When we’re in a disagreement, it’s sometimes hard simply to listen to the other person. The emotional temperature may be high and we can shut down in a defensive posture. But skillful listening is a core practice of conflict resolution and, potentially, a doorway to improved relations, greater self-understanding, and personal growth. 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 hear from a variety of nurses about the stresses they face in today’s fast-paced medical setting—and how they struggle to find the time needed to treat the whole person. 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.

Haley House was established in 1966 to shelter and serve unhoused people in Boston. Co-founder Kathy McKenna reflects on the line between helping people in need and becoming an “enabler” of people who don’t want to improve.

Helen Keller—subject of this audio biography—surmounted both deafness and blindness by learning to communicate with great eloquence, and became an unlikely world superstar. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.

Aiming to “transform the pain of grief into the elixir of hope,” a group called The Compassionate Friends, with more than 600 U.S. chapters, brings together parents who’ve suffered the loss of a child, to help them sort through complicated emotions amo...

In this episode we visit William J Ostiguy High School. It is a learning facility designed to help kids with a history of substance abuse—who support each other in their quest to remain clean and sober. To see additional resources and our other program...

Harvard Medical School Professor Herbert Benson, MD pioneering work on the Relaxation Response has helped millions of people learn a simple meditative technique to reduce the harmful effects of stress. To see additional resources and our other programs...

We profile Raphael Warnock, US senator from Georgia and also the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta — the congregation once led by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. What sustains your faith in “shaky times”?

Progressive voices of conscience have long arisen in faith communities. This Humankind documentary explores the spiritual impulse for social change. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org .

George Mumford teaches top athletes the “superpowers” of mindfulness, concentration, insight, right effort and trust as techniques to strengthen performance and avoid the trap of spiritual demise. To see additional resources and our other programs,

For the first time in our history, there will be more older adults than children. This huge societal change will affect how families provide eldercare, how older Americans access transportation, and whether people can age in their own homes among neigh...

70 million Baby Boomers are now entering their retirement years. For the first time in history, there will be more older adults than children. On this special project from Humankind public radio, you’ll hear stories of transition and dignity — and meet...

A look at the problem of gun violence as a public health crisis, impacting not just emergency rooms but also long-term needs for healing from exposure to trauma. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org .

When a gifted artist and media producer near Los Angeles is stricken with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), a community of friends comes together to support him as he develops ingenious ways to continue creating his art work,

The story of a bright inner city high school student from Boston, who has launched a series of citywide clothing drives inspired by the needs of fellow students who are homeless or displaced. To see additional resources and our other programs,

The power of a patient’s self-reflection as a tool for coping with illness is explored by a nurse scientist who has studied meditation as a health technique, and by a cancer survivor who teaches other patients about the value of therapeutic writing in ...

We consider the plight of tens of millions of Americans in families and relationships with alcoholics. How does the destabilizing influence of active addiction affect family systems? What emotional and life challenges are faced by people raised around ...

Bill Siemering, NPR’s first program director and the author of its inspiring mission statement, recounts the network’s early goal of honoring diversity by including a variety of American voices. To see additional resources and our other programs,

In these special Humankind documentaries, ‘Beyond War’ takes a look back at the last time the U.S. military had major involvement in the Middle East. We examine the true human costs of organized violence (for both soldiers and civilians).

It’s been said that we’ve learned how to speak but not necessarily how to communicate. Rarely are we taught the art of deep listening or how to respond to someone without accusation or blame or the ability to articulate our own needs without putting ot...