KVMR, Nevada City, CA – 1978-1983
In the late-1970s/early-’80s, I hosted several radio shows on KVMR in Nevada City, a town in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California. My primary program in those years was called “World Views” where every other week for three years I conducted an hour-long live interview with either a local citizen leading an interesting life, of which there are many in the area, or, not infrequently, a well-known person who may have been visiting to give a talk or performance.
Some of the more notable people I had the opportunity to interview on World Views included:
- Gary Snyder, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and environmental activist (and a long-time resident of the area)
- Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, hospice and terminal-care trailblazer and author of the celebrated classic On Death and Dying
- Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of The Magical Child
- Ron Mann, psychotherapist, author of Sacred Healing: Integrating Spirituality with Psychotherapy
- Joseph Bharat Cornell, author of Sharing Nature with Children
- Kriyananda aka J. Donald Walters, direct disciple of Parmahansa Yogananda and founder of Ananda Village
- Gary Goldschneider, pianist, composer, astrologer, and author of The Secret Language of Birthdays and other best-selling books
My most surprising guest was retired five-star general William Westmoreland. Unfortunately, it was not a terribly interesting interview. Nevada City was a stop on his tour promoting a flat-tax proposal, and he agreed to be interviewed by the local station.
It was pretty surreal being in a radio booth with the commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam from 1964-1968 – the very years I was of prime draft age. I did not join the military or get drafted in those years, and General Westmoreland did not want to talk about Vietnam that night.
KMUD, Garberville, CA – 1997-1998
I hosted a monthly half-hour show called “Health Talk” on KMUD, a community radio station in Humboldt County, interviewing local medical professionals about a variety of health-related issues. One of the more interesting shows was a discussion with two local doctors about the health effects of long-term marijuana use, a lively topic in the Emerald Triangle, famed worldwide for its high-quality – and, at the time of the interview, illegally grown – cannabis.
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In the scores of radio interviews I conducted many years ago, I always cherished the opportunity and the privilege of delving deeply with my guests into their lives and stories, curiously inquiring into their views and values.
– Ronald Fel Jones