StudioTulsa on 89.5-1

On this encore edition of ST, a discussion of the neurobiology of pleasure,  and of how pleasures can turn into addictions. We speak with David J. Linden, who is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as well as the Chief Editor of the Journal of Neurophysiology.

On this edition of our show, we hear from Michael Brose and Greg Shinn of the Mental Health Association of Tulsa. Over the years, MHAT has been assembling properties to offer housing to the chronically homeless. Today, they have over 650 units of housing --- and an amazing track record of getting people off the streets and into permanent housing. Their approach is labeled "Housing First," and according to the most recent census, there are fewer than 100 chronic homeless on Tulsa's streets today.

On this encore presentation of ST, we speak with Dr. Nancy Rappaport, a noted child psychiatrist and author. An Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Rappaport is the co-author of a new book called, "The Behavior Code: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching the Most Challenging Students" (Harvard Education Press). This book --- written with Jessica Minahan, a behavioral analyst --- is based on an academic collaboration dating back nearly a decade, and is aimed mainly at K-6 educators but will have much to offer parents, as well.

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we speak with the former medical director of the oldest (and one of the busiest) public hospitals in America, Dr. Eric Manheimer, who worked for many years at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. While internationally known for its psychiatric and criminal units, Bellevue is a full service public hospital that delivers babies, fights cancer, and is a major trauma center for the city.

On this encore edition of StudioTulsa, we visit with John M. Henshaw, the Harry H. Rogers Professor of Mechanical Engineering and chair of the Department of Engineering here at the University of Tulsa. Professor Henshaw's new book is "A Tour of the Senses: How Your Brain Interprets the World." This book offers an engaging and accessible consideration of the five senses --- taste, smell, touch, sight, and hearing --- and, moreover, of how these senses influence and affect one another.

On today's edition of StudioTulsa, we're pleased to welcome back an old friend, Michael Hightower, who lived and worked in Tulsa for about two decades, starting in 1980, and who, for most of that time, owned and presided over Council Oak Books. Now based in Charlottesville, Virginia, Hightower joins us to talk about his new novel, "The Pattersons," a work of historical fiction as well as modern-day sociological commentary that occasionally draws on Hightower's own life story.

The uprising in Syria continues to be a cause of great concern around the globe as fighting intensifies between rebel forces and pro-government soldiers, with much of the combat occurring in and near the ancient trading city of Aleppo, in northwestern Syria. On this installment of ST, as we listen back to an interview that first aired in late May, we offer another story of Aleppo --- and of one of Judaism's most sacred texts. Our guest is the journalist Matti Friedman, a correspondent for the Associated Press who grew up in Toronto and now lives in Jerusalem.

American Theatre Company (ATC), which has been a part of Tulsa's local arts scene since 1970, will soon present "The Comedy of Errors" by William Shakespeare. Our guest on this edition of ST is Lisa Wilson, a longtime member of the Theatre and Drama faculty here at TU, who is directing this production. The play will be staged on the verdant and gorgeous --- and, thank goodness, well-shaded --- lawn of the Philbrook Museum of Art on August 3rd, 4th, 10th, and 11th, with all curtains at 8pm.

Earlier today, Mayor Dewey Bartlett asked the citizens of Tulsa and its surrounding communities to voluntarily restrict their water usage. This request was based on that fact that 207.3 million gallons of water were used by Tulsans yesterday; this amount surpassed the point at which City of Tulsa ordinance requires the mayor to ask for voluntary restrictions on outside watering. In fact, if the same rate of water usage occurs today, Tuesday the 31st, then Tulsans will be looking at mandatory water restrictions.

"Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger," the former President George W. Bush once remarked to an appreciative audience, "which, in Texas, is called 'walking.'" It's pretty clear to just about everyone that the State of Texas sees itself as a breed apart in many ways, and for many reasons; Texans, as a rule, seem to consider their home state an exceptional, singular, not-to-be-messed-with place.