Humankind on Public Radio
Weekly podcast from public radio’s award-winning program Humankind
Episodes
October 2, 2025 • 31 mins
70 million Baby Boomers are now entering their retirement years. For the first time in history, there will be more older adults than children. On this special project from Humankind public radio, you’ll hear stories of transition and dignity — and meet people who are showing the way. To see additional resources and out other […]
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September 25, 2025 • 29 mins
A look at the problem of gun violence as a public health crisis, impacting not just emergency rooms but also long-term needs for healing from exposure to trauma. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Boston.
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September 18, 2025 • 29 mins
When a gifted artist and media producer near Los Angeles is stricken with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), a community of friends comes together to support him as he develops ingenious ways to continue creating his art work, even without the use of his limbs. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind […]
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September 11, 2025 • 29 mins
The story of a bright inner city high school student from Boston, who has launched a series of citywide clothing drives inspired by the needs of fellow students who are homeless or displaced. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with […]
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September 4, 2025 • 29 mins
The power of a patient’s self-reflection as a tool for coping with illness is explored by a nurse scientist who has studied meditation as a health technique, and by a cancer survivor who teaches other patients about the value of therapeutic writing in expressing their inward feelings. To see additional resources and our other programs, […]
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August 28, 2025 • 29 mins
We consider the plight of tens of millions of Americans in families and relationships with alcoholics. How does the destabilizing influence of active addiction affect family systems? What emotional and life challenges are faced by people raised around alcoholism? To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR […]
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August 21, 2025 • 29 mins
Author Eileen Flanagan discusses her powerful essay on the lessons about life that can be derived from parenting—patience, unconditional love, and how to handle “a child who decorated the white carpet with pink sidewalk chalk.” To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in […]
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August 14, 2025 • 30 mins
We explore the duties and challenges of military chaplains from two nations: Britain and Canada. Ian Wheatley, recorded at the Defence Ministry in Westminster, London, serves as Chaplain of the Fleet of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Next, we visit with Padre Guy Chapdelaine, a soft-spoken Canadian who currently serves as Chaplain General […]
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August 7, 2025 • 29 mins
How exactly can we build a future based on understanding and connection among people of diverse backgrounds — rather than prejudice, misinformation and suspicion that are the fuel for violence? To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Boston.
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July 31, 2025 • 29 mins
The human survival instinct prods us to outlast afflictions and, if circumstances permit, to reach old age. Nothing, of course, could be more quintessentially natural than aging. Physician Andrew Weil gives his views on healthy longevity in which older people come to accept the challenges and discover the rewards of aging, plus a look at […]
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July 24, 2025 • 29 mins
New research suggests that people who actively cultivate gratitude in their lives become both more content and physically healthier, but Oakland, California writer Catherine Price wanted to find out for herself. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Boston.
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July 21, 2025 • 28 mins
Bill Siemering, NPR’s first program director and the author of its inspiring mission statement, recounts the network’s early goal of honoring diversity by including a variety of American voices. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Boston.
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July 17, 2025 • 29 mins
Renewable energy (including low-carbon sources like solar and wind) is rapidly shifting to a higher profile sector of the way Americans derive electricity to power homes and workplaces. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Boston.
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July 14, 2025 • 29 mins
In these special Humankind documentaries, ‘Beyond War’ takes a look back at the last time the U.S. military had major involvement in the Middle East. We examine the true human costs of organized violence (for both soldiers and civilians). And what happens when citizens protest against war? Hear accounts from Yugoslavia to South Africa—of non-violent […]
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July 10, 2025 • 30 mins
At the end of life, when most people need medical care and emotional comfort from family and friends, some turn also to chaplains for spiritual support. In this episode, we hear from two caregivers in Massachusetts. We also listen to the candid reflections of a dying patient, Brian Noone, recorded with his devoted wife Rosalie […]
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July 7, 2025 • 29 mins
In these special Humankind documentaries, ‘Beyond War’ takes a look back at the last time the U.S. military had major involvement in the Middle East. We examine the true human costs of organized violence (for both soldiers and civilians). And what happens when citizens protest against war? How fully do we exhaust peaceful options before […]
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July 25, 2024 • 29 mins
It’s been said that we’ve learned how to speak but not necessarily how to communicate. Rarely are we taught the art of deep listening or how to respond to someone without accusation or blame or the ability to articulate our own needs without putting others on the defensive. To see additional resources and our other […]
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February 21, 2024 • 29 mins
In this documentary we explore how federal courts enforced fugitive slave laws. Historians, actors and legal scholars re-create the famous case of a young escaped slave who was sent back by a Boston judge, provoking America’s largest abolitionist protest. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR […]
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December 7, 2023 • 29 mins
In the second half of our documentary on the history of Alcoholics Anonymous, we examine the AA recovery principles that have promoted sobriety for millions of recovering alcoholics and have created a template to help people worldwide who struggle with many forms of addiction. To view additional resources for this episode please visit our website at humanmedia.org. […]
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January 2, 2023 • 29 mins
Herbal remedies: Do they work? Are they safe? In The Medicine Garden, a special series drawn from our archives, you’ll take a fascinating tour of this relatively low-cost form of health care. It’s an approach to healing that has become enormously popular among Americans dissatisfied with conventional medicine.
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