On this week’s 51%, it’s time to interest more girls in coding. And a new book and video game feature a previously atypical girl. I’m Allison Dunne and this is 51%.
Is embracing risk and failure something to which we should all aspire? ReshmaSaujani, founder of Girls Who Code, says absolutely. During her race as the first Indian American woman to run for U.S. Congress--a race she did not win--Saujani visited local schools and saw the gender gap in computing classes firsthand, which led her to start Girls Who Code, now on track to becoming the largest pipeline of future female engineers in the United States. Saujani also has served as deputy public advocate for New York City and promotes a new model of female leadership focused on mentorship and sponsorship, and charting your own course. Lauren Schiller, host of Inflection Point, invited ReshmaSaujani to share why it is so critical for our society that girls learn to code.
That was Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code, speaking with Lauren Schiller, host of Inflection Point, produced at KALW. You may hear more of the interview at inflectionpointradio.org.
Song of the Deep, a new video game by Insomniac Games is hitting a frequently untapped market when it comes to children. A book produced in parallel with the game tells the story of a young girl named Merryn, who builds a submarine to venture into open water in search of her father who, one stormy night at sea, never returned. 51%’s Patrick Garrett spoke with author and co-founder of Insomniac Games, Brian Hastings, in part, about what he’s done to help encourage young girls.
And that's our show this week. Thanks to Patrick Garrett for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. If you’d like to hear this show again, sign up for our podcast, or visit the 51% archives on our web site at wamc.org. And follow us on Twitter @51PercentRadio This week’s show is #1413.
