Podcast appearances and mentions of dorothy wickenden

March is Women's History month, and this week I'm featuring an excellent book about the 19th Century abolitionist movement, The Agitators: Harriet Tubman, Martha Coffin Wright and Frances A. Seward: Three Friends who fought for Abolition and Women's Rights.  Then I have a wonderful conversation with wine educator Tanisha Townsend of The Wine School Dropout podcast. We chat about her love of wine and discover how she moved from Chicago to Paris and started a thriving business hosting wine tours all over France.    Follow Tanisha Townend on IG @girlmeetsglass. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeanine-t-abraham/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeanine-t-abraham/support

The past fifteen years have been among the most tumultuous in our history. The tumult is driven by a question whose answer could determine our future: What kind of country do we live in? A buffeted but resilient democracy, or a nation increasingly known among its own citizens for its divisions rather than for its shared commitment to tolerance, equality, and freedom? Evan Osnos, Susan B. Glasser, and Jane Mayer join Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the past, present, and future of the democratic ideal worldwide.

In a few weeks, primary elections for the midterm races will be fully under way. The electoral map is stacked against Democrats, and the country is as divided than ever. But a new generation of progressive organizers and activists, spurning the advice of expensive consultants and the fund-raising tactics of seasoned politicians, are developing strategies to encourage accord within the Party, and to win over Independents and work with Republicans, from the ground up. Chloe Maxmin is a state senator in Maine, and the author, with her former campaign manager, Canyon Woodward, of the forthcoming book “Dirt Road Revival.” Maxmin and Woodward join Dorothy Wickenden to discuss how the Democratic Party lost touch with rural voters, and what Democrats must do to recapture their loyalty.

This month, the C.D.C. announced plans to end Title 42, a public-health order, issued by the Trump Administration at the start of the pandemic, that gives the federal government broad authority to turn away migrants and asylum seekers at the southern border. Public-health experts and some Democrats have pressured President Biden to repeal the order, but others, including several of his own top advisers, argue that the repeal will substantially increase the number of migrants at the southern border, further straining a chaotic immigration system, and hand Republicans a campaign issue for the midterms: a “migrant surge” approved by the Administration. Jonathan Blitzer joins Dorothy Wickenden to talk about how immigration is becoming another political liability for the Biden Administration.

Last week, Russian troops withdrew from Bucha, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Ukrainians returning to the city discovered the horrific aftermath. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, more than three hundred civilians in the city were killed. Investigators have found evidence of torture, rape, beheading, dismemberment, and the intentional burning of corpses. A mass grave was dug to accommodate the bodies. Zelensky has referred to the massacre as evidence of genocide. Philip Gourevitch, a New Yorker staff writer, has written for the magazine about the genocides in Rwanda and Cambodia. He joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss his past reporting, why the “never again” discourse around genocides has failed to prevent them, and whether further war crimes in Ukraine are inevitable.

Historically, the high cost of renewables has been one of the greatest hurdles in breaking our dependency on oil and gas. But recent research indicates that advances in renewable-energy production have made it cheaper than fossil fuels. Bill McKibben, a contributing writer to The New Yorker and the founder of the environmental group 350.org, joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the new economic realities of renewable energy, and how they could affect the global battle against climate change.

Facing enormous pressure to respond to Russian aggression in Ukraine but fearing the consequences of a hot war between Russia and the West, the European Union, the United States, and several other nations have levied heavy sanctions. These have caused the ruble to lose forty per cent of its value against the U.S. dollar and forced the closure of the Moscow stock exchange. But will the sanctions have any effect on Putin's war? John Cassidy joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the Russian President's economic miscalculations, the effects of sanctions on Russia's economy, and the political and environmental opportunities for the Biden Administration.

In the week since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States and the European Union have effectively cut off Russia from the international banking system, frozen Russian assets abroad, and cancelled partnerships with Russian companies. The ruble is in free fall, and inside the country, opposition to the war is reportedly increasing. Chinese President Xi Jinping is a well-known admirer of Putin, and China and Russia share an autocratic world view, but China has neither condemned Russia's actions nor rushed to its defense. Evan Osnos joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the history of Russia-China relations, China's current economic and diplomatic calculations, and what the war in Ukraine may tell us about the changing international balance of power.

Since last summer, Russian troops have been amassing on the Ukrainian border, and, in recent weeks, President Vladimir Putin warned that he intended a military takeover of Ukraine. This week, Russia began the war, with widespread attacks, including in the capital, Kyiv, aimed at crippling the Ukrainian military. The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has called on civilians to enlist in the military to fight the invaders. The U.S. and nato are levying heavy sanctions against the Russians, but there are disagreements within the U.S. and among western allies about exactly how to proceed. Susan B. Glasser, a New Yorker staff writer, joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the war, and the choices faced by the Biden administration and nato.

Since last summer, Russian troops have been amassing on the Ukrainian border, and, in recent weeks, President Vladimir Putin warned that he intended a military takeover of Ukraine. This week, Russia began the war, with widespread attacks, including in the capital, Kyiv, aimed at crippling the Ukrainian military. The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has called on civilians to enlist in the military to fight the invaders. The U.S. and nato are levying heavy sanctions against the Russians, but there are disagreements within the U.S. and among Western allies about exactly how to proceed. Susan B. Glasser, a New Yorker staff writer, joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the war, as well as the choices faced by the Biden Administration and NATO.

Since last summer, Russia has been heavily building up its military forces on Ukraine's border. In the past few weeks, several countries have attempted to forestall military action, but U.S. officials have warned that a Russian invasion is imminent and have accused the Russian government of lying about its claim that it is drawing down its troops. Masha Gessen, a New Yorker staff writer, joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the recent history of Russian-Ukrainian relations, and what the Western media gets wrong about Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, and the current conflict.

The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing are often referred to as China's “coming-out party”—presenting China to foreign visitors as a political, economic, and cultural superpower, committed to the rule of law and human rights. Fourteen years later, Xi Jinping, China's paramount leader, is using the Winter Olympics to make a different statement. Last week's opening ceremonies projected a message of Chinese unity and strength at a time when the country's relationship with the West is more antagonistic than it's been in decades. Several Western nations, including the U.S., staged diplomatic boycotts to protest China's human-rights violations, citing its persecution of Uyghurs in the province of Xinjiang. Evan Osnos joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss what the 2022 Beijing Olympics tell us about China's rising authoritarianism and its vision of the future.

Earlier this week, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and other artists removed their work from Spotify, protesting the company's relationship with Joe Rogan, a podcaster who has broadcast misinformation about COVID-19. Spotify paid Rogan one hundred million dollars in 2020 for exclusive rights to his podcast. The boycott has also highlighted another serious complaint by musicians: the company's low royalties, which are fractions of a penny for each stream of a song. Will these protests make any difference? Alex Ross joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the influence of big tech on culture, and the future of music, for artists and listeners.

Supreme Court Justices often portray themselves as beyond the reach of partisan politics, but it's increasingly hard to make that argument: recall the fights over the nominations of Merrick Garland and Brett Kavanaugh, and recent rulings in cases involving abortion access and vaccine mandates. Justice Stephen Breyer's decision to retire this year is itself a political move, and the Biden Administration is preparing for strong Republican resistance to whomever the President nominates. Jane Mayer, The New Yorker's chief Washington correspondent, wrote recently about Justice Clarence Thomas's wife, Virginia Thomas, who is deeply involved in right-wing groups and causes that have had, or will likely have, business before the Court. Mayer joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss Ginni Thomas's career and the dwindling public trust in the impartiality of the Court.

Late last year, the British press reported that, at the height of the COVID lockdowns in the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson and members of his staff hosted a series of parties and gatherings at 10 Downing Street, defying the strict protocols instigated by Johnson's own government. What seemed at first like a tabloid story has erupted into a crisis of confidence in Johnson's leadership, and some believe that he could be ousted by his party and removed from power. Rebecca Mead, a New Yorker staff writer based in London, joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the turmoil in the British government, the future of Boris Johnson's political career, and how the pandemic has changed the way we think about our elected leaders.

Since the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection, nineteen states have passed laws that restrict access to voting. Two bills currently before Congress could overturn some of those laws, but neither seems likely to make it through a divided Senate. Earlier this week, President Biden and Vice President Harris travelled to Atlanta to speak about the urgency of protecting voting rights. Jelani Cobb joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the urgent threats to American democracy.

This week, the U.S. Labor Department reported that 4.5 million people left their jobs in November—the most since the government began collecting data, two decades ago. A major reason is the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed the relationship between office workers and their workplaces, and exacerbated challenges faced by workers in health, hospitality, education, and other sectors. Some also argue that the Great Resignation is part of a larger movement against employers who ask more of their employees while providing less in terms of work satisfaction. Cal Newport, a New Yorker contributing writer, joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the Great Resignation, the future of work across professions, and how employees and managers can ease burnout.

On January 6th, as rioters attacked the United States Capitol, many people attempted to communicate with the President through his Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows. Some of those messages are among the thousands of documents that Meadows handed over to the House select committee investigating the events of January 6th. They reveal that Meadows was in touch with the organizers of the Stop the Steal Rally—which precipitated the riot—as well as with several Fox News personalities, conservative activists, and Donald Trump, Jr, who told Meadows that his father “has to lead now.” After surrendering the documents, Meadows suddenly announced that he would not testify before the panel. On Tuesday night, the House voted to recommend holding Meadows in criminal contempt of Congress, and referred his case to the Justice Department for prosecution. Susan B. Glasser, a New Yorker staff writer, joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss what we've learned in recent weeks about the involvement of President Trump and his inner circle in the events of January 6th, and what those revelations might tell us about the future of Trump's relationship with his party.

Lina Khan first became known for a 2017 article she wrote for the Yale Law Journal, called "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox." Then a twenty-seven-year-old law student, she made strong arguments in favor of regulating big tech companies. The article established Khan as a central figure in a new generation of antitrust activists, who charge the government with complicity in corporate consolidation, and see the lack of regulation as contributing to social and economic disparities. Earlier this year, President Biden appointed Khan to be chair of the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces federal antitrust law. Sheelah Kolhatkar joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the history of monopolies in the U.S., how Lina Khan is aggressively pursuing malefactors in Silicon Valley, and the challenges she faces.

This month, Britney Spears was released from the conservatorship that had overseen her finances, communications, and professional and personal life for more than thirteen years. The details of the arrangement were shrouded in mystery and poorly covered by the media. But over the past two years, things started to change, as the #FreeBritney movement, as it was known, increasingly advocated for her autonomy, publicizing such restrictions as Spears's inability to choose her own lawyer. Journalists and documentarians began to look into such abuses, and chronicled Spears's attempts to get out from under the conservatorship's control. In September, Spears's father, Jamie, was removed, and this month the conservatorship was dissolved. Jia Tolentino, a New Yorker staff writer, joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss how the media shaped Spears's life and the role of online movements in effecting change.

In August, 2020, during a period of civil unrest after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the seventeen-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse shot three people, killing two and maiming the third. Rittenhouse's actions ignited a political firestorm. To some, he was a right-wing vigilante radicalized by conservative rhetoric about the threat posed by progressive groups such as Black Lives Matter. To others, he had exercised his constitutional right to defend himself from violent attackers. Rittenhouse became an obsession for pundits and politicians on the left and the right. This month, a jury in Kenosha has been hearing testimony in Rittenhouse's trial, and—barring a mistrial—will rule on his culpability in one of the most publicized and politicized killings in recent memory. Paige Williams joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the case, and the intersection of politics and justice.

This week, the Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated the Democrat Terry McAuliffe to become the next governor of Virginia. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the Democrat Phil Murphy narrowly won a gubernatorial race he was expected to dominate. The results further destabilize a Democratic Party struggling to find consensus on the infrastructure and social-spending bills, which are the backbone of President Biden's legislative agenda. Susan B. Glasser joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss tensions within the Democratic Party, and what this week's election results portend for the 2022 midterms and beyond.

Next Tuesday, Virginia voters will go to the polls to elect a new governor, choosing between the Democrat Terry McAuliffe and the Republican Glenn Youngkin. Pundits have been describing the race as an indicator for the 2022 midterm elections across the country. Both candidates have seized on the broader messages of their parties. Youngkin has used the culture wars to woo voters; McAuliffe has recruited former President Barack Obama to campaign with him. Benjamin Wallace-Wells, a New Yorker staff writer, joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss Virginia's close gubernatorial race, and what it could mean for 2022 and beyond.

Colin Powell was a Vietnam War veteran, a four-star general, and—among other high-level positions in the U.S. government—the Secretary of State under George W. Bush. Powell was well known for his conviction that the United States should go to war only when the likelihood of victory was overwhelming. But then the Bush Administration used his popularity to persuade the public to support the Iraq War, which became one of the greatest military calamities in U.S. history. Dexter Filkins joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss Powell's long record of public service, and how he shaped post-Cold War foreign policy.

The United Kingdom officially withdrew from the European Union on January 31, 2020. On that day, the first cases of COVID-19 were officially confirmed in Britain. Like every other country, the U.K. has had trouble containing the pandemic—the economic devastation, the implementation of lockdowns, the distribution of vaccines. But it has had another challenge, as it tries to redefine its place in the international diplomatic order and in the global economy. All of this has come at a time of deep division in the country's politics: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been accused of failing to address Brexit-related shortages of workers and supplies, and of mismanaging the government's response to the pandemic. And the Labour Party, under the leadership of Keir Starmer, has failed to mount a popular or effective opposition. Sam Knight, a New Yorker staff writer, joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss how Brexit has affected conditions in the U.K., and the state of the Conservative and Labour Parties as the country faces a winter of food and fuel shortages.

What can Harriet Tubman, Martha Coffin Wright, and Frances Seward teach modern day Americans about social justice? Dorothy Wickenden explores their remarkable lives and work in her book, “The Agitators.”

What can Harriet Tubman, Martha Coffin Wright, and Frances Seward teach modern day Americans about social justice? Dorothy Wickenden explores their remarkable lives and work in her book, “The Agitators.” She will lead a virtual talk through the University of Rochester next week, but first, she joins us on Connections. Our guest: Dorothy Wickenden , author of “The Agitators”

Last month, the Wall Street Journal began publishing a series of reports called “The Facebook Files.” Based on leaked internal documents, the series highlights how Facebook has stoked fear, anger, and division in order to increase user engagement—and how it then failed to effectively fight the spread of misinformation and the use of its platform to exploit and abuse vulnerable communities around the world. This week, Frances Haugen, a former data engineer at Facebook, revealed herself to be the whistle-blower who leaked the documents to the Journal, and on Tuesday she provided explosive testimony before a Senate subcommittee. The company has announced no significant plans to change its operating structure. Andrew Marantz joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the latest uproar over Facebook, and what can be done to drastically change its practices.

The first jail on Rikers Island opened in 1932, and the complex has since expanded to include ten jails holding thousands of inmates every day. Violence among Rikers inmates is common, and there are accusations of mistreatment, neglect, and abuse by correction officers and the facility's administrators. Despite promises by city and state officials to reform Rikers, this year alone twelve people held there have died—two in the past week and at least five by suicide. Jennifer Gonnerman joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the history of Rikers, why this year is proving particularly deadly, and what the detention center reveals about the incarceration system in the U.S. today.

Dorothy Wickenden's latest book, "The Agitators," explores the relationship between Harriet Tubman, Martha Coffin Wright, and Frances Seward as they advocated for the abolition of slavery and for women's rights. On this week's Marginalia, Beth Golay welcomes guest host, Hindsight's Dr. Robin Henry, as they visit with Dorothy Wickenden about this history.

Even before his election, Joe Biden described the upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to reform the American economy. Now, after months of negotiations, Biden's trillion-dollar infrastructure plan will soon come up for a vote in the House, and Democrats expect to pass an enormous social-safety-net package through budget reconciliation. At the same time, the federal government is approaching the debt ceiling, and a government shutdown could occur as soon as next week if a stopgap funding bill isn't passed. The New Yorker staff writer John Cassidy joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss Biden's attempt to create a more equitable economy amid some strong opposition within his own party.

Over the past year, public meetings have become scenes of chaos. Debates about the results of the 2020 election, race, abortion, voting access, and the COVID-19 vaccine have erupted in displays of frustration, rage, and sometimes in violence. This week, Evan Osnos, a New Yorker staff writer, published “Wildland: The Making of America's Fury.” It's a portrait of a country in political and moral crisis. Osnos joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the roots of American fear and anger, and what the current manifestations of such emotions reveal about dangerous fault lines in the U.S.

Texas Senate Bill 8, known as the “Texas Heartbeat Act,” allows private citizens in Texas to sue anyone who aids in an abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected. The law effectively outlaws the vast majority of abortions in Texas, but its supporters argue that it does not violate the precedent set by Roe v. Wade, because individuals, not the state, are enforcing the ban. The United States Supreme Court chose not to block the new law from going into effect, but, in a dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor called S.B. 8 “a flagrantly unconstitutional law engineered to prohibit women from exercising their constitutional rights and evade judicial scrutiny.” Margaret Talbot joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the Texas law and the ongoing effort to erode abortion rights.

America's campaign in Afghanistan temporarily defeated Al Qaeda and unseated the Taliban government, but Al Qaeda remains a force in the region, and the speed with which the Taliban have reclaimed control of the country shows their strength. Meanwhile, ISIS has asserted itself in the Middle East and Central Asia, and attacks have been carried out in its name around the world. Last month, as American troops prepared to withdraw from Afghanistan, the group known as ISIS-K launched an attack in Kabul, killing at least a hundred and seventy Afghans and thirteen Americans. Robin Wright joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss what the fall of Afghanistan could mean for global terrorism.

Jiayang Fan immigrated to the United States from China at age seven. Her mother, who had been a doctor, cleaned houses in Greenwich, Connecticut, so that Fan could attend good schools. In 2011, Fan's mother was diagnosed with A.L.S., and Fan oversaw her care as her condition worsened. When the COVID-19 lockdown threatened to separate her mother from the health aides who kept her alive, Fan spoke out on social media. In response, she received a torrent of threats against her life and that of her mother. Fan joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss how she and her mother struggled to adjust to American culture, and how she became a target for anti-American sentiments in China. This episode originally aired on September 10, 2020.

Twelve years ago, David Rohde, then a reporter for the New York Times, was kidnapped by the Taliban outside of Kabul. Seven months later, he escaped confinement alongside the Afghan journalist Tahir Luddin. Luddin subsequently immigrated to the U.S., and has become an American citizen, but his family—including his wife and several of his children—still live in Kabul. With the announcement of the U.S. troop withdrawal in Afghanistan and the growing influence of the Taliban in the country, Rohde has worked with Luddin to bring his family to the United States. But, despite their efforts and the assurances of the U.S. State Department, Luddin's wife and children remain in Afghanistan, and now fear Taliban reprisal for their attempts to leave. David Rohde joins Carla Blumenkranz, filling in for Dorothy Wickenden, to discuss the plight of Afghans who are trying to flee the country, and what the Biden Administration can do now to save the lives of its allies in Afghanistan.

This week, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report confirming what a summer of wildfires, floods, and record temperatures had suggested: the planet is warming fast, and human are unquestionably responsible. However, the window to take action to fight climate change is not yet closed. Elizabeth Kolbert joins Evan Osnos, filling in for Dorothy Wickenden, to discuss the I.P.C.C. report; the politics of climate change; and her recent reporting from the Utah-Arizona border, where climate change has had a surprising effect on a national landmark.

The Agitators – Dorothy Wickedness' new history of three friends who fought for abolition and women's rights. “It's so heart-breaking to think of all the women's live that have been completely lost, and this of course is true for almost every African American, certainly, who are descendants of enslaved people. The histories are gone, mostly, Read More

After Joe Biden won Arizona in 2020, Donald Trump began complaining, contrary to fact, that voter fraud took place there and across the country, stealing the election from him. Four audits have since taken place in Arizona, upholding Biden's victory, but donors are funding yet another ballot count, this time run by the firm Cyber Ninjas. Jane Mayer joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the long-running drama in Arizona, and the dark money behind efforts to stoke distrust in the voting system and to undermine the 2024 election.

In the immediate aftermath of January 6th, politicians from both parties vilified the mob's assault. But Republicans scuttled plans for an independent commission to investigate the riot, and the select committee organized by House Democrats has been repeatedly attacked by Republicans. Still, this week, on the first day of hearings, several officers who attempted to defend the building and members of Congress inside painted a vivid, agonizing picture of what took place. Susan B. Glasser, a New Yorker staff writer, joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the hearings and how some prominent conservatives are beginning to defy Trump on vaccination and on a bipartisan infrastructure deal.

In Auburn, New York, in the mid-nineteenth century, Martha Wright and Frances Seward, inspired by Harriet Tubman's rescues in the dangerous territory of Eastern Maryland, opened their basement kitchens as stations on the Underground Railroad. Tubman was enslaved, Wright was a middle-class Quaker mother of seven, and Seward was the aristocratic wife and moral conscience of her husband, William H. Seward, who served as Lincoln's Secretary of State. All three refused to abide by laws that denied them the rights granted to white men, and they supported each other as they worked to overturn slavery and achieve full citizenship for blacks and women. The Agitators opens when Tubman is enslaved and Wright and Seward are young women bridling against their traditional roles. It ends decades later, after Wright's and Seward's sons—and Tubman herself—have taken part in three of the defining engagements of the Civil War. Through the sardonic and anguished accounts of the protagonists, reconstructed from their letters, diaries, and public appearances, we see the most explosive debates of the time, and portraits of the men and women whose paths they crossed: Lincoln, Seward, Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, John Brown, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and others. Tubman, embraced by Seward and Wright and by the radical network of reformers in western New York State, settled in Auburn and spent the second half of her life there. With extraordinarily compelling storytelling reminiscent of Doris Kearns Goodwin's No Ordinary Time and David McCullough's John Adams, The Agitators brings a vivid new perspective to the epic American stories of abolition, the Underground Railroad, women's rights activism, and the Civil War. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pbliving/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pbliving/support

https://www.alainguillot.com/dorothy-wickenden/ Dorothy Wickenden is an author of three books and executive editor of The New Yorker since 1996. Her latest book is The Agitators: Three Friends Who Fought for Abolition and Women's Rights. Get the book here: https://amzn.to/2TfpI9l

This week, protests erupted in cities and towns across Cuba as people responded to food and medicine shortages, and to a gutted economy made even worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, Haiti is facing widespread instability after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. President Biden's foreign policy thus far has focused on the threats posed by Russia and China, but now Biden finds himself confronting immediate challenges only ninety miles south of the U.S. border. Jon Lee Anderson joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss Cuba, Haiti, and the past and future of American foreign policy in the region.

(Note: This discussion first aired back in March.) Our guest is Dorothy Wickenden, an author and editor at The New Yorker Magazine. She tells us about her new book, which explores various interlinked facets of American history, including abolition, the Underground Railroad, the early women's rights movement, and the Civil War. As the noted Yale historian David W. Blight has written of this book: "As a revolutionary, Harriet Tubman made many allies, none more important than her Auburn, New York, neighbors Martha Wright and Frances Seward. Wright, a middle-class Quaker, and Seward, the wealthy wife of a famous statesman, learned their activism from the abolition and women's rights movements that surrounded them, as well as from Tubman's incomparable example. This is a unique, lyrically written, exhaustively researched triple-biography of epic proportions about three women, mothers and organizers all, woven into a single narrative about their activist struggles before and during the Civil

In September, 2020, the writer Christopher Rufo appeared on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” to discuss the threat posed by “critical race theory.” Rufo had come across the term while looking into the origins of the anti-racism movement, and saw its potential as a conservative target. In the months since, critical race theory has been condemned by President Trump, outlawed by several state legislatures, and endlessly debated in town halls and school-board meetings. The uproar, largely manufactured by Rufo and amplified by conservative activists in government and in the media, goes hand in hand with the controversies around the Times' 1619 Project, and with the resistance to the movement to take down Confederate monuments. Benjamin Wallace-Wells, a New Yorker staff writer, joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the furor over critical race theory, and how to understand the current rethinking of the country's past.

Over the first five months of Biden's presidency, with the Democrats holding the slimmest possible majority in the Senate, President Biden has consistently run into the resistance of one man: Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Biden's policy agenda requires cooperation from every Democrat in the Senate, but Manchin, a moderate who values bipartisanship above almost all else, has broken with the president on staff appointments, raising the corporate tax rate, and eliminating the filibuster, and he has forced the Democrats to change legislation on COVID-relief and election reform. Evan Osnos joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss Manchin's emergence as the most powerful man in the Senate, and how Biden is attempting to get him on board. 

Merrick Garland made his legal reputation as a temperate moderate dedicated to keeping politics out of the justice system. Yet in the past few years, he has found himself in the center of two of the most fiercely partisan episodes in recent history. First, his nomination to the Supreme Court was blocked by obstructionist Republicans. And now, as Attorney General, he has to craft a legal response to the excesses of the Trump Administration. He has already become a target for conservatives, who are portraying him as Joe Biden's lackey, and progressives, who view him as insufficiently tough on the former president. David Rohde, an executive editor of New Yorker dot com, joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the minefield that Garland is navigating, and how his decisions will affect the country in the coming months and years.

Last month, Naomi Osaka, the second-ranked women's tennis player in the world, announced that she would not speak to the press during the French Open. The referee fined her $15,000, and the leaders of the four Grand Slam tournaments threatened her with harsher penalties. In response, Osaka dropped out. Her withdrawal has brought further attention to the power dynamics of professional sports, where wealthy league bosses, the media, and fans exert tremendous pressure on players.Louisa Thomas joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss how athletes are using their fame and visibility to reshape professional sports.

A semblance of pre-pandemic life has resumed across the country, but the economic signs are mixed, even after the strong jobs report for May. Supply chains are bottlenecked, unemployment is just under six per cent, and fiscal conservatives warn about inflation. President Biden has stated to Congress, in defense of his stimulus plans and of his six-trillion-dollar budget, that “trickle-down economics has never worked,” and that the best way to strengthen the economy is from the bottom up, not the top down. John Cassidy joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the political perils and promise of Bidenomics.

Welcome to 2021! We're kicking off our third season with a look back at the best books we read in 2020!  Click the link to purchase the book from our store, or click the "Libro.fm" link to get the Audiobook on Libro.fm. Thanks for shopping local! Books Mentioned During This Episode RECENT READS Ryan, https://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/staff/ryan-elizabeth-clark A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske (November 2021) (libro.fm) Devolution by Max Brooks (libro.fm) Kelso, https://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/staff/kelso Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (libro.fm) Kindred by Octavia Butler (libro.fm) One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (libro.fm) Hillary, https://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/staff/hillary A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders (libro.fm) Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (libro.fm) The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths (libro.fm) The Agitators by Dorothy Wickenden (libro.fm) Real Life by Brandon Taylor (libro.fm) OUR FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2020 The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (libro.fm) Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (libro.fm) The Unwilling by Kelly Braffett (libro.fm) Sword in the Stars by A.R. Capetta & Cory McCarthy (libro.fm) The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (libro.fm) A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow (libro.fm) A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green (libro.fm) You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson (libro.fm) Wonderland by Zoje Stage (libro.fm) Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth (libro.fm) Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots (libro.fm) The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (libro.fm) Close to the Knives by David Wojnarowicz Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier (libro.fm) These Women by Ivy Pochoda (libro.fm) Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis (libro.fm) True Grit by Charles Portis (libro.fm) Under the Rainbow by Celia Laskey (libro.fm) Scapegracers by Hannah Abigail Clarke  The Bright Lands by John Fram (libro.fm) Dune by Frank Herbert (libro.fm) The Way Back by Gavriel Savit (libro.fm) Long Bright River by Liz Moore (libro.fm) True Story by Kate Reed Petty (libro.fm) The Cold Millions by Jess Walter (libro.fm) Deacon King Kong by James McBride (libro.fm) Piranesi by Susanna Clarke  The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (libro.fm) Afterland by Lauren Beukes (libro.fm) The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson (libro.fm) Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony (libro.fm) You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce (libro.fm) Other Links Gibson's Bookstore Website Shop The Laydown Purchase Gift Certificates!  Browse our website by Category! Order some curated bundles! Donate to the bookstore! Check out our Events Calendar! Gibson's Instagram The Laydown Instagram Facebook Twitter Libro.fm (Our Audiobook Platform) Use the code “LAYDOWN” for 3 audiobooks for the price of 1!  Email us at thelaydownpodcast@gmail.com