51 Percent

On this week's 51%, we speak with psychotherapist Dr. Judith Smith about how parenting doesn't stop once children reach adulthood – and how parenting a "difficult adult child" can be especially hard on moms in their later years. We also hear from the women behind Eyes That Weave the World's Wonders, a new children's book highlighting the experience of transracial adoptees.  Guests: Dr. Judith Smith, psychotherapist and author of Difficult: Mothering Challenging Adult Children Through Conflict and Change; Joanna Ho & Liz Kleinrock, authors of Eyes That Weave the World's Wonders 51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On this week’s 51%, we meet with the head of the National Archives amid her tour of presidential libraries across the U.S. Dr. Colleen Shogan discusses the role historical records can play in healing the country’s cultural and political divides. We also stop by an event with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and learn about an artificial intelligence project at RPI telling the story of Emily Warren Roebling, a 19th Century engineer who helped complete the Brooklyn Bridge.  Guests: Dr. Colleen Shogan, 11th archivist of the United States; Antoinette Maniatty, professor and head of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On this week’s 51%, we wrap our series on endometriosis. “Endo Dietitian” Stefanie Valakas explains how some endometriosis patients shift to an anti-inflammatory diet to self-manage their symptoms. We also learn about a new endometriosis research hub at the University of Pittsburgh. Guests: Stefanie Valakas, accredited dietitian and nutritionist and founder of The Dietologist  51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On this week’s 51%, we speak with Dr. Karen Tang about everything from fibroids and PCOS to sexual pain and pelvic floor therapy. Tang is a board-certified gynecologist and surgeon who, in her spare time, debunks reproductive health myths for millions of viewers on Tik Tok, YouTube, and Instagram. In her new book, It’s Not Hysteria, Tang presents a comprehensive guide on common pelvic issues and various treatment options for them. Guest: Dr. Karen Tang, MD and author of "It’s Not Hysteria: Everything You Need to Know About Your Reproductive Health (But Were Never Told)"   51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On the latest 51%, we continue our series on endometriosis, speaking with doctors, patients, advocates, and researchers about a disease that impacts roughly 1 in 10 women worldwide. Patient advocate and “Endo Girls” blogger Kate Boyce discusses her journey with endometriosis treatment, and an often-overlooked aspect of gynecologic surgery: recovery.  Guest: Kate Boyce, BCPA and co-founder of the blog "Endo Girls"  51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On this week’s 51%, we kick off our series on endometriosis, an inflammatory disease impacting roughly 1 in 10 women. Dr. Lora Liu, a gynecologic surgeon and endometriosis excision specialist in New York City, discusses the basics of the disease – and why we still know so little about it. Dr. Liu also dives into treatment options for patients, and offers her advice for those considering excision surgery.  Guest: Dr. Lora Liu, gynecologic surgeon and excision specialist 51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

The Arizona state Supreme Court has cleared the way for the revival of an abortion ban dating back to the 1860s. On this week’s 51%, Rutgers Law School professor Kimberly Mutcherson breaks down the court’s decision, and analyzes the current tumultuous legal landscape for abortion rights in the U.S. WAMC’s Ian Pickus also speaks with NPR political correspondent Sarah McCammon about her new book The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church. Guests: Kimberly Mutcherson, professor and former co-dean at Rutgers Law School; Sarah McCammon, NPR political correspondent and author of The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church 51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On this week’s 51%, WAMC’s Sarah LaDuke sits down with singer-songwriter Dawn Landes to discuss her new record reimagining "The Liberated Woman’s Songbook" from 1971. WAMC’s Samantha Simmons also meets a couple with a decades-long story of love and friendship that finally tied the knot during the Great North American eclipse. Guest: Dawn Landes, The Liberated Woman's Songbook 51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue.

On this week’s 51%, we speak with mountain athlete and fertility doula Angie Marie to learn how some women are applying the concepts behind cycle syncing to their everyday lives. “Cycle syncing” is the practice of adjusting one’s diet or exercise to the different stages of their menstrual cycle. While the theory has become more popular among female athletes, Marie says she uses cycle syncing to increase her creativity, get in touch with her emotions, and promote self-care. Marie lays out some tips and tricks on how to listen to your body in her new guide, The Cycle Syncing Handbook.  Guest: Angie Marie, birth and fertility doula and author of The Cycle Syncing Handbook: Identify Hormonal Patterns, Build Holistic Habits, and Embrace the Power of Your Menstrual Cycle *Disclaimer: This episode discusses subjects like menstruation, ovulation, and specifically, cervical mucus from 8:47-11:17. We've opted to air the more in-depth descriptions of these topics, because we feel it is medically important for women to know. 51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On the latest 51%, Dr. Elizabeth Comen gives us a lesson on gender bias in early medicine, and how it continues to prevent women from getting adequate care. Dr. Comen is a breast oncologist and medical historian with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. In her new book, All in Her Head, she examines how early medicine failed women in just about every major organ system of their bodies, and why women’s health is still so misunderstood.  Guest: Dr. Elizabeth Comen, breast oncologist at Memoiral Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and author of All in Her Head: The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us About Women’s Bodies, and Why it Matters Today 51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On this week’s 51%, public speaker and mentor Chelsey Goodan provides insight on the wisdom and power of teenage girls. For years, Goodan has been working with girls one-on-one and speaking with them about mental health, body image, social media, boys, friendships, and parents. In her new book Underestimated, Goodan explores why we, as a society, so often restrict and belittle girls at an age when they’re supposed to be gaining independence. We also speak with therapist Khara Croswaite Brindle about how to find peace amid parent-child estrangement.  Guests: Chelsey Goodan, author of Underestimated: The Wisdom and Power of Teenage Girls; Khara Croswaite Brindle, owner of Croswaite Counseling PLLC and author of Understanding Ruptured Mother-Daughter Relationships 51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On this week’s 51%, our associate producer Jody Cowan catches up with NASA astronaut, engineer, and chemist Tracy Caldwell Dyson ahead of her third mission to the International Space Station this month. During her six-month stay, Dyson will help maintain station equipment and contribute to a number of ongoing science experiments. WAMC’s Ian Pickus also speaks with NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce about her new book, Transient and Strange. Guests: Tracy Caldwell Dyson, NASA astronaut; Rebecca Van Tassell, program coordinator at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies; Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR science correspondent and author of Transient and Strange: Notes on the Science of Life 51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue.

On the latest 51%, we speak with the editors of Fighting Mad, a new book of essays reimagining the abortion rights — or rather, reproductive justice — movement. WAMC’s Samantha Simmons also brings us to a public hearing on the proposed closure of Burdett Birth Center in Troy, New York, and we learn about the life and career of American photographer Rollie McKenna.  Guests: Krystale E. Littlejohn, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Oregon, author, and editor of the Reproductive Justice book series from University of California Press; Rickie Solinger, historian, curator, author and editor of the Reproductive Justice book series from University of California Press. You can find Fighting Mad: Resisting the End of Roe v. Wade here. 51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On this week's 51%, we kick off Women's History Month. We speak with the directors and flight attendants behind PBS' new American Experience film Fly With Me, about how the first female flight attendants in the U.S. fought for equal labor protections — and contributed to the broader feminist movement in the process. Author Shelley Fraser Mickle also dives into the fascinating life of first daughter Alice Roosevelt in White House Wild Child. Guests: Helen Dobrowski, director of American Experience's Fly With Me; Patricia Ireland, former flight attendant for Pan American Airways and director of the National Organization for Women; Shelley Fraser Mickle, author of White House Wild Child You can find a link to watch Fly With Me here.  51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On this week’s 51%, we speak with former Tennessee state legislator and judge Carol Chumney about the lessons she’s learned from her long-running political career, and the barriers that often keep women from the political arena. We also hear from the founder of a Florida nonprofit supporting homeless youth, and learn about a new financial literacy initiative in Vermont aimed at helping survivors of domestic violence.  Guests: Carol Chumney, Shelby County Circuit Court Judge and author of The Arena: One Woman's Story; Vicki Sokolik, founder of Starting Right, Now, and author of If You See Them: Young, Unhoused, and Alone in America 51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On this week's 51%, we hear from NPR Weekend Edition Host Ayesha Rascoe about how her experience at Howard University shaped her into the reporter she is today. Rascoe is the editor behind a new collection of essays called HBCU Made: A Celebration of the Black College Experience, with contributions from alumni like Oprah Winfrey, Stacey Abrams, and more. Our Associate Producer, Jody Cowan, also catches up with Deshanna Wiggins – another HBCU grad, and CEO of the Albany Black Chamber of Commerce. And we remember disability rights advocate and professor Brooke Ellison, who died last week at the age of 45.  Guests: Ayesha Rascoe, host of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday and editor of HBCU Made: A Celebration of the Black College Experience; Deshanna Wiggins, CEO of the Albany Black Chamber of Commerce; Brooke Ellison, Stony Brook University Professor, advocate, and author of Look Both Ways 51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On the latest 51%, we hear from Syracuse University professor and columnist Dr. Jenn M. Jackson about their new book, What Black Women Taught Us: An Intimate History of Black Feminism, underscoring the legacy of Black women writers and leaders, and their contribution to America’s modern social movements.  Guest: Dr. Jenn M. Jackson, assistant professor of political science at Syracuse University and author of What Black Women Taught Us: An Intimate History of Black Feminism 51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On this week’s 51%, we speak with author Michelle Horton about the concept of “criminalized survivors,” and her new memoir recounting her family's side of the high-profile murder case in which her sister was sentenced to prison in 2020. We also tune into a recent forum on violence against women, and our Associate Producer, Jody Cowan, checks in with a Palestinian college student speaking out about the Israel-Hamas war from her campus in east Jerusalem.  Guests: Michelle Horton, author of Dear Sister: A Memoir of Secrets, Survival and Unbreakable Bonds; Nagham Ayyad, college student at Al-Quds Bard College  51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

On the latest 51%, we sit down with author and speaker Emily Lynn Paulson to discuss her experience as a “girlboss” for a multilevel marketing company — and why she left. In her book Hey, Hun, Paulson depicts the darker side of MLMs, how to tell if signing up is worth it, and how to politely turn down sales offers from friends while helping them feel supported. We also learn about renewed efforts to pass the Fashion Workers Act in New York, and how artificial intelligence is impacting the modeling industry.  Guest: Emily Lynn Paulson, author of Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing 51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue.

On the latest 51%, we mark the would-be anniversary of Roe v. Wade by speaking with Dr. Felicia Kornbluh, historian and author of A Woman’s Life is a Human Life. Kornbluh tells the story of how her mother and neighbor contributed to the movements to decriminalize abortion and fight sterilization abuse in New York state – and how the Supreme Court went from granting constitutional protection for abortion in 1973, to overturning Roe in 2022. Kornbluh also shares a few lessons from her mother's story that today's abortion rights activists can lean on in a post-Dobbs landscape. Guest: Dr. Felicia Kornbluh, University of Vermont professor and author of A Woman's Life is a Human Life: My Mother, Our Neighbor, and the Journey from Reproductive Rights to Reproductive Justice 51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Jody Cowan, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue.