Podcast PAGE – Humankind on Public Radio

We dive into a rich dialogue with Joel Bauman, a remarkably gifted physician, trained in care for the elderly. He describes the special needs of palliative care for hospice patients, who have shifted from seeking a cure (which may no longer be realistic) to relief of symptoms and distress, as life draws to a close.

In this episode, we hear from physician Ralph Snyderman, MD, a proponent of preventive medicine, who believes that our health care system should place greater emphasis on preventive practices (such as healthy diet and stress management), because it is more humane to avoid disease than to cope with it, and because it is a far […]

Have we entered an age of unrelenting chaos? As we grope for a “new normal”, has humanity reached a kind of turning point? In this timely audio documentary, you’ll hear inspiring stories of survivors. We also listen to health care providers, clergy and others who offer specific guidance to help people navigate these choppy waters. […]

As we grope for a “new normal”, has humanity reached a kind of turning point? It feels that way — in the wake of the Covid pandemic, intensifying impacts of climate change, the war in Ukraine, mounting threats to our democracy, repeated mass shootings and so much more. In this second part of our documentary, […]

The Prisoners Literature Project, an all-volunteer service based in Berkeley, California, packages and ships books to people who are incarcerated, as a humanitarian gesture and one that helps inmates prepare for re-entry into society.

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 […]

Christal Presley, an English teacher in Virginia who experienced “secondary trauma” in response to the extreme behavior of her father, a Vietnam-era veteran with PTSD, tells how the family began a journey of recovery.

Today over two million people partake of the storytelling, the good humor, the words of wisdom and the gallons and gallons of free coffee made available to attenders of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. AA’s basic text has been translated into more than 60 languages and has sold over 35 million English copies. We consider the history […]

Alcoholics Anonymous marks its beginning when one hopelessly addicted drunk realized that connecting with a fellow-sufferer would create a safe zone in which both could stop their downward spiral. In the second half, we examine the AA recovery principles that have promoted sobriety for millions of recovering alcoholics and have created a template to help […]

“At the end of the day,” says Jonathan Star about his English translation of Tao te Ching from the original Chinese, “it’s not about attaining anything.  The Tao keeps saying ‘it’s everywhere!’  It’s to notice another part of yourself that’s just overlooked.  You know, we see what the mind shows us, but there’s another dimension […]

Jonathan Star took twelve years to master the nuances of ancient Chinese in his quest to produce a remarkably lucid and evocative English translation of Lao Tsu’s brilliant masterpiece of wisdom. Guidance in the subtle art of attaining mental and emotional balance pervades Star’s brilliant translation of Lao Tsu’s timeless poetic volume of Taoist philosophy […]

When we nurse grudges, the person clinging to a resentment often pays a high price in anxiety, hostility, perhaps depression. What follows from that for many people, says Robin Casarjian of the Lionheart Foundation, are health-related symptoms.  “And it stops you,” she says, ‘from really being able to be fully present to yourself, and to […]

Author and prison therapist Robin Casarjian reframes the act of forgiveness not to condone hurtful behavior, but as a shift in perception that allows us not to take someone’s else’s misconduct so personally. Casarjian has spent decades teaching forgiveness. Drawing on her own experience of having been abused — and learning how to move on […]