Programs for the Week of 1/2

Happy New Year to all our devoted Here on Earthians! Due to our reduced staff during the holidays, this week’s bulletin might be a little late, and a bit on the light side:

Monday: UPRISING: According to Time magazine, the word protest appeared in newspapers and online more this past year than at any other time in history. Political analyst John Nichols is working on a new book about the uprisings of 2011. He says that for once the United States is in solidarity with the rest of the world. He joins us with a look back at the global protest movements of 2011. Which ones are most likely to succeed?

Tuesday: The Exile of a Peace Maker in Syria: Father Paolo is an Italian Jesuit priest who has worked to foster and maintain a real interfaith dialogue between Muslims and Christians for the past 30 years in Syria. Recently, he was exiled by the regime for expressing his concerns about living under a totalitarian dictatorship, stating that "Fear has oppressed us too long." Stephanie Saldana wrote about him in her memoir, The Bread of Angels. She joins us with an update.

Wednesday: Mindfulness for Beginners: Is meditation at the top of your New Year’s resolutions? Jon Kabat-Zinn, who has done so much to secularize the practice of meditation and to integrate it into the mainstream medical establishment in the U.S. has come out with a new book which stresses its health benefits and is especially designed for the beginning meditator.

Thursday: The Ancient Navigators of Micronesia: Imagine being in a hand-made canoe in the middle of a vast ocean, guided only by the sun, stars and wind. For centuries, ancient navigators in the Pacific did just that: guided themselves by nature's clues and the knowledge handed down by their ancestors. Wisconsin-born James Campbell set out to find and sail with some of the last master navigators of Micronesia.

Friday: Dining on the Trans Siberian Railroad: At over 5,000 miles long, the Trans Siberian Railroad is the longest railway on Earth. To ride it from end to end would take over six days. Some say those could be the loneliest six days of your life. Unless of course, you participate in the most famous past time aboard: making friends and sharing food.

From all of us Here on Earth, have a happy and safe New Year’s Eve! We look forward to more enlightening radio hours in 2012.

With all best wishes,

Jean