Chevigny, Katy – Election Day, Fairness In The Voting Booth

In 2004, filmmaker Katy Chevigny followed eleven Americans from dawn until past midnight and put a face on the voting rights issues to reveal the disparity between wealthy and poor neighborhoods, and the disenfranchisement of former felons. This became the documentary film, “Election Day.”

Katy Chevigny founded Arts Engine, a film making group with the goal to explore social issues in 1998. “Election Day” is now the centerpiece of  “Art Engine’s Ten Year Anniversary Collection,” a series of ten feature-length documentary and short films. Take a look at their website, www.artsengine.net for more information.

With fairness in the voting booth during the 2008 election in mind, I spoke by phone with Katy Chevigny on October 23, 2008. Our conversation began when I asked her to discuss how she became involved in making social films and the drama they carry.

The movie she recommends is, “Thrown Down Your Heart,” created by Sasha Paladino

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Posner, Rabbi Phil

In this edition of Radio Curious, we cross the line, if there is one, between politics and religion and visit with Rabbi Phil Posner to consider, among other things, ethics and moral courage. Rabbi Posner is the author of a fictional encounter, “Food For Thought, Character and Soul,” where he gathers well known historical figures including, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter and Bill and Hillary Clinton to discuss empathy, justice and moral courage. Our conversation, recorded on October 20, 2008, began when I asked Rabbi Posner about his intention in creating this unusual book.

The books that Rabbi Posner recommends are, “Van Loon’s Lives,” by Hendrik Willem Van Loon, “Melungeons: The Last Lost Tribe In America,” by Elizabeth C. Hirschman and “An Interrupted Life: The Diaries of Etty Hillesum 1941-43,” by Etty Hillseum.

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Mendel, Janet — Fine Spanish Cooking

In the story of Don Quixote, the author Miguel Cervantes tells, among other things, what Don Quixote ate for dinner every day of the week. This, in part became the inspiration for a book entitled, “Cooking from the Heart of Spain: Food of La Mancha,” written by Janet Mendel, an American woman who has lived in Spain for approximately 40 years. This book and the name of the author ignited my spontaneous curiosity, so when Janet Mendel and I visited by phone from her home on the southern coast of Spain in June 2007, I asked about her focus and inspiration to write a cookbook centered around Don Quixote de La Mancha.


The book she recommends, not surprisingly, is “Don Quixote,” by Miguel Cervantes, in the English translation by Edith Grossman.

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Patrick, William — Loneliness and How It Affects Us


How many of us are lonely? What is loneliness and how does it affect us? Approximately 25 years ago, when asked the number of friends in whom we could confide, most people in the United States said “three.” When that question was asked recently most people said “none.” Inquires reveal that twenty per-cent of people, — 60 million in the Untied States alone — are feeling lonely at any given moment. And, it appears that chronic loneliness may well compete with smoking, obesity and lack of exercise as a significant health risk.

In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with William Patrick, the founding editor of The Journal of Life Sciences and co-author of “Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection,” along with University of Chicago psychology professor John Cacioppo.  My conversation with William Patrick, recorded on October 13, 2008, began when I asked him to define loneliness as used in their book.


The book William Patrick recommends is “The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q and Christian Origins,” by Burton Mack.

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