book

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.

On this week’s 51%, we chat with rising Broadway star Jasmine Amy Rogers about her Tony-nominated performance in BOOP! The Musical, and how she gets in character for the iconic role of Betty Boop. We also stop by a lecture with the author of Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her.

Hayley Krischer is the author of the “The Falling Girls,” “Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf,” and “Where Are you, Echo Blue? A Novel.” She has written for the “New York Times,” “Elle,” “The Atlantic,” and much more. Her new book, “You Belong to Me,” is a psychological thriller exploring the dark secrets of the wellness and beauty world.

On this week's 51%, we hear from NPR’s Emily Feng about her experience reporting in China, and her new book Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in Xi Jinping’s China. Telling the stories of nearly two dozen people Feng encountered in China – before she ran afoul of the government herself – Let Only Red Flowers Bloom depicts how ordinary people continue to go against the grain under a government that restricts free expression.

On this week’s 51%, we learn about an organization offering community to children and teens impacted by incarceration and deportation. The Pathfinder Network, which merged with the POPS Club in 2022, has support groups in schools across the country, where students can share their thoughts and fears stigma-free. POPS Founder Amy Friedman also edits a regular anthology of students’ creative work. The latest edition is titled Home and Away.

As director of the Communication Neuroscience Lab and the Annenberg Public Policy Center's Climate Communication Division, Professor Emily Falk spends a lot of time thinking about the neuroscience of decision-making, behavior change, and successful communication.Her new book, “What We Value: The Neuroscience of Choice and Change,” is grounded in both personal anecdotes and stories from public figures in areas ranging from entertainment to sports.

The new book “Unrig the Game: What Women of Color Can Teach Everyone About Winning” is a playbook to supporting and retaining women of color in leadership roles to create lasting change in the world. It comes from a former labor community organizer Vanessa Priya Daniel, who is the founder of one of the nation’s premiere funders of women of color led organizations. [Encore airing]

Environmental justice activist Catherine Coleman Flowers will tell us about her collection of essays, personal and political, that frames the challenges we face as a society. In "Holy Ground: On Activism, Environmental Justice, and Finding Hope" she approaches these issues with grace, generosity, and hope. Coleman charts the way toward equity, respect, and a brighter future. [Encore airing]

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.

Tomorrow night at Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, NY they will be having a thriller night with bestselling authors Marshall Karp and Eric Rickstad. Marshall Karp is the author of the book “Don’t Tell Me How to Die” and Eric Rickstad of the author of the book “Remote: The Six.”