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.
~~~
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.
The world has radically changed since those earlier broadcasting days, and I am excited to be engaging interesting people in meaningful conversations once again – especially in these momentous times – on the Wise Talkers podcast.
– Ronald Fel Jones