Humankind on Public Radio

Pulitzer Prize-winning Lincoln historian Eric Foner chronicles the Dred Scott decision (often derided as the Supreme Court’s worst ruling), which held that black people have “no rights” and aggravated tensions between north and south, setting the stage for the bloody Civil War. 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.

In this segment, we hear the stories of two contemporary hospital social workers who describe encounters with patients looking for a way to explore important life questions that can arise in times of challenge. 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.

William Powers, author of “Hamlet’s Blackberry,” describes the dilemma of being addicted to information technology, and how he and his family committed to regular time free of technological intrusions. 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.

Exploring a fascinating philosophy of community and spiritual service, this documentary visits a hospice where all staff are volunteers and all patients receive care free of charge. 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.

A mother in Boston, who faced the horrific news that her 19-year-old son was murdered in a home invasion, preaches forgiveness with accountability, as a way to heal her own pain as well as society’s dysfunction. 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.

When we’re in a disagreement, it’s sometimes hard simply to listen to the other person. The emotional temperature may be high and we can shut down in a defensive posture. But skillful listening is a core practice of conflict resolution and, potentially, a doorway to improved relations, greater self-understanding, and personal growth. 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.

We hear from a variety of nurses about the stresses they face in today’s fast-paced medical setting—and how they struggle to find the time needed to treat the whole person. 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.

Haley House was established in 1966 to shelter and serve unhoused people in Boston. Co-founder Kathy McKenna reflects on the line between helping people in need and becoming an “enabler” of people who don’t want to improve. 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.

Helen Keller—subject of this audio biography—surmounted both deafness and blindness by learning to communicate with great eloquence, and became an unlikely world superstar. 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.

Aiming to “transform the pain of grief into the elixir of hope,” a group called The Compassionate Friends, with more than 600 U.S. chapters, brings together parents who’ve suffered the loss of a child, to help them sort through complicated emotions among kindred spirits. 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.

In this episode we visit William J Ostiguy High School. It is a learning facility designed to help kids with a history of substance abuse—who support each other in their quest to remain clean and sober. 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.  

Harvard Medical School Professor Herbert Benson, MD pioneering work on the Relaxation Response has helped millions of people learn a simple meditative technique to reduce the harmful effects of stress. 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.

We profile Raphael Warnock, US senator from Georgia and also the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta — the congregation once led by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. What sustains your faith in “shaky times”? 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.

Progressive voices of conscience have long arisen in faith communities. This Humankind documentary explores the spiritual impulse for social change. 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.

George Mumford teaches top athletes the “superpowers” of mindfulness, concentration, insight, right effort and trust as techniques to strengthen performance and avoid the trap of spiritual demise. 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.

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, please visit humanmedia.org Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member stations, in association with GBH Boston.  

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 and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Boston.

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.

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 resorting to military action? When has nonviolence been effective and when has it been dangerous? What constitutes a just war “just”—or do no ends justify large-scale killing of human beings? What are the social, moral and spiritual values held by pacifists and conscientious objectors? Hear accounts from Yugoslavia to South Africa—of non-violent movements that ousted unjust leaders. 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.

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 programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are  heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Boston.