Tune in to Experience Talks, our weekly “Radio Magazine for the Experienced Listener,” on Sundays at 5:00 PM PT on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles, 98.7 FM Santa Barbara, 99.5 China Lake, 93.7 N. San Diego, streaming live online, and now syndicated on up to 100 Pacifica Network stations! Experience Talks is produced by the non-profit EngAGE, Inc.

Miss the show? You can always hear it as a podcast on the Listen Page of our website! You’ll also find an archive-in-progress of all of our previous shows there for you to enjoy. New shows are usually posted within 48 hours after broadcast.

Dr. Donna Benton is an assistant research professor at the USC Davis School of Gerontology, Co-director of the USC Family Caregiver Support Center, and Director of Older Adult Services at Pacific Clinics. She is a clinical psychologist who specializes in gerontology. She is in her last term as commissioner on the  California Commission on Aging. She has worked in the field of aging for over 30 years. Dr. Benton has presented her research and clinical work on elder abuse, minority aging, and caregiving locally, nationally, and internationally. She is committed to promoting collaborative partnerships and policies that enhance services for families caring for older adults.

At the upcoming “A Sandwich Generation Forum” at the Burbank Marriott on November 14th, Dr. Benton will discuss how to avoid caregiver exhaustion and simple ways to improve a caregiver’s quality of life.  This special presentation is sponsored by the USC Family Caregiver Support Center.

Arjuna Paris O’Neal grew up on Detroit’s Eastside, surrounded by drugs, poverty, and violence. The son of a drug dealer, Arjuna was exposed to gang culture as a child, bearing witness to the daily beatings, murders, and brutal life that came with it. At the time, it seemed to Arjuna to be the only option available to him—the only way to support his struggling mother, the only way to survive. He was only 15 when he started selling drugs himself and was running his own operation by age 17.

But everything changed one fateful day, when a bullet nearly took his life. During his long recovery, Arjuna discovered a personal relationship with God, the power of yoga in rebuilding his strength and body, and the power of meditation in regaining control of his mind. He went back to school and earned multiple degrees—Associate of Arts in Business, a Bachelor of Science in Business, and a Master of Business Administration. He even expanded on his passion for yoga and became a certified yoga instructor.

It was this inner calling that inspired Arjuna to create Share Necessities, an organization dedicated to improving communities by empowering the young people within them. The organization’s “Mindful Leadership” program launches in January, 2016, in the Los Angeles Unified School district, using yoga & meditation as its foundation.