Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI Radio in New York

Control is a book about eugenics, what geneticist Adam Rutherford calls “a defining idea of the twentieth century.” Inspired by Darwin’s ideas about evolution, eugenics arose in Victorian England as a theory for improving the British population, and quickly spread to America, where it was embraced by presidents, funded by Gilded Age monopolists, and enshrined into racist American laws that became the ideological cornerstone of the Third Reich. Despite this horrific legacy, eugenics looms large today as the advances in genetics in the last thirty years (from the sequencing of the human genome to modern gene editing technique) have brought the idea of population purification back into the mainstream. Join us when Dr. Adam Rutherford examine his book Control: The Dark History and Troubling Present of Eugenics on this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large.

In 2015, increasing numbers of refugees and migrants, most of them fleeing war-torn homelands, arrived by boat on the shores of Greece, setting off the greatest human displacement in Europe since WWII. All Else Failed is Dana Sachs’s eyewitness account of the successes—and failures—of the volunteer relief network that emerged to meet the enormous need. Join us when journalist, novelist, and cofounder of the nonprofit Humanity Now: Direct Refugee Relief, Dana Sachs tells a story of despair and resilience, revealing the humanity within an immense humanitarian disaster on this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large

Great Kingdoms of Africa explore the great precolonial kingdoms of Africa that have been marginalized throughout history. Great Kingdoms of Africa aims to decenter European colonialism and slavery as the major themes of African history and instead explore the kingdoms, dynasties, and city-states that have shaped cultures across the African continent.

Join us for a thought-provoking overview that takes us from ancient Egypt and Nubia to the Zulu Kingdom almost two thousand years later. When author John Parker interweaves political and social history, oral histories and recent archaeological findings on this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large.

Written by former tech CEO Ronald Gruner, We The Presidents is a different presidential history. Rather than a single presidency, Gruner focuses on a century of presidencies from Warren G. Harding to Donald J. Trump and how their presidencies have contributed to what America is today.

Join on Leonard Lopate at Large Gruner describes the historical roots of the challenges currently facing Americans, and the world on this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large.

The Socially Relevant Film Festival New York is a film festival that focuses on socially relevant film content, and human interest stories that raise awareness to social problems and offer positive solutions through the powerful medium of cinema.

SR believes that through raised awareness, expanded knowledge about diverse cultures, and the human condition as a whole, it is possible to create a better world free of violence, hate, and crime. The Socially Relevant Film Festival New York 10th-anniversary edition runs from March 16-31, 2023.

Join us when Nora Armani the Founding Artistic Director of the Socially Relevant Film Festival New York shines the spotlight on filmmakers who tell compelling, socially relevant, human interest stories across a broad range of social issues without resorting to gratuitous violence or violent forms of film making, on this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large.

When our favorite award-winning investigative reporter and broadcast journalist,

Robert "Bob" Hennelly stops by the show, he shares information on public policy, homeland security to the economy, environmental contamination to corruption, and occupational safety to homelessness.

Born in Paterson, New Jersey, he has always had a keen interest in the roles of immigration, local politics, business, labor unions, real estate ownership, and environmental protection in the evolution of the United States. Bob Hennelly has penchant for addressing most stories, media outlets will not cover,

Join us when Bob Hennelly provides updates on the Norfolk Southern rail disaster, which resulted in the release of a vast quantity of vinyl chloride and other highly toxic chemicals into the air and water in the borderlands of Ohio and Pennsylvania on this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large.

Listen to past shows: https://soundcloud.com/leonard-lopate

Be a Friend: Twitter - https://twitter.com/lopate_leonard

Support the Station (select the Leonard Lopate at Large from the pulldown menu):

BAI Buddy: https://wbai.wedid.it

When America became a nation, a woman had no legal existence beyond her husband. If he abused her, she couldn’t leave without abandoning her children. Abigail Adams tried to change this, reminding her husband John to “remember the ladies” when he wrote the Constitution. He simply laughed―and women have been fighting for their rights ever since.

Fearless Women tells the story of women who dared to take destiny into their own hands. They were feminists and antifeminists, activists and homemakers, victims of abuse and pathbreaking professionals. Inspired by the nation’s ideals and fueled by an unshakeable sense of right and wrong, they wouldn’t take no for an answer. In time, they carried the country with them.

Join us when Elizabeth Cobbs examines Fearless Women which gives a voice to fearless women on this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large.

The encyclopedia once shaped our understanding of the world. Created by thousands of scholars and the most obsessive of editors, a good set conveyed a sense of absolute wisdom on its reader. Contributions from Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Orville Wright, Alfred Hitchcock. Adults cleared their shelves in the belief that everything that was explainable was now effortlessly accessible in their living rooms. Now these huge books gather dust and sell for almost nothing on eBay. Instead, we get our information from our phones and computers, apparently for free.

All the Knowledge in the World is a history and celebration of those who created the most ground-breaking and remarkable publishing phenomenon of any age. Simon Garfield, who “has a genius for being sparked to life by esoteric enthusiasm and charming readers with his delight” (The Times), guides us on an utterly delightful journey, from Ancient Greece to Wikipedia, from modest single-volumes to the 11,000-volume Chinese manuscript that was too big to print. He looks at how Encyclopedia Britannica came to dominate the industry, how it spawned hundreds of competitors, and how an army of ingenious door-to-door salesmen sold their wares to guilt-ridden parents. He reveals how encyclopedias have reflected our changing attitudes towards sexuality, race, and technology, and exposes how these ultimate bastions of trust were often riddled with errors and prejudice.

Join us when Simon Garfield uncovers a fascinating and important part of our shared past and wonders whether the promise of complete knowledge will forever be beyond our grasp on this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large.

Injustice, Inc. exposes the ways in which the justice systems exploit America's history of racial and economic inequality to generate revenue on a massive scale. With searing legal analysis, Daniel L. Hatcher uncovers how courts, prosecutors, police, probation departments, and detention facilities are abandoning ethics to churn vulnerable children and adults into unconstitutional factory-like operations.

Join us when Hatcher discuss his book Injustice Inc. which reveals stark details of revenue schemes and reflects on the systemic racialized harm of the injustice enterprise on this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large

Join us when brother and sister writing team Kathryn and Ross Petras join us for a refreshing conversation around the use of words. Have you ever wondered about the correct pronunciation of a word you use all the time. This is your chance to call-in and share words or phrases that mispronounce or misuse all the time.

This duo authors of many word-oriented books like New York Times bestseller You’re Saying It Wrong. Or their newest book, A History of the World Through Body Parts: The Stories Behind the Organs, Appendages, Digits, and the Like Attached to (or Detached from) Famous Bodies.