"The Human Condition" was a series of radio broadcasts produced by the Hogg Foundation that ran from 1971 to 1983. The series was broadcast weekly by stations subscribing to the Longhorn Radio Network. ® Available on iTunes here: http://ow.ly/BF6U1.

The series featured conversations on subjects that spanned the full range of human interest including mental health. Guests included historically notable figures such as Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, Roy Wilkins, Karl and Roy Menninger, and Oscar-winning actress Mercedes McCambridge. There are currently four episodes available, with more on the way.

As much as anything that the Hogg Foundation has done, "The Human Condition" offers rich possibilities for future archival projects as well as generating new public interest. As a part of our 75th anniversary celebration, we are exploring avenues for the exhibition of some of the rich material in our archive — photos, documents, news clippings, and audio interviews.

During the next year and a half, we will be uploading all of the approximately 400 episodes in our archive to the Hogg Foundation's iTunes U collection. Stay tuned!

 
 

T. Berry Brazelton

He has been called “America's most celebrated and influential baby doctor since Benjamin Spock.” Dr. T. Berry Brazelton (born May 10, 1918) is perhaps the most famous name in the field of pediatrics and the author of more than 200 research papers and 24 books. His public profile, which includes a syndicated newspaper column and a cable television program ("What Every Baby Knows"), along with the widespread adoption of his influential Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale, made Brazelton a pivotal figure in the development of child psychology. During this 1979 episode of "The Human Condition," Dr. Brazelton discusses child rearing.

Mercedes McCambridge

Carlotta Mercedes Agnes McCambridge (March 16, 1916 – March 2, 2004) was an award-winning actress of radio, stage, film, and television. She won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "All the King's Men" (1949) and was nominated in the same category for "Giant" (1956). She also provided the voice of Pazuzu in "The Exorcist." She was known for her strong, radio-trained voice and portrayals of strong, non-glamorous women. Orson Welles once called her "the world's greatest living radio actress.”

In this 1974 interview, McCambridge movingly chronicles her struggles with alcoholism.

Dr. Kenneth Clark

Dr. Kenneth Clark (July 24, 1914 – May 1, 2005) was a renowned African American psychologist who, in tandem with his wife, Mamie Phipps Clark, conducted trailblazing research on the effects of discrimination on children's attitudes about race. The Clarks' work played an influential role in the legal struggles against segregation in the 1950s. They testified as expert witnesses in Briggs v. Elliott, one of the cases rolled into the historic Brown vs. Board of Education case of 1954.

It was the Clarks' research on the effects of racism on school children that led to Chief Justice Earl Warren's famous dictum, "To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely to ever be undone".

Sarah Weddington

Sarah Weddington (born February 5, 1945) is an American attorney, law professor, and former Texas state legislator best known for representing "Jane Roe" (Norma McCorvey) in the landmark Roe v. Wade case before the United States Supreme Court. Weddington was only 27 at the time, still the youngest person to successfully argue a Supreme Court case.

In this episode of "The Human Condition," Weddington forcefully argues that "women's issues," rather than being treated as another special interest, should have a place on everyone's agenda.