Radio Curious

The End of the Twins, a Memoir of Losing a Brother Ever wondered what it would be like to have an identical twin—how alike would you be to that person? How much of an individual would you be? Saul Diskin and his identical twin brother Marty grew up together in New York City where Saul and Marty were inseparable. As adults, they began to live separate lives, Saul in Phoenix and Marty near Boston. In 1991, Marty, who had suffered from leukemia for 20 years, needed a bone marrow transplant, which he received from Saul. In his extraordinarily intimate book, “The End of the Twins, a Memoir of Losing a Brother,” Saul Diskin chronicles the rich relationship beginning with their early childhood and ending well past Marty’s death in 1997, shortly before their 63rd birthday. Saul Diskin recommends “Entwined Lives,” by Nancy Segal and “Cosmology and Creation: The Spiritual Significance of Contemporary Cosmology” by Paul Brockelman. Originally Broadcast: September 22, 2001 Click here to listen or on the media player below. Click here to download and subscribe to our podcast.

New Jack: Guarding Sing-Sing Have you ever wondered what it is like to work inside a prison? Well, Ted Conover, a non-fiction writer did, so he went to the New York Department of Corrections to ask if he could shadow a recruit at the New York State Corrections Academy. His request was quickly turned down. So, he decided to apply for a job as a prison officer, was accepted and attended the New York State Corrections Academy. As a result of his training, and working at Sing Sing prison in New York, he wrote “Newjack: Guarding at Sing Sing,” a book describing his experiences. This two-part program with Ted Conover was recorded in late June and early July 2001. Ted Conover recommends “Crime and Punishment,” by by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and “Seek: Reports from the Edges of America & Beyond,” by Dennis Johnson. Originally Broadcast: June 26, 2001 and July 3, 2001 Click here to begin listening to part one. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive2/07.01.07/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-20060713-Conover__1_June_22_2001.mp3) Click here to begin listening to part two. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive2/07.01.07/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-20060713-Conover__2_July_3__2001.mp3)

Seeds of Racism in the Soul of America Racism, as a part of the American religious culture, can be traced to the religious concepts of some of the earliest European settlers in North America. Professor Paul R. Griffin explores these roots in his book, “Seeds of Racism in the Soul of America,” linking the concepts in the Puritan belief system to long lasting racist effects. He argues that racism is itself a religion in the United States and is closely related to America Christianity. He claims that efforts to erase racism have failed because they have concentrated on its visible manifestations rather than its ideological character. Paul R. Griffin recommends "The Rage of the Privileged Class," by Ellis Cose. Originally Broadcast: March 1, 2001 Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive2/07.01.07/curious@pacific.net/1197-1-20051030-GRIFFIN__PAUL__EDITED_for_3-6-01.mp3)

The Dress Lodger In England, in the 1830s, at the time of a major cholera epidemic, a young girl, the orphaned daughter of a prostitute, finds that working in a pottery factory does not earn her enough money for herself and her child. She must work at night like her mother, as a prostitute. Having virtually no money, she rents her dress, and is followed while she walks the streets so that she will not run off with her outfit. She is called a dress lodger. Shari Holman, a native of rural Virginia, and later a resident of Brooklyn, New York, has researched the lives of girls who were dress lodgers in England in the 1830s. She is the author of a book of historical fiction about Gustine, a 15-year-old dress lodger who lived and worked in Sunderland, England in 1831, entitled “The Dress Lodger.” Shari Holman recommends "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down," by Anne Fadiman. Originally Broadcast: February 6, 2001 Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive/09.01.05/curious@pacific.net/1197-1-20050829-HOLMAN__SHARI__1-31-01.mp3)

Martha Peake Imagine leaving home and travelling by yourself to a new land where you don’t know the customs or the politics, on a trip that will take weeks to complete in what would now be considered a very small ship, on turbulent waters. Imagine making this voyage, never to return to your homeland, when you are 15 years old, and pregnant. Soon after you arrive a war begins that changes the face of the country and set a new type of government in motion. Imagine researching this story and then writing it. That is the work of Patrick McGrath, the author of “Martha Peake,” a book about a plucky young woman who came to American in 1774. I spoke with Patrick McGrath by phone in 2001 to talk about “Martha Peake,” how he researched and prepared to write it, and what British students are taught about the American Revolution. Patrick McGrath recommends “The First American,” by H.W. Brown. Originally Broadcast: January 16, 2001 Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive2/07.01.07/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-20060719-McGrath__Patrick_10-26-00.mp3)

The Altar of My Soul Religious beliefs normally follow people as they migrate, including people who are forced to migrate. The people forced to migrate to the western Hemisphere during the slave-trading period carried their beliefs and belief systems to the diaspora of their new world. The Santeria religion, also know as Lucumí, is a belief system that originated in Africa later brought to the Americas and is still practiced in widely separated communities of the western hemisphere. Marta Moreno Vega, a Santeria Priestess, and university professor in New York City is the author of “The Alter of My Soul.” Her book is a story of the Santeria or Lucumí religion, its traditions, how they were brought from Africa and are practiced now. I spoke with Marta Moreno Vega by phone in November of 2000, and we began when I asked her to tell us about the Santeria religion and how it differs from other religions. Marta Morena Vega recommends “Face of The Gods: Art and Altars of Africa and the African Americans,” by Robert F. Thompson. Originally Broadcast: November 7, 2000 Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-20070422-VEGA__Marta_Moreno_11-7-00.mp3)

Understanding Disease, How Your Heart, Lungs, Blood, and Blood Vessels Function and Respond to Treatment In this two-part series with Dr. Glenn Langer, former Professor of Medicine, specializing in Cardiology, at UCLA we discuss the Partnership Scholars Program and heart disease. In the first interview Dr. Langer describes the Partnership Scholars Program and how attention and exposure to new ideas can create a whole new world for children, whose life experiences might otherwise be forever limited. In the second program, we discuss folklore, literature, psychology as they relate to cardiology and the heart. Dr. Langer is the author of “Understanding Disease, How Your Heart, Lungs, Blood, and Blood Vessels Function and Respond to Treatment,” a book attempting to demystify medicine. Both parts of this program were originally broadcast in October of 2000. Glenn Langer recommends “Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea,” by Gary Kinder and “Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography,” by Marion Meade. Originally Broadcast: October 24, 2000 and October 31, 2000 Click here to begin listening to part one. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive2/07.01.07/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-20060802-Langer__1_10-24-00.mp3) Click here to begin listening to part two. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive2/07.01.07/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-20060802-Langer__2_10-31-00.mp3)

Colors of the Mountain The Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, led by Mao Zedong, imposed a major change to the nation where one in every four people in the world live. Da Chen was born in 1962 in southern China to a once wealthy family, by that time despised for its capitalist past. At the age of 23, after graduating with top honors and serving as an assistant professor at the Beijing Language Institute, Da Chen came to America with $30 and a bamboo flute. He won a full scholarship to Columbia University Law School, and later settled in the Hudson River Valley. His book, “Colors of the Mountain,” tells the story of his childhood, his life and experiences. Da Chen recommends "The God of Small Things," by Arundhati Roy. Originally Broadcast: July 18, 2000 Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive/04.01.05/curious@pacific.net/1197-1-20050207-Da_Chen_July_18__2000.mp3)

Darwin's Ghost: The Origin of Species Updated The Origin of the Species,” written by Charles Darwin, after his trip to the Galapagos Islands off of the northwest coast of South America, approximately 150 years ago, fundamentally changed, the understandings of how our species came to be. Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics at University College in London, England, has written a sequel to Darwin’s book called “Darwin’s Ghost, the Origin of the Species Updated. Steve Jones recommends “The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation,” by Mark Kurlansky and "The Book of Pi," author unkown. Originally Broadcast: May 9, 2000 May 16, 2000 Click here to begin listening to Part One. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-20070713-Jones__Steve__part_1_May_9__2000.mp3) Click here to begin listening to Part Two. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-20070713-Jones__Steve_May_16__2000_Part_2.mp3)

Full Circles, Overlapping Lives (Culture and Generation in Transition) Do we really know the people around us? Our children? Our family? Our friends? Or are we strangers in our own community? Mary Catherine Bateson, the author of a book entitled, “Full Circles: Overlapping Lives, Culture and Generation in Transition,” believes that we are strangers. She describes us as immigrants in time, rather than space.In this interview from the archives of Radio Curious, recorded in April 2000, we visit with Mary Catherine Bateson, the daughter of two distinguished anthropologists, Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson. The book Mary Catherine Bateson recommends is “Ithaka: A Daughter's Memoir of Being Found,“ by Sarah Saffian. Originally Broadcast: April 17, 2000 Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive2/07.01.07/curious@pacific.net/1197-1-20051204-Bateson_Catherine_4-17-00_and_6-25-02.mp3)

Metaphysical Touch When someone dies, we have that person’s papers and things to look at and use to understand and create memories about the life that has left us. Sometimes, however, the person stays and the papers and tokens are lost, as in a fire. Then we have only memories without material objects to help enhance them. This juxtaposition is one of the themes in a novel entitled the “Metaphysical Touch,” by Syvia Brownrigg, an American author with roots in Mendocino County, a long experience in London, and currently living near San Francisco. Sylvia Brownrigg recommends "Out of Sheer Rage," by Jeff Dyer. Originally Broadcast: January 12, 2000 Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive/09.01.05/curious@pacific.net/1197-1-20050717-Brownrigg__Sylvia_1-12-00.mp3)

To Begin Again, the Journey Toward Comfort Strength and Faith in Difficult Times What is prayer, how is it done, and what good does it do? The ability to mourn and grieve is one of the many things that distinguish humans from other animals, as is the ability to pray, or consciously not pray. When life is good, people often pray less than when times are tough and tough times occasionally visit all of us, with or without prayer. Rabbi Naomi Levy is the author of “To Begin Again, the Journey Toward Comfort Strength and Faith in Difficult Times.” Rabbi Naomi Levy recommends "The God of Smal Things," by Arandati Roy. Originally Broadcast: December 7, 1999 Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-LEVY_NAOMI_INTERVIEW_2012_CA.mp3) to listen or on the media player below.

Dutch, A Memoir of Ronald Reagan A President of the United States is frequently a biographer’s subject who usually acts with second-hand information and without explicit authority from the President, himself. In 1985, Edmund Morris, who was born in Kenya and educated in South Africa, was authorized and appointed by Ronald Reagan to be the official biographer for the 40th President of the United States. Morris, who characterizes Reagan as a man difficult to truly know, had unprecedented access to President Reagan both in and out of the White House. He met regularly with Reagan and reviewed Reagan’s daily handwritten White House journal as well as Reagan’s earlier writings. Morris’ 1999 book, entitled “Dutch, A Memoir of Ronald Reagan,” is narrated by a fictional character, quite uncommon in most biographical interpretations, and tells the story of President Reagan. Edmund Morris recommends "Guard of Honor" by James Gould Cozzens. Originally Broadcast: November 30, 1999 Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive2/07.01.07/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-20060223-11-30-99_Edmund_Morris_author_of___Dutch__.mp3)

Time, Love, Memory: A Great Biologist and His Quest for the Origins of Behavior How much of our personalities are truly within our control? What is currently known about how the genes we inherit affect our behavior? The science that studies these questions is now called molecular biology. Looking at life from the genes up, molecular biology has given us insight into the hard links between genes and behavior. Seymour Benzer, a pioneer scientist who studied the genetics of fruit flies, is the hero of a book called “Time, Love, Memory: A Great Biologist and His Quest for the Origins of Behavior," by Jonathan Weiner. Weiner, who won the Pulitzer prize in 1995 for his work on the finches of the Galapagos Islands, provides a current analysis of Benzer’s genetic studies and raises questions about molecular biology the 21st century. Jonathan Weiner recommends “The Missing Moment,” by Robert Pollack. Originally Broadcast: May 26, 1999 Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive2/07.01.07/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-20060713-_275_Weiner__Jonathan__5-26-99.mp3)

Bio-Hazard: The Chilling Story of the Largest Covert Biological Weapons Program in the World -- Told From Inside by the Man Who Ran it Biological warfare is the use of weapons that cause death by disease. The largest and most sophisticated biological weapons program in the world, which cultivated and stockpiled anthrax virus, brucellosis, the plague and genetically altered strains of small pox, employed more than 6000 people at over 100 facilities in the former Soviet Union. For 15 years, ending in 1992, Dr. Ken Alibek, a doctor of medicine and a Ph.D. in microbiology, was the scientific leader of Bio-Preparat, the civilian branch of that secret biological weapons program, masquerading as a pharmaceutical company. In 1992, Dr. Alibek defected to the United States. Several years later, he wrote “Bio-Hazard,” a book detailing the development of biological weapons, the horrors of his former life and why he chose to defect. This is a two-part program with Dr. Ken Alibek, recorded in 1999. Dr. Ken Alibek recommends "Prevent," by Richard Preston & "Vector," by Robin Cook. Originally Broadcast: May 11, 1999 & May 18, 1999 Click here to listen to Part 1 or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=54380&version_id=60810&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcast.