Jesse King
Hudson Valley Bureau Chief/Host, 51%Jesse King is the host of WAMC's national program on women's issues, "51%" and the station's bureau chief in the Hudson Valley. She has also produced episodes of the WAMC podcast "A New York Minute In History."
A graduate of SUNY Oneonta, King first joined the WAMC newsroom as an intern in September 2018. She grew up an avid writer and radio-nerd in Apalachin, New York, and spent much of her college years managing WONY 90.9 FM, contributing to the student-run podcast, "Oneonta Voices," and interning with Phoenix FM in Dublin, Ireland. She holds a B.A. in Music Industry and Mass Communications, and plays the fiddle in her free time.
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On this week's 51%, we hear from author Brianne Brinker, assistant athletic director at Union College, about her experience coming out and transitioning as a transgender woman in 2019. Brinker says “skating out of the vault” has allowed her to be her most confident self, and she considers finding herself to be her greatest accomplishment. -
On this week's 51%, we speak with Keene State College Professor Dr. Lisa DiGiovanni about "militarized masculinity," and the connection between authoritarianism, state violence, and misogyny. In her new book, Militarized Masculinity in Spain and Chile, DiGiovanni outlines how hyper-masculinity and the idolization of the military contributed to the rise of Spanish Dictator Francisco Franco in the 1930s and Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s. In both cases, DiGiovanni says backlash to social progress for women and minorities helped catapult these men to power. She also examines how the arts were used to resist or expose these regimes in their later years, and lays out the warning signs that other countries, including the U.S., should watch for. -
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. -
A new daycare in Poughkeepsie, New York is expected to be part of Dutchess County’s first 24-hour childcare model. -
Congressman Mike Lawler says the newly renovated Social Security office in West Nyack will start hearing benefit cases, to make up for the closure of a White Plains hearing office earlier this year. -
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. -
Advocates of New York’s HALT Act stopped in Mt. Kisco Wednesday to call on lawmakers to fully implement the law and discuss the psychological impacts of solitary confinement.
