Humankind on Public Radio

This episode examines the level of stress experienced by many secondary school students in America. We probe the causes and effects. And we look at positive coping skills kids can learn and ideas on how to restructure. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humankind specials are  heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Boston.

Learning how to focus on different life horizons—from daily responsibilities to broader personal goals—is covered in this enlightening dialogue about “Making It All Work,” the book by best-selling author David Allen. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humankind specials are  heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Boston.

When prisoners are freed — as more than 9 in 10 eventually are, they often are harshly stigmatized. Nationwide, nearly half of those paroled end up back in jail. The pattern of recidivism inflicts enduring harm on the safety and wholeness of society and on these individuals. Our audio documentary examines ways to interrupt this destructive cycle. We focus on the truly visionary work of Robin Casar...

More than a million Americans are locked in jails and prisons. Helping them recover from earlier trauma can safeguard society. Hear the stories of ex-prisoners who’ve begun to heal, through the inspired work of Robin Casarjian. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humankind specials are  heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with...

In this segment, we examine the importance of early literacy, starting with the simple act of reading aloud to a very young child. Librarians, pediatricians and others weigh in on how these bonding experiences demonstrate for children that reading can be a source of pleasure (just ask a toddler who requests to be read the same story over and over). But it also enhances crucial brain development in...

To the astonishment of publishers, Jalaluddin Rumi has become the best-selling poet in America. Rumi’s sensational popularity is notable not only because of its content—an intoxicated, rapturous love letter to the divine. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humankind specials are  heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Bo...

The dialogues among women with opposing views on abortion gave new insight into how to handle difference, without dehumanizing those we disagree with. Hear how the participants struggled to find understanding, to abandon needlessly inflammatory language and to establish meaningful friendships, however unlikely. Although no one expected determined advocates to abandon their belief systems, their he...

In the wake of shocking violence at abortion clinics, two apparent enemies — women representing pro-choice and pro-life factions in the Boston area, where shootings had occurred — were forced to communicate, for the sake of everyone’s safety. What unfolded over many months was one of the most mysterious and moving conversations among people of sharply differing ideologies. A remarkable encounter w...

In today’s pay-to-play political environment, and with almost no rules, is the pardon ripe for abuse? In effect, it’s a “get out of jail free” card, as in the Monopoly board game.  Donald Trump says, “It’s the most powerful thing a president has.”  We hear legal experts, an investigative reporter, as well as archival audio from some of these dramatic events in part two of our documentary. To see a...

The Constitution allows the president to grant pardons – originally intended as a way to show mercy. But is the pardon ripe for abuse? Hear the history, from the pardoning of Nixon, to the Bidens, to the Jan. 6 rioters. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humankind specials are  heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Boston.

Hear Bill Siemering, the visionary who helped to found NPR and wrote its initial mission statement, articulate the important role public broadcasting plays in our democracy. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humankind specials are  heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Boston.

The stories of people in recovery from alcoholism, who had to work through denial and sometimes harsh consequences on the road to sobriety, which can present its own ongoing emotional challenges. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humankind specials are  heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Boston.

Daniel Goleman is a former New York Times science reporter specializing in how brain function affects the way we feel and perceive life, particularly how people develop different levels of empathy. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humankind specials are  heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Boston.

The 2023 film ‘ Oppenheimer’ reminds us of our unfinished business in the nuclear age. Hear Ira Helfand, an emergency room physician, describe the main barrier to addressing this problem: our denial that nuclear arms could cause the gravest emergency of all. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humankind specials are  heard on NPR and PRX...

We travel to a Detroit program for pediatric cancer patients founded by a rabbi whose daughter died of cancer. He teaches martial arts to young patients, helping them find inner strength. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humankind specials are  heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Boston.

What is the role of a patient’s attitude in facing a serious illness? Are the benefits that many people derive from faith also available to cancer patients who feel uncomfortable with religion? What are the connections between a person’s beliefs and their ability to attain physical healing? To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humankind sp...

A community service organization in Cambridge, Massachusetts rescues food that would be routinely discarded by grocers, produce companies and others and delivers it to those in need including pantries and elderly meal sites. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humankind specials are  heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Bosto...

Have our courts – intended by America’s founders to be an independent arbiter of justice – turned into another political battlefield? Are today’s judges mere “politicians in robes”? This public radio documentary series looks at crucial flashpoints in recent decades. Will rulings follow the predictable blocs of liberal and conservative justices, strongly associated with the party of the president w...

Have our courts – intended by America’s founders to be an independent arbiter of justice – turned into another political battlefield? Are today’s judges mere “politicians in robes”? This public radio documentary series looks at crucial flashpoints in recent decades. Because federal judges are nominated by the president and confirmed the U.S. Senate, inevitably the process is somewhat politicized....

We explore the significant benefits of home-cooked meals, including improved family dynamics, greater likelihood of healthy ingredients, lower costs, reduced carbon footprint and taking time together to appreciate the food we receive. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humankind specials are  heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with...

We consider the dramatic increase in income inequality—now at levels that preceded the Great Depression—and how this wealth gap relates to a host of conditions, from personal illness to incarceration. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humankind specials are  heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Boston.

We examine current trends in charitable giving by individuals and foundations with Stacy Palmer, long-time editor of The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and one of America’s most knowledgeable journalists about the nation’s $316 billion charitable sector. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humankind specials are  heard on NPR and PRX member-s...

We hear the story of Mary Gillespie, a woman born with normal hearing and vision, but who developed several illnesses starting at age ten. Gradually, she became deaf-blind. Now living in Los Angeles, Mary is a regular volunteer at the Braille Institute, where we recorded this remarkable episode of Humankind. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humank...

Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Empire of Illusion”, maintains that our popular culture cannot distinguish between reality and fantasy, dangerously relying on spectacle, false idols, and snake oil salesmen. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit  humanmedia.org  . Humankind specials are  heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with...

Nearly 5 million direct care workers assist America’s older adults. They perform their duties in private homes, residential care settings and nursing facilities. Often paid low wages, many rely on some form of public assistance to make ends meet. A surprising number are homeless. Yet the labor can be arduous, helping sometimes disabled people with dressing, toilet care, mobility challenges, transf...