Humankind on Public Radio

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? Hear 4 half-hours. To see additional resources and […]

An elderly physician and Nobel Peace Prize-winner, Bernard Lown, pleads for a revolution in health care that would place greater emphasis on personal interaction between doctor and patient. 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.

Today over two million people partake of the storytelling, the good humor, the words of wisdom and the gallons and gallons of free coffee made available to attenders of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. AA’s basic text has been translated into more than 60 languages and has sold over 35 million English copies. To see additional resources […]

90 years ago this month Alcoholics Anonymous was born when a troubled drunkard realized that connecting with fellow-sufferers creates a safe zone where they can stay sober. That insight has saved millions of lives worldwide – all at no charge. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on […]

A conversation with the long-time director of the UN Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, who also directs the Yale Climate and Energy Institute. 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 documentary, we explore what it’s like to experience “moral injury”— when soldiers witness or participate in war-time acts that violate their conscience. The impact they undergo confirms an enduring truth: on the battlefield, everyone is a victim. How does one come to terms with a deeply painful incident from the past? When deep […]

Some people give no charity at all. But of Americans who do, the average family donation is 2-3% per year. This program examines how people arrive at the amount of their charitable contributions, where the money is contributed to, and what holds donors back from giving more, especially if they could afford to without hardship. […]

After war, our veterans face a new battle: emotional and spiritual conflict that is normal to human beings who’ve experienced intense brutality.In the Civil War this condition was called “soldier’s heart”, in WW1 it was known as “shell shock”, and today many veterans are diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). To see additional resources and […]

Chicago dramatist Meade Palidofsky uses theater as a therapeutic tool in her work with juvenile offenders who write and perform plays while incarcerated — and in the process see their lives through a new lens. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in […]

Facing a personal crisis, hospital patients and their loved ones often receive needed emotional support from a quiet army of chaplains, who are skilled at empathetic listening to people gripped by difficult and confusing emotions. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in […]

A veteran negotiator in world hot-spots including the Middle East, Louise Diamond practices a citizens-based diplomacy that sometimes finds cooperation at the grass roots level, even when governments are hostile. 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.

Charlie Starbuck, an affable tax attorney, single-handedly has increased the “canopy” of San Francisco by planting more than 7,500 trees, as part of the movement known as Friends of the Urban Forest. 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 […]

How does the widespread low level of literacy among American adults affect the functioning of our democracy? Are voters in this group vulnerable to political manipulation? 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.

About half of American adults read at or below a 6th-grade level. What challenges do they face – at work, in health care, when helping children with schoolwork? And how does the profusion of low-information voters affect our democracy? To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR […]

This episode explores the very human level at which some nurses interact with patients at their most vulnerable moments. What spiritual questions about life and death arise in such encounters? We do nurses turn for their own support? And we look at the concept of “compassion fatigue” and ways nurses can maintain open-hearted care. To […]

In a health care setting, where serious illness may be on the line, what does it mean for a provider to listen attentively? We examine this core nursing practice in several venues. 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 […]

Demanding and sometimes nerve-racking circumstances are a natural part of life and inevitably occur in the health care environment, where patients often arrive when they are in trouble. While it would be easy to get overwhelmed, skilled health care professionals have developed techniques for handling both everyday stresses and situations of unusual strain. To see […]

A no-holds-barred look at the stressful conditions in which many nurses work: the long hours, the emotional toll, the rapid pace, and the way that technology and institutional practices can make it hard to form a caring bond with patients. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on […]

We remember the late Anthony DeMello with the help of University of London Theologian Michael Barnes as well as recordings of the colorful DeMello during one of his many popular retreats. 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.

Rather than merely write checks to charities they don’t really know well, a group of concerned women formed a “giving circle” which identifies social needs and then seeks out worthy recipients. 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.