- The Freed PeopleThe United States faced an unprecedented refugee crisis a century and a half ago: 4 million slaves were emancipated, primarily from plantations where they’d been held captive. Most possessed no more than the clothes on their backs and were now…Listen Now
Our Stories
Recent Programs
- Tree-Lined StreetsCharlie 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.
- The Vegetable ChroniclesThe Vegetable Chronicles: Weight of the Evidence The importance of nutrition in our health seems self-evident. But with food industry profiteering and the power of special interests, there’ve been many battles over how to inform the American public about wise food choices. We tell that tale in this two-part documentary. Awareness has grown in recent…
- Ida B. Wells’ Battle to Uncover the TruthBorn to enslaved parents on a Mississippi plantation during the Civil War, Ida B. Wells emerged as a powerful investigative journalist. She overcame death threats and published widely in her quest to document the domestic terrorism against African Americans that came to be known as lynching. Ida Wells published the first major study of that…
- Health Care With KindnessPatients 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. And being treated with basic courtesy and compassion – especially while undergoing medical distress – was rated in one…
- Whole Teachers – Whole StudentsFaced with the deep divisions roiling America, can education that is “pro-social” provide an alternative path for healing and understanding? And can schools cultivate students’ skills for social awareness and self-reflection?
- The Present Moment with Jon Kabat-ZinnJon 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.
Staff Picks
- Resilient NursesA 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.
- Simple Relaxation ExerciseA 15-minute stress reduction session to calm the body and mind.
- Libraries ReimaginedIn 2019 Americans visited the library more often than they went to a movie or attended a sporting event. But far from institutions of the past, libraries today are rapidly evolving, ensuring free access to knowledge and protecting democracy.
Producer’s Note
Has health inequality contributed to frustration and civil unrest?
Our documentary Health Inequality asks: why do poor people live shorter lives than the well-off? We’ve recently seen how deaths from COVID-19 have disproportionately impacted the African American community nationwide. In Chicago, for example, blacks comprise 30% of the population, but 70% of those killed by the virus. Have these trends — plus the surge of joblessness as well as recent racial tensions involving police — contributed to frustrations now erupting into civil unrest? Give a listen.
