Toms, Michael — A Memorial to Michael Toms of New Dimensions Radio

Radio Curious presents a memorial to Michael Toms, the executive producer of New Dimensions Radio, in an interview recorded at his home in Ukiah, California on January 9, 1995.  Michael Toms passed away on January 24, 2013 at the age of 72.  We discuss radio as it was in 1995, his predictions for the future of radio, and many of his personal observations.

For over 40 years, Michael and Justine Toms have produced fascinating and long enduring and endearing programs on public radio with over 5000 programs in their archives.

In this conversation we get his perspective about how radio works, the producer to the listener point of view, and the future of radio.  I asked Michael Toms about his thoughts of the relationship between the producer of a radio program and the listener.

The Books Michael Toms recommends are:

“Feather Fall” by Laurens Van Der Post

“The Millennium Whole Earth Catalog” by Howard Rheingold

“Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine“ by Larry Dossey.

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Berkowitz, Eric — Sex and Punishment Part Two

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.

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

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

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

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

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Munoz, Maca — Community Radio in the Americas

As part of our ongoing series of community radio around the world, Radio Curious speaks with Maca Munoz, an organizer with Palabra Radio.  Radio Curious host and producer Barry Vogel and Maca Munoz both attended the 10th international congress of Community Radio Broadcasters in La Plata, Argentina, along with approximately 500 other community radio delegates from 86 countries who gathered to discuss community radio around the world.

Palabra Radio is an organization that facilitates low power radio station projects in the America’s, from immigrant communities in the United States to rural indigenous communities in Latin America.  Palabra Radio provides training, technical support and other assistance to communities, collectives and social organizations that want to operate a low-power community radio station.  Their website is www.palabraradio.org

The interview with Maca Munoz was recorded on November 12, 2010 in La Plata, Argentina.  The book Maca Munoz recommends is, “Open Veins of Latin America,” by Eduardo Galeano.

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Abuzada, Fadi & Rahman, AHM Bazlur — Community Radio Around the World

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.

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