Humankind on Public Radio

This program explores one of the most basic questions facing our democracy: who may participate? 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 Ury, the coauthor of “Getting to Yes,” a classic on negotiation, maintains that conflict is inevitable—and sometimes desirable—but that violent confrontation can be much more easily prevented than is commonly believed. 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 […]

Although being teased and picked on are typical challenges for kids growing up, the effects can be traumatizing when a child is relentlessly bullied. The most common targets of bullying are young people who are perceived as gay, or who are disabled or overweight. But any kid who is singled out for harassment may feel […]

In the second half of this Humankind documentary, we listen to nurses in the Twin Cities who are drawn to their profession by compassion for patients. Providers reveal the difficulties of remaining emotionally “present” in a high-stress medical setting, and several patients tell what it’s like to be treated unkindly or to feel undervalued. We […]

Patients often complain about rushed doctor visits and, of course, the cost of medical services. But a number of studies in recent years highlight a different concern: whether as a patient you actually experience kindness when receiving health care. In this Humankind documentary, we examine that challenge, from the perspective of both health care professionals – […]

Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of the renowned Stress Reduction Clinic at the Univ. of Massachusetts Medical School, discusses how the technique of “mindfulness” can be physically and mentally therapeutic. 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 a country as wealthy as the United States, “working poor” should be a contradiction in terms. But tens of millions of Americans fall into that category, affecting a growing population of children. 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 […]

In this provocative profile of David Allen, we hear the sounds of communications technology coming at us, and later we stroll through the peaceful garden in Ojai, California where for him “time disappears.” We also hear how he brilliantly defines the widespread problem of “overwhelm” along with very practical solutions that can increase relaxation for […]

How can we deal with the modern sense of feeling overloaded? It is emerging as a broad social problem that takes its toll on both work and home life—and can impinge on our ability to function with personal clarity. Best-selling author David Allen discusses new ways we all can learn to focus—in an age of […]

Christal Presley, an English teacher in Virginia who experienced “secondary trauma” in response to the extreme behavior of her father, a Vietnam-era veteran with PTSD, tells how the family began a journey of recovery. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association […]

Because laughter is surely good medicine, we visit with professional comedians who are also cancer survivors, as well as a top surgeon at New York’s renowned Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, to understand the role of humor and a positive attitude in surviving the disease. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind […]

A Harvard medical professor tells the story of how he united with a Soviet cardiologist to launch a physicians movement to end nuclear war that recruited 150,000 doctors worldwide and won the Nobel Peace Prize. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in […]

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 […]

Geoffrey Canada designated a crime-ridden 24-block area of New York as the Harlem Children’s Zone and works tirelessly to provide a healthier community for kids who are otherwise vulnerable to developmental and social ills. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association […]

Tracy Gary, Pillsbury heiress and noted philanthropist, calls charity the “new American dream” because it is uniquely able to create change in our world. A founder of over a dozen charities herself, Gary has given nearly all of her inheritance away. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard […]

“The Meaning of America”. Filmmaker Ken Burns, philsopher Jacob Needleman and others take us on a journey through the ideas and beliefs of America’s founders to understand their social and spiritual vision for the United States. Includes historic readings and the sounds of Independence Hall, Monticello and elsewhere. To see additional resources and our other […]

On this special two-part episode of Humankind, we explore the basic American right of citizens to follow the dictates of their conscience in their own personal pursuit of happiness. Hear PBS Filmmaker Ken Burns (top), philosopher/historian Jacob Needleman, and the words of America’s founders, as we try to uncover the true meaning of America. To see additional resources […]

The integration of the man-made and the natural environments constitutes a green infrastructure we should restore and preserve for the sake of more livable communities, and as an act of social justice in the interest of low-income people unable to take expensive vacations in distant rural locales. To see additional resources and our other programs, […]

Amid medical bureaucracy, the patient’s humanity can get lost. What are the obstacles? How is information and support conveyed to the patient? We look at some solutions. We also learn about the fascinating health benefits of common integrative techniques such as acupuncture, meditation and stress management. To see additional resources and our other programs, please […]

In this segment, we visit medical students at the third largest U.S. college campus, Ohio State University in Columbus, who are committed to a greater focus on wellness. We hear their vision of health care in the future. Medical education is in transition—but not rapidly enough, according to several other reformers we’ll hear. To see […]