When we purchase and consume what we believe is necessary for our lives, do we obtain what we need or do we end up with what the forces of 21st century capitalism tell us what we need? In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with Benjamin Barber, author of “Consumed, How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole.”The concepts of dumbing down the consumer and the development of brand devotion in the early years of a person’s life are explored in this book. I spoke with Benjamin Barber from his home in New York City in early April, 2007 and began our conversation by asking him to explain how consumers are targeted in a way that there will never be enough shoppers, and how consumers are as he states, infantilized.
Benjamin Barber is a Senior Research Scholar at The Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society of The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, the President and Founder of the Interdependence Movement, and Walt Whitman Professor of Political Science Emeritus, Rutgers University.
The book he recommends is “The March” E.L. Doctorow. This interview was recorded on April 9, 2007, and was originally broadcast April 11, 2007.
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Is the concept of “mother blame” a method to control women? Is motherhood really a fearsome job? Will a mother’s mistake or inattention damage a child? Radio Curious discusses these questions and more with Janna Malamud Smith, clinical psychotherapist and author of “A Potent Spell: Mother Love and the Power of Fear.”
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Radio Curious brings you an archived interview with the late, veterinarian, Frank Grasse, who under the pen name Charlie Freed wrote “Vet Tails: Small Stories, From A Small Town, Small Animal Veterinarian.” In his book, Grasse, or perhaps Freed described the daily emotional roller-coaster of working 35 years in animal medicine and shares with us what he learned about the bond between us and our animals.
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The power of any criminal prosecutor and especially a local district attorney, is immense. The given job of the DA is to serve justice, and the on-going question is what process to employ in order to achieve justice. Not all prosecutors have experience as a defense attorney and as a prosecutor. In Mendocino County, California, David Eyster, an attorney with experience on both sides of criminal cases, was elected to the office of District Attorney and will assume the position of chief law enforcement officer of the county on January 3, 2011. When he visited the studios of Radio Curious on December 27, 2010, we had a conversation about the role of a criminal defense attorney and how that will affect his new role as prosecutor; his attitude toward “overcharging” criminal violations, what he calls “leveraging the defendant;” the use of the grand jury in criminal cases; and his plans to prosecute unfair business practices. We began when I asked him about the role of the criminal defense attorney.
The book David Eyster recommends in the “Autobiography of Mark Twain.”
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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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The sound of the cello may, if you listen, be heard in the heart invoking a kaleidoscope of emotions on a “magic carpet ride” of sound. Joel Cohen, cellist extraordinaire has performed with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, and currently lives in Mendocino County. When Joel Cohen visited the Radio Curious studios on April 26, 2010 he described his friend the cello, bowed it to life, and it sung and spoke to us. Our conversation began with Joel Cohen describing his relationship with the cello. This interview was recorded in the studios of Radio Curious on April 26, 2010.
The book Joel Cohen recommends is “Skinny Legs And All” by Tom Robbins.
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Sharing interpretations of the human condition and the love of music with lyrical power and determination is the artistry of Joanne Rand, our guest on this edition of Radio Curious. Currently based in Arcata, California, after growing up in the Georgia, and studying art, her passion as a singer – songwriter gripped and has shaped her life since.
I met Joanne Rand at a house concert in here in Ukiah soon after she released her tenth CD album “Snake Oil and Hummingbirds.” We visited in the Radio Curious studios on March 29, 2010 and began our conversation with recollections of her early memories and how they helped shape the woman she is now.
The book Joann Rand recommends is “Universe: A Journey To The Edge of The Cosmos,” by Nicholas Cheetham.
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Howard Zinn’s productive insights into history came to an end with his death in January 2010. This edition of Radio Curious shares a previously not broadcast interview with Howard Zinn, recorded on July 7, 2006, where he discusses the important role of civil disobedience in creating new social and legal policies which he states are impossible to foment using established legislative or judicial practices. Radio Curious host, Barry Vogel, Esq. begins this memorial program with the last few paragraphs of the first chapter of “A People’s History of the United States, 1492 to Present,” written by Zinn and published in 1988. Vogel also shares his recollection of Zinn when they met in Greenwood, Mississippi in 1963. The song “Ain’t Gonna Let Segregation Turn Us Around,” sung by the Freedom Singers is found on Broadside Records #301, recorded in 1962.
The books Howard Zinn recommends are “Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal,” by Anthony Arnov, and “Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change From Hawaii to Iraq,” by Stephen Kinzer.
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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.
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.