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When prisoners are freed — as more than 9 in 10 eventually are, they often are harshly stigmatized. Nationwide, nearly half of those paroled end up back in jail. The pattern of recidivism inflicts enduring harm on the safety and wholeness of society and on these individuals. Our audio documentary examines ways to interrupt this destructive cycle. We focus on the truly visionary work of Robin Casarjian, a counselor and educator based in the Boston area. 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.

More than a million Americans are locked in jails and prisons. Helping them recover from earlier trauma can safeguard society. Hear the stories of ex-prisoners who’ve begun to heal, through the inspired work of Robin Casarjian. 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.

In this segment, we examine the importance of early literacy, starting with the simple act of reading aloud to a very young child. Librarians, pediatricians and others weigh in on how these bonding experiences demonstrate for children that reading can be a source of pleasure (just ask a toddler who requests to be read the same story over and over). But it also enhances crucial brain development in the first years. 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.

To the astonishment of publishers, Jalaluddin Rumi has become the best-selling poet in America. Rumi’s sensational popularity is notable not only because of its content—an intoxicated, rapturous love letter to the divine. 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.

The dialogues among women with opposing views on abortion gave new insight into how to handle difference, without dehumanizing those we disagree with. Hear how the participants struggled to find understanding, to abandon needlessly inflammatory language and to establish meaningful friendships, however unlikely. Although no one expected determined advocates to abandon their belief systems, their hearts clearly shifted, in a way that will surprise you — and offer some clues on how our polarized country might begin to heal. 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.

In the wake of shocking violence at abortion clinics, two apparent enemies — women representing pro-choice and pro-life factions in the Boston area, where shootings had occurred — were forced to communicate, for the sake of everyone’s safety. What unfolded over many months was one of the most mysterious and moving conversations among people of sharply differing ideologies. A remarkable encounter with continuing relevance. 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.

In today’s pay-to-play political environment, and with almost no rules, is the pardon ripe for abuse? In effect, it’s a “get out of jail free” card, as in the Monopoly board game.  Donald Trump says, “It’s the most powerful thing a president has.”  We hear legal experts, an investigative reporter, as well as archival audio from some of these dramatic events in part two of our documentary. 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.

The Constitution allows the president to grant pardons – originally intended as a way to show mercy. But is the pardon ripe for abuse? Hear the history, from the pardoning of Nixon, to the Bidens, to the Jan. 6 rioters. 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.

Hear Bill Siemering, the visionary who helped to found NPR and wrote its initial mission statement, articulate the important role public broadcasting plays in our democracy. 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.

The stories of people in recovery from alcoholism, who had to work through denial and sometimes harsh consequences on the road to sobriety, which can present its own ongoing emotional challenges. 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.

Daniel Goleman is a former New York Times science reporter specializing in how brain function affects the way we feel and perceive life, particularly how people develop different levels of empathy. 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.

The 2023 film ‘Oppenheimer’ reminds us of our unfinished business in the nuclear age. Hear Ira Helfand, an emergency room physician, describe the main barrier to addressing this problem: our denial that nuclear arms could cause the gravest emergency of all. 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 travel to a Detroit program for pediatric cancer patients founded by a rabbi whose daughter died of cancer. He teaches martial arts to young patients, helping them find inner strength. 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.

Nearly 5 million direct care workers assist America’s older adults. They perform their duties in private homes, residential care settings and nursing facilities. Often paid low wages, many rely on some form of public assistance to make ends meet. A surprising number are homeless. Yet the labor can be arduous, helping sometimes disabled people with dressing, toilet care, mobility challenges, transferring in and out of bed. And sometimes the clients they serve are angry, even abusive. 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.

In this documentary we enter a rich dialogue with Joel Bauman, a remarkably gifted physician, trained in care for the elderly. He describes the special needs of palliative care for hospice patients, who have shifted from seeking a cure (which may no longer be realistic) to relief of symptoms and distress, as life draws to a close. 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.