This Thursday, Sept. 7, marks the debut of “Human Interest,” a new and expanded version of “SeniorCentric.”
The show still airs from 2-3 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month but has broadened its scope to include the whole community.
Hosted by Marianne Reese, “SeniorCentric” grew directly out of Reese’s role as director of LifeLong Learning, a city-wide program of classes and other activities for seniors that she founded in 2014. Courses held in venues around the city include arts, crafts, history, literature, and practical advice. For more information and a full list of courses, visit www. lllsanmarcos.org.
After retiring from a career devoted to education—as a public- school science teacher, curriculum director, superintendent, and Texas State professor and department chair—Marianne quickly recognized the limited offerings for adult community members to learn, share, and grow, resolved to do something about it, and created LifeLong Learning. Last year, she brought LifeLong Learning to KZSM with SeniorCentric, which focused on health and wellness, community organizations, and fascinating facts, often featuring LifeLong Learning instructors as guests.
This summer, Marianne took a break from her show, but not from her commitment to the value of learning for people of all ages. During her summer hiatus, she realized that so much of what she shared on SeniorCentric addressed topics not only of interest to seniors, but of interest to all humans in San Marcos.
With that in mind, she developed “Human Interest,” where she will host guests and “share conversations that may spark compassion, empathy, motivation, laughter, fear, love, and perhaps even anger… all part of the human condition and each of human interest.” Local experts and community organizations will continue to be featured with the goal of offering a broader context around topics relevant to our community.
Marianne’s guest on September 7 will be Dr. Shirley Ogletree, Distinguished Professor Emeritus in Psychology. Their conversation will highlight the blockbuster film, “Barbie.” They will consider reasons for the phenomenal box-office success of the film, and also explore the theme that has generated so much controversy— the negative social and cultural impact of stereotypical gender roles.
Given our mission of providing programming that engages, enlightens, and entertains everyone in our diverse community, we at KZSM are happy to welcome the result of Marianne’s commitment to learning with her new show, “Human Interest.”
