Radio Times

Guest: Nikki Giovanni

In poet NIKKI GIOVANNI’s new book, A Good Cry: What We Learn from Tears and Laughter, Giovanni recalls the violence she saw growing up, describes the joy of aging and celebrates her friendship with Maya Angelou. Giovanni has spent over 30 years as a poet, activist, and educator with a focus on  race, class and gender. In this hour, Marty talks with Giovanni about her new book and years of poetry, pain and friendship.

Guests: Simon Denyer, Jacques deLisle

President Trump is making his longest foreign trip as president to East Asia. Obviously, the North Korean threat will take center stage when he talks with the leaders of China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Trump will meet with Chinese president Xi Jingping, who is openly trying to make China the most powerful country in the world. And, Trump’s meeting with the Filipino president is getting backlash from Human rights groups, due to his use of extrajudicial killings. We’ll talk about all of this and more with The Washington Post’s China bureau chief, SIMON DENYER, and with JACQUES deLISLE, deputy director of The University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Study of Contemporary China, and director of The Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Asia Program.

Guests: Ryan Briggs, Callum Borchers,  Theodoric Meyer       

We begin today’s show discussing the ballot question before Pennsylvanians on Tuesday’s election. The proposed constitutional amendment is intended to reduce property taxes and would effectively change school funding. RYAN BRIGGS of City and State Pennsylvania joins us to explain the details. Then, we’ll talk about what conservative media outlets have been talking about. This includes the claim that Hillary Clinton sold 20% of U.S. uranium to the Russians, and the question of who funded Fusion GPS’ now-infamous ‘dossier.’ CALLUM BORCHERS of The Washington Post deconstructs these stories for us. And finally, we’ll talk about the practice of lobbying on behalf of foreign governments in Washington, which has been exposed by the indictment of Paul Manafort. THEODORIC MEYER, lobbying reporter for POLITICO joins us to tell us about the laws that surround lobbying in D.C., and how Mueller’s investigation has spooked K Street.

BETSY LEVY PALUCK was awarded a 2017 MacArthur Fellowship, often called a “genius grant,” for her research on prejudice, bullying and ethnic conflict. Paluck, a professor of psychology at Princeton University, studies social norms and networks to find ways to change intolerant attitudes and harmful behaviors. Marty talks with Paluck about her anti-bullying interventions in New Jersey schools and her experiment in post-conflict Rwanda that used radio soap operas to increase ethnic tolerance.

Guests: Lisa Thomas-Laury and Byron Tau

LISA THOMAS-LAURY was a trailblazing African American news anchor in Philadelphia from 1978 to last year when she retired. She’s interviewed President Ronald Regan, Ted Kennedy, Oprah Winfrey and Princess Diana. For this wife and mother of two, life on camera and off seemed perfect. That was all until she got bad news. In her new memoir, On Camera and Off: When the News Is Good and When it’s Not, Thomas-Laury talks about her battle with a rare plasma cell disorder called POEMS, and the only treatment available was a bone marrow transplant. In this hour, Marty talks with Thomas-Laury about how she balanced her career and her health. Then, we’ll hear about the accelerating investigation being led by Robert Mueller, including the indictment of one-time Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, and the guilty plea by campaign energy consultant, George Papadopoulos. BYRON TAU of The Wall Street Journal joins us to fill us in on the latest.

Guests: Edward Ayers

Most histories of the civil war focus on the decisive battles, the military leaders, the battlefield strategy, and the political forces that shaped the era. In historian EDWARD AYERS’ new book, The Thin Light of Freedom, he depicts the struggles of ordinary Americans during wartime – the soldiers, the civilians, and the enslaved. He focuses his book on the final years of the war and early reconstruction, both north and south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Ayers joins Marty in the studio to talk about his book and how average Americans coped and experienced the war.

Guests: Amanda Devecka-Rinear, Benjamin Horton, Patricia Findley

It’s been five years since Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey, New York, and Delaware, killing 159 people and causing $70 billion in damages.  Tens of thousands of homes were flooded and many completely destroyed. Governor Christie said this week that New Jersey’s recovery from the storm is complete. This hour, we’ll take a look at where the recovery stands and the storm’s impact on the lives of residents, as well as their mental and physical health. We’ll also discuss rising sea levels and climate change and how we can prepare for more frequent storms and flooding. Marty’s guests are AMANDA DEVECKA-RINEAR, founding director of the New Jersey Resource Project and the New Jersey Organizing Project, BENJAMIN HORTON, professor in the department of marine and coastal science at Rutgers University, and PATRICIA FINDLEY, associate professor in the School of Social Work at Rutgers University.

Guests: Renae Merle, John Fetterman, Joe Watkins

Sen. Jeff Flake’s announcement that he will not seek reelection was coupled with an acerbic assessment of the President and his fellow Republicans. Like the recent speeches of Republicans Sen. John McCain and President George W. Bush,  Flake’s speech was a rebuke of Trumpism, which they have characterized as the politics of resentment and nationalism. And Sen. Bob Corker has also been outspoken against the President for his bullying and lying. We’re going to talk about the GOP establishment’s displeasure with Trump, and if there is a ‘civil war’ in the party.  Braddock, Pennsylvania Mayor and one-time Democratic candidate for Senate JOHN FETTERMAN joins us, along with political commentator JOE WATKINS and NPR’s DOMENICO MONTANARO. But first, RENAE MERLE of The Washington Post joins us to talk about the Senate vote eliminate a regulation that allowed consumers to file class action lawsuits against banks and credit card companies and why this was a big deal.

Guests: Nuala Cabral, Lisa Huebner, Jaclyn Friedman

 Since actress Alyssa Milano encouraged women to use the #MeToo to share their stories of sexual harassment or assault, millions of people have tweeted their experiences or shared them on Facebook. The purpose was to illuminate just how pervasive the problem is and help survivors understand that they are not alone. Today, we’ll talk about the #MeToo movement when we talk with NUALA CABRAL, educator, filmmaker and activist from the University Community Collaborative , LISA HUEBNER, sociologist of gender at West Chester University, and JACLYN FRIEDMAN, author of Women, Sex, Power, and How to Stop Letting the System Screw Us All.

Guests: Richard Downie, Larry Krasner

Democratic candidate for District Attorney of Philadelphia, LARRY KRASNER joins us today. He’s a veteran civil rights lawyer who is campaigning to end mass incarcerations and to clean up the D.A.’s office of corruption. He has sued the Philadelphia Police Department 75 times, has a tense relationship with various facets of the law enforcement community, and lacks prosecutorial experience. This unconventional background for a D.A. has led to nationwide interest in his candidacy. Krasner joins Marty today to discuss his views on the role of law enforcement, what problems he plans to correct in Philadelphia, and how his career as a defense attorney would inform his work as the city’s top prosecutor. But first; the death of four Special Forces in Niger has shone a spotlight on American military presence in Africa. We’ll talk with RICHARD DOWNIE, deputy director and fellow of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, about what our troops are doing in Africa.