Humankind on Public Radio

When we’re in a disagreement, it’s sometimes hard simply to listen to the other person. The emotional temperature may be high and we can shut down in a defensive posture. But skillful listening is a core practice of conflict resolution and, potentially, a doorway to improved relations, greater self-understanding, and personal growth. 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.

We hear from a variety of nurses about the stresses they face in today’s fast-paced medical setting—and how they struggle to find the time needed to treat the whole person. 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.

Haley House was established in 1966 to shelter and serve unhoused people in Boston. Co-founder Kathy McKenna reflects on the line between helping people in need and becoming an “enabler” of people who don’t want to improve. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and […]

Helen Keller—subject of this audio biography—surmounted both deafness and blindness by learning to communicate with great eloquence, and became an unlikely world superstar. 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.

Aiming to “transform the pain of grief into the elixir of hope,” a group called The Compassionate Friends, with more than 600 U.S. chapters, brings together parents who’ve suffered the loss of a child, to help them sort through complicated emotions among kindred spirits. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind […]

In this episode we visit William J Ostiguy High School. It is a learning facility designed to help kids with a history of substance abuse—who support each other in their quest to remain clean and sober. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, […]

Harvard Medical School Professor Herbert Benson, MD pioneering work on the Relaxation Response has helped millions of people learn a simple meditative technique to reduce the harmful effects of stress. 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.

We profile Raphael Warnock, US senator from Georgia and also the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta — the congregation once led by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. What sustains your faith in “shaky times”? To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, […]

Progressive voices of conscience have long arisen in faith communities. This Humankind documentary explores the spiritual impulse for social change. 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.

George Mumford teaches top athletes the “superpowers” of mindfulness, concentration, insight, right effort and trust as techniques to strengthen performance and avoid the trap of spiritual demise. 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.

For the first time in our history, there will be more older adults than children. This huge societal change will affect how families provide eldercare, how older Americans access transportation, and whether people can age in their own homes among neighbors they know — and avoid nursing facilities, where about 30% of Covid-19 deaths occurred. […]

70 million Baby Boomers are now entering their retirement years. For the first time in history, there will be more older adults than children. On this special project from Humankind public radio, you’ll hear stories of transition and dignity — and meet people who are showing the way. To see additional resources and out other […]

A look at the problem of gun violence as a public health crisis, impacting not just emergency rooms but also long-term needs for healing from exposure to trauma. 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.

When a gifted artist and media producer near Los Angeles is stricken with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), a community of friends comes together to support him as he develops ingenious ways to continue creating his art work, even without the use of his limbs. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind […]

The story of a bright inner city high school student from Boston, who has launched a series of citywide clothing drives inspired by the needs of fellow students who are homeless or displaced. 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 […]

The power of a patient’s self-reflection as a tool for coping with illness is explored by a nurse scientist who has studied meditation as a health technique, and by a cancer survivor who teaches other patients about the value of therapeutic writing in expressing their inward feelings. To see additional resources and our other programs, […]

We consider the plight of tens of millions of Americans in families and relationships with alcoholics. How does the destabilizing influence of active addiction affect family systems? What emotional and life challenges are faced by people raised around alcoholism? To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR […]

Author Eileen Flanagan discusses her powerful essay on the lessons about life that can be derived from parenting—patience, unconditional love, and how to handle “a child who decorated the white carpet with pink sidewalk chalk.” To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in […]

We explore the duties and challenges of military chaplains from two nations: Britain and Canada. Ian Wheatley, recorded at the Defence Ministry in Westminster, London, serves as Chaplain of the Fleet of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Next, we visit with Padre Guy Chapdelaine, a soft-spoken Canadian who currently serves as Chaplain General […]

How exactly can we build a future based on understanding and connection among people of diverse backgrounds — rather than prejudice, misinformation and suspicion that are the fuel for violence? 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.