Janet Mendel- “Fine Spanish Cooking”

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In the story of Don Quixote, the author Miguel Cervantes tells, among other things, what Don Quixote ate for dinner every day of the week. This, in part became the inspiration for a book entitled, “Cooking from the Heart of Spain: Food of La Mancha,” written by Janet Mendel, an American woman who has lived in Spain for approximately 40 years. This book and the name of the author ignited my spontaneous curiosity, so when Janet Mendel and I visited by phone from her home on the southern coast of Spain in June 2007, I asked about her focus and inspiration to write a cookbook centered around Don Quixote de La Mancha.

The book she recommends, not surprisingly, is “Don Quixote,” by Miguel Cervantes, in the English translation by Edith Grossman.

 

 

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Michael A’Dair & William Ray- “Shakespeare Was Really Edward De Vere”

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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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Charles Ferguson — “Will This War Ever End?”

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“The Endless War,” a movie released in late July 2007, written, directed and produced by Charles Ferguson, depicts the blunders and ill-prepared manner in which the United States initiated and carried out the war against Iraq. This full-length feature film juxtaposes the statements and actions of the Washington leadership of the war, which at the outset failed to include President Bush – the Commander-in-Chief, with the leadership’s actions and grievous consequences that followed.  Charles Ferguson holds a Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has extensive experience in foreign policy analysis, and lives and works in the San Francisco Bay area. When I spoke with him on July 20, 2007 we began with his explanation how the war and the occupation of Iraq were shaped by an extremely small group of people In Washington D.C., with limited foreign policy and post war occupation experience.

The film he recommends is “The Lives of Others,” a story about East Germany under the community regime.

 

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Eunice Lipton – “Seduced by France”

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Originally Broadcast: March 28, 2007

French Seduction: An American’s Encounter with France, Her Father, and the Holocaust.

In a passionate blend of autobiography and cultural history, love, sex and art collide with hatred, withering French xenophobia and death, Eunice Lipton, our guest in this edition of Radio Curious, describes her book, “French Seduction: An American’s Encounter with France, Her Father, and the Holocaust.” Lipton, who lives in Paris and New York received her Ph.D. in art history at New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts. I spoke with her from her home in New York City the last week of March 2007.  Because she describes painting as her favorite companions, we began when I asked her to tell us about her friends who she calls art.

Eunice Lipton recommends “The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion,” by Ford Madox Ford..

 

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Dr. Clotaire Rapaille- “Understanding our Collective Unconscious” Part Two

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Originally Broadcast: June 28, 2006 and July 5, 2006
The Culture Code, An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around The World Live and Buy As They Do

The collective unconscious may be defined as a cultural code, a set of imprinted concepts that control how members of different societies live. Dr. Clotaire Rapaille, a French born psychologist brings together the concepts of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud in his development of the collective unconscious in the book, “The Culture Code, An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around The World Live and Buy As They Do.” Dr. Rapaille thrives on new ideas, which is part of the reason he chose to become American. We visited by phone from his home in New York State, the last week of June 2006, and asked him to describe the development of his ideas.

Dr. Rapaille’s website is: www.archetypediscoveriesworldwide.com

The books Dr. Clotaire Rapaille recommends are, “The DiVinci Code,” by Dan Brown and “Straight From The Gut,” by Jack Welsh.

 

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Dr. Steven Miles: “A Blind Eye to Torture”

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This interview with Dr. Steven H. Miles was recorded in mid July 2006.

The silence of doctors, nurses and medics in cases of torture and physical abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious.
Our guest is Dr. Steven Miles, the author of “Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity and the War On Terror,” a book based, in part, on eyewitness accounts of actual victims of prison abuse and more than thirty-five thousand pages of documents, autopsy reports and medical records. His work explores the information provided by physicians and psychologists to determine how much and what kind of mistreatment could be delivered to prisoners during interrogation. Dr. Miles is a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School and its Center for Bioethics. He is a recognized expert in medical ethics, human rights and international health care.

This interview with Dr. Steven Miles was recorded in mid-July 2006 from his office in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We begin when I asked him about his motivation to write a book about the treatment of people who are disarmed and imprisoned.

The book Dr. Steven Miles recommend is “Bury The Chains: Profits and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire’s Slaves,” by Adam Hochchild.

This interview with Dr. Steven H. Miles was recorded in mid July 2006.

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Martinez, Juan- “Shamanism in the Ecuadorian Jungle”

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Originally Broadcast: December 5, 2005.

Concepts of “reality” have many levels, some of which are gained by fasting, and/or the use of certain plants that allow a person to view the past, present or  and future.  This is especially true for cultures which cherish and practice the oral tradition and thrive among an abundance of flora and fauna, like those located in the Amazon basin of South America.  In Ecuador the knowledge of the effects of the various plants in the Amazon basin is held by Shamans.

Dr. Juan Martinez, our guest in this edition of Radio Curious, is a Professor of History and Anthropology at the University of Cuenca, in Cuenca, Ecuador.  He’s studied, written and lectured about Shamanic practices in the Ecuadorian jungle and the medicinal and spiritual effects of the plants native to the eastern portion of the Amazon basin.

Professor Juan Martinez and I visited in his office in Cuenca, Ecuador on November 17, 2005.  He began by describing the relationship of the people of Ecuadorian jungle to their worlds, the spiritual world, and the world in which they live on a daily basis.

The book Juan Martinez recommends is “Amazon Worlds,” a collected work published by Sinchi Sancha, an indigenous foundation based in Ecuador.

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John Arquilla– “Networks and Netwars”

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The war that the United States has invoked in what is often called the “War On Terror” is unusual in many ways. One of those ways is that this war is being fought against a network that is spread out in many unsuspecting and obscure places. It is not being fought as many wars have been in the past, directly against another county. Dr. John Arquilla, is a professor of defense analysis and co-director of the justify on Terrorism at the Naval Post-Graduate School in Monterey, California. In this program we talk with Professor Arquilla about the fighting tactics employed by networks as opposed to countries, the threats they pose, and some of the war tactics used against these networks.

John Arquilla recommends “Kim,” by Rudyard Kipling.

Originally Broadcast: June 21, 2005

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Rodolfo Gomez – “A Walk in the Costa Rican Rain Forest”

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On the eastern slope of the Continental Divide, about an hour’s drive east of San Jose, Costa Rica, is the Rain Forest Aerial Tram, a tramway that travels through, above and below the rain forest canopy. The rain forest canopy is home to more diverse forms of flora and fauna than anywhere else in the known universe. Rodolfo Gomez, trained as an architect, has found his calling as a tour guide in Central America and specifically Costa Rica. My daughter Molly and I met with Rodolfo in the rain forest, near the aerial tram and recorded this program in April of 1995.

Originally Broadcast: June 20, 1995

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Dr. David Ray Griffin– “Was this a Cause of the 9/11 Attacks?” Part 1 & 2

The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11

The forces behind the disasters of September 11, 2001 are said to be unclear and undefined, notwithstanding the Official Report of the 9/11 Commission. David Ray Griffin, a Professor Emeritus from the Claremont School of Theology, and the author of “The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11,” casts doubt on the official version, as well as the role of the Bush Administration. In a two-part interview, we discussed these issues.
Dr. David Ray Griffin recommends “Cover Up,” by Paul Lance & “The Terror Timeline, Year by Year, Day by Day, Minute by Minute: A Comprehensive Chronicle of the Road to 9/11 and America’s Response,” by Paul Thompson.

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