(10/21/21) Sibling language experts and regular contributors to the show Kathryn and Ross Petras are the authors of the New York Times bestseller You're Saying It Wrong: A Pronunciation Guide to the 150 Most Commonly Mispronounced Words—and Their Tangled Histories of Misuse as well as Awkword Moments: A Lively Guide to the 100 Terms Smart People Should Know. In this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI, Kathy and Ross take your calls on the latest language trends.

Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI Radio in New York

Kathryn and Ross Petras take your calls on the latest language trends

(10/19/21) Chude Pam Allen and Robert Allen’s new book Reluctant Reformers: Racism and Social Reform Movements in the United States, an updated edition of the latter’s iconic 1974 title, explores the racism that drove the US political system from the early 19th century to the end of World War II. In addition to a forward by New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie, this new printing includes a postscript describing the Black freedom movement of the 1960s and the central role it has played in the development of today’s radical social justice movements. Join us for a conversation with Chude Pam Allen and the book’s editor Steven Hiatt in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

Chude Pam Allen & Steven Hiatt on Reluctant Reformers: Racism & Social Reform Movements in the US

(10/15/21) From the early 1980s to the mid-1990s, Bryan Miller was a household name among East Coast foodies as the restaurant critic for the New York Times. Over the course of his decade as a columnist, he dined out more than 5,000 times in eateries around the world. Wine Spectator once called him “the most powerful restaurant critic in America.” And for much of that time, he wanted to die. Bryan’s new book Dining in the Dark: A Famed Restaurant Critic's Struggle with and Triumph over Depression chronicles his battle with the mental illness Bipolar II that changed his life forever. Join us for an honest look at the often-invisible suffering people with debilitating depression face in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

former New York Times food critic Byan J. Miller on his new book Dining in the Dark

(10/14/21) From the first Women’s March the day after the 2017 inauguration to the Blue Wave in the 2018 midterms or the flood of female presidential candidates in 2020, women from across the ideological spectrum became energized in a way America had not witnessed in decades in response to the presidency of Donald Trump. They marched, they organized, they donated vast sums of cash and they ran for office. They formed new alliances. And they were a major reason why he was voted out. Featuring exclusive interviews with key figures such as Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams and Nancy Pelosi, Resistance: How Women Saved Democracy from Donald Trump, the new book from Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, looks at this recent explosion of female-centered activism and what it means for the future. Join us for a look at women’s role in the refutation of Trumpism in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

Jennifer Rubin on Resistance: How Women Saved Democracy from Donald Trump

(10/8/21) Companies hold the power to shape our daily lives, the state holds the power to make them fall in line and the people hold the power to choose their leaders. But now, this balance has shaken loose. Through interviews with some of the world’s most influential thinkers and innovative economic and political models, The Raging 2020s: Companies, Countries, People—and the Fight for Our Future, the new book from former Senior Advisor for Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Alec Ross, proposes a new social contract―one that resets the relationship between corporations, the politicians and the rest of us. Join us for a look at a different way forward in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

Alec Ross on The Raging 2020s: Companies, Countries, People—and the Fight for Our Future

(10/7/21) Digital technology, big data, big tech, machine learning and AI are revolutionizing both the tools of economics and the phenomena it seeks to measure. In her book Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be former advisor to the UK Treasury and the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge Diane Coyle explores the enormous problems facing economics today. Join us for a look at how economics can provide a positive road map in the 21st century in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

Diane Coyle on Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be

(10/6/21)“Whatever the justification for foreign intervention, the results are the same,” Ian Buruma writes in his Project Syndicate op-ed The Colonial Trap. “Dependency—not just on another state, but on NGOs and other well-meaning institutions that do what governments should be doing—fuels corruption…The colonial elites, bloated with free money, have no legitimacy in the eyes of their compatriots. Rebels and revolutionaries may have more, but only know how to rule by force. The imperial power is trapped. Leaving is almost always bad. Staying is worse.” Join us for a look at whether the current administration can avoid the foreign policy mistakes of the past in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

Ian Buruma on The Colonial Trap

(10/4/21) There’s no shortage of false prophets out there serving up misguided dieting advice. Count calories! Cut carbs! Exercise more! Skip meals! Add this powder to your water! Pop a pill! Yet as more people try diligently to follow this advice, waistlines continue to expand. In Supersized Lies, Robert J. Davis, PhD, aka The Healthy Skeptic, shows you why this inability to lose weight isn't your fault as he reveals how hype, half-truths, and unproven solutions have steered you into fruitless quests inflicting emotional and often physical harm. Join us for a hard look at the flawed ideas at the heart of most diet plans in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

Robert J. Davis on Supersized Lies: How Myths about Weight Loss Are Keeping Us Fat

(9/30/21) Drone pilots who carry out targeted assassinations, undocumented immigrants who man the kill floors of industrial slaughterhouses, guards who patrol the wards of the United States’ most violent and abusive prisons—in his new book Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America, journalist Eyal Press looks at the state of America through the stories of people who perform society’s most ethically troubling jobs. As Press shows, we are increasingly shielded and distanced from an array of morally questionable activities that other, less privileged people perform in our name. Join is for a look at the lives of the people doing society’s dirty work in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

Eyal Press on Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America

(9/28/21) US soldiers are stationed in over 800 locations across the world to enforce our country’s concept of the rule of law. In his new book The Spoils of War: Power, Profit and the American War Machine, Harper’s Magazine editor Andrew Cockburn examines the true intentions behind Congress’s adventures in “nation building.” Join us for a hard look at the largest military machine in history—us, in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

Andrew Cockburn on The Spoils of War: Power, Profit and the American War Machine

(9/23/21)The streets of Brooklyn may not be considered ideal terrain for cultivating wine grapes, but what about our rooftops? In this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI, Rooftop Reds director of operations Clara Kann and founder Devin Shoemaker join us to discuss their unique approach to winemaking.

Clara Kann and Devin Shoemaker on cultivating wine on a Brooklyn rooftop

(9/22/21) George Washington is said to have remarked that anyone who attempted to provide an accurate account of the American Revolution would be accused of writing fiction. Of course, no one called the uprising from American colonists by that name or referred to the struggle as the Revolutionary War at the time. John Adams insisted that the British were the real revolutionaries, for attempting to impose radical change without the consent of the colonies. In his new book The Cause: The American Revolution and its Discontents, 1773-1783 Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning historical scholar Joseph J. Ellis of Mount Holyoke College takes a fresh look at the events between 1773 and 1783, recovering a war more brutal than anything we learned in grade school. Join us for a critical look at the stories we have long told about our origins as a nation in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

Joseph J. Ellis on The Cause: The American Revolution and its Discontents, 1773-1783

(9/14/21) Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are), the new film by Emmy-nominated director Rachel Boynton (Big Men, Our Brand is Crisis) considers how Americans tell the story of the Civil War and its legacy of slavery and racism. Join us for a look at our own history in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

Rachel Boynton on her documentary Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are)

(9/13/21) You may think the story of human evolution begins following the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs. Yet, over the last 20 years scientists have made discoveries that have forced them to rethink that narrative. In her new book, Beasts Before Us: The Untold Story of Mammal Origins and Evolution, palaeontologist and the Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow at the Oxford University Elsa Panciroli charts the emergence of mammals from their emergence underwater to their evolution as mostly land-dwelling creatures. Join us for a reconsideration of where we came from in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

Elsa Panciroli on Beasts Before Us: The Untold Story of Mammal Origins and Evolution

(9/10/21) In 1961, at the height of the Cold War, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba. For over five decades, the standoff continued before Barack Obama normalized relations with the island in 2014 only to have the policy reversed by his predecessor. In her new book Cuba: An American History, historian and the Julius Silver Professor of History and Latin American and Caribbean History at New York University Ada Ferrer examines the island’s past and its relationship with the United States. Join us for a look at the last 500 years of Cuban history and what it can tell us about the future of diplomacy between the two nations in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

Ada Ferrer of NYU on her new book Cuba: An American History

Leonard Lopate, the Peabody and James Beard Award-winning broadcaster, is back on WBAI where he began his radio career. Tune in weekdays from 1-2pm at 99.5fm New York or you can listen to the show live at WBAI.org.

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Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI Radio in New York

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