If there’s any certainty in life, it may be this: life is uncertain. Some people with truly dire medical prognoses recover, perhaps for reasons we’ll never understand. You never know. Some stellar athletes are labeled “can’t miss” and then, well, miss. You never know. Some students are mired in the academic basement and, to everyone’s […]
Frederic Reamer
Frederic Reamer, PhD, brings sophistication to The Public's Radio as the producer of the compelling series This I Believe – New England, modeled on the national This I Believe project.
Reamer's involvement with National Public Radio began in 2000 when he was invited to broadcast a national commentary for All Things Considered. Over the years, Reamer has made guest appearances on various radio broadcasts throughout the country. His own This I Believe essay was broadcast on NPR in 2005 as part of the national series. In March of 2007, Dr. Reamer became the producer of This I Believe – Rhode Island, later changed to This I Believe - New England, which broadcasts weekly on The Public's Radio.
Reamer is a professor in the graduate program of the School of Social Work at Rhode Island College. He has lectured nationally and internationally on the subjects of professional ethics, professional malpractice and liability. Reamer is also the author of books on professional ethics, criminal justice, and research methods.
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – Right or Wrong
Our contemporary world seems saturated with complex black and white issues, especially our conversations about Black Lives Matter and other race-related challenges. Yet, our world is also filled with gray, make that many shades of gray. Many of us are wrestling with complex questions concerning race, policing, even whether and when to wear a mask during the […]
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – Facing Demons
How many of us have been tempted to rush to judgment when we come upon displays of ugly behavior, whether on the smartphone or television screen, during radio broadcasts, or up close and personal in our daily encounters? We may wince when a spokesperson for the opposing political party opines in ways that seem completely […]
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – Okay To Not Be Okay
Life certainly serves up its share of struggles. That’s inevitable, particularly in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. Those of us who are parents do our best to shield our children from life’s bumps and bruises, especially the significant, traumatic ones. Yet, no matter our noble efforts, children sometimes labor quietly with their internal anguish. Fourteen-year-old Alice […]
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – A Beekeeper
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us so many life lessons in recent months. Chief among them is that nature is in charge in so many profound ways. Our lives have been upended as we’ve struggled to weave and dodge in response to this forceful infectious disease. Jennifer Bristol is here to remind us that we should always be […]
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – Quest for Identity
Sorting out one’s true identity at any age can be a complex challenge. If we’re fortunate, we become comfortable in our skin as we travel life’s complicated path. As the narrator says in Ralph Ellison’s novel The Invisible Man, “When I discover who I am, I will be free.” Let’s listen to 13-year-old Tai Mertes’s nuanced quest […]
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – Poems
Words matter. They matter a lot. We string words together in myriad ways. Sentences filled with compelling prose. Catchy phrases that inspire us. One-word exclamations, some of which are unprintable and can’t be said on the air. And then there’s poetry: the exquisitely careful, often delicate, assemblage of words that linger together artfully in ways […]
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – Family Connections
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned all of our lives upside down. For many of us, our jobs and educations have been disrupted, our social lives outside of a Zoom screen have been put on hold, our emotional life has been severely challenged. One of the byproducts of the coronavirus is that many of us have a […]
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – Gravestones
Perhaps most of us have spent some time anticipating our own deaths, our own mortality. Maybe these are but fleeting moments, or maybe not. Have you ever pictured the gravestone meant for you, and what it might mean to those who visit your grave site? For many of us this may be a macabre subject, […]
Posted inEpisode
This I Believe New England – The Heart of America
“There but for the grace of God go I.” Now there’s an expression we’ve all heard, commonly attributed to the 16th century English reformer John Bradford, among others. The message, of course, pertains to situations where we find ourselves better off than those we encounter. Indeed, life produces so many circumstances where we witness the profound suffering […]