Programs for the Week of Jan 31

Monday: People Power in the Middle East: Tunisia’s protests came as a surprise to much of the world, and are spreading across North Africa and into the Middle East. Why now, and are they likely to bring lasting change?

Tuesday: How Bulgaria Survived the Twentieth Century: In SOLO, a novel that won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book of 2010, Ulrich, a 100 year old blind musician who was born in 1901 in the final days of the Ottoman Empire, looks back at his life under a century of communism and fascism.

Wednesday: Woven Lives: In Oaxaca, world-renowned Zapotec textiles are helping to sustain local communities while in Panama, indigenous arts are flourishing as a response on the part of people caught in a war zone.

Thursday: Fortunate Sons: What happened when the Qing dynasty sent 120 boys to go to school in the US in 1872? The boys got good at baseball and picked up nicknames like By-Jinks Johnnie and Fighting Chinee. But they also confronted a struggle between traditionalism and modernity that ended up influencing both China and the U.S.

Friday: Tiger in the Kitchen: Growing up in Singapore, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan never spent much time in the kitchen. It was only after moving to the U.S. that she realized she had to return to her homeland to learn from the women in her family how to make the New Year’s dishes she simply couldn’t live without.

Programs for the Week of Jan 24

Jean’s Pick of the Week (watch video): Upcycling, Recycling, and “There’s gold in them there landfills!”: I had a ball today connecting with garbage wizard Tom Szaky, CEO of Terracycle, one of the most innovative green businesses in the world. Tom delivered one of our best Here on Earth programs ever – future positive, energizing, full of hope, practical wisdom, and inspiration. He says there’s no garbage he can’t make something out of, and he proves it.

Monday: Wisdom of the Eco-Mystics: Mystics are often seen as detached from the world, but Paula Hirschboeck tells us the opposite is true. Paula Hirschboeck, an ordained Buddhist priest and former Dominican nun, joins us to talk about the urgent ecological lessons both early and modern mystics have to teach us about our conflicted relationship with the earth.

Tuesday: The Global University: Will your son or daughter be earning a college degree in Singapore or Qatar in the near future? Higher education journalist and researcher Ben Wildavsky contends that the rising mobility of college students, faculty, and even campuses across national borders is to be embraced, not feared. This often ignored effect of globalization, he says, will bring improved education, economic growth, and new opportunities for people around the world.

Wednesday: Paul Ehrlich Redefines the Family: What does family mean to you? Paul Ehrlich made his mark as a world famous environmentalist with the publication of The Population Bomb in 1968. Ehrlich now believes that our very survival may depend on expanding our capacity for empathy and our understanding of the human family.

Thursday: I Killed Scheherazade: How are Arab women portrayed in the West? Lebanese spitfire Joumana Haddad electrified the Arab world by starting the first erotic magazine in Arabic. Ever since her appearance on Here on Earth in the summer of 2009 – one of our best programs of that year - I’ve been eagerly anticipating her next move. It’s just arrived in the form of a highly provocative book some are calling a manifesto: I Killed Schererazade: Confessions of an Angry Arab Woman.

Friday: Wild Within: Outdoorsman Steve Rinella gets his food by foraging from what he calls the world’s “first supermarket.” On his new Travel Channel television series, The Wild Within, he travels the world hunting for the food he feeds his family.

Let’s help one another get through this long cold month by making some great radio!

Jean

In Honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. - 1/17

Dominique Haller

In today's show, we pay homage to the courageous citizenship that emerged among followers of the Civil Rights Movement. We talk to Professor Danielle Allen and Cathy Cohen. Professor Allen is widely known for her work on citizenship in both ancient Athens and modern America. Cathy Cohen's research focuses on the political participation of young people, particularly black youth.

To check out Cathy Cohen's Black Youth Project, click here.

To check out her Mobilization and Change Project, click here.

What motivates you to get involved into politics? How do you communicate with people of different political convictions or different racial backgrounds about politics? Leave us our comment below.

Programs for the Week of Jan 17

Jean’s Pick of the Week: Wisdom in the Workplace: Pretty easy, since I just came back from ten days away – but even if I had a whole week’s worth of programs to choose from, I’m pretty sure I’d still cozy up to today’s show with Swarthmore sociologist Barry Schwartz, the author of Practical Wisdom, who called President Obama’s speech in Tucson "pitch perfect."

Monday: Talking to Strangers: In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day we take this moment to reflect on the state of our democracy. How do we interact as citizens? How often do we have positive interactions with political adversaries? And how are young people getting involved in politics today?

Tuesday: 9 Parts of Desire: In this award-winning one-woman show Iraqi-American actress Heather Raffo portrays the lives of nine different Iraqi women including a doctor, a Bedouin and a young girl, all of whom celebrate life despite its hardships. She will be joined by her accompanist Iraqi musician Amir Elsaffar.

Please see our previous post to find out more about their Stevens Point performance on January 29.

Wednesday: Capital Punishment on Trial: Why does the U.S. hold on to the death penalty while other countries in the West have abolished it? Justice Stevens caused quite a stir in explaining why he turned against the death penalty in his review of David Garland’s new book Peculiar Institution: America’s Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition. Find out why when we talk with David on the show.

Thursday: The Future of Recycling: Tom Szaky, the 28-year-old founder of TerraCycle, one of the fastest growing green companies in the world, is making a business out of recycling and a name for himself as "#1 CEO in America Under 30."

Friday: The Chocolate Chasers: Dan Pearson was working in Peru with his stepson Brian Horsley when they stumbled on a species of cocoa long thought extinct. Even better, the trees had mutated to produce highly prized white beans! Following their discovery, Dan and Brian partnered with local farmers and the world’s top chocolate experts to produce the next big thing in chocolate — Fortunato No.4 — debuting at food expos this month.

It’s good to be back in Wisconsin!

Jean

9 Parts of Desire

Saideh Jamshidi

“God created sexual desire in 10 parts; then he gave nine parts to women and one to men.”
Ali ibn Abu Taleb, founder of Shiite sect and fourth leader of the Islamic world after Muhammad.

In the award-winning one-woman show she created, 9 Parts of Desire, Heather Raffo plays the part of an Iraqi Bedouin, an artist, a left-wing political exile, a doctor, and a young girl among others. She details both the ordinary and extraordinary lives of women in Iraq and in the United States.

Each woman in this play has been traumatized, dramatized and scrutinized under Saddam Hussain’s regime and U.S. led occupation. Their voices are vivid, sophisticated, seductive and subdued, collectively portraying suffering and endurance. Yet each one of them searches for her own personal sense of liberation.

The images Heather paints in her one-woman show were inspired by a haunting painting she first encountered at Saddam Art Center in Baghdad. There, in a back room of the museum, Heather saw a painting of a nude woman clinging to a barren tree, her body stilled in the air, her head bowed; but yet, there was a light coming out from behind her, like a sun, she writes.

In her visits to Baghdad, where her father’s family still lives, Heather talked with many women about the complexity of their lives in their crippled city. After the second Iraq war, Heather started writing about the many passionate Iraqi women she had come to know. “Their stories of resilience, determination and love became my one-woman show,” she writes.

I saw video clips of 9 Parts of Desire on Heather’s website and was amazed by the force of energy she puts forward to bring these nine Iraqi women to life. In my interview with her, she speaks with the same sense of liveliness. “I have loved all of the women characters, or they wouldn’t have made it into the play,” she said. “I love the spirit of each character equally in a different way.”

Heather Raffo offers 9 Parts of Desire in 2 formats: concert and full-play. In the concert format, Heather teams up with Amir Elsafar, accomplished jazz trumpeter and Iraqi santoor player. In the full-play, she travels with six other musicians in an elaborate production with lighting, costumes, and a stage set that depicts a river. To mount such a production takes six or more weeks.
Heather and Amir will perform 9 Parts of Desire in concert at the Sentry Theater in Stevens Point, WI, 1800 Northpoint Drive on January 29 at 7:30pm. Click here to purchase tickets.

For a preview, join Here on Earth: Radio Without Borders with Jean Feraca on Tuesday, January 18.

All About Olive Oil! - 1/14

Dominique Haller

On today's show, it's all about Olive Oil as we talk with Rene Lavallee about his love and knowledge of this versatile oil. Here are the recipes that Jean and Rene discussed on the air. Try them out and let us know how they taste!

Olive oil and Balsamic Swirl Ice Cream

Ingredients:
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4oz raw sugar
- 1/4 cup aged balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 cup Terra Creta Estate olive oil

Pour the milk into a saucepan and slowly bring to boiling point but DO NOT LET IT BOIL. Beat together the egg yolks and the sugar until they form a thick paste. Pour milk onto paste while stirring. Pour mixture back into pan and heat without bringing to a boil to form a custard. When a film forms on the back of a wooden spoon while mixing, mixture is ready. Let cool. Stir in cream and transfer into air tight freezable metal container. Before freezing poor drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a gently mix to create a swirl design in mixture. Freeze for at least four hours. Serve with fresh berries.

Butternut Squash and Pecan Soup

Ingredients:
- 2 leeks hearts, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 45ml Chateau d’Estoublon Salonenque olive oil
- 1kg butternut squash, diced
- 7-8 cups vegetable broth
- 2/3 cup pecans, chopped
- 1/2 cup kefir
- 1/2 goat’s milk
- black pepper
- ground sage

Boil the leeks and butternut squash until tender. Blend all other ingredients in blender with cooked leeks and squash. Withhold 15ml of olive oil and 1/4 cup of pecans to garnish. Should make a thick creamy soup that is delicious with thinly sliced grilled baguette.

White Tuna Salad

Ingredients:
- 300g white tuna filet
- 50g capers in wine
- 50ml Planeta olive oil
- Fleur de Sel
- 200g sliced fennel

Slice the tuna filet into thin slices. Garnish lightly with Fleur de Sel.
Cut fennel into julienne slices and place over tuna with a few capers. Drizzle with Planeta olive oil.

Enjoy!

Jan 10 - 14 Programs

Jean returns from vacation on Monday. Here’s the lineup for our first new shows of 2011:

Monday: The Art Instinct:

Rebroadcast from 06/09/2009. Can you imagine what our cave people ancestors were thinking as they relaxed by the side of a fire and enjoyed a beautiful sunset? If you think that we've only learned to appreciate beauty more recently, think again. We are celebrating Darwin's bicentennial year with author Denis Dutton and his book The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure, and Human Evolution which explores the evolutionary role of aesthetic appreciation.

Tuesday: Twelve Steps To a Compassionate Life: Comparative religion scholar Karen Armstrong's "Charter for Compassion" has been signed by thousands and is inspiring compassionate deeds around the world. Her latest book brings it all home.

Wednesday: The Future of Recycling: Tom Szaky, the 28-year-old founder of TerraCycle, one of the fastest growing green companies in the world, is making a business out of recycling and a name for himself as "#1 CEO in America Under 30."

Thursday: Wisdom in the Workplace: Swarthmore sociologist Barry Schwartz brings together Aristotle and modern-day psychology to help us re-imagine how each of us can do our job better and feel more satisfied at the same time.

Friday: All You Need to Know About Olive Oil: Last year about this time, I spent a few days in Montreal where I met a charming Frenchman named Renee Lavallee whose shop in a downtown market is famous for its olive oil, with one entire wall lined from floor to ceiling with bottles from all over the world. He's so devoted to liquid gold, he claims it's even great with ice cream.

We hope you will join us!

~The Here on Earth Team