Has dating gotten harder in recent years? On this week’s 51%, we speak with sociologist Sabrina Strings about the changing romantic landscape for women in the U.S., from dating app horrors to low-commitment “situationships.” In her new book, The End of Love, Strings argues that traditional romance has always been more elusive for women of color, and now it is practically on its deathbed. Why? Because after decades of feminist progress, a new form of toxic masculinity has evolved to maintain power over women by withholding love and commitment.

On this week’s 51%, our associate producer Jody Cowan speaks with ethnobotanist Dr. Ina Vandebroek and anthropologist Dr. Cynthia Fowler about efforts in the science community to address racism and decolonize the way we study and name native plants around the world. WAMC’s Samantha Simmons also stops by a community center in New York that’s using cooking classes to promote kids’ interest in the STEAM fields.

Guests: Dr. Cynthia Fowler, sociology and anthropology department chair at Wofford College; Dr. Ina Vandebroek, senior lecturer at The University of the West Indies

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

On this week’s 51%, we hear from the director of a new documentary telling the stories of domestic violence survivors in Sri Lanka. Teardrop on Fire, the debut film from director Jessica Palden, explores the community impacts of toxic, abusive relationships, and highlights the allies working to help survivors. We also speak with David Radley, senior scientist for The Commonwealth Fund, about the organization’s 2024 scorecard for women’s healthcare in the U.S.

Guests: Jessica Palden, director of Teardrop on Fire; David Radley, senior scientist for The Commonwealth Fund

You can find The Commonwealth Fund’s full “2024 Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care” here.

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

On this week’s 51%, we sit down with Muriel Fox, feminist activist and cofounder of the National Organization for Women, about her new memoir celebrating the second wave feminist movement — and those who made it happen. WAMC’s Ian Pickus also speaks with reporter Rose Eveleth about their new podcast Tested, examining the history of sexual division in elite sports. 

Guests: Muriel Fox, co-founder of the National Organization for Women and author of The Women's Revolution: How We Changed Your Life; Rose Eveleth, reporter and producer of Tested

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 Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

Following President Biden's decision to step away from this year's presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris is on track to become the first woman of color and first person of South Asian descent to earn the Democratic nomination for president. On this week's 51%, we speak with Ange-Marie Hancock, a political science professor at The Ohio State University, to learn more about Harris' work as vice president, and the obstacles commonly faced by women candidates on the campaign trail.

Guests: Ange-Marie Hancock, executive director of OSU's Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, and the curator of the Kamala Harris Project, a consortium of scholars studying Harris' tenure as the first woman vice president.

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 Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On this week's 51%, we speak with Dr. Camille Clare, an OB/GYN and professor at SUNY Downstate, to learn more about cesarean sections, and what women should expect during and after delivery. Dr. Clare is also the secretary of the Board of Directors for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and a member of New York's Maternal Mortality Review Committee. We also hear from Jenni Shearston, one of the researchers behind a new study on the presence of metals in tampons. 

Guests: Dr. Camille Clare, M.D. and FACOG at SUNY Downstate; Jenni Shearston, postdoctoral scholar and environmental epidemiologist at the University of California Berkeley

You can read Shearston's study on the presence of metals in tampons in full at Environment International.

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 Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On this week's 51%, we brush up on the history of marriage equality in the U.S., and look back on the first same-sex weddings in New Paltz, New York — which took place more than a decade before the Supreme Court legalized marriage equality nationwide. We also hear from psychoanalysts Avgi Saketopoulou and Ann Pellegrini about their book Gender Without Identity, proposing a new way of looking at how life shapes everyone's experience with gender.

Guests: Avgi Saketopoulou and Ann Pellegrini, authors ofGender Without Identity

A big thanks to Laura Bortman for lending sound to this episode from her earlier documentary on the New Paltz weddings, called "Beware of Dog."

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 Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue.

The Supreme Court has rejected a challenge of the Food & Drug Administration’s approval and regulation of mifepristone, preserving access to one of two pills commonly used in medication abortions across the U.S. On this week’s 51%, we break down the Court’s ruling with Carmel Shachar, faculty director of the Health Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School’s Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation.

Guests: Carmel Shachar, assistant clinical professor of law at Harvard Law School; Chelly Hegan, president and CEO of Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood; Patricia McGeown, former president and CEO of Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood

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