Radio Curious

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Dr. Dan Gottlieb is a practicing psychologist living and working near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has experienced quadriplegia for approximately 30 years when he broke his back and severed his spinal cord as a result of an automobile accident. His 2008 book, “Learning From the Heart: Lessons on Living, Loving and Listening,” shares some of his life experiences. In this conversation he explains how 30 years ago he could not have imagined that he would have become a quadriplegic, lose both his parents and his wife, and be a now happy and contented person. This interview was recorded May 14, 2008.

The book Dr. Dan Gottlieb recommends is, “The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness,” by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

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Sex, something that all creatures seek to achieve in one form or another, is often more than discreet among humans. In this discussion with science journalist, Mary Roach, author of, “Bonk, The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex,” we have a direct and frank conversation about human sexuality, including orgasms, what they are, how you know if you have one, and the difference between the male and female human sexual response. This program was recorded on April 14, 2008.

The book Mary Roach recommends is, “The Atlas of Human Sex Anatomy.”

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Reinforcement of desired behavior is the key to animal training. As humans, we are subject to the same way of learning. Amy Sutherland, author of, “What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love and Marriage: Lessons for People from Animals and Their Trainers,” shares many ideas about how to achieve more desirable relationships with friends and loved ones. This Program was recorded on March 19, 2008.

The book Amy Sutherland recommends is, “Demonic Males: Apes and the Origin of Human Violence,” by Richard Wrangham and Dale Peterson.

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Few people in Mendocino County who are not elected officials have created as much enmity and as many disruptive relationships as has Richard W. Johnson, Jr., the owner, editor and publisher of four local newspapers under the banner of Mendocino Country, since 1984. Johnson, who characterizes himself as a community organizer, lives in his office in downtown Ukiah, CA, overlooking Courthouse Square; he claims among many other things to be the original organizer of California Certified Organic Farmers, the Recipient of Walking Stick Award from Mendocino Environment Center in 1992 for promoting Ocean Sanctuary off the Mendocino Coast, and the original proponent of Measure G on the 2000 ballot. When I invited him to visit Radio Curious he said he would like to discuss “the amazing but little understood and seldom appreciated Richard Johnson, his life and times.” We touched on those and a few other topics in this conversation, recorded in the studios of Radio Curious on February 19, 2008, and began when I asked him about some of the areas where he would like to be better understood.

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Years ago, before the myriad of things to buy were as available as they are now, retail businesses were most often locally-owned and operated, often for generations. This all began to change in the middle of the last century, as many of the items in the Sears Catalogue became available in towns and cities across the nation for consumers to feel and touch. But, it wasn’t until approximately 25 years ago when Wal-Mart, Target and other big-box stores appeared nationwide in small communities, to the detriment of locally-owned businesses and the social and economic benefits those businesses provided to their communities.  Michael Shuman, an attorney and an economist, is the author of, “The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses are Beating the Global Competition.” This book addresses the issues and problems of locally owned businesses and how they can successfully compete with the big-box stores owned by corporations foreign to the region. We began our conversation, which occurred on January 21, 2008, when I asked Michael Shuman to describe how a corporation comes into being, as a basis to understand some of the problems of locally owned businesses in competition with the big box stores.

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Originally Broadcast: April 12, 2006

Letters to Sam:A Grandfather’s Lessons on Love, Loss and the Gifts of Life

For most people, the desire to be known exceeds the desire to be loved. Who we are as individuals, how we reckon with our personal abilities and disabilities the topic of this edition of Radio Curious, a conversation with my friend Dr. Dan Gottlieb.

Dan Gottlieb, a clinical psychologist who lives and works near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania lives with quadriplegia, paralyzed from the neck down as a result of an automobile accident in 1979. He is the host of “Voices in the Family,” a weekly public radio program originating from WHYY in Philadelphia and the author of two articles a month in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Because of his physical condition, Dan thought he may not live to see his young grandson Sam grow to be man. When Sam was diagnosed with a severe form of autism several years ago, Dan decided to write a series of letters to his grandson.

His book “Letter’s to Sam: A Grandfather’s Lessons on Love, Loss and the Gifts of Life,” is a collection of the thirty-two intimate and compassionate letters sharing Dan’s thoughts, observations and experiences gained from his 27 years with quadriplegia, and his professional life as a clinical psychologist.

Dr. Dan Gottlieb and I visited by phone from his in mid April 2006.

The books Dr. Gottlieb recommends are “Eat, Pray and Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything, Across Italy, India and Indonesia,” by Elizabeth Gilbert, and “Life of Pi,” by Yann Martel.

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Originally Broadcast: December 5, 2005.

Concepts of “reality” have many levels, some of which are gained by fasting, and/or the use of certain plants that allow a person to view the past, present or  and future.  This is especially true for cultures which cherish and practice the oral tradition and thrive among an abundance of flora and fauna, like those located in the Amazon basin of South America.  In Ecuador the knowledge of the effects of the various plants in the Amazon basin is held by Shamans.

Dr. Juan Martinez, our guest in this edition of Radio Curious, is a Professor of History and Anthropology at the University of Cuenca, in Cuenca, Ecuador.  He’s studied, written and lectured about Shamanic practices in the Ecuadorian jungle and the medicinal and spiritual effects of the plants native to the eastern portion of the Amazon basin.

Professor Juan Martinez and I visited in his office in Cuenca, Ecuador on November 17, 2005.  He began by describing the relationship of the people of Ecuadorian jungle to their worlds, the spiritual world, and the world in which they live on a daily basis.

The book Juan Martinez recommends is “Amazon Worlds,” a collected work published by Sinchi Sancha, an indigenous foundation based in Ecuador.

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Are poets philosophers? Doesn’t the creative moment reveal a personal truth to share? Must a poem be recited the same way every time? The spontaneous spoken word is a form of poetry that sometimes leaves the listener wondering if what is said really is spontaneous. Steve Hellman is a poet who lives and speaks in Mendocino County and, in this program, shared some spontaneous spoken words.

Steve Hellman recommends “Crazy Wisdom,” by Scoop Nesber.

Originally Broadcast: January 15, 2005

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Born To Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture

In the past 50 years, the advent of television as a medium for advertising has had significant effects on the buying habits of everyone, and especially on children. MRI scans on the brain, and the development of neuro-marketing are used to determine more receptive ways to market a myriad of products to all of us. Studies that follow the behavior of children show that the more involved a child is in the consumer culture, the more likelihood that the child will be depressed, be more anxious, have frequent headaches and/or stomach aches. And, the most heavily advertised products are more likely to be addictive to the users of those products. “Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and New Consumer Culture” by Professor Juliet Schor, of Boston College, presents a detailed discussion of these changes in the commercialized market place that is brought into almost every home and school.

Juliet Schor recommends “For Her Own Good,” by Barbara Ehreneich and Diedre English.

Originally Broadcast: December 14, 2004

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