Radio Curious

Frogs play an important role in the world's ecology and are their occasional demise is sometimes noted as an impending ecological disaster. In 1961, a newly elected member of the California State Assembly, Jerome R. Waldie, introduced a bill that read in full:  “Frogs may be taken using slingshot.” Little did he know that this bill would plague him throughout his political career, in the California Legislature, United States Congress, and as a candidate for Governor of California. Our guest is Nestle J. Frobish, the Chair-Creature of the World Wide Fair Play for Frogs Committee, an organization founded in Berkeley, California soon after Waldie introduced what became to be known as the “Frog Murder Bill.” “Fair Play for Frogs, The Waldie – Frobish Papers,” the collected correspondence between Nestle J. Frobish and Congressman Jerome R. Waldie was published as political spoof in 1977.  Around that time some misguided people, including Congressman Waldie accused me of being Nestle J. Frobish.  Let me make it clear, here and now:  I Barry Vogel am not now, nor ever have been Nestle J. Frobish. However I did speak the with Chair-Creature Frobish by phone as he lurked near a pond at Frog Central in northern Vermont on May 21, 2007, so this rather preposterous story could be told from at least his perspective. My interview with Jerome R. Waldie, humbly presents his perspective and may be found on this web-site.  The interview with Frobish was originally broadcast May 21, 2007. The book Nestle J. Frobish recommends is "State of Denial," by Bob Woodward. Click here to begin listening or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=23520&version_id=27510&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcast.

Radio Curious hosts a conversation with Susan Crane, founder of plowshares who will be discussing her lifetime commitment to ending nuclear proliferation through non-violent direct action.  She’s awaiting sentencing,scheduled for March 2011, for pouring her blood on trident submarine machine bombs in the state of Washington.  A grandmother, in her 60s Susan Crane faces up to 10 years in federal prison for her actions.  In this edition of Radio Curious, Susan Crane discusses practicing a code of non-violence in every day life as well as using non-violent civil disobedience as a means to creating peace in the world. The interview with Susan Crane was recorded in the studios of Radio Curious in Ukiah, California, on January 29th, 2011. The articles Susan Crane recommends instead of a book, are by Judge C.J. Weeramantry and  be read on the links below: http://www.jonahhouse.org/Disarm_Now_Plowshares/judge-weeramantry-trident.pdf (http://www.jonahhouse.org/Disarm_Now_Plowshares/judge-weeramantry-trident.pdf) http://disarmnowplowshares.wordpress.com (http://disarmnowplowshares.wordpress.com/) Click here to begin listening or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=49051&version_id=55105&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcast.

New born babies have a wide range of behaviors used to communicate with the adults around them – the language of yawning, the varied and rich range of crying, sense of touch, their feeding and sleeping, listening to your voice and recognizing your face. Kevin Nugent, Ph.D., author of “Your Baby Is Speaking to You:  A Visual guide to the Amazing Behaviors of Your Newborn and Growing Baby,” is the director of the Brazelton Institute at Children’s Hospital, in Boston, Massachusetts, where he has studied newborn infants and early parent-child relations for thirty plus years.  This book reveals how infants are able to communicate with the adults around them. We visited by phone with Dr. Nugent from his home near Boston, on January 14, 2011 and began with his description of the research that resulted in his book “Your Baby is Speaking to You.” The books Dr. Kevin Nugent recommends are, "Touchpoints-Birth to Three," by T. Berry Brazelton. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=48888&version_id=54923&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcast.

In 1988, rather than comply with an ecclesiastical summons issued by then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, to move to Chicago and give up his work on Creation Spirituality in Oakland California, Matthew Fox, a Dominican Priest, left the Dominican Order, remained in Oakland, and established the University of Creation Spirituality.   Matthew Fox is the author of 28 books and most recently published “The Hidden Spirituality of Men:  Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine,” and is our guest on this edition of Radio Curious. Matthew Fox first visited Radio Curious in 1999 when his book “Sins of the Spirit, Blessing of the Flesh: Lesson for Transforming Evil, in Soul and Society,” was published.  So, when we came across “The Hidden Spirituality Men,” the latent curiosity of Radio Curious about spirituality was awakened. Fox and I spoke by visited again, by phone from his home in Oakland, California on January 11, 2011.  Our conversation, which explores male and female spirituality, began with Matthew Fox distinguishing spirituality, faith, religion and dogma. The book Matthew Fox recommends is “Walt Whitman: Shamanism, Spiritual Democracy and the World Soul,” By Steven B. Herrmann. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=48727&version_id=54752&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcast.

In my opinion, when my friend Ed Reinhart comes here to Ukiah, it is well worth the effort to track him down and listen to him play someone else’s piano and sing along. And that is what happened the last few days of 2010. The sign said Ed would be playing at the Himalaya Café at the south end of town on New Year’s Eve beginning at 6:30 pm. Now it may seem a bit early to start a New Year’s Eve Party, but Ed is always ready to do things his way, and under the guise of liking to get to bed early, he played and sang Old Lange Syne when it was New Year’s in New York, or in the Ukiah vernacular, 9 p.m. Now Ed, who masquerades as Earl Dixon, a semi-unknown sort as he likes to say, and/or Rico Suave, a moniker he adopted while living in Ecuador, can play boogie-woogie piano better than most anyone. And that to me makes Earl and Rico all the more confusing as to who they may or may not be. Ed, etc. have been guests on three previous editions Radio Curious, and those visits are available at www.radiocurious.org. Why so much Ed on Radio Curious? I like him and his music and enjoy our visits. We hope you do too. So Happy New Year to each of you and welcome to the first Radio Curious program recorded in our 21st year on the air. This interview with Ed Reinhart was recorded in the studios of Radio Curious, in Ukiah, California on January 7, 2011. The book Ed Reinhart recommends is “World Without End,” by Ken Follett. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/download/48534/54534/69250/?url=http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-ED_REINHART_INTERVIEW_1-7-11_CA.mp3) to begin listening or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=48534&version_id=54534&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcast

In this edition, we visit with Denis Dutton, author of ‘The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure and Human Evolution.”  A quote from this book, at page 46, provides a good idea of who we are and what the book is about.  “As much as fighting wild animals or finding suitable environments our ancient ancestors faced social forces and family conflicts that became a part of evolved life.   Both of these force fields acting in concert, eventually produced the intensely social, robust, love making, murderous, convivial, organizing, technology using, show off, squabbling, game playing, friendly, status seeking, upright walking, lying, omnivorous, knowledge seeking, arguing, clubbing, language using, conspicuously wasteful, versatile species of primate that we became.  And along the way in developing all this, the arts were born.” Denis Dutton was a professor of ‘Philosophy of Art’ at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. We visited by phone from his home in Christchurch, New Zealand on July 17th, 2009 and began our conversation by asking him to further explain the birth of the arts. The books Denis Dutton recommends are “Before The Dawn: Recovering The Lost History Of Our Ancestors,” by Nicholas Wade and “The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution,” by Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending. You can listen to a radio curious interview with Gregory Cochran by visiting the 2009 Radio Curious archives on our website www.radiocurious.org. Denis Dutton died on December 28, 2010. Click here to begin listening or on the media player below. Click here to download and subscribe to our podcast (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=34585&version_id=39654&version=1)

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.” Click (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/download/48307/54283/69028/?url=http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-EYSTER_DAVID_12-27-2010_CA.mp3)here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/download/48307/54283/69028/?url=http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-EYSTER_DAVID_12-27-2010_CA.mp3) to begin listening to the interview. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=48307&version_id=54283&version=1) to download podcast.

Buzzy Martin began teaching music to at risk kids in Juvenile Hall.  He then taught guitar in San Quentin Prison for three and a half years, where he gained a unique "insiders" perspective about prison life, prisoners, and the guards.  His book, "Don't Shoot!  I'm the Guitar Man," chronicles his experiences teaching prison inmates, including rapists, child molesters and murderers how to play the guitar.  Martin shares his experiences with incarcerated youth, to teach them that prison is not a “badge of honor,” and he reveals how music can be a universal language to open the hearts of people who may think they don't have one. Buzzy Martin's memoir will be made into a movie.  His website is http://buzzymartin.com/ The interview with Buzzy Martin was recorded on October 11th, 2010.  The book he recommends is, “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, A Toltec Wisdom Book,” by don Miguel Ruiz. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=48079&version_id=54035&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcasts.

Carnism is the invisible belief system, or ideology, that conditions people to eat certain animals. It is the opposite of vegetarianism or veganism; “carn” means “flesh” or “of the flesh” and “ism” denotes a belief system. Most people view eating animals as a given, rather than a choice; in meat-eating cultures around the world people typically don’t think about why they find the meat of some animals disgusting and the meat of other animals appetizing, or why they eat any animals at all.  This is the topic of a conversation with Melanie Joy, Ph.D., author of , "Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows, an Introduction to Carnism." The interview with Melanie Joy, Ph.D. was recorded in Ukiah, California on November 29, 2010.  Joy's website is www.carnism.com (http://www.carnism.com) (http://www.carnism.com) The book she recommends is, "Food Revolution: How your diet can save your life and our world," by John Robbins. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=47883&version_id=53825&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcasts.

As part of our ongoing series of community radio around the world, Radio Curious speaks with Maca Munoz, an organizer with Palabra Radio.  Radio Curious host and producer Barry Vogel and Maca Munoz both attended the 10th international congress of Community Radio Broadcasters in La Plata, Argentina, along with approximately 500 other community radio delegates from 86 countries who gathered to discuss community radio around the world. Palabra Radio is an organization that facilitates low power radio station projects in the America’s, from immigrant communities in the United States to rural indigenous communities in Latin America.  Palabra Radio provides training, technical support and other assistance to communities, collectives and social organizations that want to operate a low-power community radio station.  Their website is www.palabraradio.org The interview with Maca Munoz was recorded on November 12, 2010 in La Plata, Argentina.  The book Maca Munoz recommends is, "Open Veins of Latin America," by Eduardo Galeano. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-MUNOZ_MACA_11-29-10_CA.mp3) to listen to this weeks program, or on the player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=47761&version_id=53691&version=1) to listen to and subscribe to our podcasts.

Radio Curious host and producer Barry Vogel and associate producer Janet Mendell attended the 10th international congress of the World Association of Community Broadcasters, known as AMARC.  AMARC is a network of more than 4,000 community radio stations, in more than 100 countries. Founded in 1983, its goal is to democratize the media sector. AMARC advocates for the right to communicate at the international, national, local and neighborhood levels. It defends and promotes the interests of the community radio movement through global solidarity, networking and cooperation. The 10th AMARC congress was held near Buenos Aires, Argentina the second week of November 2010, with 500 delegates from 86 countries present. In addition to presenting a workshop on interviewing skills, Radio Curious interviewed conference delegates from several different countries. In this edition of Radio Curious, the first in a series about local community radio around the world, we visit with Fadi Abuzada, a community radio activist in Palestine and AHM Bazlur Rahman, the CEO of the Bangladesh NGO's Network for Radio and Communication. The interviews were recorded in November 2010, in La Plata, Argentina. Fadi Abuzada recommends the movie, The Little Town of Bethlehem. AHM Bazlur Rahman recommends visiting his organizations website, www.bnnrc.net, instead of reading a book. Click here to listen to the interview with Fadi Abuzada and AHM Bazlur Rahman, or click on the player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=47710&version_id=53640&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcasts.

Join us for part two of an interview with Dr. Mira Dakin-Sadgopal, an obstetrician and gynecologist living and working in rural India and an organizer of the Jeeva Project, which in part, studies an indigenous midwifery practice that uses the placenta to revive newborn babies who are unable to breathe.  In this two part series we discuss  current and traditional midwifery practices in India’s rural countryside. For part one and more information on Dr. Mira Dakin-Sadgopal, visit our first interview here . This second interview with Dr. Mira Dakin-Sadgopal was recorded in the studios of Radio Curious on September 6th, 2010. The book Dr. Dakin-Sadgopal recommends is, "Anila's Journey," by Mary Finn. Click here to listen to part two of the interview with Dr. Mira Dakin-Sadgopal, or click on the player below. Click here to download and subscribe to our podcasts.

Dr. Mira Dakin-Sadgopal is an obstetrician and gynecologist living and working in rural India and an organizer of the Jeeva Project, which in part, studies an indigenous midwifery practice that uses the placenta to revive newborn babies who are unable to breathe.  In a two part series we discuss  current and traditional midwifery practices in India’s rural countryside. Dr. Dakin-Sadgopal is the Managing Trustee of Tathapi, a small center for ‘Women and Health’ Resource Development in India, where she has lived for over 3 decades.  In the 1980s Dr. Dakin-Sadgopal provided medical relief to victims of the Union Carbide gas leak in Bhopal.  She later collaborated with women members of a landless laborer’s union to run “Zaroori Dawai ki Suvidha” – “essential medicines facility,” a local village medical co-operative.  She is the author of “In Our Hands,” and the editor of two books, “Her Healing Heritage,” and “Na Shariram Nadhi," – "My Body is Mine." In 2007 Dr. Dakin-Sadgopal was the recipient of the Chingari Award for Women Against Corporate Crimes, which is given annually to a woman activist who has taken up the cause of a community fighting corporate criminal activity in India.   Dr. Dakin-Sadgopal grew up in California and is now citizen of India. This, the first of two interviews with Dr. Mira Dakin-Sadgopal was recorded in the studios of Radio Curious on September 6th, 2010. The book Dr. Dakin-Sadgopal recommends is, "Anila's Journey," by Mary Finn. Click here to listen to part one of the interview with Dr. Mira Dakin-Sadgopal, or click on the player below. Click here to listen to part two of the interview with Dr. Mira Dakin Sadgopal. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=46178&version_id=52003&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcasts.

This week Radio Curious is joined by 3rd District candidates for Supervisor in Mendocino County, incumbent John Pinches and challenger Holly Madrigal. Host and attorney Barry Vogel asks them both the same questions, independently of one another so you can compare their answers.  The interviews were recorded October 8th, 2010, at the studios of Radio Curious in Ukiah, California. The book John Pinches recommends is, "Genocide and Vendetta," by Lynwood Carranco and Estle Beard. The book Holly Madrigal recommends is, "Last Call," by Daniel Okrent. Click here to listen, or on the link below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=46076&version_id=51896&version=1) to subscribe to and download the podcast with John Pinches and Holly Madrigal.

This week Radio Curious is joined by 5th District candidates for Supervisor in Mendocino County, Dan Hamburg and Wendy Roberts. Host and attorney Barry Vogel asks them both the same questions, independently of one another so you can compare their answers. The book Wendy Roberts recommends is, "Touching Wings, Touching Wild," by Ronnie James. The book Dan Hamburg recommends is, "The Shock Doctrine," by Naomi Klein. The interviews were recorded in the last week of September at the studios of Radio Curious in Ukiah, Ca. Click here to listen or on the link below. Click here to subscribe to and download the podcast with Dan Hamburg & Wendy Roberts.