Tidings podcast

Jim Sterba talks about his book Nature Wars: The Incredible Story of How Wildlife Comebacks Turned Backyards into Battlegrounds  in which he examines the last five hundred years of wildlife plundering, deforestation, conservation and suburban sprawl along with our “denatured” life have led to unmanageable wildlife populations including the deer plaguing our region. I reviewed Sterba’s […]

What a wonderful first novel Christina Nichol has written! Waiting for the Electricity, first published in 2014 by Overlook Press and now available in  paperback, is set in post-Soviet Georgia.  It’s a most unusual story about a strange, fascinating country. If, like me, you knew (almost) nothing about the Republic of Georgia, you’ll know a lot […]

Shireen Pasha is a notable documentary film maker and head of the film department of Pakistan’s National College of Arts. We sat together in Lahore after coming back from South Punjab where we’d gone to document the rebuilding and resettling of villages after the devastating floods of 2010 and 2012 for our documentary After the […]

Adam Aloni, Jewish Israeli researcher with B’Tselem, speaks from Jerusalem about the  recently released report: Made in Israel: Exploiting Palestinian Land for Treatment of Israeli Waste, the Occupation and the socio-historical context within which this exploitation has developed. (Broadcast on WPKN radio on March 14, 2018; produced by Tony Ernst)

Note: this interview was recorded and first broadcast in May, 2015.  Since then, the settler-colonization witnessed by Danika Padilla has intensified so that today the 51-year old occupation has encroached deeper and wider with more human rights abolished, more Palestinian children abused, detained and killed, more olive trees uprooted, more Palestinian homes demolished and ever […]

I’ve updated my earlier critical observations (Tidings, Sept. 2008) about the practice of tipping in America, gratified to see that, even if it took ten years, at least one leading New York restaurant mogul–Danny Meyer–has done away with tipping throughout his 13 hospitality establishments.  Although his reasoning was shaped mostly by economic considerations, be warned that psychological affronts […]

Danny Gregory is this month’s guest on Tidings.  He is also my son. Danny started his love affair with books when he was six years old which he credits for the creative life he has led ever since. He is a prolific artist and blogger with a creative presence in many digital spaces, including one that […]

Begging: a profession? a misfortune? a job? a scourge? a spiritual practice? an industry? a stain on society? freedom of choice? Lively commentary along with interviews with American tourists to India and Indian bloggers and writers.  Also illustrated blog post here. First broadcast on WPKN on December 10, 2013 and produced by Tony Ernst.  

  Based in Fairfield, Connecticut, Inni Kaur is the CEO of SikhRI, a global, virtual organization dedicated to promoting the teachings of the Sikh faith.  She tells us about her international childhood,the contradictions she had to untangle in the search for her faith and what it means to lead the life of a Sikh.  (Broadcast on […]

Syrian-American composer, pianist and humanitarian activist Malek Jandali talks about his international mission to preserve and protect Syria’s rich embattled heritage and to build peace through music and education.  In this spirit, he founded an annual competition for young pianists and the Pianos for Peace festival in Atlanta. The Carnegie Corporation named him a Great […]

About Hazel

Born to German Jewish refugee physicians in Lahore (now Pakistan, then British India) Hazel has lived, studied and worked in many places–India, England, Australia, Israel and the United States. She makes her home in the woods of the eastern end of Long Island, New York where she produces the art of leafages, the radio sounds of Tidings and writes about growing up Jewish in Lahore. Read more about Hazel…

About Leafages

"Credo" statement

Leafages by Hazel Kahan are made from real leaves, vines and tendrils interwoven with calligraphy, decorative pen and ink flourishes and imaginary Latin botanical names. Leafages contain a philosophical or inspirational thought, quotation or verse from sages, poets or religious texts. Some leafages are specially created for an individual, a couple or a family with words or leaves reflecting their personal narrative. They are available on the Leafages shop on Etsy although the supply is low right now, all my energies having been absorbed by the book I’ve been writing. Do come back soon when the shop will be full of new leafage abundance or contact me.