In 1983 New York-based radio reporter Jon Kalish started covering the Orthodox and Chasidic Jews of Brooklyn for NPR. In 1999 he produced "Brooklyn According to Kalish" for WNYC. The hour-long documentary utilizes recordings Kalish made for pieces he produced for "All Things Considered," "Morning Edition," "Weekend Edition," as well as WNYC and other outlets. Rich in sound and featuring the extraordinary access Kalish gained in the close-knit Orthodox world, this program explores all aspects of the lives of religious Jews as seen through the eyes of Kalish, who is Jewish but grew up outside the realm of Torah-observant Jews. From the yeshivas of Flatbush to the bungalows of the Catskills where Brooklyn chasidim summer, "Brooklyn According to Kalish" explains the mysterious world of the black hats to secular Jews and Gentiles alike. Broadcast on WNYC, WBUR, WBEZ and KCRW. Ideal for Chanukah and Passover programming. Some animals were harmed in the preparation of this program.

Little material exists on "the world to come," or Olam Ha-Ba, as it's known in Hebrew, in the Torah. In this sound-rich third part of "The End as Beginning: An MFA Thesis on the Jewish View of Death" (completed for the University of Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program in May 2006), personal essay meets radio documentary meets audio experimentation, as we explore how various Jewish traditions examine, explain, and argue about life and life everlasting...

The story of Muslims on Chicago's Devon Avenue can be told through meat. Yep, meat. More than any other business, it is the butcher shops carrying Halal meat (sort of like the Muslim form of Kosher) that have allowed Muslim immigrants to live and thrive in their new city. This is the tale of how veal, beef, lamb and chicken has transformed one street in Chicago into a thriving Islamic neighborhood. "The Fear of God and the Love of Meat" was produced by Northwestern University's radio documentary class.

Devorah Spilman grew up Jewish. And she always believed in God. But her religion and spirituality did not always go together. By the time she got to college, she abandoned Judaism for the New Age movement.  Then, one day, at one of her co-counseling classes, everything changed.

This piece was produced with Alimasi Anzuruni, a Congolese man and student at Winooski High School. In it, he talks about the role of church in his life in America---and how different it is from his church life in the Congo. This piece was created during a religion unit in Kate Toland's world history class at Winooski High School in Winooski, Vermont.

Robert Kiyosaki is the international best-selling author of Rich Dad Poor Dad and world famous entrepreneur.  Following a distinctly different path is his younger sister, Emi Kiyosaki (aka Ani Tenzin Kacho), a Tibetan Buddhist nun.  Their two worlds collide when cancer and heart disease threatened Ani Kacho's health and she was unable to pay the bills.  Robert came to the rescue but not without a catch.  He required that his sister get with it, start learning how to be in the world financially.  Hence their new book, Rich Brother Rich Sister, which explores their life changing experiences and their two different approaches to money and to spirituality and how they influence each other.  In this month's OPEN MIND segment, producer Julie Adler invites Robert and Ani Kacho over to her place in Los Angeles to talk about some of the things they have learned working with each other.

"In reconnecting with Tenzin, I realized that a rich life has two balance sheets...a financial one and a spiritual one," writes Robert.  "My financial balance sheet was strong, but my spiritual one paled in comparison."

"When I faced cancer and heart disease, I realized for the first time that money - or the lack of it - affected not only the quality of life...but life itself," notes Tenzin.

BIOS:

Robert Kiyosaki grew up  in Hawaii and then served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam.  Following the war, he started a company that brought the first nylon and Velcro 'surfer' wallets to market.  Continuing in this entrepreneurial spirit, he founded an international financial education company which enabled him to retire at age 47.  Subsequently, he created the best selling and widely popular series of Rich Dad books that have sold over 28 million copies world wide.  

Ani Tenzin Kacho (aka Emi Kiyosaki) is Robert's sister and also grew up in Hawaii.  While Robert was in Vietnam, Emi was on the peace trail during which time she was also a single mother, caring for her daughter.  Drawn to the Buddhist path, in 1985, she ordained with the Dalai Lama as a Tibetan Buddhist nun, and for 6 years was the Buddhist chaplain at the US Air Force Academy.  She holds a Masters degree in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan language from Naropa University and currently is assistant spiritual director and teacher at Thubten Dhargye Ling Buddhist Center in Long Beach, California and also works as hospice chaplain in Los Angeles.