Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI Radio in New York

In her book “Blaming Immigrants: Nationalism and the Economics of Global Movement” economist Dr. Neeraj Kaushal, professor of social policy at Columbia School of Social Work and research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, investigates the rising anxiety in host countries and tests common complaints against immigration. Do immigrants replace host country workers or create new jobs? Are they a net gain or a net drag on host countries? In this important work, Dr. Kaushal delves into the demographics of immigrants worldwide, the economic tides that carry them, and the policies that shape where they make their new homes. Join us for a conversation about the critical role that immigrants play in the global economy in this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI.

Are you having a hard time figuring what to read this summer? Maybe longtime contributing editor for the New York Review of Books Ann Kjellberg, whose new endeavor Book Post she calls a "bite-sized newsletter-based book review delivery service,” can help. In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI, Ann describes her unique business model and we take your calls on where you find out about great new books.

From her very first story—which appeared in The New Yorker in 1961—to today, Lore Segal’s voice has been unique in contemporary American literature, hilarious and urbane, heartbreaking and profound, keen and utterly unsentimental. Segal has often used her own biography as both subject and inspiration: At age ten she was sent on the Kindertransport from Vienna to England to escape the Nazi invasion of Austria, grew up among English foster families and eventually made her way to the US. This experience inspired her first novel, “Other People’s Houses” and is one that she has revisited throughout her career. From that beginning, Lore's writing has ranged widely across form as well as subject matter. With a new collection of her work entitled “The Journal I Did Not Keep: New and Selected Writing” released on June 25, Lore joins us for a look back at her illustrious career, in this edition of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI.

From the battles at Lexington and Concord in spring 1775 to those at Trenton and Princeton in winter 1777, Rick Atkinson’s new book “The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777” recounts the American militiamen and ragged Continental Army soldiers who took on the world’s most formidable fighting force. Full of riveting details and untold stories, “The British Are Coming,” the first in his historical trilogy about the American Revolution, is a tale of heroes and knaves, of sacrifice and blunder, of redemption and profound suffering. In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI, Rick talks about “The British Are Coming” and what he hopes to add to the historical understanding of our country’s earliest days.

Julie Satow’s new book “The Plaza: The Secret Life of America’s Most Famous Hotel” is a definitive look at a New York City icon. This deeply researched history demonstrates how one illustrious hotel has defined our understanding of money and glamour, from the Gilded Age to the Go-Go Eighties to today's Billionaire Row. From the moment in 1907 when New York millionaire Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt strode through the Plaza Hotel's revolving doors to become its first guest, to the afternoon in 2007 when a mysterious Russian oligarch paid a record price for the hotel's largest penthouse, the eighteen-story white marble edifice at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 59th Street has radiated wealth and luxury. Truman Capote, President Donald Trump, Eloise, F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Beatles are only a few of the bold-faced names to walk the Plaza’s halls. An award-winning journalist who has covered New York real estate for the New York City, National Public Radio, the New York Post and the Daily Beast, Julie Satow joins us for a look back at The Plaza’s storied history in this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI.

Michael Patrick MacDonald is the author of the New York Times Bestselling memoir, "All Souls: A Family Story From Southie" and the acclaimed "Easter Rising: A Memoir of Roots and Rebellion." He has been awarded an American Book Award, A New England Literary Lights Award, and a fellowship at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Study Center. MacDonald has written a number of essays and short stories, including "The Resurrection of Cornelius Larkin" and "An Immigrant’s Tale," written for the Dropkick Murphy’s theme album “Going Out in Style.” He is also a regular contributor to The Boston Globe’s Op Ed page. As an activist, MacDonald has focused his efforts on multi-cultural coalition building to reduce violence and promote grassroots leadership from our most impacted communities. He has developed Gun Buyback programs and local support groups, which give voice to adult and youth survivors of poverty, violence and the drug trade. In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI, Michael Patrick MacDonald weighs in on where the complicated politics of the current moment are heading for the United Kingdom.

Monona Rossol is a chemist, artist, and industrial hygienist. She was born into a theatrical family and worked as a professional entertainer from age 3 to 17. Currently, she is the president of Arts, Crafts and Theater Safety, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to providing health and safety services to the arts. Monona is also is the Health and Safety Director for Local 829 of the United Scenic Artists, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and has lectured throughout North America and Europe. In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large,” Monona takes your calls on the potential dangers of drinking unfiltered tap water.

Though it has all but vanished from the front pages of most major newspapers, the Puerto Rico relief effort that began after Hurricane Maria devastated the island in September of 2017 continues to this day. In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI, Minor Sinclair, director of Oxfam’s US Regional Office overseeing Puerto Rico relief talks about the state of the recovery on the island nearly three years after being hit by what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration categorizes as the third costliest Atlantic hurricane on record.

For over 40 years in the 17th century, the Dutch controlled the settlement that is now called New York City. And their influence didn’t stop there. Newly translated documents from that era indicate that modern American culture may be more firmly rooted in Dutch New Amsterdam than it is in the Plymouth Colony of New England. Russell Shorto is the author of “The Island at the Center of the World” and “Amsterdam: A History of the World’s Most Liberal City.” He also wrote the June 17 article in the New York Times Travel section entitled “In the Hudson Valley, a Drive Back in Time.” Stephen McErleane is the Director of the New Netherland Institute. Through a partnership with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the institute is currently hosting a series of 11 lectures, each at a different scenic New York locale including the Hudson Valley and the Capital Region. In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI, Russell Shorto and Stephen McErleane discuss the Dutch side of our national history and the unique society that flourished when New York was New Amsterdam.

“President Trump has made eliminating federal regulations a priority,” reads the opening line of Nadja Popovich, Livia Albreck-Ripka and Kendra Pierre-Louis’s New York Times article “83 Environmental Rules Being Rolled Back Under Trump.” And one area where this strategy has been particularly acute is in environmental policy. Analyzing data from academic institutions like Harvard and Columbia Law School, their article documents the litany of environmental rules and regulations on the way out under the current administration. In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI, New York Times reporters Nadja Popovich and Kendra Pierre-Louis discuss some of the ways that US environmental policy has changed during Donald Trump’s presidency.