Humankind on Public Radio
Weekly podcast from public radio’s award-winning program Humankind
Episodes
December 2, 2021 • 30 min
The vast majority of Americans are now Internet users and the number is growing year by year. And the number of cell phones in the U.S. is now roughly equal to the number of people in the country. And yet our unprecedented access to information and communication has a potential downside: people may get so […]
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November 25, 2021 • 30 min
Cultivating our capacity for gratitude is one of the core spiritual traits advocated across all the great traditions. Being grateful can restore our perspective when the slings and arrows of life temporarily bend us out of shape. To reinforce this focus, some people maintain a “gratitude journal” in which they record various things they are […]
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November 18, 2021 • 30 min
Would you invite homeless men into your apartment? One woman did just that. On this episode of Humankind, you’ll hear a story of commitment and service to the poor in which Kathy McKenna founded Haley House, a homeless shelter in downtown Boston. McKenna was inspired by Dorothy Day, the Catholic Worker Movement, and the belief […]
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November 11, 2021 • 30 min
After entering World War One in 1917, the US government established a military draft to call up young men to serve as soldiers. 65,000 of them applied to be excused from combat and to be recognized as Conscientious Objectors (COs) by their local draft board. They opposed the war either on religious grounds (some traditions, like […]
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October 28, 2021 • 23 min
Within a decade, America will be looking different. In addition to other demographic changes, 70 million Baby Boomers are now entering their retirement years. For the first time in our history, there will be more older adults than children. This huge societal change will affect how families provide eldercare, how older Americans access transportation, and […]
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October 21, 2021 • 31 min
Within a decade, America will be looking different. In addition to other demographic changes, 70 million Baby Boomers are now entering their retirement years. For the first time in our history, there will be more older adults than children. This huge societal change will affect how families provide eldercare, how older Americans access transportation, and […]
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February 4, 2021 • 26 min
The Constitution specifies that once federal judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, they can hold their office “during good behavior,” in other words for life — unless they’ve misbehaved, that is. But the average American today lives a lot longer today than in 1789, when President George Washington signed the […]
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January 28, 2021 • 28 min
The Republican party has not won the majority of votes in six of the last seven presidential elections. And yet vacancies on the Supreme Court have allowed Republican presidents to appoint six of the last ten justices. Does this skew the Court in a way that’s out of step with public opinion? Here we explore […]
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August 20, 2020 • 27 min
Have our courts – intended by America’s founders to be an independent arbiter of justice – turned into another political battlefield? Are today’s judges mere “politicians in robes”? This public radio documentary series looks at crucial flashpoints in recent decades. In this divisive climate, will the frequency of 5-4 decisions by the Supreme Court increase, as […]
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August 13, 2020 • 27 min
Have our courts – intended by America’s founders to be an independent arbiter of justice – turned into another political battlefield? Are today’s judges mere “politicians in robes”? This public radio documentary series looks at crucial flashpoints in recent decades. Because federal judges are nominated by the president and confirmed the U.S. Senate, inevitably the process […]
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March 12, 2020 • 30 min
Bay Area physician and Univ. of California medical professor Martin Rossman, author of “The Worry Solution”, describes ways to distinguish between what we can change and what we must learn to accept.
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June 19, 2018 • 33 min
Rev. Chris Antal, a Unitarian Universalist minister in the town of Rock Tavern, New York, was drawn to service in response to the attacks of 9/11. He entered military chaplaincy partially as a way to help soldiers who are prone to harming themselves in the wake of war. He also wanted to bring a “liberal voice into a very conservative chaplaincy,” consistent with the commitment of his tradition of acceptance for people representing ...
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June 12, 2018 • 32 min
This episode of ‘Humankind on Public Radio’ is part of a special series, ‘The Spiritual Care Podcast’. For more episodes exploring the role of spiritual caregivers helping those in need, look for ‘The Spiritual Care Podcast’ on your preferred podcast platform. We hear from chaplains and students on a college campus (Vanderbilt University in Nashville, […]
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June 5, 2018 • 34 min
This episode of ‘Humankind on Public Radio’ is part of a special series, ‘The Spiritual Care Podcast’. For more episodes exploring the role of spiritual caregivers helping those in need, look for ‘The Spiritual Care Podcast’ on your preferred podcast platform. The United States incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world. Federal […]
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May 29, 2018 • 33 min
This episode of ‘Humankind on Public Radio’ is part of a special series, ‘The Spiritual Care Podcast’. For more episodes exploring the role of spiritual caregivers helping those in need, look for ‘The Spiritual Care Podcast’ on your preferred podcast platform. We visit a shelter at Seattle’s Mission for a rich exchange with a formerly […]
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January 26, 2018 • 2 min
David Freudberg, host of Humankind public radio, announces a new podcast on the fascinating practice of “spiritual care”: stories of caregivers (chaplains, nurses, social workers, etc) who provide nonsectarian support for people in need and sometimes in distress.
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January 17, 2017 • 30 min
The new urban agriculture movement offers a way for us to re-connect our lives to nature.
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January 10, 2017 • 30 min
Which foods have the largest global warming footprint—and which are most climate-friendly?
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January 3, 2017 • 30 min
Public school cafeterias are changing! We visit two in New England where recent policies reflect much greater attention to healthy meal options than were typically available in the past.
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December 27, 2016 • 29 min
Hundreds of colleges are now moving toward healthier, more climate-friendly food choices on campus.
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