Life Examined

Behind the front lines of drug legalization and harm reduction

On this week’s Life Examined, we’re teaming up with KCRW’s Bodies podcast. In “Do Less Harm,” the second episode of the new season, producer Hannah Harris Green travels to West Virginia, where despite government push back, activists are handing out clean needles and the opioid overdose medication Narcan. Host Jonathan Bastian talks with Green and Bodies creator and host Allison Behringer about their new season and Green’s experience meeting people who use drugs in rural West Virginia. We also hear from Dr. Carl Hart, Columbia University psychologist and author of  “Drug Use for Grown Ups,” on why he thinks the legalization of recreational drug use is important. 

Robert Macfarlane on nature, language, and music

Jonathan Bastian talks with Robert Macfarlane, fellow at Emmanuel College at Cambridge University, about his love of the mountains and his latest fascination with the subterranean world, which is the subject of his latest book, “Underland: A Deep Time Journey.” 
“I'm fascinated by where matter meets metaphor,” Macfarlane says. “The underworld is … this unbiddable, scarcely known, deep ground that we walk on every day, we walk on the crust, our feet are the things that keep us in contact with the earth, they are palms, as it were, to the ground.”
Macfarlane also shares his passion for language and metaphor in nature and his latest musical project, “Lost in The Cedar Wood.” with singer/songwriter Johnny Flynn. 
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The weaponization of shame

Cathy O’Neil talks about the increase and profiteering in public shaming. Siva Vaidhyanathan asks whether shame is an effective tool against racism and to promote social justice.

Is gender innate?

Primatologist Frans de Waal examines the significance of biology and culture on gendered behavior, and neuroscientist Lise Eliot debunks the theory that the male and female brains are different.

Dogs: The science behind their success

Jonathan Bastian talks with Clive Wynne, psychologist and founder of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University, about the science behind studying dogs and what makes them so unique. Wynne, also the author of “Dog is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You,” says that, “dogs, like ourselves, have a capacity, drive, and desire to have strong emotional bonds with members of other species.” Delve deeper into life, philosophy, and what makes us human by joining the Life Examined discussion group on Facebook.

Understanding anxiety —and its surprising upside

Jonathan Bastian talks with Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of the Emotion Regulation Lab at Hunter College, about the anxiety epidemic and her book “Future Tense; Why Anxiety Is Good for You (Even Though It Feels Bad).” “Anxiety is a feature of being human,” Dennis-Tiwary says. “It’s not a bug, it's not a malfunction. We can learn and work through it.” Delve deeper into life, philosophy, and what makes us human by joining the Life Examined discussion group on Facebook.

Rabbi Steve Leder: Uvalde shooting, navigating grief, and ‘ethical wills’

Jonathan Bastian talks with Steve Leder, the senior Rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles about tragedy, grief, and the loss of a child in the aftermath of the massacre in Uvalde, Texas. Rabbi Leder also discusses his new book “For You When I Am Gone: Twelve Essential Questions to Tell a Life Story,” the legacy we leave behind when we die, and the writing of an “ethical will.” Delve deeper into life, philosophy, and what makes us human by joining the Life Examined discussion group on Facebook.

Schizophrenia: A new day in diagnosis and treatment

For hundreds of years, doctors and scientists have grappled with  understanding schizophrenia. It’s a mysterious mental illness characterized by delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, and disorganized speech. Understanding what caused the condition remained rudimentary, and there was a period when therapists blamed parents, and especially mothers, for contributing to the condition. KCRW hears the heartbreaking yet ultimately inspiring story of the Galvin family, where six out of their 12 children developed schizophrenia. Also, mapping the human genome has ushered in a massive sea change in the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders, helping put mental illness and schizophrenia in the mainstream of biomedical research. *This episode originally aired on March 12th, 2021

Bittersweet: Susan Cain on the joy of sweet sorrow

Jonathan Bastian talks with writer, lecturer, and author Susan Cain about the sweet joy of sadness. Cain, author of “Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole,” reflects on the touch of sweetness that comes from sadness and despair and shares how a greater acceptance of these emotions can be beneficial and even therapeutic. Delve deeper into life, philosophy, and what makes us human by joining the Life Examined discussion group on Facebook.

The science behind heartbreak: How to move on, and is there a cure?

Jonathan Bastian talks with Florence Williams, science writer and author of “Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey,” about the pain that comes with a breakup and why it’s so hard to move on. Later, Sandra Langeslag, associate professor of psychological sciences at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Aimee Lutkin, writer, performer, and the author of “The Lonely Hunter: How Our Search for Love Is Broken: A Memoir,” discuss the cure for heartbreak and misconceptions about coupledom.