On this week’s 51%, we’ll hear about a woman whose passion is ecotourism, in China. Then we’ll speak with an author with another passion, writing about unrequited love that she learned to let go.
Since XiaoZuo founded the 54 Traveler tourism company with her husband, she’s organized countless outdoor trips, always emphasizing responsible travel guidelines, like packing out trash and respect for local communities. She says she hopes the people who join her excursions will become invested in protecting China’s environment. China’s government has vowed to address environmental concerns after taking a growth-at-all-costs approach during the country’s economic opening. Ruth Morris reports for Deutsche Welle in China.
The summer Lisa Phillips turned 30, she fell in love with someone who did not return her feelings. She soon became obsessed. She followed him around, called him compulsively, and talked about him endlessly. One morning, after she snuck into his apartment building, he picked up a baseball bat to protect himself and threatened to dial 911. Her unrequited love had changed her from a sane college teacher and radio reporter into someone she barely recognized—someone who had taken her yearning much too far. Phillips, formerly a reporter with WAMC Northeast Public Radio and currently a journalism professor at the State University of New York at New Paltz, in her new book, Unrequited: Women and Romantic Obsession, interweaves her own story with interviews and research in science, psychology, cultural history, and literature. 51%’s Joe Donahue asks Phillips for how long the book had been in her.
That was Lisa Phillips, author of Unrequited: Women and Romantic Obsession, speaking with 51%’s Joe Donahue.
And that’s our show for this week. Thanks to Katie Britton for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio.
