Stories With Social Impact with Mary Rohlich
This show is built on the power of storytelling to change the world. Mary Rohlich has built her career telling stories that matter, whether in documentaries, feature films, or on television.
Coronavirus: On the Front Lines with Daniela Lamas
Two months ago, production of Story in the Public Square was stopped when our state governor issued a stay at home order. Like most of the rest of the country, we’ve watched the days pass. While we stayed home, Dr. Daniela Lamas kept going to work as a pulmonary specialist on the front lines of the pandemic. Lamas is a pulmonary and critical-care doctor at Boston’s Brigham & Women’s Hospital … Read More
The Warning They Are Shouting
America is on the precipice of a dangerous crisis. The warnings are being signaled to all of us in public. If it explodes into view, it’s legacy will cut to the core of what it means to live in a republic, what it means to maintain a standing Army in our nation, and, yet, its importance is under-appreciated by most of us. Let me explain. Sunday night was a dangerous … Read More
781 Per Day
Grieving is a highly personal experience. When I worked in the U.S. Senate at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I had the solemn privilege of attending several funerals for fallen American service members at Arlington National Cemetery. For all of the precision and uniformity of a military ceremony, each funeral, each graveside service, was different—reflecting the wishes of family or the fallen heroes themselves. The one … Read More
More Women Needed to Close the Cybersecurity Workforce Gap: Picks of the Week
The Expanding News Desert with Penny Abernathy
Air Dates: February 17-23, 2020 It wasn’t so long ago that small and mid-sized American communities were served by multiple news outlets. Penny Abernathy warns of the expansion of “news deserts,” or areas without dedicated local coverage because of shifting technology and consumer behavior. Penelope (Penny) Abernathy is the Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics at the University of North Carolina and former executive at The Wall Street … Read More
Our Republic is on the Ballot
The most important player in a republic—including ours—is the citizen. From our consent, leaders derive the authority to govern: to raise taxes, to declare war, to enforce laws and treaties, and to do all the things we expect of government. From the ranks of citizens, our government draws its judges, its soldiers, its officials at every level—including our representatives in the House and Senate as well as the White House. … Read More
It’s Up to Us
The most important player in a republic like ours isn’t the president, it isn’t the speaker of the House, and it isn’t the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. It’s the citizen. The citizen. Whether she lives in a rural, farming community, or if he’s riding the subway to work in a skyscraper, each of us possesses a spark of sovereignty that collectively determines the direction of the … Read More
How to be a Happier Parent with KJ Dell’Antonia
Air Dates: January 13-19, 2020 There are some people who believe that they are prepared to critique teachers’ performances because they went to elementary school themselves. The confidence of what seemed to work for us as individuals fuels a lot of stress for teachers. The same can be said about parenting. Nothing saps the confidence of the uninitiated quite like the reality of actually becoming a parent. KJ Dell’ Antonia … Read More
The Cost of Child Poverty with Lenette Azzi-Lessing
Air Dates: December 2-8, 2019 For generations, American politicians have promised reducing—or even eliminating—poverty as one of their goals. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson went so far as to declare an “unconditional war” on poverty. Lenette Azzi-Lessing warns, however, that the rhetoric of fighting poverty has become a war on the poor with devastating consequences for America’s most vulnerable children. Azzi-Lessing is Clinical Professor of Social Work at Boston University … Read More