Dick’s guest, Prasanta Verma, the author of Beyond Ethnic Loneliness: The Pain of Marginalization and the Path to Belonging, discusses loneliness in America. In 2023, the Surgeon General declared loneliness a national epidemic and compared its health impact to the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
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There is a 50/50 chance you met your current partner online dating. It’s the new world of dating but some level of deception is common. Why do some people deceive? What is catfishing? How do you navigate around these issues?
Dick’s guest, Dr. Catalina Toma is a Professor of Communication Science at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research helps people understand and communicate via technology, particularly online dating, social networking sites and AI.
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There are celebrities and online influencers who have thousands, sometimes millions of followers and fans. These people often feel they know the celebrity and may believe they are connected to them personally. This is called a parasocial relationship. It is a one-way relationship and it is widespread in our culture. How does this happen? How does it affect the fan? How does it feel to be on the other side as the one being followed?
Dick’s guest, Dr. Gayle S. Stever is Professor of Social and Behavioral Science at Empire State University of New York and has written three books on parasocial relationships.
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We all face serious setbacks, scary challenges or losses. What if we could not only handle these situations with skill and resilience but also adapt and grow to improve ourselves when life throws us these left curves?
Dick’s guest, Darald Hanusa, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice for over 45 years. He is also Senior Lecturer Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Social Work.
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Some therapists are finding that exploring a client’s creativity and artistic expression can lead to better mental health and self awareness. This expression can be via poetry, music, painting or simply journaling their feelings.
Dick’s guest, Dr. Richard LaBrie is a Clinical Psychologist and also the author of Alchemy of Blood, a collection of contemporary poems that focus on a variety of topics, including relationships, social and political trends, nature and psychology.
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Dick’s guest, Denise Hanson, is the Founder and Executive Director of Root 2 Rise, a non-profit organization that actually pays a stipend and gives class credit to teens on the verge of dropping out by having them help elementary school kids do better in school.
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The CDC reports 40% of high school students have persistent sadness or hopelessness. About 20% have seriously considered suicide and 9% have attempted it. These bleak numbers are significantly worse than 25 years ago. How can these troubled teens be better helped?
Dick’s guest is Dr. Steven Stein, a licensed psychologist and founder of North Star Adolescent Day Treatment Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Nearly one out of five adults aged 25 to 34 in America currently live with their parents. And 46% of adults aged 18 to 35 have left home and at some point moved back. Why is this happening and how does this affect all involved?
Dick’s guest, Lesa Fischer is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a psychotherapist with over 30 years of experience in private practice in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Is American men’s mental health worse than American women’s? Men commit suicide 3 1/2 times more frequently. Men are less likely to seek treatment for addiction or mental health disorders like depression. Do these things relate to the fact that life expectancy of men is 5.8 years less than women?
Dick’s guest, Dr. Jim Hollis is a Jungian psychoanalyst and the author of twenty books, including Under Saturn’s Shadow: The Wounding and Healing of Men.
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What really leads to happiness? Who is happiest and why?
Dick’s guest, Rebecca Warner is Professor Emerita of Psychology at the University of New Hampshire. She is also the author of several books and research papers on the subject of happiness.
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What are the tough questions you and your partner need to explore before you commit long term?
Dick’s guest is Michael Reddin, a Licensed Professional Counselor at Madison Psychiatric Associates in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Adult children sometimes cut off their parents by refusing contact. As many as 25% of adults have been estranged from at least one of their parents. A mild form of this estrangement is a rupture that is short term and perhaps less profound. What are the leading causes and what can be done to heal them?
Dick’s guest, Lesa Fischer is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a psychotherapist with over 30 years of experience in private practice in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Is the old fashioned newspaper at risk of dying? Recently, after losses of $100 million, The Washington Post fired 1/3 of its staff. Is this future of all newspapers? What is hurting this institution? Is there a path to newspapers surviving?
Dick’s guest, Paul Fanlund is Publisher and President of The Cap Times in Madison, Wisconsin. He has been in this business as a reporter, editor, columnist and executive for 50 years.
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Dr. Lee Hansen, Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Author of Forgetting and Forgotten: Dementia and the Right to Die, shares with Dick his experiences and all he learned about dementia while taking care of his wife during her ten year battle with this all too common disease.
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In Germany in 1938, Kristallnacht, or Night of Broken Glass, was sanctioned by the Nazi government. Synagogues and Jewish businesses were burned, 91 Jews were murdered and 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps. By the end of World War II, six million Jews were exterminated in these camps. In these years, what was the response to the atrocities by the government, by the media and by religious organizations in the United States? What lessons learned in the past can be applied to our deeply conflict-ridden world today?
Dick’s guest, Ofer Ashkenazi is a Professor of History and the Director of the Koebner-Minerva Center for German History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has written numerous books and articles on German history and Jewish life under Nazism. He is currently a visiting Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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Nearly two million dogs in the U.S. are tasked with being more than just cute and cuddly. These dogs are Emotional Support Dogs. Some of these animals have a even more challenging role of being a Psychiatric Service Dog. How useful in healing are they? Who can best benefit from their support?
Dick’s guest, Jane Miller is a licensed psychotherapist and LISW. She is the founder of Healing Companions and author of Healing Companions: Ordinary Dogs and Their Extraordinary Power to Transform Lives.
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Do New Year resolutions work? Are they worth the bother? Is there a better way to get your life on track?
Dick’s guest, Patricia Clason, has been leading workshops for corporate clients and the State of Wisconsin for 30 years on how to get your life organized and actualized. She has written and conducted workshops on life management, time management and finding your life purpose.
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About one in eleven Americans will suffer sometime in their life from disordered eating. Treating eating disorders can be extensive, arduous and very expensive, ranging from thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. What are the problematic disordered eating patterns and how can they best be treated?
Dick’s guest, Carolyn Karroll is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice in Maryland. She is the co-author of Eating Disorders Group Therapy and writes an ongoing blog on PsychologyToday.com.
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A chaplain in a retirement community is part spiritual advisor, part counselor, part crisis responder and part sage on life’s tough subjects.
Dick’s guests are Nicole Espe, who has served as a parish pastor as well as a hospital night chaplain and Jessica McCarty whose capstone project explored loneliness in the aging population and the role of spirituality. Both join Dick to discuss what they have learned while currently serving the population as ordained chaplains at Oakwood Village Retirement Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
Nicole Espe
Jessica McCarty
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Half of students in public schools in the United States are low income. Also half are minorities. What are the challenges and what are the solutions to better educate these kids?
Dick’s guest, Art Rainwater retired in 2008 after 10 years as Superintendent of Madison Metropolitan School District in Madison, Wisconsin. He is currently Clinical Professor of Education Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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Dick’s guest, Douglas Smith, was a social worker, a policy insider at the Texas capitol and a father when untreated mental illness and addiction led him to rob a bank and land in prison for nearly six years. He is now flourishing as a social worker helping people develop leadership skills. His recent book is The Path of Rocks & Thorns: Leadership Lessons From a Prison Cell.
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There are currently about 2,000,000 people incarcerated in the United States. Some say this system of justice is thoroughly unjust, costly and needlessly punishes instead of rehabilitates. What can be done to improve or even fix this system?
Dick’s guest, Diane Endres-Ballweg is a business owner, philanthropist and author who recently attended the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard, leading her to co-found the Madison Justice Team to bring together agencies, groups and individuals to work on reforming the criminal justice system.
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A recent Gallup poll found that only 32% of American workers feel engaged in their jobs. How can employers best motivate their workers, particularly in the non-profit sector, to feel engaged and fulfilled?
Dick’s guest, Dr. Melinda Weisberg holds a Doctorate in Management, Masters Degree in Education, (with an emphasis in adult education and organizational development) and undergraduate degrees in Public Relations and Economics. She is currently a part-time professor at Edgewood College.
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Since 2006, there have been over 600 mass shootings in the United States, resulting in more than 3,000 murders. Why these large numbers? Who are these mass shooters? How can we intelligently address this issue?
Dick’s guest, Dr. Richard LaBrie is a Clinical Psychologist who specializes in mass and individual trauma.
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Dick’s guests, divorce attorney Allan Koritzinsky and psychologist Dr. Kenneth Waldron share 5 myths about marriage and the 7 essential ingredients of a successful marriage from their book “The Road to Marital Success is Unpaved.”
Dr. Kenneth Waldron
Allan Koritzinsky
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There are currently somewhere between 11 and 18 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. These are people with no legal rights to be living in this country. Should they be expelled immediately? If so, how? Is the Trump administration executing these deportations within the law?
Dick’s guest, Grant Sovern is an immigration attorney with Quarles law firm in Wisconsin. He is the National Co-Chair of the Immigration and Mobility Practice Group and is also president of the board of the Community Immigration Law Center.
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The majority of Americans either have parents or are themselves aged 65 or older, making them candidates for retirement communities. Who is a good fit? What are the benefits and drawbacks? And what can we learn about life from retirement communities?
Dick’s guests are Jan Hamilton-Crawford, President & CEO of Oakwood Village and Tim Conroy, Executive Director of Capitol Lakes Retirement Community, both located in Madison, Wisconsin.
Jan Hamilton-Crawford
Tim Conroy
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Suicide in America is on a steady longterm rise. Over 49,000 people took their own lives in 2023. Why is this? What can be done to prevent suicide when someone you know may be at risk?
Dick’s guest, Tom Butero is a licensed independent clinical social worker in Massachusetts and has devoted the last 50 years to the study of suicide and suicide prevention. He has just published the book “I Don’t Want to Die: A New Look at Suicide Assessment, Intervention, and Prevention.”
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Of the over 2 million Americans behind bars, about 100,000 didn’t do it. They are innocent. The Innocence Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School is on the cutting edge of helping to exonerate the wrongfully convicted, including Steven Avery.
Dick’s guest is Keith Findley, law professor and co-founder and co-director of the Wisconsin Innocence Project. He is also the past president of the Innocence Network, an affiliation of 68 Innocence Projects around the world.
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The hospital chaplain brings comfort to patients and their families in ways medical staff is not equipped to do. How impactful can hospital chaplains be and what do they need to bring to this role to be effective?
Dick’s guest, Chaplain and Minister Andy Karlson is Manager of Spiritual Services for UW Health Hospital and also a Unitarian Universalist Minister affiliated with First Unitarian Society of Madison.
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