TERRY GROSS, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. I’m Terry Gross. For people prone to depression, especially if the depression is triggered by stress, this is probably a really difficult period. That’s one of the things I’m going to talk about with my guest John Moe, who you might know from his public radio podcast “The Hilarious World Of Depression,” which is also the name of his new book. He’s a humorist who’s dealt with clinical depression much of his life. On his podcast, he interviews people – mostly comics – who have depression. In his book, he writes about his own depression and the history of mental illness in his family. His older brother died by suicide. Throughout the book, Moe quotes relevant passages of his interviews with comics. In the preface, he writes that the book is about how he’s been tortured by depression but also found the absurd humor in it.
Tag: NPR
Asimov interview – Fresh Air
SEPTEMBER 25, 1987
The Dean of Science Fiction Writers” and the Words and Concepts He’s Added to the Lexicon.
Issac Asimov [a.k.a. Paul French], the dean of science fiction writers. Asimov is arguably one of the most widely published authors ever.
from the Fresh Air archives – https://freshairarchive.org/
Julliard movement teacher, NPR Profile
Yakim says this creative exercise is an important part of an artist’s training. “In acting you have to use a lot your imagination,” he says. “And the imagination does not go naturally to places where the body cannot go there. The more you free the body, the freer the imagination is to go wherever it needs to go.”
Sitting better
Instead of focusing on the chest or shoulders, Sherer says, we need to turn our attention to a body part that is lower down, below the waist: the pelvis.
Or to put another way — your butt.
“The most important thing to change to reduce back pain is your pelvis position,” she says. “It’s like a stack of toy blocks. If the blocks at the bottom aren’t sturdy, then the top has no chance.”
Build a better pallet. Planet Money #545
Contract Work – In the news.
A Close-Up Look At Contract Workers
January 22, 2018 • An NPR/Marist poll sheds light on a fast-growing workforce sector: contract workers. One out of every five jobs is held by a contract worker. While many enjoy the flexibility, the jobs are unsteady.
School refusal
Can Buddhist Practices Help Us Overcome The Biological Pull Of Dissatisfaction?
Are human beings hard-wired to be perpetually dissatisfied? Author Robert Wright, who teaches about the interface of evolutionary biology and religion, thinks so.
Wright points out that evolution rewards people for seeking out pleasure rather than pain, which helps ensure that human beings are frequently unsatisfied: “We are condemned to always want things to be a little different, always want a little more,” he says. “We’re not designed by natural selection to be happy.”
But all is not lost. In his new book, Why Buddhism is True, Wright makes the case that some Buddhist practices can help humans overcome the biological pull towards dissatisfaction. …