Cecilia Aragon is a professor, pilot, computer scientist, and author.  This week on 51% she'll talk about how flying helped her face many fears.

The daughter of a Chilean father and a Filipina mother, Cecilia Rodriguez Aragon grew up as a timid child in a small Midwestern town during the 1960s. Targeted by school bullies and dismissed by many of her teachers; she worried that people would find out the truth... She was INTF. Incompetent. Nerd. Terrified. Failure. This feeling stayed with her well into her 20s. Yet in the span of just six years, Aragon became the first Latina pilot to secure a place on the United States Unlimited Aerobatic Team.

Dr. Cecilia Aragon is now a professor of Human-Centered Design and Engineering at the University of Washington. In her new book Flying Free: My Victory Over Fear to Become the First Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team, she chronicles her story of breaking free from expectations and rising above her own limits. Aragon spoke with 51%’s Elizabeth Hill about her transformation.

And now we tune into Possibly, which looks at the science behind proposed environmental solutions, taking on massive problems like the future of the planet and breaking them down into smaller q & a’s. For more information go to thepublicsradio.org/possibly.

Possibly is a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the Public's Radio in Providence, Rhode Island.

That’s our show for this week. Thanks to Tina Renick for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. Follow us on Twitter @51PercentRadio.

This week on 51%, we ride along on-shift with a County Sheriff’s Deputy and her K-9. And we’ll speak with a female FBI agent who tells us what not to believe on TV.

Thanks for joining us for this week’s 51%. Thanks to Ian Pickus and Tina Renick for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. 51% is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

On this week’s 51%, Army critics speak up about sexual harassment; a brewery launches a diversity and inclusion initiative and Dr. Jeri Burns shares her view on being masked.

Critics say the Army isn't doing enough to address sexual harassment and sexual assault in the ranks. The outcry comes after the killing this past spring of Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen. Her family says Guillen's alleged killer had been harassing her, but she was afraid to report it. Army leaders say they are addressing the issue. From San Antonio, Texas, Jolene Almendarez reports for the American Homefront Project.

Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota Kim Hines has been a theater artist for 50-plus years. Now, she has written her first book. This story was produced by KFAI’s Dixie Treichel.

A brewery in the Hudson Valley region of New York, Dutchess County to be specific, is starting a paid internship program to promote diversity and inclusion in the craft beverage industry.

And now writer Dr. Jeri Burns explores what she calls “The Incognito Factor.”

Dr. Jeri Burns is a storyteller, writer, and educator living in New York's Hudson Valley. You can find her at storycrafters.com. Burns also is an adjunct professor in the Department of Communication at the State University of New York at New Paltz.

That’s our show for this week. Thanks to Tina Renick for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. If you’d like to hear this show again, sign up for our podcast, or visit the 51% archives on our web site at wamc.org. And follow us on Twitter @51PercentRadio This week’s show is #1635.

On this week’s 51%, hear the story of a woman reconciling with her past and working toward equitable and just relationships.

Artist and Producer Ahri Golden brings us another installment of her BENDING IN 2020 series. This time an audio portrait of a woman embracing her trauma and emerging stronger that explores the themes of resilience, healing, and transformational change. Please be advised that, though not graphic, there is a discussion of rape.

You can find out more about Golden’s work at www.ahrigolden.com and follow her on Instagram @ahrigolden

In October, Oxford University recognized its 100-year anniversary of the formal admission of women in and then, one week later, women were given the right to be awarded degrees. Women students who had been denied a degree since the late 1870s began to return to the University to claim them. Now, a ‘Women Making History Centenary’ campaign will run throughout this academic year, with a range of events and initiatives. Today, Oxford awards degrees to more women than men. The University has admitted more women undergraduates than men for the last two years.

That’s our show for this week. Thanks to Tina Renick for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. Follow us on Twitter @51PercentRadio.

On this week’s 51%, we hear from the CEO of an organization that supports women survivors of conflict in a number of countries and the Boston Symphony Orchestra will have its first woman CEO.

Women for Women International supports women survivors of conflict in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Sudan offering support, tools, and access to skills to move from crisis and poverty to stability and economic self-sufficiency. The organization also campaigns globally for equality. Laurie Adams is the Global CEO of Women for Women International, with more than 25 years of experience working in international development and human rights. Adams spoke with 51%’s Elizabeth Hill.

If you want to become involved with the Women for Women Power to Change campaign or learn more about the organization’s initiatives visit their website at womenforwomen.org. March not only is Women’s History Month, but International Women’s Day is recognized on March 8th.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra has named its first female President and CEO. Gail Samuel, who oversees the Hollywood Bowl and LA Philharmonic, will take over the BSO in June. She spoke with 51%’s Josh Landes about her new role.

Samuel will succeed Mark Volpe, who is retiring after 23 years.

That’s our show for this week. Thanks to Tina Renick for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. Follow us on Twitter @51PercentRadio.

Photo courtesy of Women For Women International.

On this week’s 51%, a sports studies professor discusses Major League Baseball’s first female general manager, and more.

Artist and Producer Ahri Golden returns to 51% with an audio portrait of Leah, a woman who embraces her life force, change, and community. It’s part of Golden’s Bending in 2020 series.  You can find out more about her work at www.ahrigolden.com and follow her on Instagram @ahrigolden.

In November, a woman who started her Major League Baseball career as an intern became the majors’ highest-ranking woman in baseball operations when she was hired as general manager of the Miami Marlins. According to the Marlins, Kim Ng is believed to be the first female GM in the four major North American professional sports leagues. Dr. Amy Bass, professor of Sports Studies at Manhattanville College in Westchester County, New York, talks about this first.

Dr. Bass is chair of the Division of Social Science & Communication. Her most recent book came out in 2018 — One Goal: A Coach, a Team, and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together. She’s also an Emmy Award winner for her work with NBC-TV at the London Olympics in 2012.

That’s our show for this week. Thanks to Tina Renick for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. If you’d like to hear this show again, sign up for our podcast, or visit the 51% archives on our web site at wamc.org. And follow us on Twitter @51PercentRadio This week’s show is #1637.

On this week’s 51%, a professor of entertainment studies hopes to draw more women into video gaming. Hear about a film project to highlight suffragists on Election Day and more.

An effort is underway for local filmmakers to capture voters in New York visiting suffragists’ gravesites in their communities on Election Day. The project is from “Women and the Vote New York State.” We spoke with Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Linda Moroney about the project.

“You play like a girl” — It's meant to be an insult. Shira Chess is an associate professor of Entertainment and Media Studies at the University of Georgia and the author of Ready Player Two: Women Gamers and Designed Identity. Her new book Play Like A Feminist urges us to play video games like feminists. Chess describes that play as empowering and disruptive, exceeding the boundaries of gender while still advocating for gender equality. Chess spoke with 51%’s Elizabeth Hill about the role of video games in society, and why she thinks they’re important.

Play Like A Feminist is published by MIT Press.

That’s our show for this week. Thanks to Tina Renick for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. If you’d like to hear this show again, sign up for our podcast, or visit the 51% archives on our web site at wamc.org. And follow us on Twitter @51PercentRadio This week’s show is #1630.

On today’s 51%, we begin a two-part series on human trafficking and unhoused youth. I ride along with a street outreach coordinator for a youth shelter. And we’ll meet a woman who has walked the Underground Railroad to raise awareness about human trafficking.

Bri Phillips is the street outreach program manager for CAPTAIN Community Human Services based in Saratoga County, New York. CAPTAIN has programs to address youth homelessness, poverty, hunger, family dysfunction, and human trafficking. Phillips reaches out to people on the street who are homeless or in danger of being trafficked. We met up in Clifton Park for a ride-along in one of the Street Outreach vans. The back space is stocked with labeled plastic bins and drawers full of food, clothes, and hygiene kits.  

“We are known as the boots on the ground of this organization,” Phillips said. “If people say, you know, where is your street outreach team? The answer is, I may not know at this moment, because they're meeting the needs of the community. The van that we're riding in right now, is so important, because it actually is stocked with Wi-Fi in the back. We have clothing, we have food, we have resources and referrals. And so our goal is that by having our phones on us, we go and meet the needs of clients right where they're at."

On this week’s 51%, we focus on women in service. WAMC’s Ashley Hupfl takes us to a ceremony for living veterans in Albany, New York. Karen Dewitt reports on a program for veterans with PTSD that’s seeking full funding in the New York state budget. And we speak with Lt. Col. Bree Fram and Army veteran Mael Embser-Herbert about their new book, With Honor and Integrity: Transgender Troops in Their Own Words.

Guests: Bree Fram, lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Space Force; Mael Embser-Herbert, U.S. Army veteran and professor at Hamline University

51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Our producer is Jesse King, our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock, and our theme is “Lolita” by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue.

Follow Along

You’re listening to 51%, a WAMC production dedicated to women’s issues and experiences. Thanks for joining us, I’m Jesse King. November 11 is Veterans Day, and thanks to the COVID-19 vaccine, many communities were able to resume their ceremonies and festivities for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Here in Albany, the Veterans Day parade was back in full force as it made it way down Central Avenue. So today we’ve got a trio of stories and interviews centered around women in the military, and the range of issues veterans of all genders face.

In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed a package of bills meant to support veterans and their families — but a bipartisan group of lawmakers are still hoping the governor will commit to full funding for a program that helps veterans coping with PTSD. Capitol Correspondent Karen Dewitt reports.

You can find Karen Dewitt's story here.

Our next guests are the editors of a new book with New York University Press, titled With Honor and Integrity: Transgender Troops in Their Own Words. When the U.S. repealed its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on gay members of the military in 2011, it notably left out members of the transgender community. Now, there are varying numbers on just how many transgender service members there are in the U.S. — a 2014 study by the Williams Institute at UCLA put the number over 15,000, a 2016 workplace survey cited by the Department of Defense reported 9,000, and a 2018 analysis by the Palm Center once again raised it to about 14,700. But that’s at least partially because the military’s stance on transgender service members has been in flux over the past several years. 

In 2016, then-President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter, announced a new policy allowing transgender people to serve openly and obtain access to gender-affirming medical and psychological care — but just over a year later, then-President Donald Trump moved to reverse that in a series of tweets, stating: “The United States government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.” This was reversed again by President Joe Biden earlier this year — so for now, transgender people can enlist, serve openly, and get the care that they need. But like everything, their status has been caught in politics. 

Bree Fram is a lieutenant colonel openly serving as a transgender woman in the Space Force, making her the highest-ranking transgender officer in the U.S. military. She’s also the president of SPARTA, an advocacy group dedicated to transgender service members, and before her role at the Space Force she served with the Air Force in Iraq. Embser-Herbert is a veteran of the Army and a sociology professor at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. They’re the author of books like The U.S. Military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy: A Reference Handbook, and have long focused on issues involving gender and sexuality in the military. 

What made you want to make this book?

Embser-Herbert: In October 2017, I had the opportunity to go to a little film festival here in the Twin Cities. And one of the

On today’s 51%, we speak with one of the people responsible for bringing Hollywood to upstate New York. And we meet a producer of HBO’s new series “The Gilded Age,” which was filming this spring in New York’s Capital Region.

Holly Rymon is a producer on HBO’s new series, “The Gilded Age.”

“It's set in 1882,” Rymon said. “It's sort of the beginning of, you know, this sort of amazing time in history, which quite admittedly, I didn't know a whole lot about before I got involved in this project, where, you know, industry and you know, railroads, and all of these businesses are sort of just like taking off and there became people with an enormous amount of wealth. So, there's not a lot of checks and balances yet. And it was just like, insane wealth. So they were building mansions, and they were making homes. And there was new money and old money. Sort of a loose premise of the show is there is a family that has new money and they're ready to be in society and do all the things and then there's a family that's from the old money. And they're very, quite proud of that. And they're not really ready to accept the new folks. So there's a little bit of drama there.”

Rymon and I are sitting in Riverfront Park in Troy, New York. They filmed just a block away, transforming storefronts into hat boutiques and cigar shops from 1800s New York City. Rymon says the scenery was her favorite part of filming.

“It's gorgeous. Oh my god, I can't wait for people to see the show. It's just the costumes, the sets. It's just literally, literally stunning. It's really, really beautiful.”