Midday on WNYC

Playwright Jordan Harrison and actors Ian Harvie and Dolly Wells discuss their new play Log Cabin at Playwrights Horizons. The play focuses on a tight-knit circle of married gays and lesbians who, when they see themselves through the eyes of their transgender friend, realize that the march toward progress is anything but unified. Using satire, this comedy charts the breakdown of empathy that happens when we think our rights are secure. This segment is guest hosted by DW Gibson.      

Director Tim Wardle discusses his new documentary, Three Identical Strangers, which tells the story of triplets who were separated at birth and then reunited by chance. They became fast friends before discovering the dark story they all shared. Three Identical Strangers will be playing at Angelika Film Center and The Landmark at 57 West.  Q&As at Angelika:  June 29 after the 7:20 pm and 9:10 pm screenings. Q&As at The Landmark: June 30 after the 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm screenings. This segment is guest hosted by DW Gibson.   

Natalie Kitroeff and Jessica Silver-Greenberg discuss their recent investigation for The New York Times, “Pregnancy Discrimination Is Rampant Inside America’s Biggest Companies,” which looks at how pregnant women have been systematically sidelined in the workplace, passed over for promotions and raises, and fired when they advocate for themselves. We’ll also take calls from women who have been or are pregnant and working. This segment is guest hosted by DW Gibson. 

VICE correspondent Krishna Andavolu discusses the most recent episode of VICE on HBO, “Separated By Birth.” There are more than four million U.S.-born children living in the United States who have at least one undocumented immigrant parent. As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) widens its target for enforcement, more of these kids — U.S. citizens by birth — could see their families uprooted by the arrest, detention, and removal. Andavolu will discuss embedding with ICE and what it's like to be an American kid growing up in the shadow of deportation.  If you want to learn more about resources for helping American children whose parents face deportation, click here.   This segment is guest hosted by DW Gibson. 

Associate curator for the Museum of Modern Art’s Department of Film, La Frances Hui, discusses the new show she organized, “The Grandmaster: Lau Kar-leung.” The show looks at the work of Lau Kar-leung, a leader in the kung fu genre and form. Trained in the southern Hung Fist tradition, Lau practiced under his father, whose teacher was a direct disciple of Wong Fei-hung, the legendary martial artist, folk hero, and subject of over 100 films. This lineage formed the foundation of Lau’s work as both a director and kung fu practitioner. This segment is guest hosted by DW Gibson. 

Sarah Kessler discusses her book Gigged: The End of the Job and the Future of Work. Kessler looks at how one in three American workers is now a freelancer. She also addresses how the “gig economy” is revolutionizing the way businesses run and the kinds of benefits (or lack thereof) that workers receive. This segment is guest hosted by DW Gibson. 

Matthew Polly discusses his new book, Bruce Lee: A Life. Forty-five years after Bruce Lee’s sudden death at the age of thirty-two, Polly’s book is one of the only accounts of Lee’s life and career. The book features a decade’s worth of research that included conducting more than one hundred interviews with Lee’s family, friends, and business associates. This segment is guest hosted by DW Gibson. 

Debra Granik discusses directing Leave No Trace, a film about a father and his thirteen year-old daughter who lead an idyllic existence in an urban park in Portland, Oregon. But things go awry when a small mistake derails their lives forever. Leave No Trace opens on June 29 at Angelika Film Center. Q&A sessions follow the 7:50 pm showings at Angelika Film Center on Friday and Saturday nights. This film will also be playing at Lincoln Square. This segment is guest hosted by DW Gibson.     

Eliza Griswold discusses her new book Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America, which looks at how one family is facing a changing Appalachia. Griswold focuses on Stacey Haney, a local nurse raising two kids and trying to keep up her small farm when the fracking boom came to her hometown of Amity, Pennsylvania. Griswold looks at how and why Haney decided to strike a deal with a Texas-based energy company for the mineral rights to her land. She also addresses what happened when mysterious illnesses began to afflict Haney’s children and company representatives insisted that nothing was wrong. On June 26 Eliza Griswold will be in conversation with David Wallace-Wells at 7 pm at the Community Bookstore (143 7th Ave Brooklyn, NY 11215)  This segment is guest hosted by DW Gibson. 

D.L. Hughley discusses his new book How Not to Get Shot: And Other Advice From White People. Hughley, an activist and comedian offers this tongue-in-cheek illustrated how-to guide for black people. Covering such tropes as how to act, dress, speak, walk, and drive in the safest manner possible, Hughley offers a humorous and cutting approach to contemporary racism and identity politics. On June 26 at 7 pm D.L. Hughley will be signing copies of his book at Bookmark Shoppe in Brooklyn. This segment is guest hosted by DW Gibson.   

Mike Reiss discusses Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons. A four-time Emmy winner, Reiss worked on The Simpsons continuously since the first episode in 1989. He shares stories, scandals, and gossip about working with America’s iconic cartoon family and provides an inside look at the show’s writers, animators, actors and celebrity guests. This segment is guest hosted by DW Gibson.   

Lawrence O’Donnell discusses his book Deadly Force: A Police Shooting and My Family’s Search for the Truth as well as the current news cycle. O’Donnell, host of MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, tells the story of a 1975 police shooting of an unarmed black man in Boston and the investigation and court case that followed. This segment is guest hosted by DW Gibson. 

Boz Scaggs discusses his new album, Out of the Blues, which offers a fresh take on recordings by Bobby Blue Bland, Magic Sam, Jimmy Reed, and even Neil Young's "On The Beach." It marks the final piece of an unofficial trilogy - which began with 2013's Memphis and was followed by 2015's A Fool To Care. Boz made this record as a way to reconnect with the music he heard on the radio growing up in Texas and Oklahoma in the 1950s. On June 26 Boz Scaggs is playing The Paramount in Huntington, NY (Long Island). On November 14 Boz Scaggs will be playing The Town Hall in New York City.  This segment is guest hosted by DW Gibson.     

Ken Auletta discusses his book Frenemies: The Epic Disruption of the Ad Business (and Everything Else), which looks at how the advertising industry is changing with the 21st century. By speaking with ad executives who are both competitors and "frenemies," he unpacks the ways that the industry is grappling with a changing landscape, increased competition, and corruption. On June 27 Ken Auletta will in conversation with Lesley Stahl at 7:30 pm at the 92Y. This segment is guest hosted by DW Gibson.   

Joseph O’Neill discusses his new book of stories, Good Trouble. From facial-hair trends to parental sleep deprivation, O’Neill offers a close look at his characters, whose vacillations and second thoughts expose the pettiness, latent violence, and even surprising beauty of quotidian 21st century existence. This segment is guest hosted by DW Gibson.