Radio Curious

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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

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Blood, an Epic History of Medicine and Commerce

Human blood has been compared historically and sociologically to a river that defines human society over the millennia. That river has been charted in a recent book and television series entitled, “Blood, an Epic History of Medicine and Commerce,” by Douglas Starr. This work traces the history of blood in medical, political and economic terms, from the earliest days of bloodletting to the era of AIDS.

Douglas Starr recommends “Instance of the Finger Post,” by Ian Beers.

Originally Broadcast: September 14, 2002

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The Altar of My Soul

Religious beliefs normally follow people as they migrate, including people who are forced to migrate. The people forced to migrate to the western Hemisphere during the slave-trading period carried their beliefs and belief systems to the diaspora of their new world. The Santeria religion, also know as Lucumí, is a belief system that originated in Africa later brought to the Americas and is still practiced in widely separated communities of the western hemisphere. Marta Moreno Vega, a Santeria Priestess, and university professor in New York City is the author of “The Alter of My Soul.” Her book is a story of the Santeria or Lucumí religion, its traditions, how they were brought from Africa and are practiced now. I spoke with Marta Moreno Vega by phone in November of 2000, and we began when I asked her to tell us about the Santeria religion and how it differs from other religions.

Marta Morena Vega recommends “Face of The Gods: Art and Altars of Africa and the African Americans,” by Robert F. Thompson.

Originally Broadcast: November 7, 2000

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Bio-Hazard: The Chilling Story of the Largest Covert Biological Weapons Program in the World — Told From Inside by the Man Who Ran it

Biological warfare is the use of weapons that cause death by disease. The largest and most sophisticated biological weapons program in the world, which cultivated and stockpiled anthrax virus, brucellosis, the plague and genetically altered strains of small pox, employed more than 6000 people at over 100 facilities in the former Soviet Union. For 15 years, ending in 1992, Dr. Ken Alibek, a doctor of medicine and a Ph.D. in microbiology, was the scientific leader of Bio-Preparat, the civilian branch of that secret biological weapons program, masquerading as a pharmaceutical company. In 1992, Dr. Alibek defected to the United States. Several years later, he wrote “Bio-Hazard,” a book detailing the development of biological weapons, the horrors of his former life and why he chose to defect. This is a two-part program with Dr. Ken Alibek, recorded in 1999.

Dr. Ken Alibek recommends “Prevent,” by Richard Preston & “Vector,” by Robin Cook.

Originally Broadcast: May 11, 1999

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Spy World: Inside the Canadian and American Intelligence Establishments

The fact that governments spy on each other is no secret. The fact that they also collect data about lives of millions of innocent citizens worldwide may be unknown to many people. Mike Frost, the author of “Spy World: Inside the Canadian and American Intelligence Establishments,” worked as a spy for over 30 years. Mike traveled worldwide, setting up devices to intercept what were thought to be secret international communications. Mike Frost has since retired as a spy and has many thoughts and considerations about his former job. Our discussion led to a two-part program, originally broadcast in April of 1999.

Mike Frost recommends the movie, October Sky.

Originally Broadcast: April 6, 1999 & April 13, 1999

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Chaim Potok, the author of “The Chosen,” “The Gift of Asher Lev,”Davida’s Heart,” and many other novels, chronicled the life of a Russian Jewish family in the non-fictions story, “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.

The book Chaim Potok recommends is “The English Patient,” by Michael Ondaatje.

This program was Originally Broadcast: January 8, 1997

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A generally accepted theory about human migration tells us that people crossed the landmass that once connected Siberia to Alaska. Some of those people continued walking south and many generations later settled on the western edge of the Amazon Basin in South America in what is now eastern Peru. One of those groups is called Shapibo. Manenima Hilario, who is now 26 yeas old, was born Shapibo, into his tribe which lived in the Stone Age traditional fashion. At age 11, he went to secondary school in the Hispanic Amazon jungle town of Pucallpa. Later, from Lima, Peru he found his way to Taylor, Texas, and on to Sonoma State University, in Northern CA, where he graduated in June of 1997. Since that time he was enrolled at Stanford University to work on his Ph.D.

Manenima Hilario recommends the biography of General Colin Powell.

Originally Broadcast: January 22, 1997

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Democracy in America

In 1831, a 25 year-old Frenchman, Alexis de Tocqueville, trained as a lawyer, and preoccupied with democracy, came to the US to study this new political scheme. Alexis de Tocqueville and his traveling companion, Gustave de Beaumont, arrived at Newport, RI, in an America comprised, then, of 23 states and 13 million people. They stayed for nine months, and then returned to France at which time de Tocqueville began his epic poem entitled “Democracy in America.” At a time then when slavery was an economic base in the South, and abolitionism was beginning to thrive in the North, America had three frontiers: geography, industry, and democracy. In this program of Radio Curious, we’ll be talking with Alexis De Tocqueville, through the person of Chautauqua scholar, Dick Johnson.

Alexis de Tocqueville recommends “Democracy in America,” by Alexis de Tocqueville.

Originally Broadcast: July 17, 1996

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Who was Charles Darwin and what led him to describe what we now call the theory of evolution? These curious questions are ones that I have been following since I was about ten years old. In 1978 I had the good fortune of visiting the Galapagos Islands, 600 miles west of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean. Charles Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands in 1831 for month as part of a five-year voyage around the world. There he saw birds and animals that helped him formulate some of his ideas about evolution he published The Origin of the Species, 22 years later in 1853. Since then the world, science and religion has not been the same.
Now, at a time when concepts of evolution and natural selection are attacked from certain theological and political perspectives, “The Darwin Conspiracy,” a novel has been written by John Darnton, a writer and editor for the New York Times. “The Darwin Conspiracy,” although fiction, is said by John Darnton to be 90% accurate. It covers Darwin’s life and thinking before and after his publication of “The Origin of the Species.”

I spoke with John Darnton from his home in New York City at the end of October 2005. He began by describing who Charles Darwin was, in his time and place.

The book John Darnton recommends is “Snow,” by Orhan Pamuk.

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