A Pictorial Corridor
by Nancy Rosenbaum, associate producer
Conservation biologist Alan Rabinowitz has devoted his career to protecting “big cats” all over the globe — lions, tigers, panthers, jaguars, and more. His chosen vocation as a “voice for the animals” has brought him to places many of us only dream of visiting: the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas, the jungles of Belize, the jaguar corridors of Brazil.
Experience a taste of Rabinowitz’s adventures for yourself. We’ve paired stunning National Geographic photographs of Rabinowitz’s work around the world with audio gems from his interview with Krista. Hear how Rabinowitz’s struggles with human physical impediments (a debilitating childhood stutter and more recently cancer) have shaped and fueled his passion. And while I’d love to someday ride atop an elephant, I’m glad to absorb these incredible photographs of tigers, panthers, and leopards from the safety of my desk.
How Did You Become a Unitarian Universalist?
Nancy Rosenbaum, associate producer
Following up on last week’s video post, here’s a 3½-minute video snack where a mix of UUs explain how they came to this tradition. Listening to these voices, it’s clear that each person’s journey is unique and doesn’t necessarily follow a linear path. Some arrived through predictable channels — friends, marriage, family — while others had more surprising stories — and why they decided to stay.
Later this week we’ll be posting a longer-form piece that caps this video series of interviews from the Unitarian Universalist 2010 General Assembly. And, next week, a video showcasing a sped-up procession of beautiful quilted banners for the opening day festivities!
Purim Around the World
Nancy Rosenbaum, associate producer
“Purim is…a holiday traditionally observed not in the synagogue…or even around the family table, but on the street and in nightclubs, surrounded by friends.”
—from “Unmasked” by Liel Leibovitz
Last month, Jews around the world celebrated Purim, a holiday commemorating the survival of the Jewish people in the face of near-extermination. The Purim story as it’s told in the biblical Book of Esther features a lively cast of characters including a Jew-hating villain named Haman (an Iago-like advisor to the king) a savvy eavesdropper (Mordechai) and the beautiful queen Esther who ultimately saves the day. Masquerading is a central theme as Queen Esther conceals her Jewish identity throughout most of the story.
We’ve gathered these images of Purim celebrations from around the world to capture the holiday’s carnivalesque festivity. Enjoy!
Jerusalem, 2010. (photo: Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images)
Amsterdam, 2006. (photo: uruandimi/Flickr)
Jews all over world commemorate Purim with costumes, parties, and parades.
Moscow, 2010. (photo: no_problema/Flickr)
Philadelphia, 2009. (photo: sesu-chan/Flickr)
Judean Desert, Israel, 2008. (photo: Leandroid/Flickr)
Judean Desert, Israel, 2008. (photo: Leandroid/Flickr)
Purim plays (also known in the Yiddish as Purim Spiels) have been staged for generations.
New York City, 1936. (photo: Center for Jewish History/Flickr)
Jerusalem, 2008. (photo: Galit Lubetzsky/Flickr)
Lots of people eat hamentashen — a triangle-shaped cookie with a fruity filling that’s representative of the villainous Hamen’s hat, or alternately his ear.
Granville Island, Vancouver, British Columbia, 2009 (photo: Greenbelter/Flickr)
Moscow, 2010 (photo: no_problema/Flickr)
Noisemakers called “graggers” are used to drown out the sound of the villainous Haman’s name.
(photo: Fabrangen Havurah/Flickr)
Boston, 2008 (photo: 1130am/Flickr)
According to the Talmud (Megillah 7b), one is obligated to drink on Purim until he does not know the difference between “cursed be Haman” and “blessed be Mordechai.”
Jerusalem, 2007 (photo: Yoav Lemmer/AFP/Getty Images)
Tel Aviv, 2006 (photo: Ran Z/Flickr)
Amsterdam, 2006 (photo: uruandimi/Flickr)
(lead photo: New York City, 2010. Photo: Nina Callaway/Flickr)
Approaches to the Question “Is Religion Potentially Dangerous?”
Andy Dayton, associate web producer
In “No More Taking Sides” Krista describes her conversation with Robi Damelin and Ali Abu Awwad, who both have lost a loved one in the conflict:
“…this is not another version of the tragic Israeli-Palestinian story to which we’ve all become accustomed from the news. Neither is it a touchy-feely story of isolated good will. This story is fiercely human, admitting grief while also yielding to joy, and it is all the more hopeful for its origins in the hard ground of reality.”
Updating the site for rebroadcast, we’ve also been editing our video footage from Krista’s live conversation with Robert Wright earlier this month. His answer to the audience question, “Is religion potentially dangerous?” is one that’s often asked in the context of the seemingly intractable conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
As we produce this interview for air, the most recent script characterizes Wright as “relentlessly logical” — and you might say that Wright’s assessment of religion’s role in this conflict is relentlessly logical in the best sense. But, while logic can be extremely helpful in understanding the forces behind human conflict, it says very little about the experience of those conflicts.
That’s where Robi and Ali come in. When Wright tells us that “human life is potentially dangerous,” their stories show us this on a gut level. Their partnership is a living example of why we’re all in this together is an idea really worth considering.
Ali Abu Awwad, from the transcript:
“When I get to the library that [Robi’s son] David was preparing for the student, a good library, and I saw Robi start crying there, I don’t know, it’s strange, that feeling that I got at that moment. I have that feeling that David is telling me, ‘Take care of my mother.’ This is the first time I’m telling that. I never told Robi that.
And I think [my brother] Yousef was so happy that Robi was taking care of me and I really don’t feel this identity when I feel about David, when I feel about Yousef. I don’t feel that.
They just put us — by passing away, they put us in this deeply feeling with our humanity. And if people appreciate and if politicians appreciate the life as they appreciate the death, peace will be possible.”
In the Room, with Doris Taylor
Trent Gilliss, online editor
Unfortunately, one of Krista’s recent interviews wasn’t available for viewing by the time “Stem Cells, Untold Stories” was available for download and broadcast. I say unfortunate because it’s a rare opportunity when Krista is able to interview a guest in our home studios at Minnesota Public Radio — and we’re able to film it and then make it accessible.
After tweaking our encoding specification so that it would properly upload to our video vendor, it’s finally available and wanted to make you aware of it. For those of you who struggle with the limits and the priorities of stem cell research and its outcomes, I highly recommend watching Dr. Taylor talk about her own research and ethical understanding. If nothing else, you’re able to see the passion she conveys when she talks about human physiology and the body’s ability to regenerate and adapt.
Life in Doris Taylor’s Lab
Andy Dayton, associate web producer
After watching Krista’s interview with Doris Taylor, it was hard not to want to see her lab in person. Krista referenced Laurie Zoloth’s phrase “fiction science” during her conversation with Taylor and many of the the mental images that resulted — decellularized “ghost hearts,” cells beating in a dish, rows of pumping regenerated rat hearts — seemed to fit into that category.
So, I was excited to see how those images would hold up when we made a trip Taylor’s lab several months after the interview. While we didn’t didn’t see rows and rows of beating hearts, in the video above, we did see a singular regenerated rat heart beat in an apparatus Taylor called a bioreactor, and a moment later we also heard the story of the man with an incurable heart disease who told her that she was “building hope.”
And, in this video, we also saw the magnified image of beating heart cells as Taylor explained why “cells alone don’t make a heart” and Krista handling animal organs with their cells removed as she discussed the “surprising beauty” of the heart with Taylor (see video below).
And while the fiction science elements of her lab were fascinating, it was most engaging to see Taylor’s energy and passion come out while she was clearly in her element. Her perspective helped keep what might sound like a Mary Shelley-inspired experience focused on the aspect of her work she seems to be most interested in — life.
The Timeliness of Telomeres
Marc Sanchez, associate producer
The Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was awarded this week to Dr. Elizabeth A. Blackburn, Dr. Carol W. Greider, and Dr. Jack D. Szostak. Their work in the 1980’s brought to light the importance of telomeres. In the simplest terms, telomeres live at the ends of our chromosomes, and up until the time of this research, nobody really knew what they were for. Their work shows how telomeres protect our chromosomes, so that during cell division our DNA can be precisely copied from one cell to the next.
Our staff was introduced to telomeres a few weeks ago when Krista interviewed Dr. Doris Taylor. Taylor has gained notoriety recently for her work studying stem cells and “building” hearts. We’re hard at work getting the full interview ready to air in a couple weeks, but here’s an excerpt of that interview in which she talks about stress, stem cells, and telomeres.
(photo: Trent Gilliss)
Live Interview with Professor Adele Diamond
Time: 2:00 pm CST
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada)
On the heels of Krista’s morning interview with Matthieu Ricard, we’re going to live stream video of her conversation with cognitive researcher Adele Diamond. The live video will only appear real-time and then we will substitute it with higher-resolution produced video at a later date.
Update: The live video stream only aired during the period of the interview and is currently not available. I’ve substituted a photo until I can replace it with a full produced video taken with our HD cameras!
