51 Percent

On this week's  51% , we speak with artist Alison Cornyn about a new exhibit remembering the lives lived and lost at the site of the former New York Training School for Girls. Now a prison for men, the New York Training School for Girls in Hudson, New York served as a reform school and juvenile detention center for "incorrigible" girls, including a young Ella Fitzgerald. For years, Corny...

On this week’s 51% , we hear from Tony and Grammy Award-winning actress and singer Renée Elise Goldsberry about her solo debut record Who I Really Am . Goldsberry is perhaps best known for originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway hit Hamilton and her portrayal of “Wickie” in the Netflix series Girls5eva. Blending pop, soul, funk and gospel, Who I Really Am allows Goldsberry to get...

On this week's 51% , we learn about a Girl Scouts program that aims to teach young girls how to identify their emotions and talk about their mental health. Brenda Episcopo, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York, walks through how the “mental wellness patch program” helps girls Grades 4-12 build their emotional literacy and self-soothe in times of stress. We also speak with the woman behi...

On this week's 51% , we speak with attorney Heather Lothrop of the Urban Justice Center about what immigrant survivors of domestic violence should know as they're planning to leave an abusive partner or bring them to court. We'll also discuss how the Trump administration's deportation efforts are impacting such cases, and learn about a bill in Congress that would expand childcare options for polic...

On this week's 51% , we speak with Shani Adess, vice president of the New York Legal Assistance Group, about the importance of providing sound legal advice to survivors of domestic violence, and what people should know if they bring their abuser to court. We also stop by an exhibit showcasing the art of incarcerated women in New Paltz, New York. Guest:  Shani Adess, vice president of the New...

On this week’s 51% , we speak with UC Davis law professor Mary Ziegler about her new book, Personhood , and what she sees as the future of the abortion rights debate. Ziegler is a leading expert on the law, history, and politics of reproduction in the U.S. In Personhood , her seventh book on the subject, Ziegler argues that reversing Roe v. Wade  was never the endgame of the antiabortion move...

On this week’s 51%, we speak with journalism Becky Aikman about her new book, Spitfires: The American Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger During World War II . Desperate for pilots in 1942, Great Britain recruited 25 American women to ferry bombers, fighter planes, and damaged craft between air bases. Drawing from diaries, letters, and personal interviews, Aikman tells the story of the first Amer...

On this week’s 51% , we speak with Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson about how President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful” budget bill in Congress would impact the organization’s clinics. Johnson warns Medicaid restrictions proposed in the bill could put nearly 200 Planned Parenthood clinics at risk of closing, even in states where abortion is legal. We also debunk some menopause myths and...

On this week’s  51% , we chat with psychologist Dr. Samantha Sweeney about why teaching your kids to celebrate diversity is important to their success as adults – and how to do it. Sweeney lays out a guide for parents in her new book  Culturally Competent Kids: Raising Children to Thrive in a Diverse World . We also learn about a bill in New York state that would require a warning label for kids o...

On this week's 51% , we speak with the authors of Breaking Trail: Remarkable Women of the Adirondacks . Compiling both historical research and folk songs, Breaking Trail  spotlights some of the women hikers, hunters, artists and legends who had a profound impact on New York's Adirondack Park.  Guests:  Sandra Weber and Peggy Lynn, authors of Breaking Trail: Remarkable Women of the A...

On this week’s 51% , we take a feminist self-defense course with IMPACT Boston Executive Director Meg Stone. In her new book, The Cost of Fear , Stone says a majority of the safety advice given to women – like “Don’t walk at night,” “Don’t put your hair in a ponytail” – is well-meaning, but sexist, and doesn’t actually address gender-based violence on a large scale. Rather than teaching “safety th...

On this week’s 51% , we chat with rising Broadway star Jasmine Amy Rogers about her Tony-nominated performance in BOOP! The Musical , and how she gets in character for the iconic role of Betty Boop. We also stop by a lecture with the author of Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her. Guest : Jasmine Amy Rogers, actress and star of BOOP! The Musical...

On this week's 51% , we hear from NPR’s Emily Feng about her experience reporting in China, and her new book Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in Xi Jinping’s China . Telling the stories of nearly two dozen people Feng encountered in China – before she ran afoul of the government herself – Let Only Red Flowers Bloom depicts how ordinary people continue to go against the grain unde...

On this week’s 51% , we learn about an organization offering community to children and teens impacted by incarceration and deportation. The Pathfinder Network, which merged with the POPS Club in 2022, has support groups in schools across the country, where students can share their thoughts and fears stigma-free. POPS Founder Amy Friedman also edits a regular anthology of students’ creative work. T...

On this week's 51% , we recognize Mother's Day and sit down with Dr. Margo Lowy to discuss her book Maternal Ambivalence: The Loving Moments & Bitter Truths of Motherhood . A psychotherapist specializing in mothering, Dr. Lowy offers advice on how to navigate the conflicting emotions that come with being a parent, and how to accept the highs and the lows. In Maternal Ambivalence , Dr. Lowy arg...

On this week's 51% , we speak with Dionne Koller, a law professor at the University of Baltimore, about the benefits and dangers of youth sports, and what parents should know before signing their kids up. In her new book, More Than Play , Koller explains how today's youth sports became more privatized, more expensive, and less regulated. We also stop by a roller derby bout in New York's Hudson Val...

On this week's 51% , we chat with Minnesota Law Professor Jill Hasday about her book, We the Men: How Forgetting Women's Struggles for Equality Perpetuates Inequality. Hasday explains how downplaying women's history and exaggerating our progress on women's rights prevents us from tackling the inequalities we still face. In We the Men , Hasday details court cases throughout American history where j...

The House has passed the SAVE Act, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship from anyone registering to vote in federal elections. What might this mean for married women and other voters with changed names or hard-to-reach documents? We discuss the bill (and where it goes from here) with Dr. Elizabeth Matto, director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University - New Brunswick....

On this week’s 51% , we learn how to prep for and survive a recession with Professor Suzanne Shu of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. We also chat with business journalist Alison Kosik about her new book What’s Up with Women and Money? Part memoir, part how-to guide, Kosik’s book explains how women can feel more confident navigating their finances, invest for the future, and avoid gettin...

On this week’s 51%, we speak with author Nanda Reddy about her new novel A Girl Within a Girl Within a Girl. An exploration of identity and the immigrant experience, A Girl Within a Girl Within a Girl  follows Maya, an Indo-Guyanese woman, as she confronts the many versions of herself, she had to create in order to escape her traumatic youth and survive as an undocumented immigrant in the U.S...

We internalize a lot of ideas about womanhood, good and bad, as we grow up. On this week’s 51% , we speak with Dr. Samra Zafar about how to ditch the bad ones. In her new book Unconditional , Zafar shares her journey of escaping an abusive, forced marriage and unlearning her long-held beliefs around love and womanhood. Zafar also offers advice on how to "unlearn" harmful or traumatic beliefs while...

On this week’s 51% , we sit down with longtime feminist activist Muriel Fox to chat about how the National Organization for Women got started in the 1960s, and how it fought for many of the rights and opportunities women cherish today. Fox is a public relations executive who co-founded NOW and helped shape it into what it is today. Fox shares how women (and men) fought for equal rights in the 1960...

On this week’s 51% , we speak with sports journalist Jane McManus about the history and business of women’s sports, as detailed in her new book The Fast Track . From pay gaps to broadcasting hurdles, McManus says a number of forces have held women’s sports back since the passage of Title IX in the 1970s, but she maintains the idea that “people aren’t interested in women’s sports” has always been a...

On this week’s 51% , we chat with Kimberly Heckler about her book A Woman of Firsts: Margaret Heckler, Political Trailblazer. Kimberly is the daughter-in-law of the late politician Margaret Heckler, who served as a Republican Massachusetts Congresswoman from 1967 to 1983. During her time in Congress, Margaret Heckler fought for women’s rights on multiple fronts and worked on bills such as the Equa...

When most of us think of the Viking Age, we think of its men: powerful warriors sailing ships, building armies, and sacking cities across Europe. But new research shows Viking women were warriors, too – and that they were traders, artisans, explorers, landowners, and respected leaders in their own right. On this week’s 51% , we kick off Women’s History Month by speaking with science writer Heather...