On this week's 51%, actor and comedian Alison Larkin explores how grief encouraged her to live (and love) more fully in her new memoir Grief…A Comedy. We also take a drive up to Staatsburg, New York, to speak with the artists behind the “Unearthing the Light” reflecting on loss, healing, and the former “New York Training School for Girls.” WAMC’s Josh Landes also speaks with some of the survivors of a sex abuse scandal at an all-girls boarding school in western Massachusetts, who have just had their stories corroborated by an independent investigation.

Guest: Alison Larkin, author of Grief…A Comedy

A segment of this episode discusses sexual abuse and assault. If you or someone you love has been impacted, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-656-HOPE.

51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Madeleine Reynolds, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. This episode also contains the tracks “Did You Know” by Fabian Measures and “Harp Miniature” by Vladan Kuzmanović.

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On this week's 51%, we speak with artist Alison Cornyn about a new exhibit remembering the lives lived and lost at the site of the former New York Training School for Girls. Now a prison for men, the New York Training School for Girls in Hudson, New York served as a reform school and juvenile detention center for "incorrigible" girls, including a young Ella Fitzgerald. For years, Cornyn has been researching the site's history and speaking with its former residents, hoping to bring to light the ways in which we punish girls for independent or defiant behavior. Her new exhibit, called "Unearthing the Light," raises awareness of a little-known cemetery on the site, and the neglect and erasure of marginalized bodies. 

Guest: Alison Cornyn, artist and curator at The Church in Staatsburg

51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Madeleine Reynolds, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. This episode also contains the track "Played by Ear" by Jangwa.

On this week’s 51%, we hear from Tony and Grammy Award-winning actress and singer Renée Elise Goldsberry about her solo debut record Who I Really Am. Goldsberry is perhaps best known for originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway hit Hamilton and her portrayal of “Wickie” in the Netflix series Girls5eva. Blending pop, soul, funk and gospel, Who I Really Am allows Goldsberry to get personal, rather than playing a character.

Guest: Renée Elise Goldsberry, actress and singer

51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Madeleine Reynolds, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

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On this week's 51%, we learn about a Girl Scouts program that aims to teach young girls how to identify their emotions and talk about their mental health. Brenda Episcopo, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York, walks through how the “mental wellness patch program” helps girls Grades 4-12 build their emotional literacy and self-soothe in times of stress. We also speak with the woman behind “Erin’s Law” about how teaching kids body safety helps prevent child sex abuse. 

Guests: Brenda Episcopo, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York, Erin Merryn, executive director of the Erin's Law Foundation

This episode contains a discussion about child sex abuse. If you or someone you love has been impacted, Childhelp has counselors available 24/7 by calling or texting "HELP" to 1-800-422-4453. 

51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Madeleine Reynolds, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. This episode also contains the track "Debora" by Jangwa.

On this week's 51%, we speak with attorney Heather Lothrop of the Urban Justice Center about what immigrant survivors of domestic violence should know as they're planning to leave an abusive partner or bring them to court. We'll also discuss how the Trump administration's deportation efforts are impacting such cases, and learn about a bill in Congress that would expand childcare options for police officers. 

Guests: Heather Lothrop, director of legal services at the Urban Justice Center and its Domestic Violence Project; Willow Baer, commissioner of the New York Office for People with Developmental Disabilities 

This episode touches on domestic violence. If you or someone you love has been impacted, please know help is available. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-799-SAFE or by texting "START" to 88788.  

51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Madeleine Reynolds, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. This episode also contains the tracks "Strijp" by Amarent and "Neutral" by A. Cooper.

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On this week's 51%, we speak with Shani Adess, vice president of the New York Legal Assistance Group, about the importance of providing sound legal advice to survivors of domestic violence, and what people should know if they bring their abuser to court. We also stop by an exhibit showcasing the art of incarcerated women in New Paltz, New York.

Guest: Shani Adess, vice president of the New York Legal Assistance Group

This episode touches on domestic violence and sexual assault. If you or someone you love has been impacted, please know help is available. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-799-SAFE or by texting "START" to 88788. RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline can be reached at 1-800-656-HOPE. 

51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Madeleine Reynolds, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. This episode also contains the track "Strijp" by Amarent.

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On this week’s 51%, we speak with UC Davis law professor Mary Ziegler about her new book, Personhood, and what she sees as the future of the abortion rights debate. Ziegler is a leading expert on the law, history, and politics of reproduction in the U.S. In Personhood, her seventh book on the subject, Ziegler argues that reversing Roe v. Wade was never the endgame of the antiabortion movement. Rather, she says the ultimate goal is “fetal personhood:” the recognition of fetuses and embryos as people under the 14th Amendment.

Guests: Mary Ziegler, law professor at UC David School of Law and author of Personhood: The New Civil War Over Reproduction; Dr. Jayme Trevino, OB/GYN

51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Madeleine Reynolds, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue.

On this week’s 51%, we speak with journalism Becky Aikman about her new book, Spitfires: The American Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger During World War II. Desperate for pilots in 1942, Great Britain recruited 25 American women to ferry bombers, fighter planes, and damaged craft between air bases. Drawing from diaries, letters, and personal interviews, Aikman tells the story of the first American women to ever command military aircraft, and how they still struggled to find piloting work in the U.S. after the war. We also speak with former CIA intelligence officer Christina Hillsberg about her book, Agents of Change, and why she feels women make better spies.

Guests: Becky Aikman, Spitfires: The American Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger During World War II; Christina Hillsberg, Agents of Change: The Women Who Transformed the CIA

51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Madeleine Reynolds, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

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On this week’s 51%, we speak with Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson about how President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful” budget bill in Congress would impact the organization’s clinics. Johnson warns Medicaid restrictions proposed in the bill could put nearly 200 Planned Parenthood clinics at risk of closing, even in states where abortion is legal. We also debunk some menopause myths and speak with the producers of a new NPR podcast highlighting how misoprostol – known as the sister pill to mifepristone in the U.S. – gained popularity as an abortion method among women in other countries.

Guests: Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood; Victoria Estrada and Marta Martinez, hosts of NPR’s Embedded: The Network; Dr. JoAnn Manson, professor at Harvard Medical School and physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital

51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Madeleine Reynolds, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue.

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On this week’s 51%, we chat with psychologist Dr. Samantha Sweeney about why teaching your kids to celebrate diversity is important to their success as adults – and how to do it. Sweeney lays out a guide for parents in her new book Culturally Competent Kids: Raising Children to Thrive in a Diverse World. We also learn about a bill in New York state that would require a warning label for kids on social media platforms, and hear from a state legislator in Massachusetts looking to strengthen the state’s laws against the secretive recording practice known as “upskirting.”

Guest: Dr. Samantha Sweeney, author of Culturally Competent Kids: Raising Children to Thrive in a Diverse World

51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Madeleine Reynolds, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. This episode also contains the tracks "Just a Taste" and "Nights Like This" by Beat Mekanik.