Discussing the work of Thresholds, a Chicago social service organization, and interviewing Jerry Dincin and Michael Sternberg. They discuss what Thresholds provides and how it helps people with their confidence and mental health. Includes a song called "Young Paul".

Topics of discussion include privacy in education and access to school records, the use of pseudo-scientific terminology in describing children, the ways that a child's records are shared outside of the school and related race and class issues, the pharmaceutical industry and treatments, and the importance of parents refusing to allow their children to be given psychological tests without their informed consent.

As part of an on-going series, Chicago Sun Times reporter, Judy Nichol and her colleagues went to various high schools in Chicago and the suburbs to talk to students about drugs in the high schools. Lane Tech seniors Jim and Kurt said the reason they got into doing drugs was because of their peers and because they wanted to be a part of the crowd.

Psychologist, Holocaust survivor and author Bruno Bettelheim discusses his imprisonment in Dachua and how it influenced his view on life with the effect of Freud and Kant’s philosophy. Bettelheim was known as an early adopter on the topic of autism.

Interviewing Jerry Davidson and Mike Bell about the Elan School in Maine for children with learning disabilities (Part 2).

Scott and Helen Nearing, advocates of simple living, discuss their book "Continuing the good life: half a century of homesteading" and the simple lifestyle they lead. Includes excerpt from previous interview with Scott and Helen Nearing.

A round-table debate about the Montessori educational theory. Four early childhood development professionals speak of the pros and the cons of the program. Speakers include: Fay Bauling advisor at Wilson Jr. College, Dr. Urban Fleege of DePaul University, Dr. Ner Littner from the Institute of Psychoanalysis, and Hannah MacLaren, head teacher from Ancona School.

Depression, meds, psychiatry and being bi polar are all topics covered in Kay R. Jamison's book, "An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness." According to Jamison, being bi polar runs in one's family. It is in one's genes, as Jamison talks about her own personal battle with the disease. Jamison also reads passages from her book.

In her book, "The Mirage of Safety: Food Additives and Federal Policy, " Beatrice Trum Hunter warns the readers about the dangers of highly processed foods and chemical additives.  By preparing a TV dinner, or a convenience food, Hunter says a person really doesn't save that much more time than they would by making a meal from scratch.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations