Blindness

It’s a Saturday night in at the Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth. Hundreds of people are here to experience some vintage Christmas charm at the annual Candlelight Stroll.

Gene Lavoie, dressed in her puffy white coat, is eager to join them. But first, she puts on a pair of futuristic looking glasses.

Lavoie is visually impaired. She has some sight, but not enough to get around on her own. She’s hoping the new glasses she just put on will help that.

***This story has lots of sound -- we highly recommend listening.***

People who live with blindness are used to finding creative ways to do things most of us take for granted. But recently a group of people with vision loss did something that surprised even them -- they went ice-skating.

Empathy, the ability to share in the emotions of another, has been on the decline since the 1980’s, with the steepest drop occurring in the past ten years. So what’s the big deal? On today’s show, we’ll discuss how to become a more empathetic human being. 

Plus, in just a few weeks, canines from around the world will face off in the best of breed categories at the Westminster dog show. But are pure bred dogs a cause for celebration? Or outrage?

Listen to the full show and click Read more for individual segments.

Empathy, the ability to share in the emotions of another, has been on the decline since the 1980s, with the steepest drop occurring in the past ten years. So what’s the big deal?

On today’s show, how to become a more empathetic human being. 

Then, from birth dates as ATM pins to jokey answers to security questions, a look at the surprisingly deep tales our passwords tell.

Listen to the full show and click Read more for individual segments.

When you sit down to eat, you probably don’t think much about hand-eye coordination. Try eating without being able to see, though, and that changes.  I recently ate a meal blindfolded at an event held by the NH Association for the Blind at Giuseppe’s restaurant in Meredith.