommends is "Touched With Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament," by Kay Redfield Jamison. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/02/17/durham-bill-racism-in-america-one-mans-experience/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/02/17/durham-bill-racism-in-america-one-mans-experience/#comments Wed, 18 Feb 2015 04:17:48 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3573 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/02/17/durham-bill-racism-in-america-one-mans-experience/feed/ 2 Radio Curious continues its series on racism in a conversation with Bill Durham, a 59 year old black man from Ohio who now lives in Mendocino County, California and shares his life experiences of growing up black in America. Radio Curious continues its series racism in a conversation with Bill Durham, a 59 year old black man, originally from Ohio who grew up in family of civil rights activists and now lives in Mendocino County, California.  We explore the effects of racism in the United States and how to end it.  Bill Durham, works as a journeyman carpenter, and hosts Club FM, a weekly blues, jazz and rock music program on KMEC radio in Ukiah, California with the moniker of MC Squared. In this program, recorded on February 12, 2015, at Radio Curious, Bill Durham shares his experiences of being black in America, starting when he was very young, and his ideas on how to relieve racism. The book Bill Durham recommends is “Supernatural:  Meeting with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind,” by Graham Hancock. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/02/10/massey-orell-racism-in-a-rural-california-sheriffs-department-part-two/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/02/10/massey-orell-racism-in-a-rural-california-sheriffs-department-part-two/#comments Tue, 10 Feb 2015 20:38:39 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3565 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/02/10/massey-orell-racism-in-a-rural-california-sheriffs-department-part-two/feed/ 1 Radio Curious continues a conversation on racism in Mendocino County, California with Sheriff Deputy Orell Massey, the county's first and only black sheriff. Radio Curious continues our series on racism in Mendocino County, California. Our guest is Mendocino County Deputy Sheriff Orell Massey who, for the past 20 years has been the only black law enforcement officer in the county's history.  A native of South Carolina, Deputy Massey was a 21 year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps assigned to the Foreign Service Embassy detail before he moved to Mendocino County. When I asked Sheriff Massey to be a guest on this program and share his experience as a black Deputy Sheriff, he asked:  “Are the people of Mendocino County ready to hear what I have to say?”     In part one of our conversation, Deputy Massey describes some people’s reaction to him while he is in on duty. In part two, recorded on February 1, 2015, in the Radio Curious studios, Deputy Massey gives his personal response when asked, “what is it like to be the only black Deputy Sheriff ever in the history of Mendocino County?” Later he shares stories about his off duty life, his goals and aspirations. The book Deputy Massey recommends is “Code Talker:  The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of World War Two,” by Chester Nez and Judith Schiess Avila. Click here to listen to part two or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/02/04/massey-orell-racism-in-a-rural-california-sheriffs-department-part-one/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/02/04/massey-orell-racism-in-a-rural-california-sheriffs-department-part-one/#comments Wed, 04 Feb 2015 15:47:00 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3557 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/02/04/massey-orell-racism-in-a-rural-california-sheriffs-department-part-one/feed/ 1 african american,racism Radio Curious visits with Orell Massey, a black sheriff's deputy in rural Mendocino County, Ca, who shares his experiences as a black sheriff in a mostly white community. Our guest on this edition of Radio Curious is Deputy Sheriff Orell Massey—a black man, native of South Carolina and a 20 year veteran of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department. He is also a 21 year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps where he was assigned to the Embassy detail.  When I asked Sheriff Massey to be a guest on this program and share his experience as a black Deputy Sheriff, he asked:  “Are the people of Mendocino County ready to hear what I have to say?”    In part one of our conversation, recorded on February 1, 2015, Deputy Orell Massey shares his experiences.  You may decide if you are ready to hear what he has to say. In part two, Deputy Massey gives his personal response when asked, “what is it like to be the only black Deputy Sheriff ever in the history of Mendocino County?” Later he shares stories about his off duty life, his goals and aspirations. Click here to listen to part one or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/01/27/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-two-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/01/27/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-two-2/#comments Tue, 27 Jan 2015 18:10:15 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3551 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/01/27/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-two-2/feed/ 1 african american,immigration Radio Curious visits with Pulitzer Prize winner, Isabel Wilkerson, author of “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration.” Her book chronicles when almost six million black American citizens from the south migrated to norther... In the years between 1915 and 1970 almost six million black American citizens from the south migrated to northern and western cities seeking freedom and a better life. Our guest is Pulitzer Prize winner, Isabel Wilkerson author of “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration.” Her book tells the untold experiences of the African-Americans who fled the south over three generations. Wilkerson interviewed more than 1,000 people for her book. She is the first black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize and is a recipient of the George Polk Award and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. Her parents were part of the great migration, journeying from Georgia and southern Virginia to Washington D.C. In part one she discussed what she called the “biggest untold story of the 20th century.”  In part two of our conversation, recorded from her home near Atlanta, Georgia, on September 28, 2012, Isabel Wilkerson describes the inspiration behind her narrative non-fiction story of the six million African-Americans who migrated from the south between 1915 and 1970. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/01/20/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-one/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/01/20/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-one/#comments Wed, 21 Jan 2015 04:15:38 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3547 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/01/20/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-one/feed/ 2 Radio Curious visits with Pulitzer Prize winner, Isabel Wilkerson, author of “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration.” Her book chronicles when almost six million black American citizens from the south migrated to norther... In the years between 1915 and 1970 almost six million black American citizens from the south migrated to northern and western cities seeking freedom and a better life. Our guest is Pulitzer Prize winner, Isabel Wilkerson author of “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration.” Her book tells the untold experiences of the African-Americans who fled the south over three generations. Wilkerson interviewed more than 1,000 people for her book. She is the first black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize and is a recipient of the George Polk Award and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. Her parents were part of the great migration, journeying from Georgia and southern Virginia to Washington D.C. In the first of two interviews recorded from Isabel Wilkerson’s home near Atlanta, Georgia, on September 28, 2012, she begins with a description of the “biggest untold story of the 20th century.”  The book Isabel Wilkerson recommends is “The Ark of Justice,” by Kevin Boyle. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here to listen to part two.   LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/12/16/cohen-james-ferguson-grand-jury-a-legal-analysis-part-two/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/12/16/cohen-james-ferguson-grand-jury-a-legal-analysis-part-two/#comments Tue, 16 Dec 2014 21:07:44 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3504 http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/12/16/cohen-james-ferguson-grand-jury-a-legal-analysis-part-two/feed/ 1 Ferguson,Michael Brown Radio Curious discusses the grand jury verdict to not indict a white police officer in the killing of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo, with James A. Cohen, law professor at Fordham University Law School in New York City. We continue our look into the Ferguson, Missouri, investigation of the August 9, 2014, shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18 year old black man, shot three times in the head by the now former Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson.  The St. Louis County, Missouri, grand jury, convened by District Attorney and Prosecutor Robert McCulloch failed to return any criminal charges against Wilson.  This occurred after three months of weekly grand jury meetings.  Prosecutor Robert McCulloch gathered and organized the information and facts presented to the grand jury.  Our guest is Attorney and Law Professor James A. Cohen, who has tried over 100 criminal jury trials and teaches criminal law and related topics at Fordham University Law School in New York City.   In part one, Professor Cohen and I reviewed the evidence, including Wilson's spoken testimony, the written police reports and medical reports presented to the St. Louis, Missouri, grand jury, by District Attorney McCulloch. In this second part of our visit with Professor Cohen we continue a review of Officer Wilson’s testimony and the forensic evidence.  We then examine the duties of a prosecutor before a grand jury; the potential for conflicts of interest; and the prosecutor’s ethical obligations.  Professor Cohen asserts that had a special prosecutor been appointed to present the evidence of the facts surrounding Officer Wilson’s shooting of Brown, it is likely that a significantly different decision might have resulted from the grand jury’s deliberations. In this program, recorded on December 5, 2014, we begin part two with Professor Cohen’s analysis of Officer Wilson’s testimony about why he shot Michael Brown nine times, including three shots to the young man's head. The books that Professor Cohen recommends are those written by Anders Ericsson:  “The Road To Excellence: The Acquisition of Expert Performance in the Arts and Sciences, Sports, and Games” and “Development of Professional Expertise: Toward Measurement of Expert Performance and Design of Optimal Learning Environments.” Click here to listen to part two or on the media player below. Click here to listen to part one. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/12/08/cohen-james-ferguson-grand-jury-a-legal-analysis-part-one/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/12/08/cohen-james-ferguson-grand-jury-a-legal-analysis-part-one/#comments Tue, 09 Dec 2014 02:46:10 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3498 http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/12/08/cohen-james-ferguson-grand-jury-a-legal-analysis-part-one/feed/ 1 Ferguson,grand jury,Michael Brown Radio Curious discusses the grand jury verdict to not indict a white police officer in the killing of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo, with James A. Cohen, law professor at Fordhan University Law School in New York City. The shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18 year old black teenager, in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9, 2014, by a since retired white Ferguson, Missouri, police office, Darren Wilson, is the subject of this, the first of two Radio Curious interviews devoted to this topic. Our guest is Law Professor James A. Cohen, who has tried over 100 criminal jury trials and teaches criminal law and related topics at Fordham University Law School in New York City.  Professor Cohen and I review the evidence, including Wilson's spoken testimony, the written police reports and medical reports presented to the St. Louis, Missouri, grand jury, by District Attorney Robert McCulloch.  His office exclusively organized and presented that evidence, which “with some exceptions,” according to Prosecutor McCulloch, was “made public” shortly after he announced that the grand jury failed to return criminal charges against former Officer Wilson, on November 24, 2014.  When Professor Cohen and I visited by phone on December 5, 2014, we created a context for what occurred when the Ferguson Grand Jury met between August 20, and November 21, 2014.  We began our conversation with a brief history of grand juries, originally organized in England to protect the people from wonton acts of the King.  The books that Professor Cohen recommends are those written by Anders Ericsson:  “The Road To Excellence: The Acquisition of Expert Performance in the Arts and Sciences, Sports, and Games” and “Development of Professional Expertise: Toward Measurement of Expert Performance and Design of Optimal Learning Environments.” Click here to listen or on the media player below. Click here to listen to part two. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/11/25/edge-jerome-unity-and-healing-after-a-school-shooting-a-native-american-perspective/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/11/25/edge-jerome-unity-and-healing-after-a-school-shooting-a-native-american-perspective/#comments Tue, 25 Nov 2014 18:09:14 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3479 http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/11/25/edge-jerome-unity-and-healing-after-a-school-shooting-a-native-american-perspective/feed/ 0 Radio Curious discusses the Marysville-Pilchuck High School shooting near Marysville, WA, the Native American communities impacted by the shooting, and their humanistic approach to the traumatic events with Jerome Edge, The shooting and deaths at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in Marysville, Washington, on October 24, 2014, brought sadness, fear, unity and a special form of healing to the Tulalip and other Native people of the area.  In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with Jerome Edge, a Native American of Swinomish and Upper Skagit heritage, hip-hop activist and radio host at KSVR-FM in Mt. Vernon, Washington. When Jerome Edge and I visited from his home in Mt. Vernon, Washington, we discussed the trauma and sadness caused by the shootings and the turn toward healing that then occurred.  We also discussed a developing hip-hop focus -- a way to instill values of personal and community respect and strength.  The song “Rise Up,” which you will hear in the program sung by Shaundiin Zollner, is used by permission. Jerome Edge and I began our conversation on November 16, 2014, when I asked him to put the shootings in a context of time and place. The book Jerome Edge recommends is “The Indians of Skagit County,” by Martin J. Sampson. Click here to listen or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/04/15/cochran-gregory-the-10000-year-explosion-how-civilization-accelerated-human-evolution-part-two/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/04/15/cochran-gregory-the-10000-year-explosion-how-civilization-accelerated-human-evolution-part-two/#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2014 17:18:09 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3266 http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/04/15/cochran-gregory-the-10000-year-explosion-how-civilization-accelerated-human-evolution-part-two/feed/ 0 evolution,human biology Radio Curious revisits part two of a conversation with Gregory Cochran, co-author of the book “The 10,000 Year Explosion – How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution,” which explores how changes in human biology have evolved from civilization. In this, the second of two Radio Curious interviews, we continue our discussion of human evolution with Gregory Cochran an aerospace physicist and professor of anthropology at the University of Utah; his expertise is in genetic anthropology. Gregory Cochran along with Henry Harpending, also a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Utah, are the co-authors of the 2009 book “The 10,000 Year Explosion – How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution.” This book explores how humans appear to have evolved over the last 10,000 years, largely driven by civilization-the place, culture and lifestyle of the time. In this two part conversation, recorded by phone with Gregory Cochran from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico on February 23rd, 2009, we discuss how humans have genetically evolved. In part one we discussed the changes in human biology such as lactose tolerance and resistance to malaria that represent human evolution accelerated by civilization. We also discussed the intermixing of neanderthals and humans and the genetic benefits in our species that continue to this day. In part two, Cochran discusses how gene mutations have allowed specific human advantages in different locations around the world.   We began with his discussion of the migration of the human species out of Africa, which resulted in some people living in the northern latitudes.  People born in these areas with a random genetic mutation resulting in skin of a lighter color allowed them to absorb more vitamin D from the sun, thus giving them better health and a greater opportunity to have off spring. We also discuss the genetic mutations that contribute to certain types of intelligence. The book Gregory Cochran recommends is"Tthe Princeton Companion to Mathematics,” edited by Timothy Gowers. Click here or on the media player below to listen to part two. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/01/21/kennedy-randall-interracial-intimacies/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/01/21/kennedy-randall-interracial-intimacies/#comments Tue, 21 Jan 2014 19:10:53 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3160 http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/01/21/kennedy-randall-interracial-intimacies/feed/ 0 Radio Curious discusses interracial relationships with Harvard professor Randall Kennedy, author of “Interracial Intimacies: Sex, Marriage, Identity, and Adoption.” Fears of interracial relationships, influenced over the centuries by racial biases and fantasies, still widely linger in American Society today. Randall Kennedy, a professor at Harvard University Law School is the author of “Interracial Intimacies: Sex, Marriage, Identity, and Adoption,” in which he takes an in depth look at the issue of black and white relationships set against the ever-changing social mores and laws of this country.  From pre-civil war to the present, this book explores the historical, sociological, legal and moral issues that continue to feed and complicate those fears. Professor Kennedy and I visited by phone in March 2003 and began by our conversation with his description of what he calls a “pigmentocracy” in the United States.   The book Professor Randall Kennedy recommends is “The Biography of Walter White,” by Robert Jankin. Click here to listen or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/10/29/luke-gregorio-the-day-of-the-dead/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/10/29/luke-gregorio-the-day-of-the-dead/#comments Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:26:27 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3063 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/10/29/luke-gregorio-the-day-of-the-dead/feed/ 0 The Day of the Dead, as it's celebrated in Mexico, is the subject of this archive edition of Radio Curious, in conversation with Gregorio Luke, the cultural attache of the Republic of Mexico in 1997. Most countries in the world send ambassadors to talk about and promote what their country is like and to carry on political affairs between and along other nations.  These ambassadors often have assistants known as “cultural attaches.”  They bring and share their nation’s culture, history and the folklore with their host countries.  The cultural event known as Halloween in the United States is celebrated annually on November 1st as the Day of the Dead in Mexico and other Latin American Counties. In 1997 Radio Curious invited Gregorio Luke, the cultural attache from the Republic of Mexico based in Los Angeles, California, to our studios when he was the Consul for Cultural Affairs. His job at that time was to broaden the Mexican cultural presence in the United States. Our conversation began when I asked Gregorio Luke to describe the cultural gaps he sought to bridge in presenting Mexican and to tell us about the Day of The Dead. The book Gregorio Luke recommends is ”The Crystal Frontier,” by Carlos Fuentes. Click here to listen or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=72102&version_id=79798&version=1) to download the podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/10/22/benally-leonard-a-navajo-elder-remembered/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/10/22/benally-leonard-a-navajo-elder-remembered/#comments Tue, 22 Oct 2013 22:35:08 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3041 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/10/22/benally-leonard-a-navajo-elder-remembered/feed/ 0 Radio Curious assistant producer Christina Aanestad speaks with Leonard Benally, a Navajo elder who shares his life's experiences resisting relocation from his homeland in an area called Big Mountain, Arizona. He died on October 11, 2013. In this edition of Radio Curious assistant producer Christina Aanestad speaks with Leonard Benally, a Dine' elder. Dine is the indigenous name for the Navajo people. Leonard Benally lived in an area called Big Mountain on the Navajo and Hopi reservations close to the Arizona-New Mexico border. He died on October 11, 2013 from cancer. In the 1970's a Hopi – Navajo land dispute erupted on Big Mountain; some claim it was devised to move the Navajo out of the area because Peabody Coal wanted the coal rich land below their feet. As a result, an estimated 20,000 Dine' were displaced. A few hundred remain to this day-refusing to leave. Leonard Benally was one of them.   In August, 2012 Leonard Benally agreed to talk about his life.  He began the conversation by describing the boarding schools he was forced to live in, as a child, one being the school for Navajo children in Tuba, Arizona. Leonard Benally recommends people listen to XIT an indigenous rock band from the 1970's. This conversation with Leonard Benally was recorded in August of 2012 and first aired on Radio Curious in October 2013. Click here to listen or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=71977&version_id=79664&version=1) to download the podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/10/07/fuller-alexandra-growing-up-white-in-africa/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/10/07/fuller-alexandra-growing-up-white-in-africa/#comments Mon, 07 Oct 2013 22:12:59 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3022 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/10/07/fuller-alexandra-growing-up-white-in-africa/feed/ 0 Radio Curious revisits a 2003 conversation with Alexandra Fuller, author of “Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood,” a memoir about growing up in southeast Africa. In the late summer of 2003 Radio Curious visited with Alexandra Fuller who, as a child lived in Rhodesia, Malawi and Zambia in southeast Africa between 1972 and 1990.  After her father sided with the white government in the Rhodesian civil war, he was often away from home.   Fuller’s resilient and self-sufficient mother immersed herself in their rural and rugged life. She taught her children to have strong wills and opinions, and to whole-heartedly embrace life, despite and because of their difficult circumstances.  Alexandra Fuller, author of “Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood,” known as Bobo to her family, developed a love of reading and story telling early on in her life.   When I spoke with Alexandra Fuller in September 2003 her home was in rural Wyoming.  We visited by phone and began our conversation when I asked her how she choose the title for her book, “Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood.” The book Alexandra Fuller recommends is “Echoing Silences,” by Alexander Canigone.   Click here to listen or on the media player below. Click here to download the podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/03/25/bateson-mary-catherine-%e2%80%93-do-we-really-know-the-people-around-us/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/03/25/bateson-mary-catherine-%e2%80%93-do-we-really-know-the-people-around-us/#comments Mon, 25 Mar 2013 20:37:41 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2745 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/03/25/bateson-mary-catherine-%e2%80%93-do-we-really-know-the-people-around-us/feed/ 0 Radio Curious revisits a conversation with Mary Catherine Bateson, author of "“Full Circles: Overlapping Lives, Culture and Generation in Transistion." Do we really know the people around us? Our children? Our family? Our friends? Or are we strangers in our own community? Mary Catherine Bateson, the author of a book entitled, “Full Circles: Overlapping Lives, Culture and Generation in Transition,” believes that we are strangers. She describes us as immigrants in time, rather than space.In this interview from the archives of Radio Curious, recorded in April 2000, we visit with Mary Catherine Bateson, the daughter of two distinguished anthropologists, Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson. Originally Broadcast: April 17, 2000. Click here to visit and listen to our archived program or click on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/03/12/lerner-gerda-the-foremother-of-womens-history/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/03/12/lerner-gerda-the-foremother-of-womens-history/#comments Tue, 12 Mar 2013 06:46:12 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2721 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/03/12/lerner-gerda-the-foremother-of-womens-history/feed/ 0 Radio Curious visits with Dr. Gerda Lerner, a founder of the academic genre called Women's History. Lerner died January 2, 2013 at the age of 92. The history of women has existed as long as humans have, but it was not until the last half of the 20th Century that women’s history received recognized academic attention.  Our guest, Professor Gerda Lerner was a pioneer in the movement to study and record the history of women. Gerda Lerner led an extraordinary life from April 30, 1920 to January 2, 2013.  She was a historian, author and teacher, and ultimately a professor emeritus of history at the University of Wisconsin.  Her academic work was characterized by the attention she drew to the differences among women in class, race and sexual orientation. Professor Lerner and I visited by phone in October 2002, began with her description why the distinctions among women of class, race and sexual orientation are important. Originally Broadcast: October 1, 2002. Click here to visit and listen to our archived program or click on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/02/26/wagner-sally-pace-charles-a-visit-with-elizabeth-cady-stanton-frederick-douglass/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/02/26/wagner-sally-pace-charles-a-visit-with-elizabeth-cady-stanton-frederick-douglass/#comments Tue, 26 Feb 2013 21:03:11 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2697 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/02/26/wagner-sally-pace-charles-a-visit-with-elizabeth-cady-stanton-frederick-douglass/feed/ 0 Radio Curious visits with Chautauqua scholars Sally Wagner & Charles Pace who portray Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Frederick Douglass. The two friends were active leaders in the fight for the rights of women and blacks in the 19th century. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass were good friends from the mid 19th century to the late 19th century, and were active leaders in the fight for the rights of women and blacks throughout their lives.  From time to time they got together to visit and talk about America, as they knew it. In this archive edition of Radio Curious recorded in May 1996, I met with Chautauqua scholars Sally Roesch Wagner and Charles Pace who portrayed Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass. We began our conversation when I asked them each to tell us what it was like to be an American during their life time. Originally Broadcast: July 3, 1996. Click here to visit and listen to our archived program or click on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/02/18/kennedy-randall-can-you-say-this-word/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/02/18/kennedy-randall-can-you-say-this-word/#comments Mon, 18 Feb 2013 20:14:06 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2682 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/02/18/kennedy-randall-can-you-say-this-word/feed/ 0 Radio Curious discusses the N-word with law professor, Randall Kennedy, author of “Nigger-the Strange Career of a Troublesome Word.” Few words in the English language have caused so much pain, hurt and emotion as the N-word. It is arguably the most consequential social insult in American history. The long history of the pejorative use of the N-word has given it an unusual power that extends to the judicial system, literature and social settings. Randall Kennedy, a professor of Law at Harvard University Law School, is the author of “Nigger-the Strange Career of a Troublesome Word.”  His book chronicles the history of this word, in an effort to diffuse and neutralize it. Originally Broadcast: March 19, 2002 Click here to visit and listen to our archived program or click on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/01/13/totten-professor-sam-genocide-in-the-nuba-mountains-sudan-africa/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/01/13/totten-professor-sam-genocide-in-the-nuba-mountains-sudan-africa/#comments Mon, 14 Jan 2013 05:17:12 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2645 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/01/13/totten-professor-sam-genocide-in-the-nuba-mountains-sudan-africa/feed/ 0 Nuba Mountains,Sudn Radio Curious discusses the current state of affairs in the Nuba Mountains in Northeast Africa, with Professor Sam Totten, author of “Genocide by Attrition:  Nuba Mountains, Sudan,” and “An Oral and Documentary History of the Darfur Genocide.” The people of the Nuba Mountains, located in northeast Africa, just north of the new nation of South Sudan, are in a crisis that may well threaten their very survival.  In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with retired Professor Sam Totten, author of “Genocide by Attrition:  Nuba Mountains, Sudan,” and “An Oral and Documentary History of the Darfur Genocide.”  Sam Totten returned from a two week visit to the Nuba Mountains on January 11, 2013. When he and I visited by phone from his home near Fayetteville, Arkansas, on January 13, 2013, we began with his description of the civil war there. The book Professor Sam Totten recommends is “The World of Darfur: International Response to Crimes Against Humanity in Western Sudan,” by Amanda Grzuyb and Romeo Dallaire. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-TOTTEN_SAM_INTERVIEW_1-13-13_CA.mp3) to listen or on the media player below. Click here to listen to our June 2011 interview with Professor Sam Totten. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=65525&version_id=72791&version=1) to download the podcast. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/01/08/berkowitz-eric-sex-and-punishment-part-two/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/01/08/berkowitz-eric-sex-and-punishment-part-two/#comments Tue, 08 Jan 2013 19:22:10 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2640 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/01/08/berkowitz-eric-sex-and-punishment-part-two/feed/ 0 sexuality Radio Curious continues our conversation about sexuality with Eric Berkowitz, the author of “Sex and Punishment: Four Thousand Years of Judging Desire.” We continue our conversation about sexuality with Eric Berkowitz, author, journalist and lawyer.  His book, “Sex and Punishment: Four Thousand Years of Judging Desire” is a story of the struggle to regulate the most powerful engine of human behavior. This engine that drives the human species is substantially different in us than in other mammals. In our million years of evolution, physically and socially we have developed the ability to communicate ideas and the expected, if not “required” behaviors of women and men and children regarding sexual thought, expression and procreation. The history of these ever changing definitions and controls of this fundamental aspect of our lives are visited in this two part series of conversations with Eric Berkowitz, recorded in the Radio Curious studios on December 29, 2012. Part One discusses the effect the topic of sex has on other people; the development of laws dealing with adultery and women as property; enjoyment of sex; and the way humans dress compared to other animals. Part Two discusses the issues of young women having sexual relationships with considerably older men; the intention and effect of religion in relationship to sex; prostitution; and same sex intimacy. The books Eric Berkowitz recommends are “Nemisis,” by Philip Roth, “Love and Exile: An Autobiographical Trilogy,” by Issac Bashevis Singer, and "Jerusalem: The Biography," by Simon Sebag-Montefiore. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-BERKOWITZ_ERIC_INTERVIEW_P2_CA_12-29-12.mp3) to listen to part two or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=65397&version_id=72654&version=1) to download the podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/11/06/mccabe-martha-culture-racism/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/11/06/mccabe-martha-culture-racism/#comments Tue, 06 Nov 2012 21:19:06 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2555 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/11/06/mccabe-martha-culture-racism/feed/ 0 Radio Curious visits with Martha McCabe, attorney and author of “Praise at Midnight,” a story about life, culture and racism in the deep south, based on McCabes own experiences as a civil rights and criminal trial lawyer in Texas from 1974-1985. Life, culture and racism is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious, in conversation with attorney/novelist Martha McCabe, author of “Praise at Midnight.” Martha McCabe worked as a civil rights and criminal trial lawyer in deep east Texas from 1974 to 1985.  Her goal was to pour the raw material from her personal experiences as a lawyer into her story.  It took Martha McCabe ten years to complete “Praise at Midnight,” her first novel.  The deeper level into which she fell during that ten year period was recognizing the importance of consciousness and self awareness in avoiding the projection of one’s own dark side onto other people and then killing them, not only on a local level, but an international level as well. Martha McCabe and I have been associates, good friends and colleagues since 1969 when we met at the University of Santa Clara where I was a law student. When I spoke with Martha McCabe from her home in San Antonio, Texas on July 29, 2006, we began with her description of the culture of deep east Texas when she lived there from 1974 to 1985. The books she recommends are “Reading Lolita in Teheran” by Azar Nafisi and “Caballero: A Historical Novel” by Jovita Gonzalez and Eve Raleigh. Click here to listen or on the media player below. Click here to download the podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/10/24/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-two/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/10/24/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-two/#comments Wed, 24 Oct 2012 22:29:07 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2541 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/10/24/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970-part-two/feed/ 0 Radio Curious brings you part two of a conversation about America's Great Migration with Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitzer winner and author of "The Warmth of Other Suns.". We continue our conversation with Pulitzer winner Isabel Wilkerson, author of “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration.”  In the years between 1915 and 1970 almost six million black American citizens from the south migrated to northern and western cities seeking freedom and a better life. Wilkerson interviewed more than 1,000 people for her book. She is the first black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize and is a recipient of the George Polk Award and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. Her parents were part of the great migration, journeying from Georgia and southern Virginia to Washington D.C. In part 2 of our conversation, recorded from her home near Atlanta, Georgia, on September 28, 2012, Isabel Wilkerson describes the inspiration behind her narrative non-fiction story of the six million African-Americans who migrated from the south between 1915 and 1970. The books Isabel Wilkerson recommends are “The Ark of Justice,” by Kevin Boyle and “The Optimist’s Daughter,” by Eudora Welty. Part one of our interview with Isabel Wilkerson is here. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-WILKERSON_ISABEL_INTERVIEW_RC_CA_.mp3) to listen to part two or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=63880&version_id=71019&version=1) to download the podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/10/15/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/10/15/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970/#comments Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:09:29 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2535 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/10/15/wilkerson-isabel-americas-great-migration-1915-1970/feed/ 0 african american,great migration Radio Curious visits with Pulitzer Prize winner, Isabel Wilkerson, author of “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration,” when almost six million black American citizens from the south migrated to northern and western cities... In the years between 1915 and 1970 almost six million black American citizens from the south migrated to northern and western cities seeking freedom and a better life. Our guest is Pulitzer Prize winner, Isabel Wilkerson author of “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration.” Her book tells the untold experiences of the African-Americans who fled the south over three generations. Wilkerson interviewed more than 1,000 people for her book. She is the first black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize and is a recipient of the George Polk Award and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. Her parents were part of the great migration, journeying from Georgia and southern Virginia to Washington D.C. In the first of two interviews recorded from Isabel Wilkerson’s home near Atlanta, Georgia, on September 28, 2012, she begins with a description of the “biggest untold story of the 20th century.” The book Isabel Wilkerson recommends is “The Ark of Justice,” by Kevin Boyle. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here to download the podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/09/03/miles-steven-a-blind-eye-to-torture/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/09/03/miles-steven-a-blind-eye-to-torture/#comments Tue, 04 Sep 2012 01:11:28 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2475 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/09/03/miles-steven-a-blind-eye-to-torture/feed/ 0 Radio Curious brings you an archived conversation about torture with Dr. Steven Miles, author of “Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity and the War On Terror.” Radio Curious brings you an interview about torture from our archives in 2006.  Our guest is Dr. Steven Miles, author of “Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity and the War On Terror,” a book based in part on eyewitness accounts of actual victims of prison abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan and more than thirty-five thousand pages of documents, autopsy reports and medical records. Click here to visit and listen to our archived program or click on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/08/01/johnston-lila-balas-son-sacred-sites-of-the-winnemem-wintu/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/08/01/johnston-lila-balas-son-sacred-sites-of-the-winnemem-wintu/#comments Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:43:50 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2439 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/08/01/johnston-lila-balas-son-sacred-sites-of-the-winnemem-wintu/feed/ 0 sacred sites,Winnemem Wintu Radio Curious brings you a conversation with Lila Johnston, a student at Stanford who is documenting the sacred sites of the Winnemem Wintu tribe in Northern California. The Winnemen Wintu people of California, having lived near Mount Shasta, along a tributary of the McCloud River for over 10,000 years celebrate the Balas Chonas, or Puberty Ceremony when girls mature into women.  The ceremony, celebrated on July 3, 2012 was extraordinary, when Balas Chonas was held for the next Winnemem Wintu chief and spiritual leader. However, the Balas Chonas ceremonies may come to an end, if the United States government continues with a plan to raise Shasta Dam and flood out most of the tribes remaining sacred sites. Our guest is Lyla Johnston, currently a student of Race and Ethnicity at Stanford University who is documenting the culture and sacred sites of the Winnemem Wintu. Christina Aanestad the Assistant Producer of Radio Curious visited with Lyla Johnston at the July 3rd, 2012 Balas Chonas. They began their conversation when Christina asked Lyla how many sacred sites the Winnemem Wintu have along the McCloud River. The book Lyla Johnston recommends is “The Red Tent,” by Anita Diamont. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-JOHNSTON-LILA-RC-7-3-12.mp3) to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=61810&version_id=68814&version=1) to download the podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/03/06/maria-stewart-sandra-kamusukiri-a-visit-with-a-free-black-women-boston-1840-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/03/06/maria-stewart-sandra-kamusukiri-a-visit-with-a-free-black-women-boston-1840-2/#comments Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:04:49 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2237 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/03/06/maria-stewart-sandra-kamusukiri-a-visit-with-a-free-black-women-boston-1840-2/feed/ 0 Radio Curious brings you an archived interview with Maria Stewart, as portrayed by scholar, Sandra Kamusakiri. Stewart was a free black woman who lived in the 1830's and likely the first African-American to speak out in defense of women's rights. Radio Curious brings you an archived interview with Maria Stewart, as portrayed by Sandra Kamusukiri.  Maria W. Stewart, was a free black woman who lived in Boston, MA, from the 1820s to the early 1840s. She was the first American born woman to lecture in public on political themes and likely the first African-American to speak out in defense of women’s rights. Click here to visit and listen to our archived program. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/02/14/nelson-alondra/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/02/14/nelson-alondra/#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:21:30 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2206 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/02/14/nelson-alondra/feed/ 0 The Black Panther Party and its health care work in black communities is the topic of Radio Curious this week, in an interview with Professor Alondra Nelson author of “Body and Soul:The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medial Discrimination.” The exodus of approximately six million black people from the American South between 1915 and 1970 had a significant role in setting the stage of the civil rights movement of the early 1960s. Many of the children of those who left the south participated in desegregation efforts which included the Freedom Rides and lunch counter sit-ins. The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 which attempted to resolve employment discrimination and define voting rights, only changed the law. Many young blacks however did not see changes in their everyday life. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was born out of this disillusionment. Although infiltrated and feared by the F.B.I., the Black Panther Party pioneered social and community programs, including free medical clinics, free meals, and educational programs. Our guest in this edition of Radio Curious is Columbia University Sociology and Gender Studies Professor Alondra Nelson, author of “Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination." We visited by phone from her Office in New York City, on February 13, 2012 and began our conversation when I asked her to describe the Black Panther Party. The book she recommends is "Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems," by Elizabeth Alexander. Professor Nelson’s website is http://www.alondranelson.com (http://www.alondranelson.com). Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here to download the podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/01/03/2115/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/01/03/2115/#comments Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:55:04 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2115 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/01/03/2115/feed/ 0 Radio Curious visits with the Herd Museum in Pheoniz Arizona, a museum of over 2000 pieces of art from Southwestern Native American tribes. Founded in 1929, the Heard Museum’s mission is dedicated to educating people about the arts, heritage and life ways of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, with an emphasis on American Indian tribes of the Southwest. Committed to the sensitive and accurate portrayal of Native arts and cultures,  the museum successfully combines the stories of American Indian people from a personal perspective with the beauty of art, showcasing old and new hand woven baskets, kachina dolls, other art and cultural objects. The museum showcases the art and regalia of Apache, Hopi, Navajo, Pueblo, and Yaqui, to name a few.  More than 2000 items make up the museums exhibition.  Artwork ranging from pottery, baskets, beadwork, dolls and paintings are on display. Our guest is Debra Krol, the communications manager who shared portions of the Heard Museum with me on December 10, 2011.  We began our conversation with Krol when she introduced us to the Heard Museum and the unique features that reflect the evolution of south western Native American art. Debra Krol recommends two books: "Ishi’s Brain," by Orin Starn, and "Indians, Merchants and Missionaries: The legacy of Colonial Encounters on the California Frontiers", by Kent G. Lightfoot. Our interview with Orin Starn may be found here. The Heard Museum website is www.heard.org. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here to download the podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/10/31/kennedy-randall-racial-politics-and-the-obama-presidency/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/10/31/kennedy-randall-racial-politics-and-the-obama-presidency/#comments Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:14:52 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2030 http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/10/31/kennedy-randall-racial-politics-and-the-obama-presidency/feed/ 0 Radio Curious visits with Randall Kennedy, author of “The Persistence of the Color Line: Racial Politics and the Obama Presidency,” and "Nigger:The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word." Racial Politics in America is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious, in our third visit with author and Harvard Law School Professor Randall Kennedy, whose latest book is “The Persistence of the Color Line:  Racial Politics and the Obama Presidency.”  Kennedy is also the author of  “Nigger:  The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word,” and “Interracial Intimacies:  Sex, Marriage, Identity, and Adoption.”  We visited by phone from his home in Massachusetts on October 28, 2011, and began our conversation when I asked him to describe the current role of race in American politics. The book Randall Kennedy recommends is “Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination,” by Alondra Nelson. The interview with Professor Kennedy about his book "Nigger:  The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word,” may be heard here and the interview about his book, "Interracial Intimacies: Sex, Marriage, Identity, and Adoption," may be heard here. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=55424&version_id=61948&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/08/30/aanestad-christina-gold-oil-and-a-journalist%e2%80%99s-adventure-in-ecuador/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/08/30/aanestad-christina-gold-oil-and-a-journalist%e2%80%99s-adventure-in-ecuador/#comments Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:11:44 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=1953 http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/08/30/aanestad-christina-gold-oil-and-a-journalist%e2%80%99s-adventure-in-ecuador/feed/ 0 Radio Curious speaks with Associate Producer Christina Aanestad about her recent journalistic adventure to Ecuador and her findings about oil pollution, mining and community resistance. 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 (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-AANESTAD_INTERVIEW_2_8-29-11_CA.mp3) to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=54066&version_id=60461&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/06/26/franco-mark-the-winnemem-wintus-war-on-the-u-s/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/06/26/franco-mark-the-winnemem-wintus-war-on-the-u-s/#comments Mon, 27 Jun 2011 03:23:23 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=1866 http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/06/26/franco-mark-the-winnemem-wintus-war-on-the-u-s/feed/ 0 Radio Curious speaks 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. 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/ (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 (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=52715&version_id=59019&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/06/22/most-stephen-river-of-renewal-myth-history-in-the-klamath-basin/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/06/22/most-stephen-river-of-renewal-myth-history-in-the-klamath-basin/#comments Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:59:16 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=1872 http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/06/22/most-stephen-river-of-renewal-myth-history-in-the-klamath-basin/feed/ 0 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 about the history of the Klamath River and the people who have lived there for the past 12,000 years. 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 (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-MOST_STEVE_INTERVIEW-CA_6-22-11.mp3)to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=52622&version_id=58919&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/05/12/frankel-davey-lakew-rasselas-he-twice-ran-and-won-olympic-marathons-barefoot/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/05/12/frankel-davey-lakew-rasselas-he-twice-ran-and-won-olympic-marathons-barefoot/#comments Thu, 12 May 2011 19:50:41 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=1778 http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/05/12/frankel-davey-lakew-rasselas-he-twice-ran-and-won-olympic-marathons-barefoot/feed/ 0 Radio Curious speaks with Davey Frankel & Rasselas Lakew, directors and producers of "The Athlete," a film about the life of Abebe Bikila, the first African to win an Olympic Gold Medal in 1960 when he ran barefoot. It is said that in the early part of World War II, it took 500,000 Italian soldiers to occupy Ethiopia, and one Ethiopian soldier to conquer Rome.  19 years later, this one Ethiopian soldier, Abebe Bikila competed barefoot in the 1960 Olympiad marathon foot race in Rome, Italy, leaving all other runners in the dust.  Winning the 42 kms, 195 meter race, Abebe Bikila became the first African to win an Olympic Gold Medal. Abebe Bikila, a shepherd from the plains of Abyssinia in rural Ethiopia, who had never been away from his family, stunned the world with his extraordinary victory.  He became the hero of Rome Olympiad and for years to come a national hero in Ethiopia.  Four years later he won the Marathon at the Tokyo Olympiad becoming the first person to win two Olympic Marathon Gold Medals. Beyond igniting East Africa’s dominance in long distance running, Abebe Bikila became a quiet champion of hope for a continent that was in the midst of its struggle for self-determination.  During his career Bikila won 12 of the 15 marathons he entered. Abebe Bikila died of a brain hemorrhage on October 23rd, 1972, two and a half years after his final race and victory in Norway.  He was 41 years old. In this edition of Radio Curious we visit by phone with the Davey Frankel, from his home in Berlin, Germany and Rasselas Lakew, from his home in New York City.  They are the writers, directors and producers of the movie “The Athlete,” the story of Abebe Bikila.  Rasselas Lakew portrays Abebe Bikila in the lead role of “The Athlete," and was born and grew up in Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia.  “The Athlete” which will be shown at the Mendocino Film Festival on Friday evening June 3, tells the powerful and tragic story Abebe Bikila, a quiet man, who in many ways meets the Homer’s description in the Odyssey: “… the distant Ethiopians, the father outposts of mankind, half of whom live where the sun goes down and half where the rises.” This interview with Davey Frankel and Rasselas Lakew, which was recorded on May 9, 2011, began when I asked them explain what prompted them to write and produce “The Athlete.” The movie that Davey Frankel recommends is “My Life Without Me,” directed by Isabel Coixet.   The movie that Rasselas La Lakew recommends is “Living Russian, Man With A Movie Camera,” directed by Dziga Vertov. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=51695&version_id=57924&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/05/03/sisk-franco-caleen-puberty-rights-of-the-winnemem-wintu/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/05/03/sisk-franco-caleen-puberty-rights-of-the-winnemem-wintu/#comments Tue, 03 May 2011 20:22:41 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=1769 http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/05/03/sisk-franco-caleen-puberty-rights-of-the-winnemem-wintu/feed/ 1 This edition of Radio Curious is a visit with Caleen Sisk-Franco, Chief and spiritual leader of the Winnemem-Wintu tribe in Northern California, discussing their rights to hold an ancient puberty ceremony that honors a girls transition to womanhood. The "Middle Water People" are a small tribe near Mount Shasta, in Northern California. During World War 2, they were relocated and their homeland was flooded to make the Shasta Dam.  After an 80 year lapse, the tribe has reinvigorated a ceremony there, called the Puberty Ceremony, which honors a girls transition into womanhood.  For 3 days and nights, men sing and dance on one side of a river, while the women, pass on traditions to girls on the other side. The summer of 2011, the tribe will be holding the puberty ceremony for it’s future chief.  But holding a ceremony on stolen land can be a challenge. The forest service refuses to grant the tribe private access to their ancestral land along the McCloud river, because they are an “unrecognized” tribe.  Their ceremony is held with recreational boaters driving by, and camping as the tribe holds it's right of passage. Under the guidance of their Chief and Spiritual Leader, Caleen Sisk Franco, the Winnemem-Wintu have sued the federal government to protect their rights and their ancestral land. She describes the puberty ceremony and it’s importance to their way of life. Radio Curious Associate producer Christina Aanestad spoke with Caleen Sisk Franco, the chief and spiritual leader of the Winnemem Wintu tribe in Northern California in August 2011. The Book Caleen Sisk Franco recommends is “Winnie the Pooh,”  by A.A. Milne. For more information on the Winnemem Wintu you can visit their website: www.winnememwintu.us (http://www.winnememwintu.us/) Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=51442&version_id=57652&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/12/06/abuzada-fadi-rahman-ahm-bazlur-community-radio-around-the-world/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/12/06/abuzada-fadi-rahman-ahm-bazlur-community-radio-around-the-world/#comments Mon, 06 Dec 2010 20:43:11 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=1528 http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/12/06/abuzada-fadi-rahman-ahm-bazlur-community-radio-around-the-world/feed/ 0 AMARC In this edition of Radio Curious, the first in a series about local community radio around the world, we visit with Fadi Abuzada, a community radio activist in Palestine and AHM Bazlur Rahman, the CEO of the Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Commun... Radio Curious host and producer Barry Vogel and associate producer Janet Mendell attended the 10th international congress of the World Association of Community Broadcasters, known as AMARC.  AMARC is a network of more than 4,000 community radio stations, in more than 100 countries. Founded in 1983, its goal is to democratize the media sector. AMARC advocates for the right to communicate at the international, national, local and neighborhood levels. It defends and promotes the interests of the community radio movement through global solidarity, networking and cooperation. The 10th AMARC congress was held near Buenos Aires, Argentina the second week of November 2010, with 500 delegates from 86 countries present. In addition to presenting a workshop on interviewing skills, Radio Curious interviewed conference delegates from several different countries. In this edition of Radio Curious, the first in a series about local community radio around the world, we visit with Fadi Abuzada, a community radio activist in Palestine and AHM Bazlur Rahman, the CEO of the Bangladesh NGO's Network for Radio and Communication. The interviews were recorded in November 2010, in La Plata, Argentina. Fadi Abuzada recommends the movie, The Little Town of Bethlehem. AHM Bazlur Rahman recommends visiting his organizations website, www.bnnrc.net, instead of reading a book. Click here to listen to the interview with Fadi Abuzada and AHM Bazlur Rahman, or click on the player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=47710&version_id=53640&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcasts. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/06/03/weidlinger-tom-jim-thorpe-the-worlds-greatest-athlete/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/06/03/weidlinger-tom-jim-thorpe-the-worlds-greatest-athlete/#comments Thu, 03 Jun 2010 22:56:19 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=1173 http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/06/03/weidlinger-tom-jim-thorpe-the-worlds-greatest-athlete/feed/ 0 A sports icon of the first half of the 20th century, Jim Thorpe, was a Native American athlete who rose to athletic stardom at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, winning two gold medals at the 1912 Summer Olympics and continued, A sports icon of the first half of the 20th century, Jim Thorpe, was a Native American athlete who rose to athletic stardom at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, winning two gold medals at the 1912 Summer Olympics and continued, despite some controversy, to gain fame in professional baseball and football. In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with Tom Weidlinger, the director and co-writer and co-producer of the movie “Jim Thorpe, The World’s Greatest Athlete.”  Tom Weidlinger spoke from his home in the San Francisco bay area on Sunday, May 30th 2010.  I began by asking him “Who is Jim Thorpe?” The book  Tom Weidlinger recommends is “Cutting For Stone” by Abraham Verghese. Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/download/43167/48720/64400/?url=http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-WEIDLINGER_TOM_INTERVIEW_5-30-10_HB_mono.mp3) LeGov clean http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/02/26/zinn-howard-memorial/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/02/26/zinn-howard-memorial/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:09:05 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=1056 http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/02/26/zinn-howard-memorial/feed/ 0 Howard Zinn’s productive insights into history came to an end with his death in January 2010.  This edition of Radio Curious shares a previously not broadcast interview with Howard Zinn, recorded on July 7, 2006, Howard Zinn’s productive insights into history came to an end with his death in January 2010.  This edition of Radio Curious shares a previously not broadcast interview with Howard Zinn, recorded on July 7, 2006, where he discusses the important role of civil disobedience in creating new social and legal policies which he states are impossible to foment using established legislative or judicial practices.  Radio Curious host, Barry Vogel, Esq. begins this memorial program with the last few paragraphs of the first chapter of “A People’s History of the United States, 1492 to Present,” written by Zinn and published in 1988.  Vogel also shares his recollection of Zinn when they met in Greenwood, Mississippi in 1963.  The song “Ain’t Gonna Let Segregation Turn Us Around,” sung by the Freedom Singers is found on Broadside Records #301, recorded in 1962. The books Howard Zinn recommends are “Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal,” by Anthony Arnov, and “Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change From Hawaii to Iraq,” by Stephen Kinzer. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/download/40195/45568/62190/?url=http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-zinn_final_bv_2-24--10.mp3) to begin listening. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=40195&version_id=45568&version=1) to download the podcast LeGov clean http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/01/20/walls-bill-and-kawkeka-denise-what-led-to-the-bloody-island-massacre/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/01/20/walls-bill-and-kawkeka-denise-what-led-to-the-bloody-island-massacre/#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:34:05 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=959 http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/01/20/walls-bill-and-kawkeka-denise-what-led-to-the-bloody-island-massacre/feed/ 0 http://www.radiocurious.org/2009/11/16/alexander-rudolph-jr-phd-from-the-death-penalty-to-a-doctorate/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2009/11/16/alexander-rudolph-jr-phd-from-the-death-penalty-to-a-doctorate/#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:58:53 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=877 http://www.radiocurious.org/2009/11/16/alexander-rudolph-jr-phd-from-the-death-penalty-to-a-doctorate/feed/ 0 http://www.radiocurious.org/2009/02/12/ishmael-khaldi-israeli-diplomacy/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2009/02/12/ishmael-khaldi-israeli-diplomacy/#comments Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:52:27 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=493 http://www.radiocurious.org/2009/02/12/ishmael-khaldi-israeli-diplomacy/feed/ 0 http://www.radiocurious.org/2006/08/02/martha-mccabe-culture-and-racism/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2006/08/02/martha-mccabe-culture-and-racism/#comments Wed, 02 Aug 2006 08:24:32 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/16/martha-mccabe-culture-and-racism/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2006/08/02/martha-mccabe-culture-and-racism/feed/ 0 Praise At Midnight Life, culture and racism are the topics of this edition of Radio Curious, in conversation with attorney/novelist Martha McCabe, author of, "Praise at Midnight."  Martha McCabe worked as a civil rights and criminal trial lawyer in de... Praise At Midnight Life, culture and racism are the topics of this edition of Radio Curious, in conversation with attorney/novelist Martha McCabe, author of, "Praise at Midnight."  Martha McCabe worked as a civil rights and criminal trial lawyer in deep east Texas from 1974 to 1985.  Her goal was to pour the raw material from her personal experiences as a lawyer into her story.  The deeper level into which she fell during the ten year period it took her to complete, “Praise at Midnight,” was the importance of consciousness and self awareness in avoiding the projection of one's own dark side on to other people and then killing them.  She applies this to both local and international levels in her considerations.  She and I have been associates, good friends and colleagues since 1969 when we met at the University of Santa Clara where I was a law student.  When I spoke with Martha McCabe from her home in San Antonio, Texas on July 29, 2006, we began with her description of the culture of deep east Texas at the time she was living there, 1974 to 1985. Martha McCabe recommends, “Reading Lolita in Teheran,” by Azar Nafisi and, “Caballero: A Historical Novel,” by Jovita Gonzalez and Eve Raleigh. Originally Broadcast: August 2, 2006 Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive2/07.01.07/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-20060802-MARTHA_McCABE_Interview_7-29-06.mp3) LeGov clean http://www.radiocurious.org/2005/06/07/sam-totten-genocide-in-darfur/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2005/06/07/sam-totten-genocide-in-darfur/#comments Tue, 07 Jun 2005 21:53:18 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/16/sam-totten-genocide-in-darfur/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2005/06/07/sam-totten-genocide-in-darfur/feed/ 0 Genocide is the intent to exterminate in whole or in part a specific group of people often based on nationality, ethnicity, race or religion. For the past two years, in the Darfur region of the nation of Sudan, Genocide is the intent to exterminate in whole or in part a specific group of people often based on nationality, ethnicity, race or religion. For the past two years, in the Darfur region of the nation of Sudan, located in north central Africa and populated primarily by black Africans, the Sudanese government has been committing racial genocide. Reports are that as many as 400,000 black African civilians have been murdered by the Sudanese government together with Arab rebel groups in Darfur. Professor Sam Totten, a scholar in Genocide Studies at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, visited the Darfur area in the fall of 2004 and has been examining this present day massacre that most of the world has chosen to ignore. I spoke with Professor Totten from his home in Arkansas and asked him to explain the reasons behind the genocide. www.savedarfur.org Sam Totten recommends "Shake Hands With the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda," by Romeo Dallaire. Originally Broadcast: June 7, 2005 Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive/09.01.05/curious@pacific.net/1197-1-20050606-MOLLY_SECOND_EDIT_OF_TOTTEN.mp3) LeGov clean http://www.radiocurious.org/2005/01/29/dr-francis-adams-are-we-still-racists/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2005/01/29/dr-francis-adams-are-we-still-racists/#comments Sun, 30 Jan 2005 05:44:45 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/03/dr-francis-adams-are-we-still-racists/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2005/01/29/dr-francis-adams-are-we-still-racists/feed/ 0 http://www.radiocurious.org/2004/02/17/brooke-kroeger-when-people-cant-be-who-they-are/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2004/02/17/brooke-kroeger-when-people-cant-be-who-they-are/#comments Tue, 17 Feb 2004 09:38:15 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/17/brooke-kroeger-when-people-cant-be-who-they-are/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2004/02/17/brooke-kroeger-when-people-cant-be-who-they-are/feed/ 0 http://www.radiocurious.org/2003/11/01/robert-benton-the-human-stain/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2003/11/01/robert-benton-the-human-stain/#comments Sat, 01 Nov 2003 09:48:15 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/17/robert-benton-the-human-stain/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2003/11/01/robert-benton-the-human-stain/feed/ 0 http://www.radiocurious.org/2003/09/02/alexandra-fuller-growing-up-white-in-africa/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2003/09/02/alexandra-fuller-growing-up-white-in-africa/#comments Tue, 02 Sep 2003 10:03:47 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/17/alexandra-fuller-growing-up-white-in-africa/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2003/09/02/alexandra-fuller-growing-up-white-in-africa/feed/ 0 http://www.radiocurious.org/2003/04/15/randall-kennedy-black-and-white/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2003/04/15/randall-kennedy-black-and-white/#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2003 11:53:22 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/11/randall-kennedy-black-and-white/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2003/04/15/randall-kennedy-black-and-white/feed/ 0 http://www.radiocurious.org/2002/03/19/randall-kennedy-can-you-say-this-word/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2002/03/19/randall-kennedy-can-you-say-this-word/#comments Tue, 19 Mar 2002 11:52:26 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/11/randall-kennedy-can-you-say-this-word/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2002/03/19/randall-kennedy-can-you-say-this-word/feed/ 1 Radio Curious discusses the N-word with law professor, Randall Kennedy, author of “Nigger-the Strange Career of a Troublesome Word.” Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word Few words in the English language have caused so much pain, hurt and emotion as the N-word. It is arguably the most consequential social insult in American history. The long history of the pejorative use of the N-word has given it an unusual power that extends to the judicial system, literature and social settings. Randall Kennedy, a professor of Law at Harvard University Law School, is the author of “Nigger-the Strange Career of a Troublesome Word.”  His book chronicles the history of this word, in an effort to diffuse and neutralize it. At the end of his book he writes, “There is much to be gained by allowing people all backgrounds to yank the N-word away from white supremacists to subvert its ugliest denotation, and to convert the N-work from a negative into a positive appellation.” I spoke with Professor Randall Kennedy in the winter of 2002 while he was in California and asked him to begin our conversation by explaining this conclusion. The book Randall Kennedy recommends in “The Negro in the American Revolution,” by Benjamin Quarles, written in 1961. Originally Broadcast: March 19, 2002 Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-KENNEDY_RANDALL_N-WORD_2013_CA.mp3) to listen or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2002/02/19/lynda-koolish-phd-african-american-writers/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2002/02/19/lynda-koolish-phd-african-american-writers/#comments Tue, 19 Feb 2002 17:44:20 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/28/lynda-koolish-phd-african-american-writers/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2002/02/19/lynda-koolish-phd-african-american-writers/feed/ 0 African American Writers: Portraits and Visions The voice of a writer can be heard in words, and sometimes seen in the writer’s face. It is unusual to find both in a book in which the creator is both the author and the photographer. Lynda Koolish, African American Writers: Portraits and Visions The voice of a writer can be heard in words, and sometimes seen in the writer’s face. It is unusual to find both in a book in which the creator is both the author and the photographer. Lynda Koolish, our guest on this archive edition of Radio Curious, is a professor of African American literature at San Diego State University and an accomplished photographer. She is the author of a book entitled “African American Writers: Portraits and Visions” in which she reveals the visage of 59 African American writers along with a thumbnail biography and summation of each writer’s vision. Lynda Koolish, Ph.D. recommends "Dien Cai Dau" and "Neon Vernacular" by Yusef Komunyakaa. Originally Broadcast: February 19, 2002 Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive2/07.01.07/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-20060402-Koolish_Lynda_Broadcast_verson.mp3) LeGov clean http://www.radiocurious.org/2001/01/27/annie-barnes-racism-in-america/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2001/01/27/annie-barnes-racism-in-america/#comments Sat, 27 Jan 2001 18:02:53 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/28/annie-barnes-racism-in-america/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2001/01/27/annie-barnes-racism-in-america/feed/ 0 http://www.radiocurious.org/1997/10/10/jane-dymond-a-juror-speaks/ http://www.radiocurious.org/1997/10/10/jane-dymond-a-juror-speaks/#comments Fri, 10 Oct 1997 20:35:08 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/28/jane-dymond-a-juror-speaks/ http://www.radiocurious.org/1997/10/10/jane-dymond-a-juror-speaks/feed/ 0 http://www.radiocurious.org/1997/04/16/scott-spears-an-experiment-in-successful-community-mediation/ http://www.radiocurious.org/1997/04/16/scott-spears-an-experiment-in-successful-community-mediation/#comments Wed, 16 Apr 1997 20:47:41 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/28/scott-spears-an-experiment-in-successful-community-mediation/ http://www.radiocurious.org/1997/04/16/scott-spears-an-experiment-in-successful-community-mediation/feed/ 0 http://www.radiocurious.org/1997/03/26/linda-kremer-the-legal-defense-of-jailed-cambodians/ http://www.radiocurious.org/1997/03/26/linda-kremer-the-legal-defense-of-jailed-cambodians/#comments Wed, 26 Mar 1997 22:10:18 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/29/linda-kremer-the-legal-defense-of-jailed-cambodians/ http://www.radiocurious.org/1997/03/26/linda-kremer-the-legal-defense-of-jailed-cambodians/feed/ 1 Attorney Linda Kremer, a Public Defender in Marin County, California, worked for thirteen months in Phnom Phen, Cambodia, in 1996 and 1997 as Director of the Cambodian Defenders’ Project. The Cambodian Defenders’ Project recruits and trains Khmer men ... Attorney Linda Kremer, a Public Defender in Marin County, California, worked for thirteen months in Phnom Phen, Cambodia, in 1996 and 1997 as Director of the Cambodian Defenders’ Project. The Cambodian Defenders’ Project recruits and trains Khmer men and women to serve as Public Defenders in the criminal courts of Cambodia. Cambodian law requires that no person be detained in excess of 48 hours without being charged with a crime or be held without trial from longer than six months. In practice, these rights are rarely honored. Without legal defense, those is prison are powerless to request compliance. Other programs you may enjoy are with Daniel Ellsberg discussing the Pentagon Papers and Vietman, and with Wayne Knight, a Mendocino County artist who was also associated with the Cambodian Defenders Project. They both may be found on this website. Linda Kremer recommends “Spontaneous Healing” & “Natural Healing,” both by Andrew While. Originally Broadcast: March 26, 1997 Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive2/07.01.07/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-20060129-_211__3-26-97_Linda_Kremer.mp3) LeGov clean http://www.radiocurious.org/1997/01/22/manenima-hilario-born-into-the-stone-age/ http://www.radiocurious.org/1997/01/22/manenima-hilario-born-into-the-stone-age/#comments Wed, 22 Jan 1997 22:20:33 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/29/manenima-hilario-born-into-the-stone-age/ http://www.radiocurious.org/1997/01/22/manenima-hilario-born-into-the-stone-age/feed/ 0 http://www.radiocurious.org/1997/01/08/chaim-potok-escaping-communism/ http://www.radiocurious.org/1997/01/08/chaim-potok-escaping-communism/#comments Wed, 08 Jan 1997 22:22:55 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/29/chaim-potok-escaping-communism/ http://www.radiocurious.org/1997/01/08/chaim-potok-escaping-communism/feed/ 0 The Gates of November Chaim Potok, the author of “The Chosen,” “The Gift of Asher Lev,” “Divida’s Heart,” and many other novels, chronicled the life of a Russian Jewish family in his non-fiction work, “The Gates of November. The Gates of November Chaim Potok, the author of “The Chosen,” “The Gift of Asher Lev,” “Divida’s Heart,” and many other novels, chronicled the life of a Russian Jewish family in his non-fiction work, “The Gates of November.” This true story of the Slapeck family, Solomon Slapek, his son Valodya, and daughter-in-law Masha, spans 100 years. Beginning with Solomon’s childhood at turn of the 20th century, his escape to America and return to Russia, it eventually describes Valodya and Masha’s life after they apply for an exit visa to leave Russia in 1968, in order to emigrate to Israel. Chaim Potok died July 23, 2002, at his suburban Philadelphia home of brain cancer at the age of 73. Chaim Potok recommends "The English Patient," by Michael Ondaatje. Originally Broadcast: January 8, 1997 Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive2/07.01.07/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-20051211-_200__Potok__Chaim_1-8-97.mp3) LeGov clean http://www.radiocurious.org/1996/11/27/maria-stewart-sandra-kamusukiri-a-visit-with-a-free-black-women-boston-1840/ http://www.radiocurious.org/1996/11/27/maria-stewart-sandra-kamusukiri-a-visit-with-a-free-black-women-boston-1840/#comments Wed, 27 Nov 1996 13:00:28 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/11/maria-stewart-sandra-kamusukiri-a-visit-with-a-free-black-women-boston-1840/ http://www.radiocurious.org/1996/11/27/maria-stewart-sandra-kamusukiri-a-visit-with-a-free-black-women-boston-1840/feed/ 0 Radio Curious brings you an archived interview with Maria Stewart, as portrayed by scholar, Sandra Kamusakiri. Stewart was a free black woman who lived in the early 1800's and likely the first African-American to speak out in defense of women's rights. Maria W. Stewart, as characterized by professor and scholar Sandra Kamusakiri, was a free black woman who lived in Boston, MA, from the 1820s to the early 1840s. She was the first American born woman to lecture in public on political themes and likely the first African-American to speak out in defense of women’s rights. A forerunner to Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, she was intensely religious and regarded as outspoken and controversial during her time. For more than a century, Maria W. Stewart’s life contributions remained obscured, illustrating the double pressures of racism and sexism on the lives African-American women. I met with Mariah W. Stewart in the person of Professor Sandra Kamusukiri during the 1996 Democracy in America Chautauqua, held in Ukiah, California. Maria Stewart recommends "The Fair Sketches of Women," by John Adams and "The Bible." Originally Broadcast: November 27, 1996 Click here to begin listening or on the media player below. Click here to download the podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/1993/11/23/dr-jim-cole-teaching-tolerance/ http://www.radiocurious.org/1993/11/23/dr-jim-cole-teaching-tolerance/#comments Tue, 23 Nov 1993 22:56:58 +0000 http://radiocurious.org/2008/01/29/dr-jim-cole-teaching-tolerance/ http://www.radiocurious.org/1993/11/23/dr-jim-cole-teaching-tolerance/feed/ 0 Filtering People Prejudices exist in almost every human context, but how do we overcome them and act without stereotypes? This program’s guest is Dr. Jim Cole, who lives in Ellingsburg, Washington and is a psychologist. Filtering People Prejudices exist in almost every human context, but how do we overcome them and act without stereotypes? This program’s guest is Dr. Jim Cole, who lives in Ellingsburg, Washington and is a psychologist. We discussed diversity training – the process of becoming more aware of the prejudices we have. This program was originally broadcast in November of 1993, when Radio Curious was called Government, Politics and Ideas. Dr. Jim Cole recommends books by Jane Lovelock. Originally Broadcast: November 23, 1993 Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/download/11166/13293/20219/?url=http://emma2.radio4all.net/pub/archive/04.01.05/curious@pacific.net/1197-1-20050207-Cole__Jim_11-23-93.mp3) LeGov clean