The Ministry for the Future is a near future science fiction novel that tells the story of confronting the climate crisis successfully.  Listen in as author Kim Stanley Robinson discusses this unique, popular, and fast-paced read.

Do you have a writing project on deck this year?  

Listen in to the practical and profound advice of Leonard Cassuto, author of Academic Writing as if Readers Matter, just out from Princeton University Press as part of their Skills for Scholars Series.  

Whether you are writing for work or play, this book will help you not only with useful tips, but also with deeper questions about how the written word can best connect us and our ideas to one another.  

Listen to Barbara McQuade discuss her book, Attack from Within:  How Disinformation is Sabbotaging America, to 1) hear how social media, AI, and foreign actors have combined in recent years to spread dis- and misinformation throughout our society and 2) learn what we can do about it.

Listen in as we visit with Frederique Irwin of the National Women’s History Museum and take a trip back in time to explore the ideas of Sojourner Truth in celebration of Women’s History Month.  Our book selection, Ain’t I A Woman? (from the Penguin Great Ideas Series) provides a short and powerful text for your next book club meeting.  A photo of Truth is held at the Fogg Museum and can be seen here.  

As discussed in the episode, you can view dozens of virtual exhibits on women’s history here:  www.womenshistory.org.  See also a recent article about Truth from the Smithsonian.  Truth is set to appear on the redesigned ten-dollar bill to be issued in 2026; to view the American Women’s Quarters, including the Rev. Pauli Murray quarter discussed in this episode, visit the US Mint.   Why We Lost the ERA can be found here, and here is an article connecting 18th-century Wollstonecraftian thought to the American women’s movement. 

Are you an investor?  A social entrepreneur?  Would you like to learn how capitalism is being used to address social problems?  Listen in to this fast-paced discussion with Susan Hammel of Cogent Consulting and Marc J. Lane, author of The Mission Driven Venture:  Business Solutions to the World's Most Vexing Social Problems. 

Susan Hammel is the founder of Cogent Consulting, a Public Benefit Corporation involved in impact investing in Minneapolis.

The Law Offices of Marc J. Lane, headquartered in Chicago, is a firm with deep expertise in wealth managment, social enterprises, charitable planning, and more.  

We hope you enjoy the discussion. 

This month marks the 100-year anniversary of the publication of the first detective novel written by the classic British mystery writer Dorothy L. Sayers.  Listen in as we sit down with Crystal Downing, author of Subversive: Christ, Culture, and the Shocking Dorothy L. Sayers.

If you want to add some literary mysteries to your summer reading, this episode offers many suggestions, including Gaudy Night, The Nine Tailors, and Documents in the Case.  We also discuss Sayer's influential work in social criticism, theatre, and lay theology, including Are Women Human?, The Lost Tools of Learning, The Mind of the Maker, Zeal of Thy House, and The Man Born to be King.  

In 1792 Mary Wollstonecraft published A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, which is widely regarded as a founding document for women's rights.  Join us as we learn about Wollstonecraft's life and work from Professor Eileen Hunt Botting, Editor of the Yale University Press edition of this influential philosophical and intellectual treatise.  

https://www.amazon.com/Vindication-Rights-Rethinking-Western-Tradition/dp/0300176473/ref=sr_1_10?crid=379JWZ2CP7GK5&keywords=eileen+hunt+botting&qid=1678627375&sprefix=eileen+hunt+bo%2Caps%2C177&sr=8-10

https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300176476/a-vindication-of-the-rights-of-woman/

This is a must-listen episode on the importance of thinking strategically about critical infrastructure, public health, natural disasters, and preparedness on the home front.  Professor Kayyem is the author of Security Mom and The Devil Never Sleeps.  

Listen in as James Shapiro details just a few of his book's surprising examples of how American history is deeply and subtly intertwined with the works of William Shakespeare, whose plays are considered common ground in a society that is sometimes riven with cultural conflicts.

https://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Divided-America-Plays-Future/dp/0525522298/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3JJ4ZOHTHI1Z7&keywords=shakespeare+in+a+divided+america+by+james+shapiro&qid=1663288879&sprefix=shakespeare+in+a+divided%2Caps%2C165&sr=8-1

The mental health of our adolescents and teens has been of growing concern in recent years. We spoke with Dr. Lisa Damour about her new book, Under Pressure, and had a thought-provoking and eye-opening discussion about the challenges our girls face in today's world.  Under Pressure:  Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls: https://www.amazon.com/Under-Pressure-Confronting-Epidemic-Anxiety/dp/0399180052