Radio Curious

Click here to begin listening to Part 1.
Click here to begin listening to Part 2. 

Understanding Disease, How Your Heart, Lungs, Blood, and Blood Vessels Function and Respond to Treatment

In this two-part series with Dr. Glenn Langer, former Professor of Medicine, specializing in Cardiology, at UCLA we discuss the Partnership Scholars Program and heart disease. In the first interview Dr. Langer describes the Partnership Scholars Program and how attention and exposure to new ideas can create a whole new world for children, whose life experiences might otherwise be forever limited. In the second program, we discuss folklore, literature, psychology as they relate to cardiology and the heart. Dr. Langer is the author of “Understanding Disease, How Your Heart, Lungs, Blood, and Blood Vessels Function and Respond to Treatment,” a book attempting to demystify medicine. Both parts of this program were originally broadcast in October of 2000.

Glenn Langer recommends “Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea,” by Gary Kinder and “Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography,” by Marion Meade.

Originally Broadcast: October 24, 2000 and October 31, 2000

Podcast: Download

• » Comments (0)

Click here to begin listening

The Wisdom of the Body

From developmental perspectives, both in individuals and in mankind as a whole, the brain, language, and civilization have separated our species from the rest of the animal kingdom. In May of 1997, I discussed these issues with Sherwin Nuland, a professor of Medical History at Yale University Medical School and author of many books, including Wisdom of the Body.

Sherwin Nuland recommends “The Meaning of Yiddish,” by Benjamin Harshav.

Originally Broadcast: May 21, 1997

Podcast: Download

• » Comments (0)

Click here to begin listening

The Autobiography of a Face

Lucy Grealy, a victim of Ewing’s Sarcoma, beginning when was nine years old suffered from a cancer of the jaw that is 90% fatal in the first few years. In Lucy’s case, it was not fatal. Rather it brought about many intense and emotional experiences that most of us could not imagine. She had a large part of her lower jaw removed when she was about nine and half and for two and a half years had weekly chemotherapy treatments. Throughout her teenage years, she had multiple surgeries to reshape her jaw. Her book, “Autobiography of a Face,” reveals her experiences, her mistaken conflation of beauty and love, and what she learned about emotions, both her own and other people’s.

Lucy Grealy recommends “100 Years of Solitude,” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Originally Broadcast: December 5, 1994

Podcast: Download

• » Comments (0)

Click here to begin listening

This program is presented in honor of my mother, Lillian Brown Vogel, whose vivacious 39,549 days finally caught up with her on December 29, 2017. She died at her home here in Ukiah, California at the age of 108. Smiling until she closed her eyes for the last time, she cherished her well lived life. I dedicate this program to everyone who seeks to lead a long, active and happy life.

My mother played the piano almost daily for 104 years. She voted in every election since 1930, the year she began medical school. She earned a Master’s Degree in 1933 and Ph.D. in 1961, both in psychology. She worked as a clinical psychologist, retiring in 2005, at the age of 96. In response to many queries about the secret of her long life, she published her memoir, “What’s My Secret?  One Hundred Years of Memories and Reflections,” on her 100th birthday in 2009.

My mother was driven by her curiosity and joy of life. She was able to get to the heart of most any matter with a few simple questions.  And then always wanted to know more.

This interview, originally recorded on October 31, 2009, was poetically updated, as you’ll hear, on September 9, 2014.
Now this edition of Radio Curious begins when I asked Dr. Lillian Brown Vogel, my mother and my initial mentor on how to be curious: ‘Mother dear, what makes you curious?’

The book Lillian B. Vogel recommended in 2009, is “The Blue Tattoo: The Life Of Olive Oatman,” by Margot Mifflin.

Podcast: Download

• » Comments (0)

Click here to begin listening

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.

Originally broadcast October 18th, 2008.

Podcast: Download

• » Comments (0)

Click here to begin listening

The ways different creatures, especially us humans, use our senses to guide ourselves through life has long attracted my curiosity. I’ve often wondered how blind people seem able to orient themselves, and also wondered about their dreams.

From time to time, over the years, I would see an attentive woman walk past my office window next to a young person of student age. They would walk together talk, and the young person almost always carried a white cane with a red tip. Laura Fogg is this woman, the author of “Traveling Blind: Life Lessons from Unlikely Teachers,” and our guest in this archive edition of Radio Curious.

Laura Fogg worked as a Mobility and Orientation Instructor for the Blind in Mendocino County for over 35 years beginning 1971. She pioneered the use of the red tipped white cane with very young blind students some of whom had multiple impairments. She traveled long distances over the rather spectacular back roads of Mendocino County to work with each student his or her home.

When she visited the studios of Radio Curious on December 1, 2008, I asked her about the lessons that she learned that have changed her life.

The book Laura Fogg recommends is “My Year of Meats,” by Ruth Ozeki. Published in 1999.

Podcast: Download

• » Comments (0)

Click here to begin listening

Gene expression: Psychosocial and cultural genomics–a healing process that connects the mind-body to emotional and physical healing is our topic. Our guest is Dr. Ernest Rossi, a practicing psychologist, hypnotherapist and an expert in dreams. Dr. Rossi describes how we humans can activate a specific gene within us to advance our abilities, or recover from an injury.

He suffered a major stroke in the early 2000s that impaired his speech and movement. Dr. Rossi managed his own recovery using psychosocial and cultural genomics. He and I visited at the 11th Milton Erickson Psychotherapy Congress in Phoenix, Arizona in December 2011. I turned on the recorder and asked Dr. Rossi to explain how gene expression works.

Dr. Ernest Rossi recommends your choice of the 36 books he has authored or edited. His website is www.ernestrossi.com.

Podcast: Download

• » Comments (0)

Click here to begin listening

In our continuing series on dementia we present two interviews with Dr. Betty J. Lacy, clinical psychiatrist, based in Ukiah, California, whose focus is the prevention, care and treatment of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. This chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and worsens over time, is the cause of 60% to 70% of cases of dementia.

In part one, Dr. Lacy tells the story of Alois Alheimers, a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist, who’s credited with identifying the first published case of “presenile dementia”, which would later be identified as Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Lacy shares the emotional impact of the personal experiences of her parents, both of whom suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. She and her two siblings each carry the gene called APOE4, which increases a person’s susceptibility to this disease. She explains the benefits of being tested and identifies specific ways to retard and possibly prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s.

In this program, part two, Dr. Lacy shares her personal experiences of caring for her parents with Alzheimer’s. She suggests ways to deal with the changing personality that comes with this disease and how to deal with the stress it brings to family members.

The book Dr. Betty Lacy recommends is “He Wanted the Moon: The Madness and Medical Genius of Dr. Perry Baird, and His Daughter’s Quest to Know Him,” by Mimi Baird and Eve Claxton.

Podcast: Download

• » Comments (0)

Click here to begin listening

In our continuing series on dementia we visit with Dr. Betty J. Lacy, clinical psychiatrist, based in Ukiah, California, whose focus is the prevention, care and treatment of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. This chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and worsens over time is the cause of 60% to 70% of cases of dementia.

Dr. Lacy tells the story about Alois Alheimers, a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist. He’s credited with identifying the first published case of “presenile dementia”, which would later be identified as Alzheimer’s disease.

In this the first of two visits with Dr. Lacy, she shares the emotional impact of the personal experiences of her parents, both of whom suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. She and her two siblings each carry the gene called APOE4, which increases a person’s susceptibility to this disease. She also explains the benefits of being tested and identifies specific ways to retard and possibly prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s.

When Betty Lacy visited Radio Curious on July 7, 2017, we began with her description of her parents’ conditions and their states of mind.

In part two, Dr. Lacy discusses how to deal with this disease, and provides suggestions for family and friends of a person who suffers from Alzheimer’s.

The book Betty Lacy recommends is “He Wanted the Moon:  The Madness and Medical Genius of Dr. Perry Baird, and His Daughter’s Quest to Know Him,” by Mimi Baird and Eve Claxton.

Podcast: Download

• » Comments (0)