On Second Thought

In less than two weeks, a critical program for many immigrants in the U.S. illegally expires. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, shields immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children from being deported. The program’s future is still unclear . Emory University professor Marie Marquardt has been watching this closely. She’s an immigration activist, who brings her activism to young adult fiction. We talked with her about her latest book, “ Flight Season .”

In many ways, the battle for school desegregation might not have been possible without the support of Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to be a U.S. Supreme Court justice. This month, Atlanta middle schoolers witnessed Marshall’s life play out before their eyes. Actor John Doyle portrayed Marshall in a one-man show at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum and Library. On Second Thought interns Emmanuel Johnson and Reid Williams produced an audio postcard from the performance.

For more than a hundred years, America’s historically black colleges and universities have graduated many of our most dynamic and influential citizens. However, some educators worry a quarter of those schools could be gone within the next 20 years. A new PBS documentary airing Monday, February 19 on PBS explores the complex history of HBCUs. We caught up with Stanley Nelson , the filmmaker behind “ Tell Them We are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities .” https://www.youtube.com

Last week’s deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida was followed by scenes we have seen all too often. In 2013, a similar scene played out at Decatur’s Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy. Thankfully, no one was killed. A short film called " DeKalb Elementary " is based on that incident is nominated for an Academy Award. We talked with the film’s writer and director, Reed Van Dyk . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RHUJOevL1c&list=PLwX_zwxVbo5vR1ZnF0A_3hU5bETmTCU_R

Last week’s deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida was followed by scenes we have seen all too often. In 2013, a similar scene played out at Decatur’s Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy. Thankfully, no one was killed. A short film based on that incident is nominated for an Academy Award. We talked with the film’s writer and director, Reed Van Dyk. For more than a hundred years, America’s historically black colleges and universities have graduated many of our most dynamic and

What would you do for true love? How about travel back in time, to the middle of bloody war you already know ends badly for your beloved? That’s the dilemma of the heroine in the “Outlander” series of novels. Since the first book came out 27 years ago, the story has spawned a television series, a graphic novel and even a musical. All this was born from the mind of author Diana Gabaldon, who holds advanced degrees in marine biology and behavioral ecology. Gabaldon visits with us before an

Since we did our show live from Savannah for the Savannah Book Festival , we organized a special edition of The Breakroom featuring all authors. The panel included writer Tayari Jones , Christina Kelly , Nicki Salcedo , and Joe Hill .

We talked with Atlanta native Tayari Jones. Her latest novel, “An American Marriage,” was included this month in Oprah’s Book Club. Jones is in Savannah this weekend for the annual Savannah Book Festival. Marvel’s Black Panther is now showing nationwide. It was produced and partially filmed in Georgia. We meet two of the people who worked behind the scenes. In honor of the Savannah Book Festival, we headed into the Breakroom with an all-authors panel. We were joined by writers Nicki Salcedo, Joe

We talked with Atlanta-native Tayari Jones . Her latest novel, “ An American Marriage ,” was included this month in Oprah’s Book Club. Jones is in Savannah this weekend for the annual Savannah Book Festival . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCu1nAKXf1E

Marvel’s Black Panther is now showing nationwide. It was partially filmed in Georgia. We met two of the people who worked behind the scenes. These interviews were recorded for the podcast " The Credits ." It's produced by Zero Mile Media. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfay3Bmi_c0