Life Examined

From hunter gatherers and agrarian societies to colonialism and corporate conglomerates, the need to eat has played a pivotal role in shaping our evolution. It has driven human history and shaped our past. But is the instinct that helped our ancestors survive being manipulated today? Is our food being deliberately designed and marketed to be more addictive?  Also, simple rituals and slowing down may help us better connect with our food, ourselves, and nature.

Worry and anxiety are common problems for most of us, especially during a global pandemic. Stress produced by lockdowns, working from home, and caring for children and the eldery has caused a spike in anxiety and depression. But according to one psychiatrist and researcher, anxiety is also a bad habit we can learn to control. KCRW also speaks with another researcher about neuroscience and promising new treatments for mental disorders. Could electric brain stimulation rewire our brains to help with conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s?

Nine states, including California, have enacted Medical Aid in Dying legislation, allowing those who are terminally ill to end their lives peacefully by taking doctor-prescribed medication. The process of qualifying for this legislation is rigorously managed — few people fit the criteria and even fewer decide ultimately to follow through. So what’s the importance of control in how we face death? Why do endings matter, and not just for those who die?

From Bronze Age farmers to New World colonialists, land ownership has been prized, sought after, inherited and fought over. The hunger for land has resulted in wars, class structure, persecution and the displacement of thousands of Indigenous tribes. Today, financial security and adulthood is still marked by owning a house on a plot of soil but is owning private property a sign of a civilized or uncivilized society? Is it time for governments and communities to finally consider how the native people, who originally shepherded the land thoughtfully and soundly, might once again be considered its rightful “owners.”

For the thousands of workers not on the front lines of COVID-19, the pandemic has ushered in a new era, not only in how we work but how we approach the jobs we do.  Will we ever return to the office; the rows of desks and the 9-5 work day? Also author and journalist Sarah Jaffe on why we should expect a lot more from our jobs and not just pay.

When it comes to intimate relationships one size does not fit all. Marriage and monogamy have a long history dating back thousands of years and even today value the emotional and financial security that comes with “tying the knot.” Research suggests however that happiness is not exclusive to those who are in monogamous relationships. Some people are happiest single and others choose many lovers. Polyamory or consensual non-monogamy is under increased scrutiny offering couples new ways to redefine their relationship.

If you go back far enough in time our common ancestor might be a cuddle fish or an octopus. Though evolution has taken us on different paths, there is still much that connects us to the animal world and to the thoughts and experiences that give it shape. Philosopher and scientist Peter Godfrey-Smith explores the oceans and provides some illuminating insight on the origins of the mind and the nature of consciousness. Also poet and author Aimee Nezhukumatathil on how observing the natural world may mean more than we realize for our physical and mental health.

Historically men have been the figureheads of our religious institutions but it has been women who have played a fundamental role in establishing and sustaining them. How has religion shaped the way we think about gender? Is it time for a more expansive vision for women from within the church? 

The peaceful transition of power for the first time in US history appeared to hang in the balance this week. Americans around the country witnessed the breakdown of an assumptive world and the violation of the US Capitol left many saddened, confused and angry. How should we make sense of what has happened without normalizing what we have seen? What happens to ferment this type of extremist behaviour?

The novel coronavirus pandemic is a daily reminder of how quickly life can change. Theoretical physicist Brian Greene joins KCRW’s Jonathan Bastian  and discusses the meaning of impermanence and living in the here and now. Poet and essayist Jane Hirshfield explains why poets treasure pondering life’s abysses and how words and imagery disseminate the world around us.