Midday on WNYC

Podcast host Kevin Allison discusses his new book RISK!: True Stories People Never Thought They'd Dare to Share. Collecting the most celebrated stories from his hit podcast RISK!, along with all-new true tales about personal secrets and surprising adventures, this book paints a portrait of the transformational moments we experience in life but rarely talk about.  On September 20 at 6:00 pm Kevin Allison will be doing a reading and signing at NYU Bookstore (726 Broadway). It is free and open to the public.  Kevin Allison hosts RISK! live at Caveat every month.   This segment is guest hosted by Beth Fertig.    

Ryan Hampton discusses his new book American Fix: Inside the Opioid Addiction Crisis - and How to End It.  Through the successful non-profit organization Facing Addiction, Ryan Hampton is leading the movement to end opioid addiction. In his book, Hampton describes his personal struggle with addiction, outlines the challenges that the recovery movement currently faces, and offers a comprehensive plan of action towards making America’s addiction crisis a thing of the past. On August 28 at 7 pm Ryan Hampton will be in conversation with Maia Szalavitz at Strand Bookstore. This segment is guest hosted by Beth Fertig.  

Rolling Stone columnist Rob Sheffield discusses his new book Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World. In this collection of essays, Sheffield writes about The Beatles' indelible cultural footprint and explores the reasons why they still matter today, nearly fifty years after they broke up. Rob Sheffield's “Hey Jude” 50th-anniversary article is featured on Rolling Stone.  This segment is guest hosted by Nancy Giles.

Alex Perry discusses his book The Good Mothers: The Story of the Three Women Who Took on the World's Most Powerful Mafia. The book tells the story of one prosecutor who uses the misogynistic culture of the Calabrian mafia as leverage to persuade two mob wives to testify against a mafia boss, in return for a new future for themselves and their children.  This segment is guest hosted by Nancy Giles.

Acclaimed writer Robin Green discusses her memoir The Only Girl: My Life and Times on the Masthead of Rolling Stone. In 1971, Robin Green was hired as a journalist by Jann Wenner for Rolling Stone magazine. She regales us with tales of 1970s Hollywood and what it was like to be the only woman in the room. This segment is guest hosted by Nancy Giles.

Wall Street Journal reporter Melanie Evans discusses her recent piece about, “What Does Knee Surgery Cost? Few Know, and That’s a Problem.” Evans looks at why the costs of knee surgeries are so inflated and how that benefits the medical industry. This segment is guest hosted by Nancy Giles. 

For Please Explain, Sara-Chana Silverstein discusses her book,  Moodtopia: Tame Your Moods, De-Stress, and Find Balance Using Herbal Remedies, Aromatherapy, and More. Silverstein, an herbalist, homeopath, and doula who lectures on breastfeeding at Columbia University Medical School, offers quick and easy-to-adopt methods for taming one’s stress with natural remedies.   This segment is guest hosted by Duarte Geraldino. 

Jessica Nabongo is on a mission to be the first Black woman to visit all 195 UN member countries and observing states.  Nabongo’s goal is to be an example for people of color, women, and citizens with less passport power than Americans to travel to off-the-beaten-track destinations and learn about cultures different from their own. This segment is guest hosted by Duarte Geraldino. 

Sarah Ellis discusses her new article in ReWire.News titled “Biology, Funding, and Ego Slow Quest for Male Birth Control.” Ellis looks at the obstacles to implementing male birth control including the pharmaceutical companies' reluctance to bring it to market and the societal belief that preventing pregnancy is the woman's responsibility. Joining the conversation is Logan Nickels, director of operations at the Male Contraception Initiative, a non-profit working to change cultural attitudes toward male birth control and create funding opportunities for promising birth control applications.  This segment is guest hosted by Duarte Geraldino. 

Thomas Page McBee discusses his new book Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man. McBee, a trans man, charts his journey training to fight in a charity match at Madison Square Garden while struggling to untangle the relationship between masculinity and violence. Through his boxing training, McBee examines the weight of male violence, the pervasiveness of gender stereotypes, and the limitations of conventional masculinity. This segment is guest hosted by Duarte Geraldino. 

Harper’s Magazine contributing editor Garret Keizer discusses his latest piece in the September issue “Labor’s Last Stand.” Keizer writes about how the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a bill that would make it easier for workers to organize unions, has been weakened by recent Supreme Court decisions. Keizer assesses the prospects of the working class as income inequality widens and union membership declines.   This segment is guest hosted by Duarte Geraldino.

Director Steven Maing, private investigator Manuel Gomez, and police officer Pedro Serrano discuss the documentary, Crime + Punishment. The film chronicles the experiences of 12 black and Latino whistleblower cops as they are pressured to arrest urban youths in New York City in order to fill quotas. The officers are ridiculed by their peers when they speak out against biased police policies. The film also spotlights the landmark class-action lawsuit over illegal policing quotas. All Q&A sessions are at the IFC Center, after the listed showtimes. 8/24: 7:05 pm, 8/25: 7:05 pm, 8/26: 2:15 pm, 8/26: 4:30 pm.  This segment is guest hosted by Duarte Geraldino.

Joe Iconis, Will Roland, and George Salazar discuss the new musical Be More Chill. The play compares the fantasy of living the "perfect life" against the reality of being yourself. Iconis wrote the music and lyrics and Roland and Salazar star in the limited 9-week, off-Broadway engagement now playing through September 23 at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street, NYC).  This segment is guest hosted by Duarte Geraldino.  

Sasson Gabay discusses what it’s like to take over for Tony Shalhoub as the lead in Broadway hit The Band’s Visit, which won 10 Tony Awards this year. He’ll also tell us about his career in Israel and what it was like to star in the original film version of the musical.  This segment is guest hosted by Duarte Geraldino.

Director Steve James discusses his new series America to Me, a 10-part series that follows students, faculty, and families over the course of one year at a high school in Chicagoland’s Oak Park neighborhood. The series addresses decades-long racial and educational inequalities and the everyday challenges of being a high school student. It premiered at Sundance and launches on Starz on August 26.  This segment is guest hosted by Duarte Geraldino.