Radio Curious

Taboos associated with menstruation limit public discussion of a primary event in the lives of more than half of the human population of the world. And even more limited is the conversation about a young woman’s menarche, or first menstrual period. Rachel Nalebuff, our guest in this edition of Radio Curious, is an eighteen year old woman passionate about breaking taboos associated with menstruation and the author of “My Little Red Book,” an anthology of stories about first periods, collected from women of all ages, around the world. She examines these very personal stories from the larger picture of gender politics and self image. In this conversation we discuss what brought a young woman (Rachel started collecting stories at 13 years old) to choose to publish such a book and how she believes we can bring periods from being taboo into the arena of acceptable discourse. Speaking with Rachel Nalebuff from her home in San Francisco, California on May 29, 2009, we began with her thoughts about why menstruation is seldom discussed.

Rachel Nalebuff, the author of “My Little Red Book,” will enter Yale University in the fall of 2009 . The book Rachel Nalebuff recommends is “A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius,” by Dave Eggers.

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Cannabis, commonly known as marijuana has caused considerable debate and political discussion, but just what is in this plant which creates such controversy? In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with Dr. William Courtney, a cannabis Medical Consultant based in Mendocino County, California.

Dr. Courtney has studied the compounds of the cannabis plant known as “cannabinoids,” their various health effects, and the United States government patents held on these compounds. Further details on the legal status and current research relating to cannabis may be found on Dr. Courtney’s website www.leavesofgrass.info

This conversation with Dr. Courtney was recorded in the studios of Radio Curious, Ukiah, California on March 23, 2009. We began when I asked him to describe the compounds in marijuana.

The book he recommends in “The Continuum Concept: In Search Of Happiness Lost” by Jean Liedloff

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To Kill or Not To Kill: That is the question still presented to juries in capital cases in the United States, one of the few countries remaining in the world to employ the death penalty. In this edition of Radio Curious, we visit with Pastor Carroll Pickett, who served as chaplain for the Texas Department of Corrections from 1982 to 1995 and counseled 95 inmates on their way to death by lethal injection. “At the Death House Door: No Man Should Die Alone,” is a independent film documentary, directed and produced by Steve James and Peter Gilbert, that presents a personal and intimate look at the death penalty in Texas through the eyes of Pastor Pickett, a Presbyterian minister. Over the years, after each of the 95 executions, Pickett would record his experiences with that person on the tape he used to practice his sermons. Although he never listened to those tapes, they became the thread and primary source for the movie. I spoke with Pastor Carroll Pickett on May 23, 2008 from his home in Texas, after hearing him speak at a special hearing on capital punishment in San Francisco, CA, while he was on a break from a national publicity tour. We began when I asked him to explain what brought him to work with condemned men and be with them in their last hours. This program was originally broadcast on June 25, 2009.

The book Carroll Pickett recommends is “Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist,” by Mike Farrell and Martin Sheen.

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Ukiah, California, a small vibrant community, approximately 100 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge is the home to the Ukiah Players Theater. An annual May fundraiser for the theater offers a tour of old and new homes on the west side of town, offered by the residents willing to share their history with community members. Kate Magruder, a founder of Ukiah Players Theater and considered by many to be the soul and life force of the UPT, successfully strives to search out and tell historical stories of the Ukiah, the ancestral home of the Pomo people who called the area Yokayo, meaning long narrow valley. In this program Kate Magruder explains the importance of place, knowing where we come from and our history, and in the benefits of telling communities’ stories. This interview was recorded May 11, 2008.

The books Kate Magruder recommends are, “Our Land Ourselves, Readings on People and Place,” and “The Great Remembering: further Thoughts on Land, Soul, and Society,” both published by The Trust for Public Land.

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Reinforcement of desired behavior is the key to animal training. As humans, we are subject to the same way of learning. Amy Sutherland, author of, “What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love and Marriage: Lessons for People from Animals and Their Trainers,” shares many ideas about how to achieve more desirable relationships with friends and loved ones. This Program was recorded on March 19, 2008.

The book Amy Sutherland recommends is, “Demonic Males: Apes and the Origin of Human Violence,” by Richard Wrangham and Dale Peterson.

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Sex, something that all creatures seek to achieve in one form or another, is often more than discreet among humans. In this discussion with science journalist, Mary Roach, author of, “Bonk, The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex,” we have a direct and frank conversation about human sexuality, including orgasms, what they are, how you know if you have one, and the difference between the male and female human sexual response. This program was recorded on April 14, 2008.

The book Mary Roach recommends is, “The Atlas of Human Sex Anatomy.”

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Of two people, William Shakespeare and Edward De Vere, whose lives overlapped, De Vere had many of the experiences  described in the literary works attributed to William Shakespeare.  This conversation with Michael A’Dair and William Ray, two gentlemen intellectuals from Willits, California explores some of the reasons they believe De Vere wrote what is generally attributed to Shakespeare.  This program was originally broadcast March 27, 2008.

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There is a lot of discussion about hope in this time of the pending election for president.  Francis Moore Lappe, author of, “Diet for a Small Planet,” discusses the need to give up certain old assumptions in her new book, “Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity and Courage in a World Gone Mad.”  One path to abandoning old assumptions comes from curiosity, which is also a guiding principal for this program.  When I visited with Francis Moore Lappe on Feburary 20, 2008, from her office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, we discussed curiosity and her reflection that she should have included “curiosity” in her title of, “Getting a Grip.”

The book she recommends is, “The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe,” by Lynne McTaggart.

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North America, as we have known for millennia, has been populated by ethnic groups looking for a new place to live. Beginning in the early 17th Century and through the present time, Jewish people from around the world have seen North America as a favored place to live and in waves of migration over time have come here to make a new life as part of the American fabric. In the winter of 2008 the Public Broadcasting System presented a major six hour television series: “The Jewish Americans: Three Centuries of Jewish Voices in America.” A companion book to this series with the same name, written by Beth Wenger, the Director of the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania, is a collection of first person stories about lives of American Jews who maintained their own culture as they became part of the American culture. Our visit with Beth Wenger in January 2008, by phone from her office at the University of Pennsylvania, began when she described the distinctions and similarities of the Jewish American experience as compared to other immigrant groups.  This program was originally broadcast January 30, 2008.

The book she recommends is, “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union,” by Michael Chabon.

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