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Playlist as aired on Saturday, May 24th, 2025

Adrian McKinty’s latest novel, “Hang on St. Christopher,” brings readers to July 1992 when The Troubles in Northern Ireland are still grinding on after twenty-five years. McKinty’s character, Sean Duffy, is assigned to his most violent and dangerous case yet, and the future of the burgeoning “peace process” may depend on it.

On this week's 51%, we speak with Dionne Koller, a law professor at the University of Baltimore, about the benefits and dangers of youth sports, and what parents should know before signing their kids up. In her new book, More Than Play, Koller explains how today's youth sports became more privatized, more expensive, and less regulated. We also stop by a roller derby bout in New York's Hudson Valley.

Michael Novak, artistic director of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, captures his aesthetic perfectly: "The curtain goes up, 20 minutes happen, and it’s transformative." This ambitious vision is brought to life with every performance. From the legendary Paul Taylor to the cultural richness of Iona, Scotland, dance and storytelling intersect. Alongside it, the rock-musical “Catch My Soul” brings an electrifying Othello to the stage, adding a modern twist to Shakespeare's timeless tragedy.

On this week’s 51%, we speak with Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson about how President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful” budget bill in Congress would impact the organization’s clinics. Johnson warns Medicaid restrictions proposed in the bill could put nearly 200 Planned Parenthood clinics at risk of closing, even in states where abortion is legal.

(Airs 06/27/25 @ 10 p.m.) The Legislative Gazette is a weekly program about New York State Government and politics. On this week’s Gazette: A major upset in the New York City primary, Speaker Heastie stops in Plattsburgh to announce funding for the YMCA, and U.S. Attorney John Sarcone talks about his brush with danger in Albany last week that received national attention.

On this week’s 51%, we speak with journalism Becky Aikman about her new book, Spitfires: The American Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger During World War II. Desperate for pilots in 1942, Great Britain recruited 25 American women to ferry bombers, fighter planes, and damaged craft between air bases. Drawing from diaries, letters, and personal interviews, Aikman tells the story of the first American women to ever command military aircraft, and how they still struggled to find piloting work in the U.S. after the war. We also speak with former CIA intelligence officer Christina Hillsberg about her book, Agents of Change, and why she feels women make better spies.

On this week’s 51%, we take a feminist self-defense course with IMPACT Boston Executive Director Meg Stone. In her new book, The Cost of Fear, Stone says a majority of the safety advice given to women – like “Don’t walk at night,” “Don’t put your hair in a ponytail” – is well-meaning, but sexist, and doesn’t actually address gender-based violence on a large scale.

Playlist for Saturday, August 2nd, 2025

On this week's 51%, we speak with psychologist Dr. Ingrid Clayton about her new book, Fawning: Why the Need to Please Makes Us Lose Ourselves — and How to Find Our Way Back. Many of us are familiar with the three main survival responses: fight, flight and freeze. When those options seem too dangerous or unavailable, Clayton says drawing closer and appeasing a painful person/situation can feel like the last resort. Often confused with “codependency” and “people pleasing,” Clayton says “fawning” is an unconscious trauma response that takes time and patience to unlearn.