Story in the Public Square

Ep. 104 | Originally aired: February 4-5, 2017

How we play and how we teach our children to play are tremendously important narratives in public life. This week’s guest, Jonathan Alexandratos, argues that “toys are texts,” and we should read them with the same analytical eye we bring to books, movies, songs, and other media.

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Ep. 102 | Originallly aired: January 21-22, 2017

One of the big stories of the last six months has been the protest over the Dakota Access Pipeline. This week on “Story in the Public Square,” two Native American activists talk about events on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation and the role of storytelling in native culture.

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Ep. 101 | Originally aired January 14-15, 2017

The United States finds itself in the midst of an information war with an old adversary.  This week, national security analyst Tom Nichols will help us understand the contours of that conflict, the role of storytelling in it, and also the implications of what he calls “the death of expertise.” 

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Ep. 302 | Originally aired: January 13-14, 2018

Death, the old saying goes, is part of life. That wisdom seems especially appropriate if, like this week’s guest, Margalit Fox, you are a staff writer on the Obituaries desk at The New York Times.

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Ep. 301 | Originally aired: January 6-7, 2018 

The history of the period between the first and second World Wars reads like a tragedy, progressing from the horror of war, to an idealistic hope for lasting peace, before descending into cataclysm. This week’s guests seize on one of the most idealistic moments in that history; the diplomacy to outlaw war. Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro argue that its importance far exceeds the respect given to it by most historians.

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Ep. 223 | Originally aired: December 30-31, 2017

In the last year, Story in the Public Square brought you scholars, journalists, novelists, movie makers and more. Some of the stories they shared made us laugh. Others caused us worry and even anger. All of them helped us understand public life in the United States today.

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Ep. 222 | Originally aired: December 16-17, 2017

Since 2013, the Pell Center at Salve Regina University has announced a “Story of the Year,” the narrative that had the biggest impact on American public life in the preceding 12 months. This week we’re joined by, Evelyn Farkas, whose work in and out of government gives her special insight into this year’s top story.

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Ep. 221 | Originally aired: December 9-10, 2017

The United States is engaged in nuclear brinksmanship with a reclusive despot whose regime is determined to develop nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them to the United States. Matthew Gault argues that the American public isn’t worried enough about these issues.

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Ep. 220 | Originally aired: November 17-18, 2017

Whether it’s a film like “Saving Private Ryan,” or a memoir like “A Helmet for My Pillow,” the temptation to romanticize war—and the Second World War, in particular—is part of American life. Tara Copp made sense of her own experience in the Iraq war, by understanding her grandfather’s service more than 70 years ago.

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Ep. 219 | Originally aired: November 25-26, 2017

Among its many missions, the U.S. military also operates a system of schools that provide professional military education—or PME—to rising leaders in each service. Therefore, Rear Admiral Jeffrey A. Harley has charted a new path for the U.S. Naval War College at a time of historic global challenges.

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