Think from KERA

After all these years, women still find themselves in a man’s world; now they want new tools to push back against patriarchy. Jennifer Palmieri is president of the Center for American Progress Action Fund and former White House Communications Director for President Barack Obama. She was also Director of Communications for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, and served as National Press Secretary for the John Edwards presidential campaign in 2004 and the Democratic Party in 2002. She joins host Krys Boyd to talk about stories of achieving equity in the workplace. Her book is “She Proclaims: Our Declaration of Independence from a Man’s World.”

Millions of voters are deciding right now: who is the man to lift the nation out of its moment of crisis? Frontline filmmaker Michael Kirk joins host Krys Boyd to talk about two investigative biographies of Donald Trump and Joe Biden focused on how each faced and overcame challenges in their own lives. His documentary streaming now on PBS is “The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden.”

As a nation, what are we rejecting when we fight to remove Confederate statues? And what do we amplify when we refuse to take them down? Connor Towne O’Neill, journalist, producer on the NPR podcast White Lies, teacher at Auburn University and with the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how the battle over monuments reveals racism is baked into the very mold of America. His book focusing on Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest is called “Down Along With That Devil’s Bones: A Reckoning with Monuments, Memory, and the Legacy of White Supremacy.”

Fake news existed back in Abraham Lincoln’s day. The difference is: he was able to shut it down. Elizabeth Mitchell joins guest host John McCaa to discuss an incendiary, false story published in two newspapers during the Civil War and how it became a battle of the press vs. the president. Her book is “Lincoln’s Lie: A True Civil War Caper Through Fake News, Wall Street, and the White House.”

Parents today do not expect to outlive their children – a modern phenomenon borne from years of deliberate science and public health efforts. Perri Klass, professor of journalism and pediatrics at New York University, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the hard-fought battle against infant and child mortality. Her new book is “A Good Time to Be Born: How Science and Public Health Gave Children a Future.”

Of every thousand rapes, 995 perpetrators will walk free, according to the anti-sexual violence organization Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. That begs the question: do we even take sexual assault seriously? Michelle Bowdler, executive director of health and wellness at Tufts University, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about her own assault, which led her to a career seeking justice for victims. Her book, nominated for a 2020 National Book Award for nonfiction, is called “Is Rape a Crime? A Memoir, an Investigation, and a Manifesto.”

Raging wildfires, record-setting hurricanes – climate change has reached a new level of urgency. And that’s why one group of young activists is trying to hold Washington responsible. Environmental journalist Lee Van Der Voo joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the 21 young people who sued the federal government in a landmark case that sought to hold elected officials responsible for protecting the planet. Her new book is “As the World Burns: The New Generation of Activists and the Landmark Legal Fight Against Climate Change.”

Leading up to the Civil War, heated debates between pro-slavery factions and abolitionists sometimes stirred violent vigilantism. Taming the discourse became a linchpin for saving the nation. H. W. Brands, Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about a man who called for change via murder and another who looked to Washington for solutions. His new book is “The Zealot and the Emancipator: John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, and the Struggle for American Freedom.”

Humans have always searched for greater meaning in the universe … and sometimes that translates into a serious, lifelong pursuit of Bigfoot. Colin Dickey joins host Krys Boyd to talk about why irrational ideas hold so much sway over us. His new book is “The Unidentified: Mythical Monsters, Alien Encounters, and Our Obsession with the Unexplained.”

The precursor to swiping right on dating sites is the personal ad, which first appeared in newspapers way back in 1759. Francesca Beauman, historian, journalist and host of “Fran’s Book Shop” on Instagram, talks to host Krys Boyd about the history of how we’ve put ourselves out there while searching for a mate. Her new book is “Matrimony, Inc. From Personal Ads to Swiping Right, A Story of America Looking for Love.”