Do we have more in common than divides us? Thought-provoking conversations on the street & with special guests from the arts.
Episodes
Wednesday May 25, 2016
Wednesday May 25, 2016
Broadcast on 21 March 2015 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
It's A Question Of Balance ® radio show balances the intellectual with the creative, exploring whether we have more in common than divides us through thought-provoking conversations - out and about with people on the street on different topics, and in the studio with inspiring guests from the arts. Balance is not a compromise. Balance is truth distilled from many places creating cohesive understanding.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Out And About – Conversations with People on the Street about Questions That Matter: Do We Still Need Physical Community?
This week we consider ‘Do we still need physical community?’ With the rise of technology we are increasingly becoming more individualised and physically isolated. Do we still need physical community or can internet community suffice? Community can be defined as a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. One participant in a survey described community as ‘about belonging. It is a place that supports me in many ways - friends, neighbours, jobs, resources, play time. It is home’. Can virtual community provide these things? Our online friendships can be relatively shallow with quantity trumping quality. How real/genuine is virtual support? When it is so easy to ‘like’ something or enter a quick comment is the support’s worth diluted? Are virtual and physical community just different but equally valuable? What does community mean to you and where do you look for it?
For more info on the show and to hear past shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
In Out And About we consider topics with local relevance and global significance. The idea is to get us thinking about the questions that affect us all - to stimulate new thinking, or clarify what we already feel. To hear how other people’s opinions may differ from or be similar to our own.
Sunday May 22, 2016
Sunday May 22, 2016
Broadcast on 21 May 2016 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
It's A Question Of Balance ® radio show balances the intellectual with the creative, exploring whether we have more in common than divides us through thought-provoking conversations - out and about with people on the street on different topics, and in the studio with inspiring guests from the arts. Balance is not a compromise. Balance is truth distilled from many places creating cohesive understanding.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Arts Interview: In-Depth Arts Conversation with Jo Baker
This week as her special guest from the arts Ruth Copland is pleased to be interviewing best-selling British writer Jo Baker. Born in Lancashire in Britain, Jo Baker studied English Literature at Oxford University, then went on to study writing at Queen’s University, Belfast, eventually achieving a PhD on the work of the Anglo-Irish writer Elizabeth Bowen. Jo’s first book Offcomer was published in 2002 and she has gone on to publish five other novels - The Undertow, The Telling, The Mermaid’s Child, Longbourn and her latest book A Country Road, A Tree. Jo has also written for BBC Radio 4, and her short stories have been included in a number of anthologies.
Jo Baker’s book Longbourn, a reimagining of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice from the servants’ perspective, was hailed by critics as brilliant, absorbing, moving and ingenious and is a national best-seller, A New York Times Book Review Notable Book, a Seattle Times Best Title, a Christian Science Monitor Best Fiction Book, a Miami Herald Favorite Book, and a Kirkus Best Book of the Year. Longbourn is also in development as a feature film. Jo Baker’s considerable flare for historical detail and nuance showcased so effectively in Longbourn are evident again in her new book, A Country Road, A Tree, where she reimagines the Nobel Prize-winning Irish writer Samuel Beckett’s involvement with the French Resistance during WWII, and his struggle to find meaning in the seeming futility of life, and value in the written word. In A Country Road, A Tree, (the title of which references a stage direction from Beckett’s play Waiting For Godot) Jo Baker explores the military experiences that ultimately contributed to giving Beckett one of the most powerful voices in the 20th century.
For more info and to hear previous shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Sunday May 15, 2016
Sunday May 15, 2016
Broadcast on 14 May 2016 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
It's A Question Of Balance ® radio show balances the intellectual with the creative, exploring whether we have more in common than divides us through thought-provoking conversations - out and about with people on the street on different topics, and in the studio with inspiring guests from the arts. Balance is not a compromise. Balance is truth distilled from many places creating cohesive understanding.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Out And About – Conversations with People on the Street about Questions That Matter: Does it Have To Be Them and Us?
This week we consider ‘Does it Have To Be Them and Us?’ There are lots of ways we can find ourselves thinking in terms of ‘them and us’ - young and old, rich and poor, healthy versus not taking care of oneself, right-wing versus liberal, gay and straight, black and white, first-world and third world. Do you ever find yourself feeling very different from a certain group of people? How does that make you feel? When you feel passionate about an issue how do you feel about those who disagree with you - do you see it as two sides, a wrong and a right? Or simply as a variety of views or beliefs?
In an article by Robert W Peck of the Constitution Party he comments “In a world with an “us versus them” mentality, it’s always “them” that are the problem… right? We’re never the cause of our own troubles, that would be unthinkable. It’s always the other guy who fouls everything up….The same phenomenon exists in the political arena where the “us versus them” mentality finds that it is always the other political party that is the problem. You name the trouble, the other party caused it. If only the country were turned over to our side, to our favored “ism” or political party, we would make it a utopian paradise.” In the political arena are you finding yourself feeling a sense of them and us?
Joseph Joubert said that “The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress”. I’m wondering if this is part of what gets lost when we get into a ‘them and us’ mindset - it seems we become more focused on converting others to our belief system than concentrating our energy on how actual progress could be affected. Is this something you see at all? Does it have to be them and us?
For more info on the show and to hear past shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
In Out And About we consider topics with local relevance and global significance. The idea is to get us thinking about the questions that affect us all - to stimulate new thinking, or clarify what we already feel. To hear how other people’s opinions may differ from or be similar to our own.
Thursday May 12, 2016
Thursday May 12, 2016
Broadcast on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
It’s A Question Of Balance® radio show balances the intellectual with the creative, exploring whether we have more in common than divides us through thought-provoking conversations – out and about with people on the street on different topics, and in the studio with inspiring guests from the arts. Balance is not a compromise. Balance is truth distilled from many places creating cohesive understanding.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Special Arts Report: Ruth Copland talks to writer/ director Michael David Lynch and actor Joe Burke
*Film Poster and lead actors Benita Robledo and Joe Burke
Dependent’s Day had its world premiere at the Cinequest 2016 Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Comedy. Ruth Copland interviewed the writer/ director of the film, Michael David Lynch, and the leading actor, Joe Burke, after the world premiere. Dependent’s Day is a comedy about measuring up. Claimed as a 'dependent' by his successful breadwinning girlfriend Alice, Cam struggles to prove himself as he stumbles through different jobs and life's obstacles in the hopes to live out his hollywood dream of being an actor and finally rise to the occasion.
Having studied film at Columbia College, Chicago, Michael David Lynch headed to Hollywood and worked on films such as Inception, Die Hard 4, Ironman 2 and Transformers 2 and also produced several successful films including Drop, Between Us, and This Thing with Sarah. Michael is making his feature film directorial debut with two films - the documentary Victor Walk, an eye opening documentary which follows former NHL all star Theo Fleury on his 10 day Victor Walk from Toronto to Ottawa, to bring awareness about child sexual abuse, promote healing to the survivors and stiffer laws for predators, - and the comedy Dependent’s Day, which recently won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Comedy at the Cinequest film festival 2016. Michael David Lynch served as Director, Writer, Producer, Cinematographer and editor for Dependent’s Day.
Joe Burke is a filmmaker and actor who received his MFA from the American Film Institute and earned his BA degree in Film and a minor in Theater from Columbia College, Chicago. Joe has acted in several national commercials and has appeared on the critically acclaimed Showtime show Ray Donovan, and the popular Disney show Dog With A Blog. Recently Joe Burke is starring in the Screen Junkies new show Interns of F.I.E.L.D. a parody on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, where he plays a nerdy intern forced to clean up after the super heroes. Known for playing a witty, quirky character, Joe Burke embodies Dependent’s Day’s protagonist Cam, and his eternal struggle to claim his manhood.
For more information visit http://www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Sunday May 01, 2016
Sunday May 01, 2016
Broadcast on 31 April 2016 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
It's A Question Of Balance ® radio show balances the intellectual with the creative, exploring whether we have more in common than divides us through thought-provoking conversations - out and about with people on the street on different topics, and in the studio with inspiring guests from the arts. Balance is not a compromise. Balance is truth distilled from many places creating cohesive understanding.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Special Arts Report: Ruth Copland Talks to Rita Moreno and Steve Goldbloom From the Film Remember Me
Remember Me, a Sparklight Films production, had its world premiere at Cinequest 2016 Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Comedy.
*Ruth Copland Rita Moreno Interview 1
Ruth Copland was invited by Cinequest founders Kathleen Powell and Halfdan Hussey to interview Rita Moreno live on stage at at the iconic California Theatre in San Jose after she received the Maverick Spirit Award and before the world premiere of Remember Me.
*Rita Moreno and Ruth Copland backstage at California theatre post-interview
Legendary performer Rita Moreno is one of only 12 people who have received an Oscar, Grammy, Tony, and Emmy award. She received the Oscar for West Side Story in 1961 and is still going strong at 84, starring in a new comedy film Remember Me, which had its world premiere at Cinequest 2016. She remains one of the busiest stars in show business with a recurring role on The CW's hit series, Jane The Virgin, and a Netflix Series, One Day At A Time, which will premier later this year. Her first book, Rita Moreno: A Memoir, published by Celebra Books, instantly became a New York Times Bestseller. In 2011, she premiered her one-woman show, Life Without Make-up, an original stage production about her life, and also appeared as a season regular on the TV Land series Happily Divorced, playing Fran Drescher’s mother. Rita Moreno has the starring role in the new award-winning film Remember Me.
Steve Goldbloom is a writer, producer, and performer based in Los Angeles. In 2014, he created and hosted the PBS series Everything But The News, which lampooned Silicon Valley and public broadcasting, and was ranked best digital series by USA Today in its first year. In February 2016, Steve Goldbloom launched a new sketch series as writer/performer with AOL entitled On The Brink Of Greatness. Steve's directorial work includes creating the series Brief But Spectacular - a weekly interview series for PBS NewsHour. The segments air nationally every Thursday night on television and interviews include Michael Lewis, Robert Reich, Marina Abramovic, Carl Reiner, Ta-Nehisi Coates, the stars of Broad City and many more. Steve Goldbloom, a dual citizen of Canada and the US, runs his production company Second Peninsula LLC out of Los Angeles. Remember Me, starring Rita Moreno, is Steve's feature film debut.
*Left to Right, actors Joel Kelly Dauten and Rita Moreno, and writer/director/actor Steve Goldbloom at Cinequest world premiere. Photo by Michael Dawson.
For more info visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Sunday Apr 24, 2016
Sunday Apr 24, 2016
Broadcast on 23 April 2016 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
It's A Question Of Balance ® radio show balances the intellectual with the creative, exploring whether we have more in common than divides us through thought-provoking conversations - out and about with people on the street on different topics, and in the studio with inspiring guests from the arts. Balance is not a compromise. Balance is truth distilled from many places creating cohesive understanding.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Arts Interview: In-Depth Arts Conversation with Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
This week as her special guest from the arts Ruth Copland is pleased to be interviewing Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, multi-award-winning and bestselling author, poet, activist and teacher of writing. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni writes for children as well as adults and has published novels in multiple genres, including realistic fiction, historical fiction, magical realism, and fantasy. Her themes include the Indian experience, contemporary America, women, immigration, history, myth, and the joys and challenges of living in a multicultural world. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s work has been published in over 50 magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker, and her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies, including The Best American Short Stories, the O.Henry Prize Stories and the Pushcart Prize Anthology. Chitra’s books have been translated into 29 languages and many of them have been used for campus-wide and city-wide reads. Her novels include The Mistress of Spices, Sister of My Heart, The Palace of Illusions and Oleander Girl. Several of her works have been made into films, all of which have won awards.
Born in Kolkata, India, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni came to the US for her graduate studies, receiving a Master’s degree in English from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Chitra currently teaches in the nationally ranked Creative Writing Programme at the University of Houston, where she is the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Creative Writing. Chitra has judged several prestigious awards, such as the National Book Award and the PEN Faulkner Award. She is also, herself, the winner of many awards including the American Book Award, and also awards for her poems, such as a Gerbode Award, a Barbara Deming Memorial Award and an Allen Ginsberg Award.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an activist and serves on the Advisory board of Maitri in the San Francisco Bay Area and Daya in Houston both of which help South Asian or South Asian American women who find themselves in abusive or domestic violence situations. Chitra served on the board of Pratham, an organization that helps educate underprivileged children in India, for many years and is currently on their emeritus board. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s latest book is Before We Visit The Goddess.
For more info and to hear previous shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Sunday Apr 17, 2016
Sunday Apr 17, 2016
Broadcast on 16 April 2016 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
It's A Question Of Balance ® radio show balances the intellectual with the creative, exploring whether we have more in common than divides us through thought-provoking conversations - out and about with people on the street on different topics, and in the studio with inspiring guests from the arts. Balance is not a compromise. Balance is truth distilled from many places creating cohesive understanding.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Out And About – Conversations with People on the Street about Questions That Matter: Do We Need More Than One Word For Love?
This week we consider ‘How Much Is Enough?’ In ancient ethics, there was much discussion about the link between virtue of character and happiness. Aristotle believed that to live the good life, or to flourish as a human, that predominantly we had to have and exhibit virtue, although he also thought health, wealth and beauty factored in to human flourishing. What represents quality of life for you? What constitutes ‘the good life’?
Economics journalist Ryan Avent states in 1843 magazine that economist John Maynard Keynes mused in 1930 that a century hence society might be so rich that work hours would be cut to 10-15 hours a week. Keynes postulated “For the first time since his creation man will be faced with his real, his permanent problem - how to use his freedom from pressing economic cares, how to occupy the leisure, which science and compound interest will have won for him, to live wisely and agreeably and well”. Marx did not think endless leisure desirable, he believed that being occupied by good work was living well. We have not ended up working less. Capitalism requires an endless expansion of wants, so although it has generated great wealth, we may be caught in an insatiability trap, never quite reaching the good life. Do you feel acquiring material goods has become an end in itself? To what degree do you equate happiness with money? How much of an influence do you think the beliefs or behaviours of those around us have on our feelings about wealth and how much we want to acquire? How much is enough?
For more info and to hear previous shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
In Out And About we consider topics with local relevance and global significance. The idea is to get us thinking about the questions that affect us all - to stimulate new thinking, or clarify what we already feel. To hear how other people’s opinions may differ from or be similar to our own.
Sunday Apr 10, 2016
Sunday Apr 10, 2016
Broadcast on 9 April 2016 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
It's A Question Of Balance ® radio show balances the intellectual with the creative, exploring whether we have more in common than divides us through thought-provoking conversations - out and about with people on the street on different topics, and in the studio with inspiring guests from the arts. Balance is not a compromise. Balance is truth distilled from many places creating cohesive understanding.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Special Arts Report: Ruth Copland talks to the director and writer of the award-winning film Nila.
Nila had its world premiere at the Cinequest 2016 Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best First Film. Ruth interviewed the Indian writer and director of the film, Selvamani Selvaraj, in the auditorium of the iconic California Theatre in San Jose, California.
Selvamani Selvaraj, the director and writer of the independent Tamil film Nila, traveled from India specially for the Cinequest world premiere. Originally trained as an engineer with a Master of Science Degree in Information Systems, Selvamani Selvaraj found his true calling in film. Selvamani Selvaraj identifies himself as a writer and hopes to make films that let him explore human emotions and express them honestly. He assisted Ang Lee on the Oscar-winning film Life of Pi. Nila is Selvamani Selvaraj's first feature film, which he wrote, directed and co-produced. Nila won Best First Film in the Audience Awards at Cinequest 2016.
*Lead Actress Sruthi Hariharan
Nila is a mood-piece set in Bombay about a taxi driver who fatefully comes across his childhood crush whilst driving at night in the city. The atmospheric film explores how someone responds when the truth is elusive and love seems inexplicably unrequited.
*Lead Actor Vicky R.
Lead Actors - Vicky R and Sruthi Hariharan
Music - Jhanu
Cinematography - Piyush Goswami
Editor - Rejith K R
Producer - Vishnu Rajesh
For more information visit http://www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Sunday Apr 10, 2016
Sunday Apr 10, 2016
Broadcast on 9 April 2016 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
It's A Question Of Balance ® radio show balances the intellectual with the creative, exploring whether we have more in common than divides us through thought-provoking conversations - out and about with people on the street on different topics, and in the studio with inspiring guests from the arts. Balance is not a compromise. Balance is truth distilled from many places creating cohesive understanding.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Special Arts Report: Ruth Copland Talks to British Cast Members and Film-Makers From the Award-Winning Film My Feral Heart.
*Left to right: Actors Will Rastall and Stephen Brandon
My Feral Heart had its world premiere at the Cinequest 2016 Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Drama. The Film has subsequently also garnered an Honorable Mention at the Fargo 2016 Film Festival. Ruth talks to My Feral Heart’s director Jane Gull, the producer James Rumsey, and cast members Pixie Le Knot, who plays the young girl, and Steven Brandon who plays Luke.
*Cinequest red carpet, left to right: Jane Gull (Director), Duncan Paveling (Scriptwriter), Pixie Le Knot (Actress), James Rumsey (Producer)
My Feral Heart, written by Duncan Paveling, is the story of an independent, young man, Luke, who is the caretaker of his mother. When she dies he is put in a care home as he has Down’s Syndrome. He struggles to settle there with his wings clipped. Gradually, he makes friends with one of the carers and a young gardener, but it is his discovery of a wild, injured girl that changes his life. The film explores whether we are not so different from each other as we may think.
*My Feral Heart still photograph, left to right: Shana Swash and Stephen Brandon
My Feral Heart is the feature debut for award winning short film director, Jane Gull. Jane is a Berlinale Talent Campus alumni supported by the UK Film Council since 2005. Jane’s refreshing brand of social realism have earned her and her short films international recognition. In 2014 her film Sunny Boy won Le Grand Prix du Jury at Cannes' Entr’2 Marches and was acquired by Channel 4 for their Shooting Gallery series; and TV ARTE in France/Germany. With significant experience working with people with disabilities and special needs both Jane and Duncan Paveling, the screenwriter, were keen to showcase the acting talents and abilities of those individuals. While many films have sought to address the lives of those with a disability none have been brave enough to cast an actor with a disability in the lead role. In that regard, My Feral Heart represents a landmark in British cinema in casting.
*Left to right: Jane Gull (Director), Stephen Brandon (Actor)
Steven Brandon, a non-professional actor before starring in My Feral Heart, plays the lead role of ‘Luke’. Jane met Steven while running drama workshops for the inclusive Mushroom Theatre Company. Alongside the charismatic lead is a strong supporting cast of professional actors and performers including Pixie Le Knot (Game of Thrones, The Devil Inside, The Jungle Book), the UK’s leading contortionist; Shana Swash (Eastenders); Will Rastall (Game of Thrones, Hollyoaks); and cameos from John Hurt’s 1984 co-star, Suzanna Hamilton, and Eileen Pollock (Far and Away, Bread).
For more information visit http://www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Sunday Apr 03, 2016
Sunday Apr 03, 2016
Broadcast on 2 April 2016 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
It's A Question Of Balance ® radio show balances the intellectual with the creative, exploring whether we have more in common than divides us through thought-provoking conversations - out and about with people on the street on different topics, and in the studio with inspiring guests from the arts. Balance is not a compromise. Balance is truth distilled from many places creating cohesive understanding.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Arts Interview: In-Depth Arts Conversation with Molly Prentiss
This week as her special guest from the arts Ruth Copland is pleased to be interviewing author Molly Prentiss. Molly was born and raised in Santa Cruz, California, but can now be found living and writing in Brooklyn, New York. Molly Prentiss has written fiction, poems and essays, her work appearing in Hobart, Fourteen Hills, HTMLGiant, Mud Luscious, and La Petite Zine among others. Molly Prentiss was a Writer in Residence at Workspace at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and at the Blue Mountain Center, and was chosen as an Emerging Writer Fellow by the Aspen Writers Foundation. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Molly Prentiss’s first novel Tuesday Nights in 1980 is just coming out and is published by the Simon and Schuster Imprint, Scout Press, which is a new literary imprint dedicated to publishing modern, conversation-starting novelists whose books will stand the test of time. Shelf Awareness states of Molly Prentiss’s first novel "Tuesday Nights in 1980 is a sweepingly large and profound story about art, love and actualization, cleanly and beautifully composed... A poetic novel of ambitiously profound considerations, a large-scale drama in a series of small, perfectly rendered moments."
For more info and to hear previous shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com