Profiles

The journalist Lesley Hazleton says that early sources on the prophet Muhammad are infuriatingly vague. He’s described as “neither tall nor short,” “neither dark nor fair,” and “neither thin nor stout.” Hazleton, a longtime Middle East reporter and an agnostic Jew, wanted to understand the man whose legacy continues to shape our world. Her biography is called “The First Muslim,” and she joins Doug to explain how a man from humble beginnings rose to be the voice and leader of his people. (Rebroadcast)

Josh Hanagarne stands 6 feet 7 inches tall and can bend horseshoes with his bare hands. He has Tourette’s syndrome and is given to noisy verbal tics. It may seem unlikely, but Hanagarne is also a librarian at Salt Lake City’s Main Library. The job fuels his inner bookworm. It also compels him to consistently maintain silence and self-control. Hanagarne has written a memoir about his struggles with the physical and mental challenges of Tourette’s, and he joins us on Thursday to talk about it.

Tuesday, we're talking to the writer Cheryl Strayed about her memoir Wild. Strayed was 22 years old when her mother died of cancer, and she says the loss brought her to a "most savage self." Her marriage was falling apart, she was sleeping with other men and was using heroin. She needed healing, and she found it on a grueling, 1100-mile solo hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. Strayed joins Doug to talk about facing her demons and finding her way back. (Rebroadcast)

Environmental activist Tim DeChristopher was recently released after serving a two-year prison term for an infamous act of civil disobedience. DeChristopher says that during his sentence he read and exercised a lot. He also missed the rise and decline of the Occupy protests. “The biggest social movement of lifetime happened and I missed it,” DeChristopher has said. A free man now, he plans to attend Harvard Divinity School in the fall. DeChristopher joins us Monday to discuss his evolution as an activist and how it connects to his spiritual path.