Life Examined

For African Americans, June 19 (Juneteenth) is both a celebration of freedom and an occasion of somber remembrance. It marks the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Texas learned that they were free — two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Until recently, only a handful of states, including Texas, have acknowledged June 19 as a historical date that’s just as significant as Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Independence Day. How should we embrace and celebrate America’s not so glorious past, and could Juneteenth change the way we think about our nation? Artist and poet Sybil Roberts Williams shares her way of celebrating Juneteenth and why the arts are so important in shaping the future self-identification of African Americans. We also talk about how Black people still need to be fully acknowledged in U.S. history books — with University of Texas history professor Austin Peniel Joseph.

Music has always played an important role in cultures across the globe and across the millenia. The discovery of a  40,000-year-old bone flute in a German cave showed that hominids, our prehistoric ancestors, could use a tool to produce sound. Technology continues to impact the history and evolution of music, from the lyres depicted in the art of ancient Greece to the orchestras, synthesizers, and electronics used today. Music professor and author Michael Spitzer traces our history of and relationship to music, and tracks the impact music has had on our lives, from Mozart and jazz to Beyonce and hip-hop. Harvard psychiatrist David Silberswieg also discusses how listening to music enhances brain function.  Could listening to music help with depression and Parkinson’s disease?

Friendship is one of the most important components and predictors for emotional and physical well being. A good friendship can last a lifetime, but it’s never too late to make new friends, as long as we devote time and energy to that effort. As we re-engage with one another after a year of isolation, who will we choose to interact with, and why does hanging out with our friends feel so good? On this week’s “Life Examined,” science journalist and author Lydia Denworth explains the science and evolution behind friendship and what primates can teach us about the value of social bonds. She says that “a good friendship is as important to our health as diet and exercise.” We’ll also hear from journalist Kate Murphy about why the pandemic has provided us with a useful opportunity to drop the friends that drain and drag you down.

Trees and forests have long been a source of inspiration for art and poetry. The modern environmental movement says forests and trees are on the front lines of fighting climate change by absorbing CO2 and cooling the planet with their leafy canopies. But trees may be far more evolved than their passive exteriors would lead us to believe.   We explore the healing power of trees and why a good forest bath might be the best way to de-stress your life.  German forester and author Peter Wohlleben explains how trees have a sophisticated method of communication and collaboration, and even have memories. We also hear from naturalist and forest therapy guide Ana Ka’ahanui, who describes how slowing down and being still among the trees might be far more beneficial than taking a rigorous hike.

The decision to have a child is quite possibly the most daunting and consequential any of us can make. But recent data and research on the well-being of parents may give some would-be parents reason to press pause. A child does provide meaning and purpose but does having children make us happier? Also how will the climate crisis and the COVID pandemic impact the decision on whether or not to have kids?

LSD and Ecstasy were once the hippy-trippy illegal substances for concerts, raves, and parties. Now these psychedelics are back in the news — this time for their positive impact on trauma and depression.  Today nearly one in five American adults lives with a mental illness, and PTSD will affect an estimated 7.7 million Americans at some point in their life. That’s according to NAMI, the National Alliance of Mental Illness.  Over the past 30 years, researchers and psychotherapists have discovered the transformative benefits of treating trauma, depression, anxiety and drug addiction in controlled therapy sessions using methylenedioxy methamphetamine (MDMA). KCRW explores how psychedelics and specifically MDMA have shifted the paradigm when it comes to the treatment of trauma, and what the de-stigmatization and medical legalization of these drugs could mean for future treatments of mental disorders.  

Repentance and reflection was once the utopian ideal of the penitentiary system. Back then, the ideal was not to punish but to provide a solitary space or sanctuary from the evils of the outside world in which to repent. Today, that ideal has been swallowed by a massive prison industrial complex, but despite being overcrowded and underfunded, some prisons do offer educational programs like writing classes. KCRW explores how poetry and writing have provided meaning for formerly and currently incarcerated people, plus how prison writing serves as a window  into life inside America’s incarceration system.

Throughout history, there have always been a small group of people who prepare for doomsday.  Today, according to a YouGov poll conducted in 2020, roughly one in five Americans feel that an apocalypse is coming. So what’s the obsession with the end of times, and do America’s historical roots inspire survivalism? KCRW’s Jonathan Bastian learns about the lives and mindsets of  people who think the apocalypse is around the corner. Journalist Mark O’Connell crosses the globe in search of preppers and shares his experiences. We also explore the psychology and religious beliefs of preppers, and examine whether the Book of Revelations offers an alternative way to understand apocalyptic moments with Williams College Professor Jaqueline Hiligo and Yale University Professor Yii- Jan Lin.

Authenticity is a quality many of us admire and aspire to, but what does it mean to be truly yourself? Philosophers both ancient and modern have struggled with the question of authenticity and whether we do the right thing because we judge it to be so, or because others praise our deeds. KCRW learns about what it means to be genuine and whether we have more than one inner self. We also explore the challenge of fitting in, and how imposter syndrome disproportionately impacts women of color and minorities.   

For much of the 20th century, the consensus was that our memories are fixed and stored in the brain as literal recordings of past events. Modern research, however, has given us a better understanding. Memories constantly change. They expand, shrink, and expand again. Our memories can also be manipulated and altered by suggestion. KCRW learns about the failings and malleability of memory, and the controversy when it comes to witness testimony in court. We also learn how nostalgic memories can help us cope in difficult times.