Radio Curious

Modern life has become a constant stream of electronic devices demanding our attention. What are the consequences when we choose e-mail, Blackberries or Facebook over real person to person contact? Winifred Gallagher, our guest on this edition of Radio Curious suggests that we take charge of our own priorities, controlling electronic devices and not letting them control us. Winifred Gallagher is the author of “RAPT: Attention And The Focused Life,” a book which explores how we allow the limited and valuable resource that is our attention to be electronically squandered and thus not used to our needs or benefit.

I spoke with Winifred Gallagher by phone from her home in New York City on November 30th 2009 and began by asking her about how our focus shapes our lives.

The book Winifred Gallagher recommends is “Delete: The Virtue Of Forgetting In The Digital Age,” by Viktor Mayer-Schonberger.

Click here to begin listening

Click here to download the podcast of this program

Do we need supplements to our diet? Does a normal balanced diet of food supply us with the nutrition we need? Our guest in this edition of Radio Curious argues that the supplement industry is confusing and misinformed, encouraging consumers to buy supplements we don’t need. Brian R. Clement is the author of “Supplements Exposed: The Truth They Don’t Want You To Know About Vitamins, Minerals, And Their Effects On Your Health.” His book examines the dietary supplement industry, what so called natural supplements from his perspective really contain and how they can affect our health for better and worse. I spoke with Brian Clement by phone while he was on an excursion in Mexico on November 9th 2009 and began by asking him about the drive to promote the supplement industry.

The book recommended by Brian Clement was “The New Gold Standard,” by Joseph Michelli.

Click here to begin listening

Click here to download the podcast

Why is it that Thanksgiving is celebrated almost exclusively in the United States and Canada. How has it been celebrated and how is it celebrated now? Professor Hugo Freund teaches Social and Behavioral Sciences at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky and visits with us about the roots of Thanksgiving beginning in the 1600s, in what is now the north-eastern United States, through to it’s role as a gathering of friends and family without sectarian religious direction. The program was recorded in 2002 at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association in New Orleans, Louisiana in the lobby of a rather noisy hotel. It was first broadcast in 2009 after most of the hotel’s background rumble could be electronically hushed. We began our conversation by discussing how the contemporary concept of Thanksgiving is acknowledged.

The book Hugo Freund recommends is “The Popes Against The Jews: The Vatican’s Role In The Rise Of Modern Anti-Semitism,” by David I. Kertzer.

Click here to begin listening

Click here to download the podcast

Consider spending time on death row and turning that experience into the drive to get a doctorate? In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with Professor Rudolph Alexander Jr. Ph.D., author of “To Ascend Into The Shining World Again”. As a 17 year old student Rudolph Alexander found himself in a threatening situation in which he felt compelled to shoot another man. In his trial he felt he was badly misrepresented by his attorney and was convicted and sentenced to death by the electric chair in the State of Georgia. Following a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1968, Rudolph’s sentence was changed to life imprisonment. He was later granted trusty status, which aided him in securing parole in 1975. Rebounding from his ordeal, Alexander began college, earning four degrees, including a Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Minnesota. Presently Alexander is a full Professor at Ohio State University.

We spoke with Rudolph Alexander from his home in Ohio on October 26, 2009 and began by asking him to reflect on the extremes he has experienced in his life.

The book recommended by Rudolph Alexander is “My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir,” by Justice Clarence Thomas, of the United States Supreme Court.

Click here to begin listening

Click here to download the podcast

How can you reach 100 years leading a healthy and fulfilling life? Lillian Brown Vogel, Ph.D., reached 100 in September 2009 and  published her book “What’s My Secret,” a memoir looking across her life and imparting thoughts and ideas to those of us who would wish to lead a long and active life.

Lillian is the mother of Radio Curious host and producer Barry Vogel.  He remembers from his childhood hearing her get to the heart of most any matter with a few simple questions.  A skill which helped put him onto his own curious path in life. This conversation recorded on October 31,  2009, begins by inquiring what makes Lillian curious.

The book recommended by Lillian Brown Vogel, Ph.D., is “The Blue Tattoo: The Life Of Olive Oatman.”

Click here to begin listening

Click here to download the podcast

Podcast: Download

In the 35 years that I have been practicing law in Mendocino County, California, I have been involved in several election issues and closely followed many different political events.  In my opinion, Measure A, which is on our county wide ballot this fall is the most significant issue that that has been put to the voters in my years here.   In this edition of Radio Curious, we visit with my long time friend Ron Arkin and discuss what I see could be the consequences to Mendocino County if Measure A receives the majority of the votes in the current election.

The book that I recommend is “Jacobson’s Organ and the Remarkable Nature of Smell,” by Lyall Watson.

Click here to begin listening.

Click here to download the podcast

The executive director of Mendocino County Tomorrow, Robin Collier, known locally for her skills in making excellent cheese cake, is the guest on this edition of Radio Curious. We visited on October 5, 2009 and discussed the organization and background of Mendocino County Tomorrow, as well as the corporation which funds it Developers Diversified Realty, its campaign in favor of Measure A and who would pay for the consequences of anything that’s built on the old Masonite property. I began by asking her to explain her role as Executive Director of Mendocino County Tomorrow.

The book recommended by Robin Collier is “Water For Elephants,” by Sara Gruen.

Click here to begin listening

Click here to download the podcast

What to do with approximately 78 acres just north of Ukiah, commonly known as the old Masonite property, will be on the ballot this fall, at the initiative of a German controlled shopping center developer, based in Ohio, known as Developer’s Diversified Realty. Referred to by its place on the ballot, it is called Measure A, and if it passes will change the zoning on the 78 acres from industrial to mixed-use. The major shopping mall proposed by the current owners of the land would have significant effects on the surrounding area for years to come if it is ever built. In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with Frank McMichael, the executive director of the “Mendocino County Local Agency Formation Commission” to discuss a report the commission requested he prepare about the effects of this project. The program is the first in a series of several programs about this project.I met with Frank McMichael in the studios of Radio Curious on September 25, 2009 and quickly got into the details of his report.

The books recommended by Frank McMichael are those that deal with nutrition and health related issues.

Click here to begin listening

Click here to download the podcast

Susan Crane is a serious political activist of an unusual form. Instead of lobby the powers that be, she has taken a hammer to beat on weapons of mass destruction, and poured her own blood on those weapons. She says she is called to take these actions as a protest to war and the harm it causes to our fellow human beings. An occasional visitor of Ukiah, California, where she has friends and family, Susan Crane visits Radio Curious when she is here to give us an update on her life, thoughts and recent experiences. I met with Susan Crane in the studios of Radio Curious, on Labor Day, September 7, 2009, ten and one-half years since we last visited here. She then had just been released from federal prison, and picked up her story at that point.

The book recommended by Susan Crane is “Enemy Combatant: My Imprisonment At Guantanamo, Begram and Kandahar ,” by Moazzam Begg

Click here to begin listening

Click here to download the podcast