This Saturday October 25th 8-9 PM on It’s A Question Of Balance with Ruth Copland we consider ‘Do we still need public libraries? In this age of the internet and e-books what is the role of the public library in society today? Thomas Jefferson in 1809 wrote “I have often thought that nothing would do more extensive good at small expense than the establishment of a small circulating library in every county”. Funding of libraries is constantly under attack in budget cuts and has seriously declined in recent years even though 90% of Americans say the closing of their local public library would impact their community*. Publishers are ambivalent or even hostile about libraries fearing reduced book sales. With their core mission of promoting reading, however, do libraries create new readers (and thus new purchasers)? 82% of Americans believe libraries should provide free literacy programs to young children*, which may include traditional reading, writing and comprehension as well as technology and new media literacies. Is this a good use of public money or should parents be responsible for providing these skills? Many people have home access to the internet for research and e-books but does this replace the cultural and intellectual experience of the library and its role as a vibrant community center? Is the library more than a repository of books? Libraries now provide free access to the internet and computers – is this as fundamental a right to information as the original intent of libraries providing access to books (and thus knowledge) for all people regardless of socio-economic standing? What do you think? I get the views of people in the local area for our Out and About feature. Join us on Saturday 8-9 PM! For more info on the show and to hear past shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
This Saturday 4th April 8-9 PM on It’s A Question Of Balance with Ruth Copland we consider ‘Should Children Be Paid To Learn?’ According to research papers quoted in Education Week and the Journal of Human Resources a dozen states in America have offered financial incentive programmes to students ranging from students being paid to read to receiving in some instances hundreds of dollars for good grades. But should children be paid to learn? Michael Sandel in his book What Money Can’t Buy states that economic reasoning suggests that two incentives should work better than one but there is also the possibility that the monetary incentive will undermine the intrinsic one leading to less reading over time. Is there any harm in offering children financial incentives if it gets them to do the work? What life lessons do you think children might learn from being offered money to read, or get better grades, rather than learning to motivate themselves? Could it be teaching them that studying is a chore? Or would they perhaps gain an intrinsic love of reading, for example, as a by-product of learning for pay?
What do you think? Ruth Copland gets the views of people in the local area for our Out and About feature. Join us on Saturday 8-9 PM! For more info on the show and to hear past shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
This week as her special guest from the arts Ruth is pleased to be interviewing Alan White of the progressive rock band Yes, who have sold nearly 40 million albums and are famous for pioneering the use of rock instruments to create extended classical-style compositions. Considered by many to be one of the greatest rock drummers of all time, Alan has over 40 years of experience and appearances on over 50 albums, with artists including John Lennon, George Harrison, Joe Cocker, Ginger Baker and The Ventures as well as with Yes. As an important contributing songwriter, Alan has helped take Yes to great heights with radio hits such as Owner of a Lonely Heart, Changes, Love Will Find a Way, Rhythm of Love, Wondrous Stories, Tempus Fugit, Leave It, The Calling, and In the Presence Of. Known for his accomplished professionalism, musical innovation, and easy-going nature, Alan continues to inspire musicians as well as a world-wide following of fans. Despite the hectic touring and recording schedule of Yes, Alan also finds time for other projects - composing music for the entertainment industry with longtime friend and technical guru, Reek N. Havok, and performing with a variety of artists, including a collaboration with MerKaBa, a Seattle, Washington-based band with music rooted partly in native cultures, spirituality and love for the earth, and a new band project called White. In addition, Alan conducts numerous drum clinics around the world, to encourage and teach other drummers. Born in England, Alan now lives in Washington state with his wife Gigi.
Ruth’s in-depth interviews with compelling guests from all areas of the arts focus on the way artists challenge preconceptions, explore feelings and thoughts, stir emotions and take their audience on a journey through the consciousness, hoping variously to entertain, elucidate and inspire. Ruth says “Art gives us a way of entering into another’s experience of the world. This can be by turns exciting, unsettling, pleasurable and healing. In my interviews I try to go beneath the surface and find out what motivates the guest to make their art; to explore how their life experiences have shaped and inspired their work; and what place they see for art in the modern world.”
Join Ruth Saturday 13 December 9-10 PM PST as she explores these areas with the iconic musician Alan White. Listen on KSCO.com or AM 1080. For more information on the show (and to listen to podcasts) visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
"It's A Question of Balance, so rare among radio talk shows, lets its subjects breathe. With her discursive style and pleasingly eccentric range of curiosity, host Ruth Copland each week treats her listeners to two hours of Whole Brain Radio." Hampton Sides - Internationally best-selling author of narrative history, award-winning journalist, and historian.
This week as my special guest from the arts I’m pleased to be interviewing, Danny De Lillo, British actor, television host, and writer. Born in London and growing up in the sprawling Oxfordshire countryside Danny now resides in Los Angeles. Danny studied acting in London at the prestigious Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts of which Dame Judi Dench is the President, and then went on to train further at the American Academy of Performing Arts in New York, where stars such as Grace Kelly and Danny DeVito launched their careers. He has starred in theatre in London and UK national tours and has two films coming out in which he has the leading role – in ‘Smile’ he stars as a serial killer, and in ‘Red Heart’, a romantic comedy, he plays a lovable but slightly inept young man trying to get his girlfriend back against the backdrop of the Royal Wedding. With a strong interest in giving back, Danny is on the boards of NewFilmmakers LA and the Britweek Film Committee; he is also Vice Chairman of Youth, Education & Outreach at The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Join me Saturday 9-10 PM to find out more about the life and art of this up-and-coming young actor! For more info and to hear previous shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
We want many of the same things yet our differences often divide us. We all want to be safe, to be happy. We want the best for our children, to feel our potential is fulfilled. We all want to be loved, to feel we matter. And yet our differences can make us feel we have nothing in common in at all. Ruth Copland features her conversations Out and About on the street asking Do we have more in common than divides us?
Ruth also talks about world-renowned doctor Deepak Chopra and his new book Metahuman: Unleashing Your Inifinite Potential. In conjunction with his medical achievements, Chopra is recognized as a prolific author of over 86 books translated into over forty-three languages, with twenty-six books reaching the status of New York Times Bestsellers. His latest national bestseller, The Healing Self, co-authored with leading geneticist Dr. Rudolph E. Tanzi, discusses the importance of our immune system to lifelong health. Dr Chopra is coming to Santa Cruz on October 17th. More info here Dr Deepak Chopra
