For many of us, the COVID-19 pandemic has enhanced our appreciation of basic human connection. How many of us have come to crave face-to-face contact with dear friends and family that, until a handful of months ago, seemed so routine? But, here we are. Lori Nassif Istok shares her novel participation in a remarkable international […]
This I Believe
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This I Believe New England – Win the Fight Against Racism
How many of us have spent years driving and walking through familiar local neighborhoods without pausing to think about the rich and complex history that preceded their current configuration? Behind the historic street names, noteworthy architecture, lost structures, and painful dislocations are so many stories – some inspiring and some shameful. Brent Runyon is here to remind […]
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This I Believe New England – Appreciating Time
Many of us have known friends and loved ones whose minds and mental faculties have slipped away as some form of dementia has tightened its unrelenting grip. We know the challenging signs: confusion about time and place, memory lapses, language difficulties, mood changes, isolation. No doubt, this is a painful, agonizing process for nearly everyone […]
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This I Believe New England – Right or Wrong
Our contemporary world seems saturated with complex black and white issues, especially our conversations about Black Lives Matter and other race-related challenges. Yet, our world is also filled with gray, make that many shades of gray. Many of us are wrestling with complex questions concerning race, policing, even whether and when to wear a mask […]
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This I Believe New England – Truths About Racism
There is no denying that the subject of race is in the air. Black Lives Matter. Police-community relations. Racial tension. Race is now at the center of both public and private discourse. Robert Greer shares his poignant first-person reflections on the meaning of race in our lives. Robert Greer comes to us from Fall River […]
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This I Believe New England – Dare to Imagine
Many of us, no doubt, have been wondering during the past year whether there are any blessings to be found underneath the complex layers of the COVID-19 pandemic. After all, our lives have been disrupted in so many ways, sometimes in catastrophic form. One gift, perhaps, is that the pandemic has sharpened our wish to […]
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This I Believe New England – The Next Good Thing
In his novel A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway wrote “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” Of course, all of us face daunting challenges in life. As we hear from Cheryl Hatch, sometimes, sometimes, trauma indeed can strengthen us. Cheryl Hatch is president of the Women’s Education Initiative, a nonprofit organization that offers funding for women who […]
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This I Believe New England – Third Culture Kid
We’re living in a time when the concepts of culture and community have taken on new meaning, especially in the midst of intense national discourse about race, ethnicity, and diversity. Headlines swirl around us, pushing and pulling us into complex conversations about our place in this complicated world of ours. Taygan Yilmaz shares his wise […]
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This I Believe New England – Winter
Here we are, in the midst of yet another New England winter. For some, this stretch of months with early sunsets is filled with dread — frosty temperatures, snow piles to shovel, sluggish car engines, and ice patches to dodge. But for others of us, this wintry mix is the stuff of pure delight. Shimmering […]
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This I Believe New England – The Health of the Planet
There is so much to worry about in our world today: political turmoil, civil unrest, a pandemic, climate change. The list goes on . . . and on and on. All of us want to be hopeful, of course, as we stare down all of these challenges. Let’s listen to Curt Spalding’s sanguine words, as he reflects on […]
