Martinez, Juan- “Shamanism in the Ecuadorian Jungle”

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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.

Sam Totten – “Genocide in Darfur”

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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

John Arquilla– “Networks and Netwars”

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The war that the United States has invoked in what is often called the “War On Terror” is unusual in many ways. One of those ways is that this war is being fought against a network that is spread out in many unsuspecting and obscure places. It is not being fought as many wars have been in the past, directly against another county. Dr. John Arquilla, is a professor of defense analysis and co-director of the justify on Terrorism at the Naval Post-Graduate School in Monterey, California. In this program we talk with Professor Arquilla about the fighting tactics employed by networks as opposed to countries, the threats they pose, and some of the war tactics used against these networks.

John Arquilla recommends “Kim,” by Rudyard Kipling.

Originally Broadcast: June 21, 2005

Bernard Offen – “Surviving the Holocaust”

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My Hometown Concentration Camp

Bernard Offen, age 72, survived five Nazi concentration camps in Poland during World War Two, when he was a young teenager. He now leads tours of these concentration camps and tells his story in this interview.

Bernard Offen recommends “My Hometown Concentration Camp,” by himself.

Originally Broadcast: May 3, 2005

Rodolfo Gomez – “A Walk in the Costa Rican Rain Forest”

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On the eastern slope of the Continental Divide, about an hour’s drive east of San Jose, Costa Rica, is the Rain Forest Aerial Tram, a tramway that travels through, above and below the rain forest canopy. The rain forest canopy is home to more diverse forms of flora and fauna than anywhere else in the known universe. Rodolfo Gomez, trained as an architect, has found his calling as a tour guide in Central America and specifically Costa Rica. My daughter Molly and I met with Rodolfo in the rain forest, near the aerial tram and recorded this program in April of 1995.

Originally Broadcast: June 20, 1995

David Osborn – “The Papal Conclave”

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The Last Pope
It is no secret that the papal conclave met April 18, 2005 to elect the head of one of the world’s few remaining imperial monarchies.However, those participating in the conclave and those assisting the Cardinals who will elect the next pope are sworn to secrecy regarding all the events within this historic gathering.In this edition of Radio Curious, we visit with papal scholar David Osborn, the author of “the Last Pope” who we interviewed in June 2004.“The Last Pope” is a novel about the lives and the papal competition of two Cardinals of the Catholic Church, after the death of a conservative and long tenured Pope.In this interview David Osborn discusses the process and some of the politics of electing the successor to Pope John Paul II.When I spoke with David Osborn from his home in Connecticut, I asked him about what he believed would occur just prior to the opening of the conclave on April 18, 2005.
David Osborn recommends “Remembrance of Things Past,”by Marcel Proust.

Originally Broadcast: April 19, 2005

Swanee Hunt– “Women Waging Peace”

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This Was Not Our War: Bosnian Women Reclaiming the Peace

Women Waging Peace is a global policy-oriented initiative working to integrate women into the peace process. Swanee Hunt, a former United States Ambassador to the Austria, founded it. Swanee Hunt is also the author of “This Was Not Our War; Bosnian Women Reclaiming the Peace.” She interviewed twenty-six Bosnian women who are reconstructing their society in the years following the devastating war in their country. These women describe what it was like living in a vibrant multicultural community that suddenly imploded in an onslaught of violence. They relate the chaos; the atrocities, the rapes of neighbors and friends, their efforts to care for children and elderly parents and to find food and clean drinking water. This interview with Ambassador Swanee Hunt was recorded from her home near Boston, Massachusetts in February 2005.

Swanee Hunt recommends “The Courage To Be,” by Paul Tillich.

Originally Broadcast: February 15, 2005

Abha Dawesar– “Babyji, A Story of Physics, Sex and Caste Politics in India”

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Anamika Sharma, the lead character in the novel Babyji, by Abha Dewasar grows up in Delhi, India, studying quantum physics at school and sex out of school. The story follows the life of a girl who sets her own rules in a culture that historically demands the opposite. Our conversation begins with the author Abha Dewasar describing India, the place where she grew up, and where the life of Anamika takes place.

http://abhadawesar.com/

Abha Dawesar recommends “Purple Hibiscus,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Ardiche.
Originally Broadcast: February 24, 2005

Yael Berda– “Israeli Human Rights Attorney”

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Yael Berda is a young Israeli lawyer, born in New York and raised in Jerusalem. At the age of 14, she became involved in a struggle to free her parents from debtors’ prison and the experience changed her life. She has since become a leader of a non-violent movement for reconciliation and understanding among the Israel and Palestinian populations.

Yael Berda recommends “Fields of Protest,” by Roca Ray.

Originally Broadcast: November 30, 2004

 

Jed Barahal – Cellist Extraordinaire

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In this edition of Radio Curious, we take a look at the cello, the kind of musical instrument it is and the sounds it makes. My guest is Jed Barahal, a concert cellist extraordinaire, who lives in Porto, Portugal and performed with pianist Christina Margotto, his wife, and Amari Barash, an oboist, in Ukiah, California in August 2004.

Jed Barahal recommends “The Party’s Over: Oil, War and the Future of Industrial Societies,” by Richard Heinberg.

Originally Broadcast: September 7, 2004