Do we have more in common than divides us? Thought-provoking conversations on the street & with special guests from the arts.
Episodes
Sunday Jan 24, 2016
Sunday Jan 24, 2016
Broadcast on 23 January 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
In-Depth Arts Interview with Kathleen Powell
This week as her special guest from the arts Ruth Copland is pleased to be interviewing Cinequest President and Co-Founder Kathleen Powell. Named by Metro Newspapers as one of the 25 people who has dramatically changed the Silicon Valley over the past 25 years Kathleen continues to serve artists, innovators and youth with passion and love. Cinequest Inc incorporates Cinequest Picture The Possibilities - which empowers youth through the creation of transformative films, connecting with leaders and global audiences to improve worlds; Cinequest Mavericks Studio - which creates innovative and transformative motion pictures and distribution paradigms; and the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose California which has been named one of the top 10 film festivals in the world and best festival in America 2016 in USA Today. Kathleen founded Cinequest in 1990 with Halfdan Hussey and together they have grown the festival from a one theatre event to a multi-screen, 13-day event attracting over 100,000 attendees. Many films shown at the festival have gone on to receive distribution by a major movie studio and several short films have won Academy Awards.
The prestigious Maverick Spirit Award is given by the festival to influential individuals who embody the independent and innovative mindset and recipients include Harrison Ford, Minnie Driver, Ben Kingsley, Salman Rushdie, Danny Glover, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Arnold Schwarzenegger to name but a few. The Maverick Innovator Awards, and the Media Legacy Awards highlight notable individuals in film and technology and Cinequest itself has been a leader in showcasing and applying the technologies that have revolutionised the film business.
Kathleen has an eclectic background in engineering and art, with a passion to bring the transformative vision of youth and artists to the world. She found her true calling whilst gaining her Masters in Computer Science when she joined a summer feature film project to produce the film He’s Still There, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Inspired by this experience, she shortly afterwards co-founded Cinequest with Halfdan Hussey. Kathleen recently co-directed and co-produced the feature film Life is Love about inspirational women, and also mentors burgeoning business women around the world through the Bush Institute’s Women’s Initiative Fellowship.
For more info and to hear previous shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Friday Jan 22, 2016
Friday Jan 22, 2016
Broadcast on 16 January 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: What Have We Got To Be Grateful For?
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.
As the year begins and we are looking ahead perhaps to challenges and goals we are trying to achieve, I thought it might be nice to take a moment to think about what we are grateful for. To start the year with a sense of what we already have, as we move forward to attain new things, to give us a sense of our base. So this week we are considering ‘What have we got to be grateful for?’
What do you think? For more info on the show and to hear past shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Monday Dec 21, 2015
Monday Dec 21, 2015
Broadcast on 19 December 2015 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
'It's A Question Of Balance' is a two hour show which balances the intellectual with the creative. The show combines a debate topic with an arts interview because discussion and creativity are two of the most vital ways we engage in the world.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Hour 2: In-Depth Arts Interview with Niko von Glasow
This week as her special guest from the arts Ruth Copland is pleased to be interviewing internationally renowned, award-winning filmmaker Niko von Glasow. Born in Cologne, Niko studied film at New York University and The Film Academy in Lodz, Poland where he made his first feature film Wedding Guests. Written and directed by Niko, the film won numerous awards, including the German Critics’ Prize at the Berlin Film Festival. Niko’s next projects, including Marie’s Song, Wintersleepers, and Edelweiss Pirates, were shown at festivals around the world and won multiple awards. For his next film, Nobody’s Perfect, Niko convinced 11 fellow victims of Thalidomide to pose for a nude calendar and documented the whole process. The film’s worldwide success gave Niko an opportunity to meet with politicians and journalists; this campaign resulted in the German government increasing compensation to surviving victims of Thalidomide in Germany. Niko’s other films include Lazy Lama about a Tibetan Buddhist teacher who teaches all around the world, My Way to Olympia about the 2012 London Paralympics, the award-winning Everything Will Be Alright which documents the making of a unique live theatre production which includes mentally and physically disabled actors, and Shoot Me, Kiss me, Cut! Niko is member of BAFTA as well as the European and German Film Academy. He founded the Tibetan Film School and holds talks and workshops in Script Writing and Directing internationally. He is also a highly regarded motivational speaker.
Niko’s film career is complemented by his artistic photographic work. Niko is currently working on several photographic projects including with blind, deaf-dumb children, prostitutes and juvenile prisoners in the Philippines. He is also developing several film projects through the international production company he founded, Palladio Film.
Monday Dec 21, 2015
Monday Dec 21, 2015
Broadcast on 19 December 2015 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
'It's A Question Of Balance' is a two hour show which balances the intellectual with the creative. The show combines a debate topic with an arts interview because discussion and creativity are two of the most vital ways we engage in the world.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Hour 1: Out And About – Conversations with People on the Street about Questions That Matter: Is Time Speeding Up?
This week we consider ‘What is the nature of a true gift?’ As the holidays approach our minds turn to gifts. British essayist, novelist and poet Robert Louis Stevenson observed “To be rich in admiration and free from envy, to rejoice greatly in the good of others, to love with such generosity of heart that your love is still a dear possession in absence or unkindness - these are the gifts which money cannot buy.” Do we still think of things like this as gifts? Or has the march of consumerism made us view gifts as predominantly material items? Giving gifts can be as much a joy for the giver as for the receiver but has gift-giving become a barter exchange where we try to give gifts of equal value to what we will receive? Or do we still gifts to engender joy with no expectation of a return? Maybe a good maxim is the Arabic proverb “If you have much, give of your wealth; if you have little, give of your heart.” In tribal cultures, a gift is given in the knowledge that it will keep being given and never be stagnant. Why do YOU give gifts and what is a true gift to you?
What do you think? For more info on the show and to hear past shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Monday Dec 14, 2015
Monday Dec 14, 2015
Broadcast on 12 December 2015 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
'It's A Question Of Balance' is a two hour show which balances the intellectual with the creative. The show combines a debate topic with an arts interview because discussion and creativity are two of the most vital ways we engage in the world.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Hour 2: In-Depth Arts Interview with Ehab Shanti
This week as her special guest from the arts Ruth Copland is pleased to be interviewing Ehab Shanti, co-founder and CEO of Alhoush.com, a physical and virtual expo of Arab art and design, which has become the premier portal for the development of the art and design sector in the Middle East and North Africa. Ehab has been referred to by Al-Quds Newspaper as “the dynamite of the artistic movement”. Passionate about art and design and their potential to play a profound role in overcoming life’s challenges, Ehab (and co-founder Rashid Abdelhamid) created Alhoush.com to empower the art and design community in the Arab world; to serve as a catalyst for creating an economy; and also to shed light on the innovation and tremendous achievements of Arab artists. A Canadian of Arab origin, Ehab is a global outreach and communications expert with over 20 years experience. He served as the Director of Global Outreach for the Office of Queen Rania of Jordan and was the head of communications for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Jerusalem and he says it was then that he saw “firsthand the power of art”. He helped to set up the UNDP Annual Art Auction and has gone on to organise numerous successful artistic and cultural events that have attracted international attention including This Is Also Gaza, featuring 40 Gazan painters, photographers, filmmakers and video artists; two shows called Colours of the Future, held in Amman and in Abu Dhabi, for Jordanian and Emirati artists respectively; and This Is Palestine, an ambitious project with 200 relatively unknown artists, emphasising cultural development and the power of art to transcend reality and create beauty even in situations of conflict and distress. Ehab completed his education in Canada and holds a Masters of Public Administration from Dalhousie University and several BA’s from Carleton University in Art History, Political Science, and Interdisciplinary Studies. He has extensive experience in communications, policy development, and campaign organization and is the President and Founder of Amandla Group, which is a strategic communications consulting firm based in Amman. He also currently serves as an advisor and consultant with several international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank. Speaking of the major community empowerment initiative which is Alhoush.com, Ehab states “The role of art…is to create a different reality and that can change things and that is the philosophy behind what we are doing.”
For more info and to hear previous shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Monday Dec 14, 2015
Monday Dec 14, 2015
Broadcast on 12 December 2015 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
'It's A Question Of Balance' is a two hour show which balances the intellectual with the creative. The show combines a debate topic with an arts interview because discussion and creativity are two of the most vital ways we engage in the world.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Hour 1: Out And About – Conversations with People on the Street about Questions That Matter: Is Time Speeding Up?
This week we consider ‘Is Time Speeding Up?’ Many people, across all age groups, have a sense that time is passing by more quickly, that they can’t get as much done in the same amount of time any more. Why is this? The reasons given for time speeding up are usually perceptual. In an article for Quartz, Tony Crabbe comments “We haven’t always been obsessed with time. In fact, as the historian E.P. Thompson highlighted half a century ago, before the Industrial Revolution clocks were largely irrelevant. Instead of a time orientation, people had a task orientation. They had jobs to do, and so they did them in the natural order, at the natural time.” Factories needed to co-ordinate people more accurately, however, and so clock time was imposed on the workforce with leaders such as Benjamin Franklin reinforcing the new inextricable linking of time and money. Do we feel that time is speeding up because the link between time and money has become more pressured? Time is broken into tiny increments these days - research from Google observes that people visit websites less often if they are more than 250 milliseconds slower than a competitor. Could it be that the way we measure and monitor time makes it seem more fleeting? The digital age is putting more and more information our way. Could it feel as if time is speeding up because it is a finite resource with a seemingly infinite number of tasks trying to fit into it? Or is time actually speeding up? This has been speculated on by various alternative thinkers and also a few scientists open to considering that the speed of light may not be fixed. Clearly if we look at the history of science things that were once considered impossible later have been shown to be true. Is time speeding up?
What do you think? For more info on the show and to hear past shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Monday Dec 07, 2015
Monday Dec 07, 2015
Broadcast on December 5 2015 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
'It's A Question Of Balance' is a two hour show which balances the intellectual with the creative. The show combines a debate topic with an arts interview because discussion and creativity are two of the most vital ways we engage in the world.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Hour 2: In-Depth Arts Interview with Bobby Roth
This week as her special guest from the arts Ruth Copland is pleased to be interviewing award-winning film director Bobby Roth. Over his long career Bobby has directed more than 80 episodes of television, 25 TV movies, and 13 feature films. For his entire career he has alternated between commercial television and independent filmmaking. Bobby’s independent films have been exhibited in over 100 film festivals worldwide, and five of his films have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where he has also been a judge. In the early eighties Bobby had an overall deal to write, produce and direct for Universal, where he created the series 'The Insiders' for ABC. His work in commercial TV also includes directing episodes for such TV favourites as Hawaii Five-O, Agents of Shield, Grey’s Anatomy, The Mentalist, Lost, Prison Break, Dr Quinn Medicine Woman, and Beverly Hills 90210 to mention just a few. Bobby was born and raised in Los Angeles. He studied philosophy and creative writing at UC Berkeley before graduating with a BA in Cinema from USC in 1972. He went on to film school at UCLA, where he received his MFA in Motion Picture Production in 1975. Bobby was a founding member of the Independent Feature Project, which champions the future of storytelling by connecting artists with essential resources and during its 35-year history has supported over 8,000 projects and offered resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers. Bobby was also the first Co-Chairman of the Directors Guild of America’s Independent Feature Committee. Using his decades of directing experience, Bobby has recently created A Director Prepares: Bobby Roth’s Master Class, which is an essential teaching and research tool for students in Film and Television Production, Drama, Acting, and Performance Studies, and Film Theory and Media Studies. This 10-part DVD series, which takes viewers on a journey through every stage of film production, is also a fascinating documentary for anyone interested in film and entertainment generally, or collaborative creative practice.
For more info and to hear previous shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Monday Dec 07, 2015
Monday Dec 07, 2015
Broadcast on 5 December 2015 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
'It's A Question Of Balance' is a two hour show which balances the intellectual with the creative. The show combines a debate topic with an arts interview because discussion and creativity are two of the most vital ways we engage in the world.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Hour 1: Out And About – Conversations with People on the Street about Questions That Matter: Should We Edit Humanity Genetically?
This week we consider ‘Should We Edit Humanity Genetically?’ The Economist states “Being able to read, study, and compare DNA sequence for humans…has become routine”. However, many scientists want a moratorium on editing germ-line cells which give rise to subsequent generations - in other words the manipulation of DNA to manufacture a modified human being. This involves using the DNA of more than two people as is traditionally the case when a baby is conceived. It requires the addition of DNA from one or two additional people. With the motivation of allowing people with genetic diseases to have healthy offspring, this kind of research is already under way in America according to Professor Stuart Newman. Is this kind of science a positive advance to help people who couldn’t otherwise have healthy offspring? Or should genetic editing of humans be avoided? One of the concerns about allowing genetic editing of humans is that it is a slippery slope to eugenics and the impetus to improve society by eliminating undesirable elements or traits, whatever these might be. In the early 20th century America had a eugenics movement which “resulted in the forced sterilization of over 64,000 people in the United States (Lombardo n.d.)….In particular, California’s program was so robust that the Nazis turned to California for advice in perfecting their own efforts” according to Dr Laura Rivard of San Diego University. Are you concerned where genetic modification of humans might lead in terms of who might become considered undesirable? In addition, many scientists consider these genetic modification techniques as radical and untested with the risk of creating embryos that may not be able to survive or if they did survive, human beings who are effectively uncontrolled laboratory experiments. Do the benefits outweigh the risks if we can prevent people being born with severe illnesses?
What do you think? For more info on the show and to hear past shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Sunday Nov 29, 2015
Sunday Nov 29, 2015
Broadcast on 28 November 2015 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
'It's A Question Of Balance' is a two hour show which balances the intellectual with the creative. The show combines a debate topic with an arts interview because discussion and creativity are two of the most vital ways we engage in the world.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Hour 2: In-Depth Arts Interview with Michael Wertz
This week as her special guest from the arts Ruth Copland is pleased to be interviewing Michael Wertz author, illustrator and printer. Based in Oakland, California, Michael creates images for books, products, designers, ad agencies, musicians, publishers, and movie trailers. His images start with the pencil, and finish as digital collages, monoprints, letterpress prints, and screen prints. His clients include The San Francisco Chronicle, The Bark, Bill Graham Presents, Camper Van Beethoven, Camelbak, Chronicle Books, The DeYoung Museum, The Elsewhere Philatelic Society, The Exploratorium, Farrar Strauss Giroux, Gingko Press, Hostelling International, McCann Erickson, Oaklandish, Random House, Rickshaw Bagworks, The New York Times, Nike, The Oakland Museum, Scholastic, The SFMOMA, United Way, and Wired. Michael’s work has been recognised by Communication Arts, American Illustration, and the Society of Illustrators (LA). With a BA in French Language from UCSC and a BFA in Illustration from California College of the Arts (CCA), Michael is currently back at CCA teaching for the Illustration department. Michael is the author of the delightful illustrated book Dog Days and co-author with poet Betty Franco of A Curious Collection of Cats, A Dazzling Display of Dogs, and the recently released A Spectacular Selection Of Sea Critters.
For more info and to hear previous shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Sunday Nov 29, 2015
Sunday Nov 29, 2015
Broadcast on 28 November 2015 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.
'It's A Question Of Balance' is a two hour show which balances the intellectual with the creative. The show combines a debate topic with an arts interview because discussion and creativity are two of the most vital ways we engage in the world.
Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
Hour 1: Out And About – Conversations with People on the Street about Questions That Matter: Can Gratitude Be An Attitude of Life? (2015)’
This Saturday 28th November 8-9 PM on It’s A Question Of Balance with Ruth Copland, with Thanksgiving just behind us, we consider ‘Can Gratitude Be an Attitude of Life?’ Social psychologist Erich Seligmann Fromm said “Who will tell whether one happy moment of love, or the joy of breathing, or walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air, is not worth all the suffering and effort which life implies.” Have you ever been going through hard times but made yourself focus on the good things? How hard is it to change our perspective and see our cup as half full rather than half empty - particularly when we are faced with a challenging situation in our lives? If we manage to do it on a regular basis does it make a difference to how we feel? Part of the criticism of a positive, grateful approach is that it stops people dealing with life as it really is. But who determines how life ‘really is’ do you think? Perhaps the whole point of the gratitude philosophy is that in the end life is about perspective and thus the same experience can be received completely differently depending on how we view it?
What do you think? For more info on the show and to hear past shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com