The puckishly whimsical life and times of poet and film maker James Broughton is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious in a visit with Stephen Silha, the producer and director of “Big Joy,” a biographical film of the life and times of James Broughton.
Broughton believed that in order to live an authentic life we each should follow our own weird. He says:
“I don’t know what the left is doing said the right hand,
But it looks fascinating.”
And:
“I may be infecting the whole body
said the Head
but they’ll never amputate me.”
Stephen Silha and I visited by phone from his home near Seattle, Washington on Mother’s Day, 2014. He began our conversation by telling us what drew him to make a film about his friend James Broughton.
The book Stephen Silha recommends is “The Man Who Fell in Love With the Moon,” by Tom Spanbauer.
The music in this weeks edition of Radio Curious is “Twril” by Norman Arnold, from the movie, “Big Joy.”
A weekly 30 minute review of international news and opinion, recorded from a shortwave radio and the internet. With tiA weekly 30 minute review of international news and opinion, recorded from a shortwave radio and the internet. With times, frequencies, and websites for listening at home. 3 files- Highest quality broadcast, regular broadcast, and slow-modem streaming. France 24, NHK Japan, Germany,France and Cuba. With times, frequencies, and websites for listening at home. 3 files- Highest quality broadcast, regular broadcast, and slow-modem streaming. France 24, NHK Japan, Germany, and Cuba.
Small pipes, Border pipes, Uilleann pipes, Northumbrian, Galician and of course, Highland pipes. Smoke 'em if you got 'em! This hour has plenty o' pipes and fiddles, banjos and some spicy zydeco accordion. Homegrown Celtic too from Haggis X-1, The Mahones and The McDades.Come get your weekly hit of Celtivity with Celt In A Twist!
Headphones or buds, if you're feeding your ears, give 'em something sweet. This hour is full of ear candy from Souad Massi, Karsh Kale, Baiuca, Eccodek, the Afro Celt Sound System and gobs of global in between! Get our weekly Album Covers and monthly charts with a free subscription to worldbeatinternational.com, from World Beat Canada Radio!
In the first half of the episode, we discuss 5 tactics MAGA uses to avoid healthy discourse in conversations and ways you can identify and steer the conversation in a healthier direction.
In the second half of the episode, we discuss an essay by Stacy Muhammad entitled ‘The Politics of Consequence’ and connect Hollywood’s influence on culture to the division we are seeing in American life today.
It's another letter focused show, this time for the letter G....with all kinds of cliche filled cheezy statements from our hosts and smelly songs of the refuse kind among others.
From the Vault. An interview with Ursula K. Le Guin on her book “Voices,” which speaks to the importance of critical thinking and the dangers of a society that loses that. Plus Bob Avakian, the leader of the revolution, and the author of the New Communism: The Terror of Deportations " Millions of Families Split Apart, from BA Speaks: REVOLUTION, Nothing Less! Plus, immigrants fighting against everything that is going against them. How can we protect those who need to be in the streets?
U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Ushers in New Era of Racial Political Apartheid: Opponents Protest LNG Pipeline to Power Massive AI Data Center in Southern New Mexico; Trump Regime Sponsors Taxpayer Funded Rally Promoting White Christian Nationalism.
Several times a day I find myself noting that this administration stinks. It turns out it's not just the stench of cruelty, chaos, and corruption - it's air quality issues, too. This week on Sea Change Radio, we are joined by ProPublica reporter Lisa Song to learn how the Trump administration is affecting the air we breathe. First, we discuss Song’s reporting on the EPA's roll-back of air monitoring systems which allow big polluters to self-report their emissions. Then, we talk about how the EPA is actually questioning its own legal authority to enforce the Clean Air Act. Lastly, we turn to an upsetting story about how the unchecked use of tear gas and pepper spray by federal agents is harming children.
In this episode, titled “People Power in Pursuit of Peace”, Michael Wong, a leader of Veterans For Peace and co-founder of VFP's China Working Group, interviews award-winning author Dee Knight.
Dee Knight is the author of Befriending China, which was "Gold Winner" of the 2025 Nonfiction Book Award, and two other books: “A Realistic Path to Peace” and “My Whirlwind Lives: Navigating Decades of Storms”.
The interview took place on May 15, 2026.
In this week’s Newswrap, a record-breaking boycott rocks the Eurovision Song Contest as protests over Israel’s participation intensify amid the war in Gaza, while a new GLAAD report warns that major social media platforms are becoming increasingly unsafe for LGBTQ users. Additional stories include Japan’s growing legal recognition of non-binary people, the delayed opening of a landmark African LGBTQ art exhibition in Washington, D.C., and the European Commission’s decision not to pursue an EU-wide conversion therapy ban despite strong public support.
Then in a Rainbow Rewind, poet Adrienne Rich reflects on responsibility to both past and future generations in a powerful archival excerpt.
Finally, journalist Ebony Joseph concludes her three-part series on the global rise of anti-LGBTQ laws with a report from activists in Nigeria and Kenya confronting criminalization, censorship, and severe funding cuts. Organizers describe how anti-LGBTQ legislation affects housing, employment, healthcare, and online safety, while warning that many so-called “family protection” bills across Africa are linked to broader international networks of authoritarian politics and religious conservatism. Despite mounting political hostility, grassroots groups continue building coalitions, supporting vulnerable LGBTQ people, and fighting for dignity, equality, and belonging.
