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World Culture Interviews --
Dr. Ken Alibek
Soviet Germ Warfare
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 & May 18, 1999
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John Arquilla
Networks and Netwars
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
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Cellist Extraordinaire
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
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Israeli Human Rights Attorney
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
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Bob Blincoe
The Kurdish People
The word millet is a term from the Ottoman Empire that ruled parts of Europe Central to the Near East from 1430 to 1921 and means “a recognized people or cultural group who have no homeland.” Millet now applies to the Kurdish people, who live in the Zagros Mountains, where the borders of eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, and northwestern Iran converge. Starting with Gulf War of 1991, 25 million Kurdish people live homeless and stateless in the Zagros Mountains. They are subject to frequent attacks from the Turks and the Iraqis. Bob Blincoe, a Presbyterian minister, lived and worked as a community organizer among the Kurds in the Zagros Mountains for five and one-half years until the Fall of 1996. At first he spoke Arabic, so he wouldn’t stand out as someone working with a suspect minority. He quickly learned Kurdish and has many interesting stories to share.
Bob Blincoe recommends "A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern World," by David Fromkin.
Originally Broadcast: May 14, 1997
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Life in Vladivostok, Russia
Vladivostok, Russia, at the very eastern end of Siberia, is a city of about 800,000 people. It is the same distance north of the equator as is central Oregon and Rome, Italy. It’s close to the border of China and North Korea. This city was closed to everyone, including Russians, until the early 1990s. Halle Brady and Mike Brady, formerly of Potter Valley, California, spent two years teaching in Vladivostok and, in this program, we shared their experiences there.
Mike Brady recommends "Lenin's Tomb," by David Remnick. Halle Brady recommends "Gates of November," by Chiam Potok.
Originally Broadcast: July 3, 1998
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Dr. Seyom Brown
Clinton's Foreign Policy
New Forces, Old Forces and the Future of World Politics
The relationship of the US to Russia and the other members of the former Soviet Union is a major issue in the world today. The Clinton administration claimed one of its best foreign policy achievements was the way it handled the Russian situation and the disbanding of the former Soviet Union. Dr. Seyom Brown has, for the past 40 years, studied that relationship, as a foreign policy analyst, advisor and author. He is currently a Professor of International Relations and the former Chairman of the Department of Politics at Brandeis University, near Boston, MA. Our discussion about Clinton’s foreign policy resulted in this two-part program.
Originally Broadcast: August 28, 1995 & September 11, 1995
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Dennis del Castillo
Mercedes Lu
Peruvian Environmental Issues, 1998
In this edition of Radio Curious, we visit Dennis del Castillo and Mercedes Lu, two environmental activists from Peru. I met with them in Lima, Peru on February 5th, 1998. Dennis del Castillo, who holds a Ph.D. from Mississippi State University in soil science and in this interview describes contemporary environmental problems in the Peruvian Amazon Basin. In the second half of this program we visit with Mercedes Lu, a scientific technician, who described some of the problems resulting from copper mining that occurs along the coast of southern Peru. We began our conversation when I asked Dennis del Castillo to describe the potential of the Peruvian Amazon Basin.
Dennis del Castillo recommends “The Losing Ground,” by Erik P. Eckholm.
Originally Broadcast: April 3, 1998
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Abha Dawesar
Babyji, A Story of Physics, Sex and Caste Politics in India
Babyji
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
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How Will China Survive?
The Coming Collapse of China
Approximately 20% of the world’s population lives in the People’s Republic of China. According to Chinese-American lawyer Gordon G. Chang, China appears from the outside to be politically stable and economically strong. Chang, however, argues that China is in social, cultural, economic and political turmoil. He claims that China’s pending entry into the World Trade Organization will trigger social and political collapse. Gordon Chang has lived and worked in China for almost 20 years, most recently in Shanghai. He is the author of a new book entitled “The Coming Collapse of China.”
Gordon Chang recommends "The Tipping Point," by Malcolm Gladwell.
Originally Broadcast: September 11, 2001
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Life in China Under Mao
Colors of the Mountain
The Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, led by Mao Zedong, imposed a major change to the nation where one in every four people in the world live. Da Chen was born in 1962 in southern China to a once wealthy family, by that time despised for its capitalist past. At the age of 23, after graduating with top honors and serving as an assistant professor at the Beijing Language Institute, Da Chen came to America with $30 and a bamboo flute. He won a full scholarship to Columbia University Law School, and later settled in the Hudson River Valley. His book, “Colors of the Mountain,” tells the story of his childhood, his life and experiences.
Da Chen recommends "The God of Small Things," by Arundhati Roy.
Originally Broadcast: July 18, 2000
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Terrence Cheng
Two Chinese Brothers
Sons of Heaven
In June of 1989, in Tienamin Square, in the justify of Beijing, China, one of the largest student protests ever to occur in that country took place. The “Sons of Heaven,” by Terrence Cheng, is a novel about three major players in this drama, Deng Xiao Ping, the leader of China at the time, and two brothers, one a soldier in the Red Army in Teinamin Square at the time, and the other the man who stood in front of the tanks.
Terrence Cheng recommends "Ghost Written," by David Mitchell.
Originally Broadcast: August 1, 2002
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Dr. Eva Etzioni-Halevy
Israel: The 11th Century B.C. and Now
The Song of Hannah, A Biblical Novel of Love, Temptation, and the Making of A Prophet
Eva Etzioni-Halevy, a retired professor of sociology at Bar-Ilan University Tel Aviv, Israel, is the author of “The Song of Hannah, A Biblical Novel of Love, Temptation, and the Making of A Prophet,” and the guest in this edition of Radio Curious. The story takes place in Judea in the eleventh century B.C. when few people were literate. In this interview with Eva Etzioni-Halevy recorded from her home in Tel Aviv, Israel, in late September 2006, she describes her interpretation of Hannah’s life, loves and leadership, and her impressions of Israel several weeks after the summer 2006 war with Lebanon. We began when I asked her to describe who Hannah was.
www.evaetzioni-halevy.com
Dr. Eva Etzioni-Halevy recommends "Walking the Bible," by Bruce Feiler.
Originally Broadcast: September 27, 2006
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Tovah Feldshuh
Golda's Balcony, The Story of Golda Meir
Golda's Balcony
William Gibson’s new play “Golda’s Balcony” is the story of Golda Meir, her life, her love, her work and it’s a significant part of the story of Israel. This one-woman play is currently being performed by Tovah Feldshuh at the ACT Theatre in San Francisco, California until August 13. Tovah Feldshuh plays the roles of Golda Meir and those of 38 other people who influenced Golda Meir’s life and her work and she holds the record for the longest running one-woman play on Broadway. The opening performance of Golda’s Balcony in San Francisco created a palpable feeling of appreciation in the theater that evening and I highly recommend seeing it. When Tovah Feldshuh and I spoke the next day about her work and Golda Meir, we began when I asked her how the audience affects what she is able to on stage. For more information look at www.tovahfeldshuh.com and www.goldasbalcony.com.
Tovah Feldshuh recommends "Blink," by Malcolm Gladwell.
Originally Broadcast: August 2, 2005
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Charles Ferguson
Will This War Ever End?
The Endless War
“The Endless War,” a movie released in late July 2007, written, directed and produced by Charles Ferguson, depicts the blunders and ill-prepared manner in which the United States initiated and carried out the war against Iraq. This full-length feature film juxtaposes the statements and actions of the Washington leadership of the war, which at the outset failed to include President Bush, the Commander-in-Chief, with the leadership’s actions and grievous consequences that followed. Charles Ferguson holds a Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has extensive experience in foreign policy analysis and lives and works in the San Francisco Bay area. When I spoke with him on July 20, 2007 we began with his explanation how the war and the occupation of Iraq were shaped by an extremely small group of people IN Washington D.C., with limited foreign policy and post war occupation experience.
Charles Ferguson recommends "The Lives of Others," a movie about life in East German under the communist regiem.
Originally Broadcast: July 25, 2007
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Reflections on a Life
The Mirror
The personal journal is often not meant for the eyes of anyone but the writer. When a stranger’s journal is read, the reader often becomes a voyeur to the innermost secrets of another. And whether it is a true journal or one of fiction, who cares? Often, it remains a good story. Lynn Freed, originally of Durban, South Africa, wrote the fictional journal of Agnes LaGrange, entitled “The Mirror,” which reveals the thoughts, feelings, and loves of Agnes, starting when she arrived in South Africa to work as a housekeeper, and ending 50 years later.
Lynn Freed recommends “Misfit,” by Jonathan Yardly, “Essays,” by George Orwell & “Last Days in Cloud Cukooland Dispatches,” by Graham Boynton.
Originally Broadcast: December 12, 1997
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Growing up White in Africa
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
Our guest in this program lived in Rhodesia, Malawi and Zambia from 1972 to 1990. Her father joined up on the side of the white government in the Rhodesian civil war, and was often away fighting against the guerilla factions. Her mother dove into their African life and its rugged farm work. Resilient and self-sufficient she taught her children to have strong wills and opinions, and to embrace life whole-heartedly, despite and because of difficult circumstances. Alexandra Fuller is the author of “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, an African Childhood.”
Alexandra Fuller recommends "Echoing Silences," by Alexander Canigone.
Originally Broadcast: September 2, 2003
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A Walk in the Costa Rican Rain Forest
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
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A Peace Corps Volunteer in China
River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze
Imagine arriving by boat in a rural town of 150,000 people where two rivers join in central China. Imagine being one of the first two Americans to live there in 50 years, and speaking very little Chinese. That is experience of Peter Hessler, the author of “River Town.”
Peter Hessler recommends "This Boy's Life," by Tobias Wolf.
Originally Broadcast: August 1, 2002
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Swanee Hunt
Women Waging Peace
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
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Steve Jones
Origin of Species Updated
Darwin's Ghost: The Origin of Species Updated
The Origin of the Species,” written by Charles Darwin, after his trip to the Galapagos Islands off of the northwest coast of South America, approximately 150 years ago, fundamentally changed, the understandings of how our species came to be. Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics at University College in London, England, has written a sequel to Darwin’s book called “Darwin’s Ghost, the Origin of the Species Updated.
Steve Jones recommends “The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation,” by Mark Kurlansky and "The Book of Pi," author unkown.
Originally Broadcast: May 9, 2000 May 16, 2000
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M. Wayne Knight
Rural American Artist in Cambodia
Wayne Knight, an artist based in Mendocino County, California with over 40 years of experience, traveled very little before he found himself in Phnom Phen, Cambodia in 1995 and 1996. He spent just under a year there, looking, seeing, and painting scenes that previously were beyond his imagination. Wayne Knight also worked with the Cambodian Defenders’ Project in developing computer access to their legal resources in Cambodia. His experience verified his security and, in many ways, enhanced his continuing growth as an artist. Other programs you may enjoy are with Daniel Ellsberg discussing the Pentagon Papers and Vietman, and with Linda Kremer, Esq., a Marin County, California, public defender who took a leave of absence to direct the Cambodian Defenders Project. They both may be found on this website.
Wayne Knight recommends “Living My Life,” by Emma Goldman.
Originally Broadcast: April 2, 1997
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Linda Kremer
The Legal Defense of Jailed Cambodians
Attorney Linda Kremer, a Public Defender in Marin County, California, worked for thirteen months in Phnom Phen, Cambodia, in 1996 and 1997 as Director of the Cambodian Defenders’ Project. The Cambodian Defenders’ Project recruits and trains Khmer men and women to serve as Public Defenders in the criminal courts of Cambodia. Cambodian law requires that no person be detained in excess of 48 hours without being charged with a crime or be held without trial from longer than six months. In practice, these rights are rarely honored. Without legal defense, those is prison are powerless to request compliance. Other programs you may enjoy are with Daniel Ellsberg discussing the Pentagon Papers and Vietman, and with Wayne Knight, a Mendocino County artist who was also associated with the Cambodian Defenders Project. They both may be found on this website.
Linda Kremer recommends “Spontaneous Healing” & “Natural Healing,” both by Andrew While.
Originally Broadcast: March 26, 1997
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Dr. Daniel J. Levitin
Music On The Brian
This Is Your Brain On Music: The Science of a Human Obsession
The understanding of how we humans experience music and why it plays a unique role in our lives is this topic of two interviews with Dr. Daniel Levitin, author of “This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession,” recorded from his home in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in late October 2006. Professor Levitin runs the Laboratory for Musical Perception, Cognition and Expertise at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He asserts that our brains are hardwired for music and therefore we are all more musically equipped than we think and that music is an obsession at the heart of human nature, perhaps even more fundamental to our species than language. Professor Levitin believes that the music we end up liking meets our expectations of what we anticipate hearing just enough of the time that we feel rewarded, and the music that we like also violates those expectations just enough of the time that we’re intrigued. In the first interview Dr. Levitin begins by describing how the human brain learns to distinguish between music and language. The second interview begins with a discussion of what happens when people listen to music they like.
www.yourbrainonmusic.com
Dr. Daniel J. Levitin recommends "Another Day in the Frontal Lobe," by Katrina Firlik, and "The Human Stain," by Philip Roth.
Originally Broadcast: November 1, 2006 November 8, 2006
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Gregorio Luke
Mexican Culture in the United States
The governments of most countries in the world send an ambassador to other countries to talk about and promote what their country is like and carry on political affairs between the two countries. These ambassadors often have assistants that are called “cultural attaches”. They present the culture, the folklore and the history from the country where they’re from and the country where they are. In this program from the archives of Radio Curious, recorded in 1997, we visit with Gregorio Luke, who then was the counsel for cultural affairs for Mexico. He spent 8 ½ years in Washington DC, and at the time this program was recorded he had been working at the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles for eighteen months.
Gregorio Luke recommends "The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh," by Vincent Van Gogh.
Originally Broadcast: November 7, 1997
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Juan Martinez
Shamanism in the Ecuadorian Jungle
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 and/or the future. This is especially true for cultures that cherish and practice oral traditions and which thrive in parts of the world which have an abundance of flora and fauna, like those located in the Amazon basin of South America. The knowledge of the use and effects of these various plants in the Ecuadorian portion of the Amazon basin is held by persons known as 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 has studied, written and lectured about the Shamanistic practices in the Ecuadorian jungle and the medicinal and spiritual effects of the plants native to the eastern portion of the Amazon basin. I spoke with Professor Juan Martinez in his office in Cuenca, Ecuador on November 17, 2005. He began our conversation by describing relationship of the people of Ecuadorian jungle to their worlds, the spiritual world, and the world in which they live on a daily basis.
Juan Martinez recommends "Amazon Worlds," published by Sinchi Sancha.
Originally Broadcast: December 5,2005
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Stephen Most
The Klamath River
River of Renewal, Myth & History in the Klamath Basin
Since the last Ice Age ended about 12,000 years ago, human beings have traveled along the Klamath River and it tributaries in the northwest corner of California and extending into southern Oregon. Many people finding an abundance of food, have stayed. The main source of their food was salmon. The power of the myth of the salmon may derive from the fact that wild salmon spread out across the Pacific Northwest about the same time that human beings did, at the end of the last Ice Age. In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with Steve Most, author of “River of Renewal, Myth & History in the Klamath Basin,” a book that tells the story of the history of the Klamath River and the people who have continuously lived there for the past 12,000 years. Steve Most is a playwright and documentary storyteller who lives the San Francisco Bay Area. Among many other works, he wrote the texts, audio voices and videos for the permanent exhibit of the Washington State History Museum. In this interview recorded in mid-March 2007, I spoke with Steve Most from his home in Berkeley, California. We began our conversation when I asked him to give a perspective of the geological and human aspects of the Klamath River and its place in history.
Stephen Most recommends Essays and Letters of Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Originally Broadcast: March 21, 2007
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Brad Newsham
A Taxi Across America
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
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Elliott Norse
Trawling the Ocean Floor
Once, fishes as big as turkeys and sheep swam the seas. Now, most of their few remaining descendants would fit into a frying pan. Dr. Elliot A. Norse, president of the Marine Biology Conservation Institute in Redmond, Washington, believes that this radical reduction in the size and number of the world’s fishes comes not only from over fishing, the catching of fish at a faster rate than they can breed, but also from bottom trawling. Dr. Norse writes that bottom trawling crushes, buries, and exposes marine creatures like lobsters, crustaceans, clams, corals and sponges that live on or in the seabed, damaging or killing them. In August of 1999, Dr. Norse visited with Radio Curious to discuss the effects of bottom trawling, how and where it’s done, and some of the concerns and causes of global warming and the effects it has on the oceans.
Elliott Norse recommends “The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction” by David Quammen.
Originally Broadcast: November 27, 1998
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Bernard Offen
Surviving the Holocaust
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 Bernard Offen.
Originally Broadcast: May 3, 2005
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David Osborn
The Papal Conclave
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 Cardinal’s 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
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David Osborn
Papal Politics & The Election of a New Pope
The Last Pope
“The Last Pope,” by David Osborn, takes us inside the world of the Vatican and the American branch of the Catholic Church. Fictional relationships between the conservative and reform branches of the Catholic Church are revealed in a novel that combines character from both groups.
David Osborn recommends "Naked," by David Sedaris, "Blindness," by Jose Saramago, "Bel Canto," by Ann Patchett & "Remembrance of Things Past," by Marcel Proust.
Originally Broadcast: June 8, 2004
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Dr. Victoria Patterson
Native American Life, Before and After Europeans
Cultures that have no written language pass on their histories through oral traditions. The stories are the way that social values and traditions are taught by one generation to the next. Animals often play a significant character role in these stories. In the Native American traditions of the northwest part of California, the coyote is a very popular character. Dr. Victoria Patterson, an anthropologist based in Ukiah, California, has worked with native peoples for over 30 years. She knows these stories, and she sees them as windows, allowing us to imagine how original native peoples of northern California thought and lived. I met with Dr. Victoria Patterson and asked her about the significance of the story where the coyote jumped off into the sky. Our discussion lead to a two-part program, originally broadcast in February of 1999.
Dr, Victoria Patterson recommends "Deep Valley," by Bernard W. Aginsky and "Under the Tuscan Sun," by Frances Mayes.
Originally Broadcast: February 16, 1999 and February 26, 1999
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Dr. Donald Perry
A Ride Through a Rain Forest in Costa Rica
Life Above the Jungle Floor
In the middle of the Costa Rican rain forest, about an hour west of San Jose, Costa Rica, on the east side of the continental divide, you can find the Rain Forest Aerial Tram located on a private rain forest reserve. It’s a series of small, open-air cars that hold about five people each held together by a three kilometers long cable. The tramcars carry visitors through, above and below this portion of the Central American rainforest canopy. The Rain Forest Aerial Tram was the brainchild of Dr. Donald Perry, a biologist trained at the University of California at Los Angeles, who, beginning in 1970, has specialized in the study of the flora and fauna of the Central American Rainforest. In April of 1995, I visited the Rain Forest Aerial Tram with Dr. Perry.
Dr. Donald Perry recommends "Life Above the Jungle Floor," by Dr. David Perry.
Originally Broadcast: April 1, 1995
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Chaim Potok
Escaping Communism
The Gates of November
Chaim Potok, the author of “The Chosen,” “The Gift of Asher Lev,” “Divida’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.
Chaim Potok recommends "The English Patient," by Michael Ondaatje.
Originally Broadcast: January 8, 1997
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Dr. Clotaire Rapaille
Understanding Our Collective Unconscious
The Culture Code, An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around The World Live and Buy As They Do
The collective unconscious may be defined as a cultural code, a set of imprinted concepts that control how members of different societies live. Dr. Clotaire Rapaille, a French born psychologist brings together the concepts of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud in his development of the collective unconscious in the book, “The Culture Code, An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around The World Live and Buy As They Do.” Dr. Rapaille thrives on new ideas, which is part of the reason he chose to become American. We visited by phone from his home in New York State the last week of June 2006, and asked him to describe the development of his ideas.
www.archetypediscoveriesworldwide.com
Dr. Clotaire Rapaille recommends "The DiVinci Code," by Dan Brown and "Straight From The Gut," by Jack Welsh.
Originally Broadcast: June 28, 2006 and July 5, 2006
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Ken Rockwell
A View Through the Lens: Photography and the Internet
With the help of a camera, especially a digital camera, and the internet we may now see portions of what other people have seen and sent our way or perhaps have made public. Sometime soon I hope to present some visual images I think special in addition to the sound images you can hear here on the Radio Curious website. In preparation for creating those images I found my way to an intriguing photography website called www.kenrockwell.com. This website has many references about cameras, how to choose and use them, and it also tells the story of a man who freely shares his knowledge and skills about photography. After reading his website I invited Ken Rockwell to join us for a conversation about photography, cameras, websites and the use of the internet. Ken Rockwell and I visited by phone in early May, 2006, from his home near San Diego, California. For him, good photography narrows down to seeing better which he describes to be more of a feeling than an actual momentary vision.
www.kenrockwell.com
Ken Rockwell recommends "Ten-Thousand Miles of America," by Richard A. Suleski, Jr..
Originally Broadcast: May 9, 2006
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Domingo Sarmiento & Daniel Lewis
An Argentine President
Domingo Sarmiento, a teacher and later President of the Republic of Argentina, spent several years traveling in Europe and the United States in the mid-19th Century. He spent six weeks in the US in the fall of 1847 and later published his account of this visit, selectively interpreting what he saw and experienced to conform to his ideas. In this archive edition of Radio Curious, I visit with Domingo Sarmiento in the person of Professor Daniel Lewis, a scholar-presenter in the 1996 Democracy in America Chautauqua. I met with Domingo Sarmiento during a break in the Chautauqua programming in Ukiah, California, and asked him what he saw the future of the American Union to be, from his perspective in 1843.
Domingo Sarmiento recommends any book by James Fenimore Cooper. Daniel Lewis recommends "The Invention of Argentina," by Nicolas Shumway.
Originally Broadcast: July 27, 1996
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Alexis de Tocqueville
Dick Johnson
A Visit With Alexis de Tocqueville
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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Sam Totten
Genocide in Darfur
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 2, 2005
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Marta Morena Vega
One Religion People Forced to Migrate Brought to the Americas
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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Andrew Weiss
Ellis Island: Who Arrived There, Why and What Was it Like
Between 1892 and 1956 about 12 million people immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island, in the harbor of New York City. Who were these immigrants? Where did they come from? What was the experience of getting to Ellis Island and what happened to them once they arrived? In this archive edition of Radio Curious, we visited with Andrew Weiss, who I met in 1992 when he was a tour guide at Ellis Island, working for the City of New York. I spoke with Andrew Weiss in November of 1992, when he was a doctoral candidate at Columbia University and a teacher at Barnard College in New York City. I asked him to begin by telling us about the history of Ellis Island.
Originally Broadcast: November 23, 1992
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Cover-up of a Peace Corps Murder
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
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Zoya
An Afghan Woman's Struggle for Freedom
Zoya's Story, An Afghan Woman's Struggle for Freedom
Zoya, a member of the RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan, tells the story of her childhood, her parents and her parents’ disappearance. She describes the wrath that first the Russians, then the Taliban and then the Northern Alliance have brought to her country. Along with the suffering, she describes the hope and spirit carried in the hearts of the Afghan people.
Zoya recommends the collected speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr..
Originally Broadcast: June 18, 2002
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