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Routledge Publishers/Mediabuzz PublicityOn this week's 51%, we speak with Dr. Frank Putnam, professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, about the Female Growth and Development Study (FGDS), which he co-founded with the late Dr. Penelope Trickett in 1987. The FGDS, which is still running today, has followed the lives of more than 100 girls to assess the impacts of child sex abuse on female development, and how trauma crosses generations. Putnam says child abuse can affect a survivor's physical and mental health in a way that accelerates their biological aging, putting them at an increased risk for early puberty, obesity, premature births, mental illness, cognitive decline and more. Putnam compiles more than 35 years' worth of papers from the FGDS — and outlines ways to better prevent child abuse — in his new book Old Before Their Time. -
One World/Emma PratteOn this week's 51%, we speak with author and playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes about her debut novel, The White Hot. Hudes is the Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright of Water by the Spoonful and the musical In the Heights, which she also adapted for the screen. The White Hot takes the form of a letter written by a mom to her 18-year-old daughter, explaining — but not apologizing for — why she suddenly abandoned her nearly a decade prior. WAMC’s Sarah LaDuke speaks with Hudes about why she decided to write the tale, an unflinching exploration of one mom’s rage and journey toward self-discovery.
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The Food & Drug Administration recently decided to remove "black box" warnings from the packaging of hormonal therapies used to treat symptoms of menopause. On this week's 51%, we speak with internist Dr. Heather Hirsch, founder of the Menopause Clinic at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts, about the change. We also dive into Dr. Hirsch's new book, The Perimenopause Survival Guide, and discuss how to recognize what she calls the “evil little sister” of menopause and start treatment early. -
On this week's 51%, we speak with Allison Daminger, professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin, about her research into "cognitive" household labor, and how couples divvy up the planning, scheduling, and decision-making that goes into raising children and keeping a home. Daminger found that women were more likely to carry the brunt of cognitive labor in heterosexual relationships — even among egalitarian couples, and even if their partners worked as literal project managers at the office. Daminger explores why this is and compiles her research in her new book, What’s on Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life. -
On this week's 51%, we hear from pipa virtuoso Wu Man about her work with the famous Silkroad ensemble, and the group’s latest tour of "American Railroad," recognizing the immigrant communities that built the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad. We also hear a performance from Catskill, New York singer-songwriter Kendra McKinley, and chat about why she loves to write “music for smoking weed with your bra off.” -
On this week's 51%, we recognize Veterans Day and speak with Edie Meeks, a veteran of the Army Nurses Corp who was one of roughly 10,000 nurses to serve in the Vietnam War. From 1968 to 1969, Meeks worked in the Intensive Care Units of the 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon and the 71st Evac Hospital in Pleiku. Now 81, Meeks shares memories of her service — and her struggle to adjust after coming home — in an upcoming episode of the PBS series After Action. -
On this week's 51%, we speak with Dr. Elizabeth Boham about her new book Breast Wellness, and the various lifestyle factors that can contribute to breast cancer risk. Dr. Boham is a board-certified physician and dietitian who also practices functional medicine. In Breast Wellness, she discusses her own experience battling breast cancer in her thirties, and how a healthy lifestyle can support you before and after a diagnosis. -
On this week's 51%, we recognize Domestic Violence Awareness Month and speak with author Helen Winslow Black about her new book Seven Blackbirds, following main character Kim as she escapes an abusive marriage and builds a new life for herself and her child. -
On this week's 51%, we speak with Dickinson College Professor Amy Farrell about her new book Intrepid Girls: The Complicated History of the Girls Scouts of the USA. -
On this week’s 51%, we speak with artist Barbara Benish about how she started the ArtMill Center for Regenerative Arts in the Czech Republic, and how artists continued to work under the totalitarian regime of former Czechoslovakia. Benish came to the Czech Republic from Los Angeles in 1989, just as a revolution overturned the country’s long-running Communist regime. Initially hoping to explore her roots, Benish saw how the arts survived decades of censorship through community, how creativity continued to influence and change society, and how the arts flourished after the revolution. Benish tells the story of this time and the creation of her community in her new book ArtMill: A Story of Sustainable Creativity in Bohemia. -
On this week’s 51%, we recognize the 25th anniversary of the Food & Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, which, in conjunction with misoprostol, is now used for the majority of abortions in the U.S. WAMC’s Samantha Simmons speaks with abortion-rights advocate and vlogger Marissa Rudd about her experience using mifepristone, and why she personally chose to have an abortion. We also chat with Kimberly Mutcherson, a professor at Rutgers Law School, about the challenges mifepristone faces in court and in the Trump Administration. -
The Trump Administration is promoting an unproven link between Tylenol and autism, urging pregnant women not to take the painkiller. On this week's 51%, we speak with Dr. Stacy De-Lin, associate medical director of Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, about what expectant mothers should know about the drug, and why she feels it's still safe to prescribe. We also learn about what the end of funding for SNAP-Ed in the federal budget means for hunger programs across the country, and those who benefit from them.
