Radio Curious

When the polar ice caps melt, sea level will rise.  That’s happened earlier in the history of the world, and it appears it will happen again.

In this edition of Radio Curious, we bring you a two part series on global warming and sea level rise, with Peter D. Ward, a paleontologist and professor of biology and earth and space sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is the author of “The Flooded Earth:  Our Future in a World Without Ice Caps,” in which he describes expected condition in 2050, 2300 and 2500.

This series with Professor Peter D. Ward, was recorded on August 2, 2010, from his office in Seattle, Washington.  In part 1, Ward begins with a description of what will happen when the level of the sea rises. In part 2, we begin with a discussion of why, in the face of rather clear evidence, there continues to be a denial of global warming.

The books Peter Ward recommends are, “An Inconvenient Truth,”  by Al Gore and  “Weather Makers,” and any other book by Tim Flannery.

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In this edition of Radio Curious we visit again with Spencer Wells and discuss his new book, “Pandora’s Seed: The Unforeseen Cost of Civilization,” published n 2010.  Our interview is a follow-up to a 2004 conversation about his book, “The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey,” in which Wells traces our routes as small bands of hunter-gatherers when our ancestors walked out of Africa approximately 60,000 years ago and began populating the world.  Our 2004 interview may be found here.

“Pandora’s Seed” tells the story of what we humans, with our hunter-gatherer biological construct have created in the past 10,000 years. These multiple live style changes have produced what we call “civilization,” with systems and mechanisms that will not allow us to continue the life-styles to are emulated by many people world-wide, and exploited by those who have access to them. In other words we can’t last much longer doing what we are doing without radically reducing the way we all live, if not outright killing our species.

Spencer Well is an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C., where he leads the Genographic Project, which is collecting and analyzing hundreds of thousands of DNA samples from people around the wold in order to decipher how our ancestors populated the world.   He is also a professor a Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. In this interview with Spencer Wells, recorded on July 19, 2010, we began by describing the changes necessary for our species survival.

The book Spencer Wells recommends is “The Histories,” by Herodotus, the 5th century B.C. Greek historian.

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Insects and the world we humans share with them is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious.  Our guest is anthropologist Hugh Raffles, the author of “Insectopedia,” an exploration of some of the most beautiful creatures in the world, or depending on one’s personal and cultural perspective, some of the most scary. I spoke with Hugh Raffles by phone from his home in New York City, on March 22, 2010, and began by asking him, “What is an insect.”

The books Hugh Raffles recommends are both by Roberto Bolano: “The Savage Detectives,” and “2666.”

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In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with Helen Menasian, director of the Redwood Valley Outdoor Education Project, located north of Ukiah, California. Ukiah is a small town in a long narrow valley that has been occupied by the Pomo People for about 11,000 years. About 150 years ago when Europeans and other foreign settlers arrived  the wilderness of the Ukiah valley was interrupted by pavement, waterworks and mechanical noise.

The book “The Last Child In The Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder,” by Richard Louv describes some of the central ethos behind outdoor education for children. The book reminds us that parents have the power to ensure that their son or daughter will not be “the last child in the woods,” and discusses the importance of the nature-child reunion. During this conversation we hear how the Redwood Valley Outdoor Education Project seeks to regain that connection. We began by asking Helen Menasian to explain just what the project does. This interview was recorded in the studios of Radio Curious, Ukiah, California on February 8th 2010.

The book Helen Menasian recommends is “The Last Child In The Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder,” by Richard Louv.

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Our animal friends and companions often fill important roles in our lives as we do in theirs. And when a beloved pet falls sick it is a veterinarian to whom we look to help make the lives of our pets, and ourselves, more healthy and happy.

Frank Grasse practiced veterinary medicine in Willits, California, and under the pen name, Charlie Freed, authored “Vet Tails: Small Stories, From A Small Town, Small Animal Veterinarian.” Freed described the daily emotional roller coaster of his 35 years of large and small animal medicine and shared what he  learned about the bond between us and our animals.

Hannah Bird, Assistant Producer at Radio Curious visited with ‘Charlie Freed’ on January 18th, 2010 and began by asking him to describe the special relationship between people and their animal pets.

Dr. Frank Grasse passed away in 2011.

The book that ‘Charlie Freed’ recommends is “Marnie,” by Winston Graham.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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