This I Believe

NPR listener and social work professor Frederic Reamer finds his belief in justice tested every time he faces criminals and victims at parole board hearings in his home state of Rhode Island.

Margaret Mead says she can’t separate what she believes as a person from what she believes as an anthropologist. And she believes humans beings, as part of a greater biological whole, have a responsibility to everyone else on the planet. From Edward R. Murrow's original This I Believe series. For more This I Believe programs, please visit thisibelieve.org.

From 1952, Oscar-winning actress Helen Hayes explains that in spite of her theatrical success, it took the death of her daughter to teach her the interdependence of humanity and the need for more compassion. For more This I Believe programs, please visit thisibelieve.org.

Helen Keller learned to communicate through the eyes and ears of others after a fever left her deaf and blind as an infant. The author, activist and lecturer discusses her vision of faith and how it gives her hope for the future of mankind. For more This I Believe programs, please visit thisibelieve.org.

For Women's History Month, we listen to an essay from Edward R. Murrow's original This I Believe radio series. Even in the face of possible nuclear war, Nobel Prize-winning writer Pearl S. Buck finds her faith in humanity to be stronger than ever, and believes that cooperation can solve the world’s problems. For more This I Believe programs, please visit thisibelieve.org.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Ralph Bunche had a "poor and hard life," having lost both of his parents as a young child. But he was raised by his grandmother, a woman of principle, who taught Bunche the simple lessons that became the foundation of his beliefs. From Edward R. Murrow's 1950s This I Believe radio series. For more This I Believe programs, please visit thisibelieve.org

Long-time NAACP Executive Secretary and civil rights activist Walter White was inspired by his parents as well as Jesus and Gandhi to believe in upholding moral principals and committing to human equality. From Edward R. Murrow's 1950s radio series "This I Believe." For more 1950s This I Believe programs, please visit thisibelieve.org.

In college, playwright Louise V. Gray had a passionate romance with another young writer. Then just before their wedding, the relationship faltered and they went their separate ways. Now years later, Gray is still grateful for that time with her lover.

Ginny Taylor has come to believe that during tough times, love has the opportunity to become stronger, when one partner learns to lean on the other. More This I Believe programs at thisibelieve.org.

Jane Martin believes in love, but not the wild and impetuous, Romeo-and-Juliet kind of love. She learned through her father that "old love" can be just as sweet. More This I Believe episodes at thisibelieve.org.

As a college student, Sarah Culp Searles found her life in turmoil one day. Upon returning home, her family cat taught her a life lesson she still holds dear: that real love is steadfast and unconditional. More This I Believe programs can be found at thisibelieve.org.

When a friend was diagnosed with lung cancer, Patricia James didn't quite know what to do or say at first. But then she realized exactly what she needed to do: just show up. More This I Believe programs available at thisibelieve.org.

When Traci Higgins was seven years old and living in a housing project, her mother taught her the importance of giving to charity. Now as an adult, she believes in charitable giving because it gives her hope for the future.

Some think love comes from the mind or the heart, but St. Louis teacher and poet John Samuel Tieman believes love is in the hands—such as the hands of a cherished spouse, or a talented craftsman. Tieman says we can find the sacred in human touch. More programs at thisibelieve.org.

Singer and Salt Lake City arts administrator Laura Durham learned a lesson about grace from her third grade teacher that has inspired her ever since. Now an adult, Durham believes we all deserve a little grace, especially amidst the unfairness of life. More This I Believe programs at thisibelieve.org.