Allan Pollack— “Composer and Conductor”

Click here to begin listening. 

On the bluffs of the Village of Mendocino, overlooking the Pacific Ocean about 155 miles north of San Francisco, California, the sounds of the Mendocino Music Festival are heard for two weeks beginning in early July every year. The music festival features Orchestra, Opera, Chamber, Jazz and World Pop music drawing participants and listeners from around the globe. Allan Pollack, who has worked as the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Mendocino Music Festival for the past twenty-two years, is our guest in this edition of Radio Curious. In this conversation from his home in Northern California, recorded on July 1, 2008, we began when I asked him to tell us about the Mendocino Music Festival. This interview with Allan Pollack was recorded on July 1, 2008.

The book Allan Pollack recommends is, “The Complete Works of Shakespeare.“

Beth Wenger — Jewish Americans: Three Centuries of Jewish Voices in America

Click here to begin listening. 

North America, as we have known for millennia, has been populated by ethnic groups looking for a new place to live. Beginning in the early 17th Century and through the present time, Jewish people from around the world have seen North America as a favored place to live and in waves of migration over time have come here to make a new life as part of the American fabric. In the winter of 2008 the Public Broadcasting System presented a major six hour television series: “The Jewish Americans: Three Centuries of Jewish Voices in America.” A companion book to this series with the same name, written by Beth Wenger, the Director of the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania, is a collection of first person stories about lives of American Jews who maintained their own culture as they became part of the American culture. Our visit with Beth Wenger in January 2008, by phone from her office at the University of Pennsylvania, began when she described the distinctions and similarities of the Jewish American experience as compared to other immigrant groups. This program was originally broadcast January 30, 2008.

The book she recommends is, “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union,” by Michael Chabon.

Roger Brandt – “The Oregon Caves”

Click here to begin listening.

This program was originally broadcast on February 21, 2007.

The Oregon Caves, located about 70 miles northeast of Crescent City, California in the Oregon Caves National Monument, are a place full of interest, mystery, and history. The caves were located in 1874 when Elijah Davidson chased his dog into the what appeared to be a hole in the earth. The Oregon Caves are unique, possibly due to the fact that it is one of the few cave systems located on tectonically active ground, known as a subduction zone. This uniqueness may also be due to the fact an old growth Douglas Fir forest grows directly above the caves, or the fact that they were created from what used to be a tropical reef that was pushed about 12 miles below the surface of the earth and then brought back up to its current location, and is still rising. I visited the Oregon Caves in 2006 and spoke with Roger Brandt, the manager of visitor services and education of the Oregon Caves in the summer of 2006. We began when I asked him about the Oregon Caves and what they represent.

Roger Brandt recommends “Golden Days and Pioneer Ways,” by Ruth Phefferle.

Frank Pacino– “Life in the Marine Corps”

Click here to begin listening. 

When recruiters from the Armed Forces of the United States seek out volunteers, they often portray military life to be a great adventure. They talk of schooling, travel and excitement. Sometimes that is not the case. In this edition of Radio Curious, we visit Sgt. Frank Pacino, who spent his early life in Covelo, California and then moved to Ukiah, California. Frank Pacino was recruited into the Marine Corps in early 2001 and is now a Sergeant. He was one of the first troops to go into Iraq in 2002, where he spent approximately six months. He was returned to Iraq in 2004 for a year.

Frank Pacino recommends “Bush At War,” by Bob Woodward.

Originally Broadcast: May 17, 2005

Spencer Wells– “The Peopling of the World”

Click here to begin listening. 

The Journey of Man, A Genetic Odyssey

Around 60,000 years ago, a man – identical to us in all important genetic respects – lived in Africa. Every person alive today is descended from him. This is known because the secrets of human evolution are hidden in our genetic code. In this edition of Radio Curious, we visit with geneticist Spencer Wells, author of the book and movie, “Journey of Man, A Genetic Odyssey.”

Spencer Wells recommends “No Logo,” by Naomi Klein.

Originally Broadcast: February 10, 2004

Philip Weiss– “Cover-up of a Peace Corps Murder”

Click here to begin listening. 

American Taboo, A Murder in Peace Corps

In this edition of Radio Curious, we take a look at murder and getting away with murder. In the small island kingdom of Tonga, an American Peace Corps Volunteer murdered another American Peace Corps volunteer in October 1976. “American Taboo, A Murder in Peace Corps,” by Philip Weiss, is a detailed story about the murder, how and why it happened, the legend that developed, the subsequent cover-up, and an interview with the murderer.

Philip Weiss recommends “McArthur and Southerland, The Good Years,” & “McArthur and Southerland, The Bitter Years,” both by Paul P. Rogers

Originally Broadcast: June 29, 2003

Patricia Edmisten– “Peace Corps, Peru, 1962-1964″

Click here to begin listening.

The Mourning of Angles

The life of Lydia Schaefer is a composite fictional story of a 22 year-old woman who served in the Peace Corps in Peru from 1962 to 1964. Patricia Taylor Edmisten, a former Peace Corps Volunteer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, tells Lydia’s story in her book, “The Mourning of Angles,” based in part on her experiences in the Peace Corps in Peru during those years.

Patricia Edmisten recommends “The Accidental Pope,” by Raymond Flynn & Robin Moore.

Originally Broadcast: November 15, 2002

 

Ed Reinhart & Earl Dixon – Don’t Shoot The Piano Player

Click here to begin listening. 

Earl Dixon is a veteran traveler, a veteran piano player, and he’s actually a veteran, too. An interesting story. Earl Dixon, the man on this show, traveled around the world, and has a lot of familiar stories to tell to those of us here in Mendocino County.

Originally Broadcast: June 11, 2002

Brad Newsham – “A Taxi Across America”

Click here to begin listening.

Take me with you: Around the World Journey to Invite a Stranger Home

Have you ever made friends with someone from a place where you visited as a traveler? Have you ever wondered what it would be like for that person to visit you in your home and your surroundings? Well, that is what Brad Newsham did. He is the author of “Take Me With You: A Round The World Journey to Invite a Stranger Home.”

Brad Newsham recommends “Dangerous Beauty,” by Mark Ross.

Originally Broadcast: May 7, 2002

“Patrick McGrath – Moving to America in 1774″

Click here to begin listening. 

Imagine leaving home and traveling by yourself to a new land where you don’t know the customs or the politics, on a trip that will take weeks to complete in what would now be considered a very small ship, on turbulent waters. Imagine making this voyage, never to return to your homeland, when you are 15 years old, and pregnant. Soon after you arrive a war begins that changes the face of the country and set a new type of government in motion. Imagine researching this story and then writing it. That is the work of Patrick McGrath, the author of “Martha Peake,” a book about a plucky young woman who came to American in 1774. I spoke with Patrick McGrath by phone in 2001 to talk about “Martha Peake,” how he researched and prepared to write it, and what British students are taught about the American Revolution.

Patrick McGrath recommends “The First American,” by H.W. Brown.

Originally Broadcast: January 16, 2001