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51%
Wednesdays, 3-3:30 p.m.; Thursdays, 8-8:30 p.m.

In America, women make up more than half the population. Worldwide, women are expected to outnumber men within the next fifty years - and every issue we face is one that affects us all. Whether it's the environment, health, our children, politics or the arts, there's a women's perspective, and 51% is a show dedicated to that viewpoint. 

Host Jesse King talks to experts in their field for a wide-ranging, entertaining discussion of issues that not only fall into the traditional “women’s issues” category, but topics that concern all human beings and citizens of the global community. 51% highlights a wide range of women from Kathy Valentine of the Go-Go’s, author and historian Amy Teitel on spaceflight and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on her history and decision to enter law school.

Tune to 51% weekly throughout the U. S. on public and community radio stations, some ABC Radio Network stations, Armed Forces Radio stations around the world and on the internet. 

Twitter: @51PercentRadio

Instagram: @51percentradio

Facebook: @51percentradio

For distribution information please fill out the Carriage Form and send to Tina Renick at trenick@wamc.org.

  • 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.
  • On this week’s 51%, we speak with psychologist Dr. Jennifer Bradtke about the physical and emotional impacts of stress and burnout, and how you can better implement tools to de-stress. Burnout can affect not just working women, but caregivers, moms and activists as well. Contrary to what you might think, Bradtke says the key to addressing burnout is not getting away from it all, but creating daily habits that protect your time, energy and mental wellbeing in the wake of stress. We also hear from New York State Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal about a package of bills she has introduced to establish workplace protections and better healthcare coverage for women experiencing menopause.
  • 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.
  • On this week’s 51%, we chat with Julie Gedro, dean of the College of Business at SUNY’s Empire State University, about what the decline in remote jobs means for women workers. We also learn about a new mentorship program for underserved women in New York’s Ulster County, and debate where the Equal Rights Amendment stands today.
  • On this week's 51%, actor and comedian Alison Larkin explores how grief encouraged her to live (and love) more fully in her new memoir Grief…A Comedy. We also take a drive up to Staatsburg, New York, to speak with the artists behind the “Unearthing the Light” reflecting on loss, healing, and the former “New York Training School for Girls.” WAMC’s Josh Landes also speaks with some of the survivors of a sex abuse scandal at an all-girls boarding school in western Massachusetts, who have just had their stories corroborated by an independent investigation.
  • On this week's 51%, we speak with artist Alison Cornyn about a new exhibit remembering the lives lived and lost at the site of the former New York Training School for Girls.
  • On this week’s 51%, we hear from Tony and Grammy Award-winning actress and singer Renée Elise Goldsberry about her solo debut record Who I Really Am. Goldsberry is perhaps best known for originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway hit Hamilton and her portrayal of “Wickie” in the Netflix series Girls5eva. Blending pop, soul, funk and gospel, Who I Really Am allows Goldsberry to get personal, rather than playing a character.
  • On this week's 51%, we learn about a Girl Scouts program that aims to teach young girls how to identify their emotions and talk about their mental health. Brenda Episcopo, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York, walks through how the “mental wellness patch program” helps girls Grades 4-12 build their emotional literacy and self-soothe in times of stress. We also speak with the woman behind “Erin’s Law” about how teaching kids body safety helps prevent child sex abuse.