STORY IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE

#1001 Stacy Schiff
The American revolution had many fathers. But author Stacy Schiff paints a picture of Samuel Adams—the cash-strapped publisher and political leader from Boston—as, perhaps, the essential founder whose spirit and maneuvering shaped so many of the seminal events of the revolutionary era.

#1002 Alanna Mitchel
In an age of "fake news" and so called “truthiness,” the world sometimes feels untethered from reality. Science writer Alanna Mitchell uses her reporting and storytelling to ground her audience in science, even while her words reconnect us to our shared humanity and our relationship to the natural world.

#1003 Ali Kadivar
Since the fall of 2022, the women of Iran have confronted the authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran after one young woman died in the state’s custody. Ali Kadivar of Boston College views the advocacy of those brave women in the context of the struggle for democracy around the world.

#1004 Holden Thorp
Dr. Holden Thorp, Editor-in-Chief of the Science family of journals, discusses the importance of science during this time of climate change, pandemic and misinformation spread by doubters and those with political agendas.

#1005 David Kertzer
When Pope Pious XII died, the Catholic Church sealed his documents until 2020. Brown University’s David Kertzer was among the first to gain access to those documents when they were unsealed and his new book reveals what the Pope knew and did while World War II ravaged Europe.

#1006 Mike McIntire
Mike McIntire of the New York Times reports on the chilling effect open carry laws are having on public debates across the United States.

#1007 Gary Hart
With authoritarian impulses rising in the United States and around the world, former Senator Gary Hart argues that the very ideals of America's founding–including a commitment to the will of the people–can redeem American democracy and keep the light of freedom burning for all the world to see.

#1008 Jeffrey Veidlinger
In the years between 1918 and 1921 more than 100,000 Jews were murdered in pogroms across Ukraine. Acclaimed University of Michigan Historian Jeffrey Veidlinger explains their significance to the history of the 20th century and why this dark chapter of European antisemitism was lost to history for so long.

#1009 Tara Isabella Burton
In her coming-of-age novel “The World Cannot Give,” theologian and editor Tara Isabella Burton explores religious zealotry, queer identity and the pursuit of transcendence.

#1010 Pete Hammond
In 2022, movie-goers returned to theaters left empty by the pandemic. Pete Hammond reviews the state of the film industry and this year's best picture nominees.

#1011 Karyl McBride
Karyl McBride, author of “Will the Drama Ever End?” and a licensed marriage and family therapist, discusses the harmful effects of parental narcissism and how to heal from it.

#1012 Clint Smith
Slavery has been called America's original sin. Author Clint Smith explores the way different places in the United States tell that history.

#1013 Max Boot
Over the last two years, from the steps of the U.S. Capitol to the streets of Kiev, democracy has been under assault. Author and columnist Max Boot reviews the struggle and the links between events overseas and the health of American democracy at home.

#1014 Steve Scully
Three months into the GOP-controlled House of Representatives, veteran newsman Steve Scully reviews what has changed in Washington, and what has stayed the same, casting an early eye on the politics leading to the 2024 election.

#1015 Sandeep Jauhar
Alzheimer's disease has touched the lives of countless people across the world. Cardiologist and author Dr. Sandeep Jauhar chronicles his relationship with his father, who died of Alzheimer's, and brings us into the history and science of brain degeneration.

#1016 Jamilia Norman
Backyards can offer a tranquil escape from the demands of modern life. But Atlanta-based urban farmer Jamila Norman says backyard spaces can be transformed into gardens that can also become important food sources.

#1017 Jessica Grose
In her new book, “Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood,” New York Times staff writer Jessica Grose explores the crushing burdens society places on women with children.

#1018 Azar Nafisi
Great writers have an ability to transport their audience to other worlds simply by the conjuring of words and imagination. Best-selling author Azar Nafisi not only moves her readers, but offers a defense of democracy and a celebration of reading great books at the same time.

#1019 Jake Bittle
In his new book about climate change, "The Great Migration," Jake Bittle examines the crisis of migration in America as people are displaced from their homes by extreme weather.

#1020 Ilyon Woo
In her book, “Master Slave Husband Wife,” author Ilyon Woo tells the true story of Ellen and William Craft, who escaped slavery before the Civil War with a cunning and daring plan.

#1021 Jamie MoCrazy
Skier Jamie MoCrazy was headed toward the Olympics when, at the age of 22, she was left paralyzed and in a coma after a downhill accident. She suffered a traumatic brain injury and had to re-learn how to do pretty much everything. Today, fully recovered after a year of rehab, she heads a foundation devoted to TBI awareness and support.

#1022 Peter Kramer
There are few truths more intimate than the truth shared between a therapist and her patient. Psychiatrist Peter Kramer turns his clinical and literary skills to the imagined case of a narcissistic national leader that explores the price of truth telling in an era of unrestrained lies.

#1023 Matt Watters and Shafo Sahil
When American forces left Afghanistan in 2021, it set-off a desperate scramble to bring to safety allies who served alongside American military forces. U.S. Army veteran Matt Waters and his former interpreter Shafo Sahil describe the bonds between allies forged in war.

#1024 Joshua Bennett
Poetry comes in many forms. Award winning poet and slam poetry champion Joshua Bennett explores the history of "spoken word" and its expansion of the contours of poetry with its ability to capture the urgent, social issues of the day.