Story in the Public Square

Ep. 110 | Originally aired: March 18-19, 2017

University professors and intellectuals are often dismissed as elites, divorced from real life and disconnected from the problems of real people. Guest Michael Kennedy sees their role differently and argues, in fact, that intellectuals and universities are agents of global change.

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Ep. 119 | Originally aired: May 27-28, 2017

With allegations of a cover-up and obstruction of justice circulating in Washington, Americans in 2017 are looking to the presidency of Richard Nixon for precedent and understanding. Our guest, John Farrell, literally wrote the book on Nixon’s life after his own career covering politics in Washington, DC.

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Ep. 118 | Originally aired: May 20-21, 2017

After the 2008 election of President Barack Obama, Time Magazine asked if we had entered a post-racial America. From the perspective of 2017, the question seems ridiculous. Tricia Rose argues, in fact, that structural racism is the key driver of inequality in the United States.

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Ep. 117 | Originally aired: May 13-14, 2017

Despite decades of consistent warning from the scientific community, the American public remains divided on the issue of climate change. Yale University’s Anthony Leiserowitz says there are six Americas in the climate debate—and you cannot communicate with each one in the same way.

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Ep. 116 | Originally aired: March 6-7, 2017

Chemicals weapons are in the news again following their use against civilians in Syria. Western audiences might most commonly associate chemical weapons with the first World War a century ago, but this week’s guest Narges Bajoghli shares stories from veterans of a more recent conflict – the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980’s.

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Ep. 112 | Originally aired: April 1-2, 2017

In 1958, Danny and the Juniors told us “Rock and Roll is Here to Stay,” and by the 1970s, punk had celebrated the triumvirate of “sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll.” Guest Sean Kay says rock and roll played a more substantial role in the history of the last half-century. It changed America and spread the values of freedom, equality, human rights and peace across the globe.

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Ep. 115 | Originally aired: April 29-30, 2017 

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 50 million adult Americans live with a diagnosable mental health disorder. Despite its prevalence, our guest Paul Gionfriddo confronts a lot of myths in the discussion of mental health issues in America.

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Ep. 111 | Originally aired: March 25-26, 2017

From Richard Nixon to Donald Trump, leaders on both sides of the political aisle have described the state of American healthcare in terms intended to scare and mobilize voters. Guest Bob Hackey argues that those cries of crisis have warped the healthcare debate.

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