In our Ideas Matter segment we take time just about every week to check in with the state humanities councils in our 7-state region.
Today we're talking with Lawrie Balfour, professor of political science at the University of Virginia, and Michael Washburn, director of the programs at the New York Council for the Humanities, about the writer James Baldwin. Baldwin's work is a powerful lens through which to view the country's current moment of social and racial tension. Balfour and Washburn have created a new Baldwin-related theme for the Council's Reading and Discussion program, and today we'll be talking about Baldwin's value to our contemporary world as well as the new program.