Humankind on Public Radio

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 […]

We hear excerpts from Escape Fire a powerful new documentary that recently aired on CNN, along with comments by its young director, Matthew Heineman, about the over-scheduled work day of doctors and how too many pharmaceuticals don’t make us better.

A conversation with Bill Moomaw, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, and his wife Margot Moomaw, a consultant on energy use by homeowners, about the gorgeous all-solar house they built in an effort to live a climate-friendly life.

Although the consequences of climate change may turn out to be sweeping and dire, experts say there is still time to counteract the worst effects — provided positive steps are taken promptly. Thus pessimism in the face of daunting predictions is self-defeating, because it may sap people of the enthusiasm needed to undertake doable changes.

In this poignant profile taped prior to his death due to complications from a rare form of muscular dystrophy, child poet and peacemaker Mattie Stepanek showed wisdom beyond his years.

On one of our most popular programs ever, Robert Muller, Assistant Secretary General of the UN, radiates faith and positive thinking as the only antidote to bleakness in our world. Hear how unflagging optimism helped him elude the Nazis.

We examine the power of fasting—a spiritual discipline practiced in many world religions to foster gratitude for the food we’re given and to encourage an understanding of people who suffer from hunger.

Can the rule of law help to limit the worst tragedies of war? What are the consequences when a country violates these protections?  A primary mission of international humanitarian law, like the Geneva Conventions, is to safeguard innocent men, women and children who fall victim to the crossfire of violent conflict. Or who are deliberately […]

Can the rule of law protect innocent men, women and children? Learn about the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which has opened an investigation into Russia’s ruthless invasion of Ukraine. And hear the history of earlier tribunals.

We hear excerpts of radio in some developing countries, where local broadcasting gives people a voice — and a taste of democracy — that can help to heal long-standing conflicts.

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.

A conversation with the long-time director of the UN Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, who also directs the Yale Climate and Energy Institute.

We focus on the sad fact of modern warfare: civilian populations — innocent men, women and children — are the prime victims. This results in some cases from intentional strategy, or because technological weaponry is used. (We’re seeing this graphically on display in the battle over Ukraine.) In this segment we hear the great historian […]

A look at the “voluntary simplicity” movement whose proponents seek to cultivate a lifestyle emphasizing frugal consumption, ecological awareness and personal growth.

The brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine renews questions we explored in this earlier series. Whether it is a World Trade Center worker consumed in a fireball, a Balkan family shot point-blank in a spree of “ethnic cleansing,” or the civilians being savagely assaulted in Ukraine, war today is largely the slaughter of innocents. And, of […]