Robert Zorba Paster is an American physician and radio show host. Paster was born on August 19, 1947, and raised in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He hosts a weekly radio call-in show on personal health issues called ''Zorba Paster on Your Health''. The show is produced by

Wisconsin Public Radio Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) is a network of 38 public radio radio station, stations in the state of Wisconsin. WPR's network is divided into two distinct services, the ''WPR News Network'' and the ''WPR Music Network''. History Wisconsin Publ ...

, syndicated by the

Public Radio Exchange The Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is a non-profit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. The organization is the largest on-demand catalogue of public radio programs available for broadcast and internet ...

, and is broadcast on

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

stations around the United States. The show's trademark is a lighthearted, humorous approach, made possible by Zorba's banter with his co-host, Tom Clark. The show's style is somewhat similar to

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's program, ''

Car Talk ''Car Talk'' is a metonym for the humorous work of "Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers", Tom and Ray Magliozzi, on automobile repair. Originally, ''Car Talk'' was a radio show that ran on National Public Radio (NPR) from 1977 until Octobe ...

'', providing callers both with good advice and kind-hearted ribbing. In addition to his weekly show for Wisconsin Public Radio, Paster provides weekly medical commentaries on

WISC-TV WISC-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Madison, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with CBS and MyNetworkTV. It is the flagship television property of locally based Morgan Murphy Media, which has owned the station since its inception. W ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

and writes a column for the ''

Wisconsin State Journal The ''Wisconsin State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper, the second largest in Wisconsin, is primarily distributed in a 19 county region in south-central Wisconsin. As of Septembe ...

'' and other newspapers across the country. He is also the editor of ''TopHealth'', a monthly wellness letter with more than 1 million readers. Paster has written ''The Longevity Code: Your Prescription for a Longer, Sweeter Life'' with Susan Meltsner, published by Random House. He writes of "the Long Sweet Life", and states that achieving longevity is much more complex than merely maintaining healthy diet and exercise. Paster and his wife have been involved in Tibetan causes since 1968, having studied under Geshe Sopa, one of America's premier teachers of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

In June 2008, together with Dr. Richard Chaisson and Kunchok Dorjee, he participated to help improving a program of the Tibetan Delek Hospital supported by

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

and aiming to control

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

within the

Tibetan diaspora The Tibetan diaspora is the relocation of Tibetan people from Tibet, their land of origin, to other nation states to live as exiles and refugees in communities. The diaspora of Tibetan people began in the early 1950s, peaked after the 1959 Tibe ...

. Paster is the Chairman of Friends of Tibetan Delek Hospital an organization aiming to help Delek Hospital. Dr. Paster is also actively involved in providing medical care for His Holiness the Dalai Lama along with Dr. Tsetan Sandutshang, His Holiness’s primary physician. Paster received his pre-med degree from the

University of Wisconsin - Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

and his MD from the

University of Illinois, Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

. He did his

internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

and

residency Residency may refer to: * Artist-in-residence, a program to sponsor the residence and work of visual artists, writers, musicians, etc. * Concert residency, a series of concerts performed at one venue * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or m ...

at Dalhousie University School of Medicine,

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

. He is a practicing

family physician Family medicine is a medical specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body. The specialist, who is usually a primary care physician, i ...

at th
Dean Medical Center
near

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor of Family Medicine at the

University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UWSMPH) is a professional school for the study of medicine and public health at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It is one of only two medical schools in Wisconsin, along wit ...

where he teaches medical residents and medical students. He and his family live in

Oregon, Wisconsin Oregon is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,179 at the 2020 census. A suburb south of Madison, it is part of the Madison metropolitan area. The village is located mostly within the Town of Oregon. His ...

.PRI Public Radio International, "Zorba Paster on Your Health," http://www.pri.org/zorba-paster.html (accessed 16 December 2009).

Publications

*''Heart-Healthy, Low-Fat, Guilt-Free and Tasty Recipes from the Kitchen of Zorba Paster''. Wisconsin Public Radio Association, 2000. *''The Longevity Code: Your Prescription for a Longer, Sweeter Life'' written with Susan Melstner. New York: Random House, 2001. *Zorba Paster, "My Trip to See His Holiness, the Dalai Lama," Wisconsin Public Radio, https://web.archive.org/web/20090722100619/http://www.wpr.org:80/zorba/article_dalailama.htm (accessed 16 December 2009).

References

External links

"Zorba Paster on Your Health"
WPR Wisconsin Public Radio *To The Best Of Our Knowledge, "Medicine and Compassion," Wisconsin Public Radio. https://web.archive.org/web/20120125085144/http://ttbook.org:80/book/compassion-and-medicine (accessed 22 January 2012) {{DEFAULTSORT:Paster, Zorba Radio personalities from Chicago Radio personalities from Milwaukee American talk radio hosts Living people University of Illinois Chicago alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Year of birth missing (living people) University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Physicians from Wisconsin Radio personalities from Wisconsin Writers from Chicago Writers from Milwaukee People from Oregon, Wisconsin