1A

Show/hide descriptions

• Up one level
• *Can The Democracy Survive The Internet?: Lessons From 2016
  WAMU 1A, June 6, 2017 The 2016 Election revealed the surprising ways the internet can shape Americans’ political views. Voters were exposed to strategically placed misinformation, propaganda posts composed by automated programs and an increased volume on hate speech and hostile political rhetoric. Stanford law professor Nate Persily has written about this phenomenon in a journal article called “Can Democracy Survive The Internet?” If what we saw in 2016 was just the beginning, what can we expect the next national election to be like? With all the political noise the internet is generating, can true democracy still be heard? Host: Joshua Johnson. Guests: Nate Persily James B. McClatchy professor of law, Stanford University Zeynep Tufekci Author, "Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest"; associate professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Information and Library Science; faculty associate at the Harvard Berkman Klein Center Wael Ghonim Internet activist Aaron Sharockman Executive director, Politifact
• *More People, More Problems?
  WAMU 1A, with Joshua Johnson, January 3, 2018 When it was first published 50 years ago, Paul Ehrlich’s book, “The Population Bomb,” set off a panic. People stopped having children, sometimes not by choice. While some parents in the United States opted in to childlessness, in India, the panic led to forced sterilization. Ehrlich’s most dire predictions may not have come true (yet). But the question of whether the planet is getting too crowded remains in the public consciousness. This topic is one of the most-requested by 1A listeners. And it’s also the subject of new major motion picture. Host Joshua Johnson; Guests: Joel Cohen Professor of populations at Rockefeller University and Columbia University; author, "How Many People Can the Earth Support?" Robert Engelman Senior fellow, Worldwatch Institute; senior fellow, Population Institute; author: "More: Population, Nature and What Women Want"; @RobertEngelman Kathleen Mogelgaard Consultant on population and environment issues; adjunct professor, University of Maryland; associate, World Resources Institute
• *Separate And Unequal: The Kerner Commission 50 Years Later
  Fifty years later, the Kerner Commission report is again big news. Many of the issues it raised still exist in American society today and it’s unclear what role the federal government should play or might be expected to play to help address institutional racism. We revisit the recommendations of the Kerner Commission in the context of the ongoing struggle for racial equality. Host Joshua Johnson. Guests: Steven Gillon History professor, University of Oklahoma; author of numerous books, including his newest "Separate and Unequal: The Kerner Commission and the Unraveling of American Liberalism"; resident historian for The History Channel. Valerie Wilson Director, Economic Policy Institute's Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy (PREE); @ValerieRWilson Ronald Davis Past director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) during Obama administration; Executive Director, Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing; Retired police captain; current principal, 21st century policing LLC; @rondaviscp
• *The KKK And White Supremacy Today
  WAMU 1A, with Joshua Johnson, January 3, 2018 Author Linda Gordon illuminates the past in her new book, “The Second Coming of the KKK: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition.” At its peak in the 1920s, Klansmen — 30,000 of them — marched on Washington. Some chapters even sponsored baseball teams and beauty pageants. Gordon writes that, in the heyday of the KKK, it was a part of everyday, ordinary American life, even after federal efforts to outlaw the group. And the Klan was nothing if not organized in the decade leading up to the Great Depression. Today’s hate groups are becoming more visible. Are they as unified? Host: Joshua Johnson; Guest: Linda Gordon Professor of History, NYU; author, "The Second Coming of the KKK: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition" Heidi Beirch Director of The Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center
• *The Long History And Lasting Legacy Of Housing Segregation
  NPR 1A, with Joshua Johnson, May 10, 2017 In his new book Richard Rothstein explains how, for more than 100 years, the U.S. government practiced, enforced and allowed segregation in housing. Segregated public housing, whites-only suburbs, racially biased loan programs and a host of other practices hobbled African-Americans, Rothstein argues, leading to the deep socioeconomic and geographic divides that exist in the United States today. Rothstein calls his book “a forgotten history” because it was once known. Acknowledging and understanding this history again, he says, is the first step toward finding a solution. Guests Richard Rothstein research associate, Economic Policy Institute; senior fellow, Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; author "The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America" Jim Carr Coleman A. Young Endowed Chair and Professor in Urban Affairs, Wayne State University; Visiting Fellow with the Roosevelt Institute; consultant to the National Association of Real Estate Brokers Nela Richardson chief economist at Redfin Sherrilyn Ifill president and director-counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
• *The Persistence Of Segregated Schools
  WAMU 1A, Nov. 29, 2018. Host Joshua Johnson speaks with MacArthur "Genius" Award winner Nikole Hannah-Jones, who reports that “schools with large numbers of black and Latino kids are less likely to have experienced teachers, advanced courses, instructional materials and adequate facilities", and University of Chicago assistant professor and sociologist Eve Ewing. A companion story about the Longview school district in Texas is at https://the1a.org/shows/2018-11-29/school-segregation-texas-tribune
• * WAMU Introduces A New Show For A Changing America
• *Your Ukraine Questions, Answered (46 min)
  WAMU 1A, with host Joshua Johnson, 10/9/2019.
  Why has the United States supplied weapons to Ukraine? Why is Ukraine seemingly a hub for American business? We answer your questions about the European country and its place in the latest Trump administration scandal.
  Produced by Haili Blassingame.Guests:
  Nina Jankowicz Global fellow, the Wilson Center; author of “How to Lose an Information War.”; @wiczipedia
  Serhii Plokhii Professor, Ukrainian History; director, the Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University.
  David Herszenhorn Chief Brussels correspondent, POLITICO; former Moscow correspondent, the New York Times.; @herszenhorn
• #Distracted: Are Smartphones In Schools A Good Idea?
  Tuesday, Nov 28 2017 Cellphones in the classroom were once considered little more than a distraction for students, but the devices have now become integrated into lessons. They can be great for research, calculations and social interaction with classmates. Still, a debate rages between educators, parents and students about the benefits of having smartphone access during the school day. Is increased tolerance of devices that allow kids to text, post to social media and watch funny videos while they’re supposed to be focused on their lessons creating a less effective learning environment? Is there a responsible way to keep smartphones on in school? Host Joshua Johnson; Guests: Diana Smith Principal, Washington Latin Public Charter School in Washington D.C.; @WashingtonLatin Lydia Moore Ninth-grade student, Washington Latin Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. Matt Miles AP government high school teacher, Chantilly Highschool, Fairfax, Virginia; co-author, "Screen Schooled: Two Veteran Teachers Expose How Technology Overuse Is Making Our Kids Dumber" Dr. David Greenfield Founder, The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction, and assistant clinical professor of psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine; @CITACenter
• 1A: Cradle To Grade: Living A Lifetime Of Student Loan Debt
  WAMU 1A, November 26, 2018. Americans owe more than $1.5 trillion in student loans. And more than ten million Americans are in deferment, forbearance or default. But it’s not just 22-year-olds fresh out of undergrad who find themselves owing. People over 60 are rapidly accumulating student loan debt, whether it’s for continuing education or — more often — taking out loans for a child or grandchild. Host: Joshua Johnson. Guests: Lori Trawinski Director of banking and finance, AARP Public Policy Institute; certified financial planner; @loritrawinski, Robert Kelchen Assistant professor, higher education, Seton Hall University; author, "Higher Education Accountability"; @rkelchen
• 1A: Documentarian Stanley Nelson Showcases The Legacy Of Black Entrepreneurs (30 min)
  WAMU 1A, with host Joshua Johnson.
  Guest: Stanley Nelson Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker, "BOSS: The Black Experience in Business." His other films include “Freedom Riders,” “Wounded Knee” and “Miles Davis: The Birth of Cool.”
  Show produced by Paige Osburn. Text by Kathryn Fink.
• 1A: Why New Hampshire Students Have So Much Loan Debt
  WAMU, 1A, November 26, 2018. The Institute for College Access and Success reports that college graduates in the Granite State have the fourth highest average student loan debt: $34,000. The cost of attending college in New Hampshire is so high that many students leave the state to get their degree. And many aren’t coming back. Last month, we spoke with educators and students at a live-audience event at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, in partnership with New Hampshire Public Radio. Host: Joshua Johnson, with Guests: Todd Leach Chancellor, University System of New Hampshire; chair, New Hampshire College and University Council; Chair, New England Board of Higher Education; Melinda Treadwell Interim president, Keene State College; @kscprestreadwel; Kenneth Ferreira Associate vice president, Student Financial Services, Franklin Pierce University; president, New Hampshire Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators; José Calvo Senior and political science major, University of New Hampshire; member, education committee, New Hampshire Governor Millennial Council; @josecalvonh
• Algorithms: Almost Human? Live
  WAMU 1A, March 11, 2019
  Joshua Johnson speaks to experts on algorithms about how they’re developed and whom they affect. Guests
  Kartik Hosanagar Author of “A Human’s Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control;” professor of technology and digital business at Wharton
  Safiya Noble, PhD Author of "Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism"; associate professor, UCLA; visiting faculty, the University of Southern California;
• American Dream, American Myth: The Decline Of Upward Mobility
  1A, with Joshua Johnson, Sept. 21, 2017 Is the deck stacked against upward mobility? Guests Elizabeth Valdivia Security guard and former secretary in Mountain View, California; member Service Employees International Union Aparna Mathur Resident scholar in economic policy studies, American Enterprise Institute @aparnamath @aparnamath Neil Irwin Senior economics correspondent, The New York Times @Neil_Irwin @aparnamath @Neil_Irwin Rick Wartzman Author, "The End of Loyalty: The Rise and Fall of Good Jobs in America"; director, Center for a Functioning Society at The Drucker Institute of Claremont Graduate University @aparnamath @rwartzman John Bartlett COSTCO warehouse manager in Redmond, Washington; has worked for COSTCO for about 30 years since he was 18-years old
• A New Show Goes Inside The Teenage Brain
  WAMU 1A, Jan 11, 2018. Host: Joshua Johnson. Journalist Dina Temple-Raston is asking teenagers an age-old question: What were you thinking? But she’s not asking about a reckless decision that led to a fender-bender with the family car. Instead, she’s talking to teenagers who decided to join ISIS, or who brought guns to school. In her new podcast, “What Were You Thinking? Inside the Adolescent Brain,” Temple-Raston uses psychology, neuroscience and conversation to get inside teenage minds. We talk to her about the series, and her reporting on how the next generation thinks. Guest: Dina Temple-Raston NPR counterterrorism correspondent; host of "What Were You Thinking? Inside The Adolescent Brain"; author of "The Jihad Next Door: The Lackawanna Six and Rough Justice in the Age of Terror"
• Be PrEPared
  The 1A, WAMU, March 13, 2017 There’s a an HIV prevention medication with a success rate of over 90 percent. Still, very few people actually know about pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. We’ll talk with experts about what exactly this pill does, who uses it, and what’s in store for it’s future. Host: Joshua Johnson. Guests: Dr. Anthony Fauci Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health Matthew Rose Policy Associate, National Minority AIDS Council. Ben Ryan reporter, POZ Magazine. Evan J. Peterson author, "The PrEP Diaries: A Safe(r) Sex Memoir."
• Big Tobacco’s Big Apology
  WAMU 1A, Tuesday, Nov 28 2017 After more than a decade of appeals, and nearly two decades after they were first ordered to do so, big tobacco companies are running ads admitting that smoking is deadly and addictive, and their manufacturers know this. Despite the warnings, an estimated one fifth of Americans still light up. But these smokers aren’t evenly distributed across the country, or across class lines. As the Pew Research Center notes, there are differences in who smokes, and where they do it. From Pew: Smoking rates today are highest among the poor and less-educated, according to government data. For instance, 29% of people living below the official poverty level smoke, versus 17.9% of people at or above poverty. People whose highest educational level is a General Educational Development (GED) certificate — typically high-school dropouts — are nine times more likely to smoke than people with graduate degrees (45.3% versus 5%). Smoking rates vary considerably by geography. The highest rates in the 2009-2011 period were in nonurban counties in the South (31.9%) and small towns in the South (31%) and Midwest (30%). The lowest rates are in big Western cities (15%) and their suburban fringes (16.9%). Will these warnings lead people to quit? Host: Joshua Johnson; Guests: Robin Koval CEO and president, Truth Initiative Maggie Fox Senior health writer, NBC News Terry Pechacek Health Management and Policy professor, Georgia State University
• Calling Out Callout Culture
  WAMU 1A, May 14, 2019
  Author Irshad Manji says it’s time to call out “callout culture.”
  And she takes a surprising approach to the structure of “Don’t Label Me,” where she lays out her rationale for that claim.
  The New York Times wrote that it “unfolds as a conversation between the author and her dog, Lily, about divisive social issues like identity, diversity and religious politics.”
  Produced by Bianca Martin. Host Joshua Johnson. Guest Irshad Manji Author, "Don't Label Me: An Incredible Conversation for Divided Times;" founder, Moral Courage Project; @IrshadManji
  
• Conservatives Make The Case For Action On Climate Change
  NPR/WAMU 1A, with Joshua Johnson, Feb 16 2017 Prominent Republicans — from former Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson to the former chair of the board of Walmart — are urging the White House and Congress to adopt a new market-based plan to address climate change. It establishes a carbon tax and dividend program. But would that reduce emissions? Will Republicans in office go for it? And what would happen to existing environmental regulations? Joshua Johnson with guests: Ted Halstead founder, president and CEO of the Climate Leadership Council, a research and advocacy organization. He founded New America, a public policy think-tank. He is author of "The Radical Center: The Future of American Politics." Nathaniel Keohane Vice president, Global Climate, Environmental Defense Fund. Chris Mooney energy and environment reporter, Washington Post Greg Mankiw Professor of economics, Harvard University; former Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers from 2003 to 2005 under President George W. Bush. Kyle Meyaard-Schaap National organizer and spokesperson, Young Evangelicals for Climate Action
• Craig From Craigslist Talks Philanthropy, The Election and More
  WAMU 1A, Thursday, Aug 22 2019
  Craigslist founder Craig Newmark was a programmer at IBM for 17 years.... In 1995, the world was first introduced to Craigslist. Newmark now works with his charity, Craig Newmark Philanthropies. He personally has given over $100 million away. Host Joshua Johnson.
  
• Daring To Date During The Delta Variant
  NPR, 1A, 8/26/2021
  Even before the pandemic, getting (and staying) in a relationship had its challenges. Now there’s the added task of navigating things like vaccination status, mask mandates, and the social anxiety that comes after a long lockdown.
  Host Jenn White.Guests
  Aida Manduley, LCSW, therapist; sexuality educator
  Logan Ury, behavioral scientist; director of relationship science, Hinge; author "How to Not Die Alone: The Surprising Science That Will Help You Find Love”
  Carrie Lee Riggins, former New York City ballet dancer
  Solomon Missouri, minister
  An earlier program on this topic is at https://the1a.org/segments/we-couldnt-help-but-wonder-love-in-the-time-of-coronavirus/
• Do Guns Really Make Us Safer?
  1A, Oct. 9, 2017 After the mass shooting in Las Vegas, stocks were hot. Shares in some gun companies jumped, and bump stocks — which allow semi-automatic weapons to fire faster — are selling more briskly at some gun shops. But do guns, or ways to fire them faster, make us safer? Is “a good guy with a gun” likely to stop a “bad guy with a gun?” Research suggesting that this might be the case has been roundly criticized by academics, but these numbers don’t seem to deter many shoppers… or lawmakers. So, if it came down to it, how likely is a good, armed citizen to stop a shooter? Host: Joshua Johnson; Guests: John Donohue, Professor, Stanford Law School Kris Brown, Co-president, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence John Lott, President, Crime Prevention Research Center Porochista Khakpour, Writer-in-residence, Northwestern University Suzanna Hupp, Author, “From Luby’s to the Legislature: One Women’s Fight Against Gun Control”
• Excellence explained, with Tom Peters
  Joshua Johnson hosts guest Tom Peters on the 1A, WAMU, NPR; April 2, 2018 Tom Peters has written more than a dozen books on business management, including the international bestseller, "In Search of Excellence" and his most recent, "The Excellence Dividend".
• Fighting Central America’s Drug Cartels And Caring For Victims Of Violence
  6/15/2017 Americans’ appetite for illegal drugs is one of the driving factors behind violent competition among drug cartels in Central America. Victims of that violence often seek refuge across the southern border of the U.S., but Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly says immigration policy north of Panama needs to change. He discusses plans to slow the flow of people from Central America entering the U.S. Plus, the border battle in context: an update on President Trump’s proposed border wall and stories from the Central American refugee crisis. Host: Joshua Johnson. Guests: John Kelly Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Adriana Beltrán Senior Associate, Washington Office for Latin America (WOLA)’s Citizen Security Program María Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila Former Foreign Minister of El Salvador; Co-Chair, Atlantic Council’s Northern Triangle Security and Economic Opportunity Task Force Armando Trull Senior reporter on race and identity at WAMU; has spent the past four years covering emigration from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala
• Has America Lost Its Mind? (35 min)
  Joshua Johnson, host; 1A, WAMU, Sep. 6, 2017 Journalist, author and radio host Kurt Andersen had an epiphany when he saw the first episode of “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central, more than ten years ago. Now, in an age of “alternative facts” and #fakenews, conspiracy theories and vaccination panics, Anderson asks how it all began. His new book “Fantasyland,” tracks what he see’s as “a 500-year history” of “how America went haywire.” Guest: Kurt Andersen, Host and co-creator of Studio 360, a public radio show and podcast; author of "Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire","Heydey", and "Turn of the Century"; former cultural columnist and critic for Time and The New Yorker
• How Did America Get So Mean
  Host Jenn White interviews writer David Brooks about his latest piece for The Atlantic (“How America Got Mean”). Brooks' diagnosis of why Americans have become sad and alienated and rude is that we are no longer trained in how to treat others with kindness and consideration. Our society has become one in which people feel licensed to give their selfishness free rein. In a healthy society, a web of institutions—families, schools, religious groups, community organizations, and workplaces -- helps form people into kind and responsible citizens.
  Producer: Rupert Allman
• How Dr. Kenneth Davis Turned the Mount Sinai Health System Around
  Thursday, Aug 22 2019
  Dr. Kenneth Davis is the president and CEO of the Mount Sinai Health System in New York. Many credit him with its financial turnaround, setting the system on a new path to success. The CEO is also a neurobiologist and an expert in the field of brain diseases – his research led the FDA to approve four of the first five drugs to treat Alzheimer’s and changed how healthcare professionals understand white matter, cells in the nervous system, and schizophrenia. Host Joshua Johnson.
• How The 1990s Paved The Way For Today’s Political Divide
  October 4, 2018. Host Todd Zwilich with guest Steve Kornacki, author, "The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism"; National Political Correspondent, MSNBC and NBC News National Political Correspondent. Show produced by Avery Kleinman, text by Kathryn Fink.
• How To Sell Things And Influence People
  6/14/2017 Social media has changed the way we interact with a lot of things: television, dating and, of course, advertising. Influencers are able to parlay a single Instagram post into as much as $50,000, and this year Forbes began releasing a Top Influencers list, acknowledging those who are at the forefront of lifestyle branding. What risks are involved, and how has social media become social marketing? Host: Joshua Johnson. Guests: Britt Aboutaleb Editor in Chief, Racked Mary Engle Associate Director of Advertising Practice, Federal Trade Commission Wynter Mitchell Content and influencer strategist, Pablo Jobs Danielle Kurtzleben Politics reporter, NPR Jake Horowitz Co-founder, editor-at-large, Mic
• Identity politics unmasked
  The 1A, with host Joshua Johnson. Produced by Denise Couture. Guest: Francis Fukuyama, Political scientist and senior fellow, Stanford University; author of "The End of History and the Last Man" and "Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment". Political scientist Francis Fukuyama thinks identity politics is a disease. Left-wingers may deride national identities and far right-wingers twist them to racist ends, but he argues there is hope for unifying people and giving them a broad sense of purpose. Francis Fukuyama is in favor of national identities based on creed, like the American one, rather than identities based on race or heritage. He is keen on national service and suspicious of dual citizenship.
• Inside The Minds Of The Mega-Rich
  WAMU 1A, March 28 2019
  What’s going on in the minds of the one percent of the one percent? And what does it mean for everyone else?
  Host Joshua Johnson; show produced by Gabrielle Healy. Text by Kathryn Fink.
  Guests:
  Michael Kraus Psychologist, assistant professor, Yale University School Of Management; @mwkraus
  Anand Giridharadas Author, "Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World"; editor-at-large, *Time*; @AnandWrites
  Nick Hanauer Co-founder and partner in Seattle-based venture capital firm, Second Avenue Partners; @NickHanauer
• It’s A Conspiracy! The Ever More Paranoid Style Of American Politics
  6/15/2017 On Sunday night, NBC host Megyn Kelly promoted an upcoming interview with Alex Jones. It only took a few minutes for outrage to build. Through his radio show, YouTube page, social media accounts and the website InfoWars, Jones has helped spread false or unproven theories. including: that a Washington, D.C. pizza parlor was part of an alleged global pedophilia ring that involves top U.S. politicians (claims he’s apologized for); the alleged nefarious dealings of a yogurt company that employs refugees (he also retracted these claims); and the theory that a number of terror attacks — from 9/11 onward — have been “false flags,” that is, staged, partially faked or allowed to happen to excuse some forthcoming overreach of governmental power. The latter thread of theories drew the most angry reactions to Jones’ appearance on Kelly’s show. Jones has suggested that the Sandy Hook massacre — in which 26 people, most of them children, were killed — may have be partially staged or orchestrated. Parents and others are aghast that NBC would give air time to someone who deals in such unfounded, fringe claims. A major advertiser has pulled support in response. Jones also says his views have been misrepresented, and he has called for the interview to be pulled. But how fringe is a host whose reputation the President of the United States has called “amazing”? And how should mainstream media react when theories that appear on Jones’ website inspire an armed gunman to walk into a family pizza parlor? American politics have always slouched toward paranoia, wrote historian Richard Hofstadter. But when today’s lawmakers cite “stuff circulating on the internet”, have we slouched too far? Host: Joshua Johnson. Guests: Joseph Uscinski Professor of political science, University of Miami; co-author of American Conspiracy Theories; @JoeUScinski Anna Merlan Senior Reporter, the Gizmodo Special Projects Desk; @annamerlan Margaret Sullivan Media columnist, The Washington Post; @Sulliview
• Leaks, Lies And Who’s Listening In
  WAMU 1A, March 7, 2017 President Trump has accused President Obama of spying on his campaign. We don’t know if that’s true, but a secret court order was approved last year targeting Trump’s associates. Shortly after President Trump made the allegations, FBI Director James Comey rebuked the claims. With the FBI and other agencies kicking the political football, we ask, is America’s intelligence community an asset or a liability? Host: Joshua Johnson. Guests: Shane Harris senior writer, The Wall Street Journal; Future of War fellow, New America; author, "At War: The Rise of the Military-Internet Complex" and "The Watchers: The Rise of America's Surveillance State." Athan Theoharis professor of history emeritus, Marquette University; author, The FBI and American Democracy: A Brief Critical History. Jane Harman director, president and CEO of the Wilson Center; former chair, House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence Susan Hennessey fellow, Brookings Institute; for National Security Administration attorney.
• Local Spotlight: The not-so-sweet past of Sugar Land, Texas
  Local Spotlight: The not-so-sweet past of Sugar Land, Texas
  According to reporters and hosts of the podcast Sugar Land, Naomi Reed and Brittney Martin, prison records, news reports, and legislative documents show the Imperial Sugar Company leased convicts through at least 1912. Near the turn of the 20th century, the area was the largest hub for convict leasing in Texas, a practice adopted across the South following the Civil War. Leasing convicts for labor solved two major issues white landowners faced: a source of cheap labor to replace the slaves they’d lost and a way to continue treating Black people as second-class citizens.
  Host Jenn White;
  Guests:
  Brittney Martin, co-host and executive producer of Sugar Land
  Naomi Reed, assistant professor of anthropology, Southwestern University; Cohost, Sugar Land podcast
  Brandon Jackson, possible descendant of one of the Sugar Land 95
  Producer: Barb Anguiano
• More Than Money: Building A New Future For HBCUs
  WAMU 1A, March 2, 2017 America’s historically black colleges and universities excel in graduating black students. A new executive order could drive new funds to these much valued schools, a move that might help smooth over an early misstep by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, in which she linked HBCU’s to her “school choice” agenda. Why do historically black colleges and universities do a better job than predominantly white schools in graduating low-income black students? What’s in store for these institutions? Will the new rules make a difference? Host Joshua Johnson. Guests Darren Sands reporter, Buzzfeed news. Allyson Carpenter president, Howard University Student Association. Ron Stodghill author, "Where Everybody Looks Like Me: At the Crossroads of America's Black Colleges and Culture"; assistant professor, interdisciplinary studies, Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina.
• Opioid Overdoses: Mass Casualty Zones In America
  1A with Joshua Johnson, WAMU, June 20, 2017 Last year alone, more Americans died from a drug overdose than were lost fighting the war in Vietnam. Opioids, including pain medicines, are turning some cities into mass casualty zones. President Trump promised to “dramatically expand access to treatment.” So what’s been done? And what should we do? Host: Joshua Johnson. Guests Lenny Bernstein Health and medicine reporter, The Washington Post Dr. Leana Wen Baltimore City Health Commissioner; emergency physician Phil Plummer Sheriff, Montgomery County, Ohio
• Outgoing VA Secretary David Shulkin
  1A, WAMU, NPR; April 2, 2018 Joshua Johnson hosts guest Dr. David Shulkin Former director, Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Rest In Power: How Trayvon Martin Transformed A Nation
  WAMU 1A, Feb 7, 2017 On February 26th, 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot dead at a residential complex in Sanford, a small city north of Orlando, Florida. The following year, the man who shot Martin, George Zimmerman, was found not guilty of second-degree murder. Soon after, the Black Lives Matter movement formed, inspiring a new chapter in civil rights activism. At the center of it all were Trayvon’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin. We check in with them about how they’re doing five years after their son’s death and ask about their new book, “Rest In Power,” which pays loving tribute to Trayvon Martin. Host: Joshua Johnson. Guests: Sybrina Fulton co-author, "Rest In Power"; co-founder of The Trayvon Martin Foundation Tracy Martin co-author, "Rest In Power"; co-founder of The Trayvon Martin Foundation
• Sexual Harassment In The Workplace
  WAMU 1A, March 2, 2017 Sexual harassment is a silent epidemic with an incredible reach. Recent allegations in tech, media and even the jewelry industry have brought it to the forefront once again. We’ll go beyond awkward training videos and discuss the real life effects of harassment on the job, how people are trying to combat it and why it’s still happening. Host Joshua Johnson Guests Debra Katz founding partner, Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP Jessica Raven Executive Director, Collective Action for Safe Spaces. Fran Sepler President of Sepler & Associates, a human resources consulting firm. She's author of "Finding the Facts: What Every Workplace Investigator Needs to Know" Jackson Katz Co-founder of Mentors in Violence Prevention, an influential gender violence prevention program. Now runs MVP Strategies, which provides gender violence prevention/leadership training. He's author of "The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and and How All Men Can Help" The program received so many questions during the discussion that it invited one of our guests (Debra Katz, an attorney specializing in sexual harassment cases) back to answer some of them on the web page.
• Sizing Up The Universe With Neil deGrasse Tyson
  October 2, 2018. Host Joshua Johnson talks with guest Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist; director, Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space; about his new book, "Accessory To War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics And The Military" with Avis Lang, research associate at the Hayden Planetarium; @neiltyson Show produced by Amanda Williams, text by Kathryn Fink. Page includes an excerpt from Accessory to War
• Terry Gross, Conversation Starter
  WAMU 1A, Nov. 23, 2018. Joshua Johnson, host of NPR's 1A, and Terry Gross, host of Fresh Air on NPR for 43 years and winner of the Peabody Award and Edward R. Murrow Award, recently sat down to talk about how they do what they do - a conversation between conversationalists.
• The 1619 Project
  WAMU 1A,Thursday, Aug 22 2019
  In August of 1619, a ship came to Point Comfort, in the English colony of Virginia. Over 20 enslaved African people, brought from what is now Angola, were on that ship. Once the ship landed, the colonists bought them as their property. The New York Times marked the anniversary of the beginning of slavery in America with a series of essays and poetry. Host Joshua Johnson. Guests:
  Nikole Hannah-Jones Correspondent, The New York Times Magazine; @nhannahjones
  Linda Villarosa Contributing writer, The New York Times Magazine; journalism program director, The City College of New York; @lindavillarosa
  Wesley Morris Critic-at-large, The New York Times; @Wesley_Morris
• The Blood Of Emmett Till
  WAMU 1A, Feb 9, 2017 Author Timothy B. Tyson’s “The Blood of Emmett Till” begins with a confession that most knew but few had heard. “That part’s not true,” Carolyn Bryant tells Tyson in a rare interview. Bryant is referring to testimony she gave in her husband’s trial for Till’s murder, when she said the black teenager physically accosted her in 1955. Till’s brutal murder turned the world’s eye to racial violence in the segregated South, and sparked organizing and protests that strengthened the mission of the Civil Rights Movement. We’ll talk with Tyson about his controversial interview with Till’s accuser and how the case still impacts America today. Host: Joshua Johnson. Guest: Timothy B. Tyson author, "The Blood of Emmett Till".
• The Great Legacy Of The Great Recession
  WAMU 1A, October 10, 2019
  Reporter Aaron Glantz's new book, “Homewreckers,” tells the story of people like Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who Glantz says made tremendous financial gains from homeowners after the Great Recession. 1A talks to Aaron Glantz and Jung Choi, who focuses on housing policy at the Urban Institute, about the legacy of the Great Recession.
  Produced by Jonquilyn Hill. Guests:
  Aaron Glantz Senior reporter, Reveal; author "Homewreckers: How a Gang of Wall Street Kingpins, Hedge Fund Magnates, Crooked Banks, and Vulture Capitalists Suckered Millions Out of Their Homes and Demolished the American Dream;" @Aaron_Glantz
  Jung Choi Research associate, Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute; @JungatUrban
• The Ground Beneath Our Feet
  WAMU 1A, with host Joshua Johnson, December 4, 2017 Without healthy soil, food becomes less nutritious and crops become harder to grow. If the crops aren’t healthy, then the 70 percent of the world’s fresh water that’s used for agriculture will be wasted. A 2012 study found that about a third of the planet’s topsoil is degraded and that without action, the world will be out of soil suitable for farming within 60 years. Guests Rattan Lal Distinguished Professor of Soil Science and Director, Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, Ohio State University; President, International Union of Soil Sciences; @lal_rattan Bianca Moebius-Clune Director, USDA-NRCS Soil Health Division David Montgomery Professor of geomorphology, University of Washington in Seattle; author of "Growing a Revolution — Bringing Our Soil Back to Life" and "Dirt;" @Dig2Grow Jimmy Emmons Farmer in Leedey County, Oklahoma
• The Land Of Lincoln Is Penniless: Is It A Warning Or An Outlier?
  1A, WAMU, 5/29/2017 Is Illinois a failed state? For anyone west of the Mississippi or east of the Wabash, that might seem like an odd question, but consider this: The Prairie State has $14.6 billion in debt, $130 billion in pension obligations, a roughly $6 billion deficit and all that debt is ranked at near-junk status. On top of that, the state has gone nearly two years without passing a budget as partisan fighting in Springfield has reduced government to relying on stopgaps and court orders to keep the lights on. Unlike cities, states can’t legally go bankrupt. So what happens if Illinois keeps avoiding its bills? And what lessons can other states learn from Illinois’ example? Host: Joshua Johnson; Guests: Liz Farmer Staff writer, Governing Magazine; @LizFarmerTweets Tony Arnold state politics reporter, WBEZ; @TonyJArnold Christopher Mooney professor of state politics, University of Illinois at Springfield Natasha Korecki Reporter Politico Illinois; @NatashaKorecki
• The Lobby Life
  WAMU 1A, March 6, 2017 We’ve been told the process to drain the swamp of government corruption is underway. President Trump has imposed a ban on lobbying by executive branch officials. And it now also applies to those who want to lobby on behalf of foreign governments. But lobbyists remain upbeat. Find out why this much maligned business remains in good health. Host: Joshua Johnson. Guests: Kenneth Gross attorney specializing in political law; former associate general counsel for the Federal Election Commission. Carrie Levine federal politics reporter for the Center for Public Integrity. Paul S. Ryan vice president of policy and litigation for Common Cause. Jimmy Williams host DecodeDC, a podcast that explains how politics affects people's lives; former lobbyist; former staffer for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois).
• The Panama Papers – One Year Later
  1A, WAMU, with Joshua Johnson, April 13, 2017 The team behind the publication of the Panama Papers in 2016 has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize for its work. The leaked documents from an offshore accounting firm uncovered a huge international tax scam, global corruption and money laundering. A year later, the Panama Papers are still having an effect on international banking practices and government officials worldwide. Guests: Marina Walker Guevara deputy director, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists; she co-managed the Pulitzer Prize-winning Panama Papers investigation. Kevin G. Hall chief economics correspondent and senior investigator, McClatchy newspapers; he led McClatchy’s team as the sole U.S. newspaper partner in the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Panama Papers project in 2016. Clark Gascoigne deputy director, Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition, a non-profit advocating for the elimination of off-shore corporate tax shelters. Jake Bernstein senior reporter, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Panama Papers project; he's writing a book about the Panamanian firm, Mossack Fonseca.
• The Sugar Story: A Spoonful Of Addiction Makes The Profits Go Up?
  The 1A, WAMU, Tuesday, Aug 22 2017 Our decisions about what to eat are driven by much more than hunger. Social trends, agricultural science and multimillion-dollar industries can make certain vegetables hip or carbs passé, while concerns for overall health sit on the sidelines. One of the major food trends of the last half-century was the movement away from fat. But, research published last year found that the fight against fat was fueled in part by sugar interests. As the New York Times reports: "The documents show that a trade group called the Sugar Research Foundation, known today as the Sugar Association, paid three Harvard scientists the equivalent of about $50,000 in today’s dollars to publish a 1967 review of research on sugar, fat and heart disease. The studies used in the review were handpicked by the sugar group, and the article, which was published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, minimized the link between sugar and heart health and cast aspersions on the role of saturated fat." Now, with the research in doubt, with diabetes and obesity rates high and with questions rising about whether sugar is addictive, more and more people are turning away from a decades-long sugar habit. Guest host: Stephen Henderson. Guests: Gary Taubes Author of "The Case Against Sugar;" Science writer; @garytaubes Michael Moss Author of "Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us;" former investigative reporter for The New York Times; @MichaelMossC Courtney Gaine PhD, RD President and CEO, the Sugar Association in Washington, DC
• The Supreme Court Decision That Could Return Half Of Oklahoma To Native Americans (16 min)
  Produced by Kathryn Fink for WAMU 1A, July 8, 2019. Host Joshua Johnson soke with journalist Rebecca Nagle, a citizen of Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, and the host of Crooked Media podcast, about an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision on Carpenter v. Murphy. The case hinges on a murder trial, early American history and varied interpretations of tribal land rights.
• What Politicians And Pundits Get Wrong About White Working Class Voters
  The 1A, with Joshua Johnson, May 22, 2017. Worldwide, populist nationalist movements are gaining traction. Why? Law professor Joan Williams says it’s because professional elites — including journalists and establishment politicians — remain clueless about the working class. In a new book, Williams explains why so many white blue-collar voters feel like strangers in their own countries, ignored by mainstream politicians and reporters, and what can be done about it. Joan Williams Distinguished professor of law and director of the Work Life Law Center, University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Her books include: "White Working Class" and "Unbending Gender: Why family and Work Conflict and What to Do About It" @JoanCWilliams
• When ‘Public Safety’ Blackouts Are Meant To Prevent Wildfires (47 min)
  WAMU 1A, with Joshua Johnson
  In an effort to mitigate the damage from wildfires in California, Pacific Gas & Electric has cut off power to sections of the state, affecting portions of Oakland, San Francisco, the Santa Cruz Mountains and more. Can our society maintain our infrastructure?
  Produced by Paige Osburn. Host Joshua Johnson. Guests:
  Russell Gold Senior energy reporter, The Wall Street Street; author of "Superpower: One Man's Quest to Transform American Energy"; @russellgold
  Sam Liccardo Mayor, San Jose; @sliccardo
  Susie Cagle Climate and energy reporter, Guardian US; @susie_c
  Ted Nordhaus Founder/executive director, Breakthrough Institute; @TedNordhaus
• Who Is Believed?
  WAMU 1A, May 14, 2019. Produced by Kathryn Fink.
  Host Joshua Johnson. Guests:
  Lindsey Smith Investigative reporter, Michigan Radio; co-host, "Believed"; @lzsmitty
  John Manly Attorney; represents more than 200 women who were abused by Larry Nassar; @johnmanly
  Tim Evans Investigative and consumer reporter, The Indianapolis Star; @starwatchtim
  Judge Rosemarie Aquilina 30th circuit court judge, Ingham County, Michigan; sentenced Larry Nassar to up to 175 years in prison; @AquiRosemarie
• Why Are Migrants From Central America Coming To The U.S.?
  WAMU 1A, with Joshua Johnson, Jan. 10, 2019
  An wide-ranging discussion of migration over the southern border that looks at U.S. policies and actions in Central America as far back as the 1954 CIA coup in Guatemala.
  Brian Winter Editor-in-chief, Americas Quarterly; vice president, the Americas Society/Council of the Americas; @BrazilBrian
  Greg Grandin Professor of history, New York University; author, "The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall"; @GregGrandin
  Elizabeth Oglesby Professor, Latin American studies, Arizona State University
  Franco Ordoñez White House correspondent, McClatchy Washington bureau; @FrancoOrdonez
  
• Why Periods Are Political: The Fight For Menstrual Equity
  1A, Oct. 10, 2017 On any given day, more than 800 million girls and women around the world are menstruating. Poor girls and women often are unable to afford menstrual products and many have limited access to toilets or clean water. In some cultures, females on their period are forced to live apart from their families. In the U.S. a movement is gaining steam to eliminate the sales tax for tampons and pads and to ensure period products are provided in public schools, homeless shelters and prisons — all part of the fight for menstrual equity. Host: Joshua Johnson; Guests: Jennifer Weiss-Wolf A lawyer and vice president for the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School; author of "Periods Gone Public: Taking a Stand for Menstrual Equity" Cory Booker U.S. senator, New Jersey (D); former mayor of Newark Marni Sommer Associate professor of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health; executive director of Grow and Know, a non-profit that develops puberty books for girls and boys in poor countries
• Why We Keep Forgiving Facebook
  WAMU, 1A, Feb. 7, 2019
  We’re speaking with Roger McNamee, one of Facebook’s early investors. He says the company’s executives have abdicated their civic responsibility and that the platform is bad for democracy in his new book, “Zucked: Waking up to the Facebook catastrophe.”
  We’ll also speak to Alexandra Suich Bass, a senior correspondent at The Economist, who has covered Facebook for years.
• Why We Live Where We Live
  WAMU 1A, with Joshua Johnson, May 3, 2018 When you talk to folks in St. Louis, it doesn’t take long for them to ask you if you know about the “Delmar Divide.” Delmar Boulevard is a street that runs east to west and splits the city demographically. On one side, the racial makeup is more than 95 percent African-American and mostly low-income. On the other, you’ll find a community that’s more than 70 percent white and firmly middle class. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was designed to help integrate neighborhoods across the nation. Fifty years later, most major cities are still made up of segregated pockets like in St. Louis. The podcast “We Live Here” from PRX and St. Louis Public Radio explores how race and class play into which neighborhoods people wind up in. We speak with the hosts and an expert on fair housing about what laws are in place today to effectively protect homeowners and renters from discrimination. Host: Joshua Johnson. Guests: Kameel Stanley Co-producer and host of the podcast "We Live Here" Tim Lloyd Co-producer and host of the podcast "We Live Here" Sheryll Cashin Professor of law at Georgetown University; former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and adviser to the Clinton administration; author of "Place, Not Race: A New Vision of Opportunity in America" and "Loving: Interracial Intimacy in America and the Threat to White Supremacy"