Under the Surface

Charles Person was one of the original Freedom Riders from 1961. At the age of only 18, he rode a public interstate bus into the segregated South with an inter-racial group of young people to challenge the persistent non-enforcement of US Supreme Court decisions which ruled that segregated public buses and other public spaces were unconstitutional. Viciously attacked twice by white Klansmen in Alabama, he put his life on the line to challenge the status quo in an act of nonviolent protest. Learn about his unique experience and his perspective on the current widespread protests against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis.

A personal reflection on the problem of being a HALF-JEW, meaning a patrilineal Jew in all its inane contradictions. But more broadly, a reflection on not quite belonging anywhere. Support Under the Surface by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/UndertheSurface Find out more at https://UndertheSurface.pinecast.co

Ella Vallone, the US mail carrier for Easthampton, MA has a fan club made up of all the different people who live along her route, which happens to be her very own neighborhood. Despite the challenge of walking 13 miles a day to deliver mail to 680 houses a day, the hardship of extreme weather and the weight of heavy loads, she has found the job rewarding. She says, "I am blessed with people who shower me with umbrellas, food, love and stories about themselves and the history of the town.”

Meet the embodied artist and creator of Shyanne Happens. Shyanne Happens is a life-size, living, breathing inflatable doll! A "Shyanne Happening" challenges the status quo by reclaiming the female body from the porn industry and placing it in the totally different context of climate change and gender equality activism. By dancing between the Sacred and the Profane, Shyanne invites us to question the nature of life as we know it by confronting us with the contradictions of our own culture in all its complexity and strangeness.

David Entin served in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968. But NOT as a soldier. Instead, he worked for USAID (United States Agency for International Development) in the province of Quang Ngai where he had some of the most memorable, paradigm-shifting experiences of his life. He experienced both the beauty of the Vietnamese countryside and the horror of war from the vantage point of a helicopter. He witnessed the hypocrisy of the war on a personal level too as it played out in his workplace role after the Tet Offensive.

Jess Batchelor shares her own experience of sexual harrassment and powerlessness in the workplace, the practicality of following guidelines for consent on college campuses, the conflict between 2nd and 3rd wave feminists on sexual expression (vs. exploitation) and the ways that we still remain blind to everyday sexism.

Kamil Peters creates highly distinctive metal art work in Holyoke, MA ranging from small intricate masks to massive sculptures of animals and insects, as well as large-scale commercial installations. But his passion also lies in teaching the art of welding to young people who find themselves lost in a school system and society that renders them invisible. "Everybody needs a place... a place to feel like home away from home," he says. "When you honor your children, they will honor you back."

Marjory Zaik, an Easthampton, MA native, had Polish immigrant grandparents who came to the US in the 1920's and settled in the small mill town of Easthampton without knowing how to speak a word of English. In this interview, Marjory reflects on her parents' desire to transcend Easthampton as well as her own. But after 3 decades in NYC, Marjory made the startling decision to return to her hometown. Here's why.

For the last day of 2017, I decided to look back at my life and create a solo episode on SEXISM. In particular, I reflect on my own personal experiences from childhood to adulthood. I also talk about how I internalized sexist ideas at a young age and how they formed my views on romance and the nature of "the real man." How can we break free of the sexist head trip of our culture while also remaining a part of it?

When I first heard Claire Dacey perform at an open mic about two months ago at Luthier’s in Easthampton, I was enthralled by the beauty and authenticity of her voice. In this conversation, Claire discusses the path that led her to create folk music as well as her background as a naturalist and ecologist. She also treats us to four of her breathtaking original songs!

Learn about Peter Duveen's personal spiritual journey from Catholicism to palm reading, Christian Science to the Unification Church. Throw Yukio Mishima's "Way of the Samurai" into the mix! And listen to his account of what he describes as a personal encounter he had with God at the age of 17.

Eduardo Samaniego came to the United States from Mexico with a visa at the age of 16 because he wanted to go to college and get a good education. Within a short period, he learned English and rose to the top of his HS class. But while he was a minor, he lost his legal status and was denied admission to Georgia's top colleges and ineligible for in-state tuition at other universities as well. Through hard work, however, and difficult times, he managed to get a full scholarship to Hampshire College. Hear his story and learn of the work he is doing for immigration rights, reform, the Sanctuary movement and the DREAM act.

Episode Notes An interview with Nancy Kissock who was courageous enough to follow her dream. She sold her home of 40+ years in the US in 2014 at the age of 73 to relocate to Paris, France! Find out about her personal journey and what it's like to make such a dramatic shift in one's life.

A conversation with Dr. T. Stephen Jones, a Northampton resident who was an active participant in the successful World Health Organization Smallpox eradication programs in India, Bangladesh, and Somalia. He is also known as a national leader in the prevention of HIV, viral hepatitis and drug overdose among injection drug users, serving in several director positions for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He continues to work as a consultant and public health advocate on drug use practices as well as climate issues to this day.

A discussion with Sandra Worsham, the author of the book "Going To Wings," a deeply personal memoir about breaking free of conventions and coming out as a gay woman in the Deep South from the mid-1970's to the present.

Episode Notes Meet the wildly talented Tom Knight -- musician, puppeteer and videographer based in Northampton, MA and learn how he became a full-time artist with a dream career, doing what he loves most.

An interview with my father, Sidney I. Landau, who discusses his impoverished childhood in New York City in the 1940's; his experience as a draftee in the army in Frankfurt, Germany during the Korean War; his 40 year career as an editor of dictionaries and his life as an early marathon runner in Central Park during the 1970's. (Photo shows Sidney I. Landau with his niece, not the host).

Episode Notes Ray Paquette shares some wild stories about his experiences driving the legendary Green Tortoise (adventure travel) bus for 10 years between 1982-92. Check it out!

Episode Notes An interview with John Van Noate, a man who changed his life to devote himself to the making of art including giant life-sized polar bear sculptures covered in electric lights, penguins and a huge collection of fascinating vintage photographs.

Episode Notes Hari Kumar, a teacher, facilitator, storycrafter and active scholar in critical cultural studies discusses his fascinating performance-based research on issues of whiteness, politics, religion, gender, and mass media.

Episode Notes Kate St. Ives reflects on her childhood and on what makes childhood such a unique time of life in this thoughtful and insightful discussion. Kate is a writer of fiction and poetry.

Episode Notes My interview with songwriter, folklorist, community music organizer and roving female banjo player, NORMA JEAN HAYNE. Her MUSIC - her singing and banjo-playing is what makes this interview really come alive. Check out the radio debut of some of her orginal songs and witness the mesmerizing purity of her voice and poetry of her lyrics.

Cassandra Koutalidis discusses her childhood in Maine. She talks about looking through a window well as a 2 year old (her earliest memory), mischief at Halloween and how her older sister convinced her that a spirit lived inside a cigarette lighter! She also has a great answer to this question: if you could return to your childhood with your adult mind, would you do it?

A conversation with Steve Freiman about his childhood. He talks about getting an electric shock in a synagogue at the age of 4 and learning what happens to the garbage on barges as a kid. He also reflects on how accessing the vulnerability we had as kids is what leads to love.