April 2011
50 posts
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Bobby McFerrin Live Video with Krista Tippett
by Susan Leem, associate producer
Musician, conductor, composer Bobby McFerrin seems to have achieved two disparate levels of fame or infamy depending on who you ask.
One group of audiophiles I know marvel at his four-octave vocal range, improvisational skills, and musicianship, especially his conducting work with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and collaborations with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and...
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William Blake's Holy Thursdays
by Kate Moos, executive producer
William Blake, the English poet and engraver, wrote two poems entitled “Holy Thursday” — one a “song of innocence” and one a “song of experience.”
Each of them decry the wretched realities of children in poverty but tell different stories, in different tones. The Song of Experience begins, in outrage:
Is this a holy thing to...
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“What about having a new law that made all Cabinet members and leaders of...”
– —Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams
On BBC Radio 4 Today program’s “Thought for the Day” segment, the leader of the Anglican Church, as The Telegraph reports, “called for a return to the medieval tradition when monarchs ritually washed the feet of the poor...
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“It is not an overnight cure. We can’t force the boys to change, but we...”
– —Razali Daud, education director of the Malaysian state of Terrengganu
Malaysian authorities, the Telegraph reports, has ordered 66 Muslim schoolboys to attend a reform camp where they will receive religious classes and “physical guidance.” At the four-day camp to promote Muslim...
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Gary Snyder Gave Me Goose Bumps
by Kate Moos, executive producer
(phto: Kate Moos)
Gary Snyder, at 81, strong-voiced and vital, gave a reading in Minneapolis last night at Plymouth Congregational Church, part of their Literary Witness Program.
Snyder is often characterized as one of the Beats, but his habits of exploration and inquiry led him to a different experience and a different poetry than we associate with Kerouac and...
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The Gratitude of a Firstborn Before Passover...
by Susan Leem, associate producer
Seder plate (photo: Dana Skolnick/Flickr)
Today is ta’anit (“fast”) bekhorim (“of the firstborn”), the day before Passover begins, when only the first-born males of Jewish families abstain from eating. In our show on Exodus, Avivah Zornberg describes the tragedy of the tenth plague, the plague of the firstborn, and how the...
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Reinvesting in a Renewed American Dream of Family...
by Caitlin Shetterly, guest contributor
Caitlin with her son at home in Maine. (photo: Dan Davis)
What is the American dream, anyway? Do any of us know anymore? Is it F. Scott Fitzgerald’s vision of a “green light” and an “orgiastic future” that forever eludes us? Is it our founding fathers’ notion that all men are created equal to pursue happiness? Is it a house with a perfect lawn, an SUV,...
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A Little Bit of Mindfulness Meditation Can Reduce...
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
MRI images of the brain of a novice meditator show signs of pain nearly disappear. (source: Robert Coghill/Wake Forest University School of Medicine)
“You might not need extensive training [in meditation] to realize pain-relief benefits. Most people don’t have time to spend months in a monastery.” —Fadel Zeidan, neuroscientist
On the NPR...
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Coexistence Is in the Eye of the Beholder for...
by Jessica Donath, USC graduate journalism student
Jonathan Land and Eric Judkowitz (photo: Jessica Donath)
At the Neri Bloomfield School of Design and Education in Haifa, a microwave is one of the hot-button issues for students and faculty alike.
“He won’t let us have one because it will be difficult to make sure non-kosher food stays out of the microwave,” says Jonathan Land, the third-year...
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Time-Lapse of a Faith in a Quieter Mecca
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
This time-lapse film from Hosain Hadi shows the Masjid al Haram (“Sacred Mosque”) in Makkah (Mecca) in more serene moments, which may be different than most depictions videos you’ve seen of the sacred site shot during the Hajj.
The complex is shot in the off-hours, so to speak. It’s not packed to the hilt with worshipers from all over the...
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Watch TEDxRamallah Live with Us
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
TEDxRamallah is taking place right now. The event started at 9:30 am Palestinian time (2:30 am Eastern). The event ends at 6:00 pm Palestinian time. There will be four sessions with a total of 18 speakers having talks varying from 4 to 18 minutes in length. Julia Bacha of Just Vision is speaking right now. I’ll do some more work and share the rest of...
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Rubber Ducky, You're the One!
If there’s one thing the Japanese have mastered, it’s the art of fire and bathing. And these two men do not disappoint. Yasuyoshi Chiba’s triumphant photo of two men bathing in this makeshift ofuro captures the passion of this long-standing tradition. Even if Kesennuma city is in ruins, taking a hot tubby is not only making the best out of a difficult situation, it’s...
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Conference of Catholic Bishops Stance on Sister...
by Paul C. DeCamp, guest contributor
If you ban it, they will read it. That seems to be true thus far in the case of Sr. Elizabeth Johnson’s 2007 book Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God, which the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops suggested should be banned from Catholic schools in a statement on March 24.
By April 1, after national media coverage of...
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Matzah Makeover Turkish-Style
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
Got a few extra sheets of matzah handy and looking for a Passover-friendly recipe? Deena Prichep has posted photos and recipes of various matzo pies, including a Turkish mina de carne that elevates this bread of affliction to a culinary delight!
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Remembering Juliano Mer-Khamis and His Theater of...
by Nancy Rosenbaum, producer
Young Palestinian men mourn the death of Juliano Mer-Khamis (poster) outside The Freedom Theatre in Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank a day after unknown gunmen killed the actor and director in his car. (photo: Saif Dahlah/AFP/Getty Images)
“I have no hope for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at least not in my lifetime. You ask for political, practical,...
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Listeners Respond to Sherry Turkle's Insights on...
by Susan Leem, associate producer
“(don’t) Cry” (photo: Pedro Klien/Flickr, CC by 2.0)
The fresh ears of our listeners and their own experiences of our show with Sherry Turkle are helpful in absorbing parts of her message that might have slipped by the first time. Following are several we found enlightening and funny:
Rick Silveira of San Diego, California taught me a new...
