Professor of journalism at Columbia University and author of “Sand Queen” and “Virgin or Vamp: How the Press Covers Sex Crimes.”
Helen Benedict is an American novelist and journalist, best known for her writings on social injustice and the Iraq War.
Sexual Assault in the Military Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is promising new legislation that would take the prosecution of military sexual assaults out of the chain of command. Her efforts are gaining momentum in light of a new Pentagon report on military sexual assault. The Pentagon found that there were nearly 6,000 sexual assaults this year, or 16 a day. It also found that a majority of victims experienced some form of retaliation. So what happens next?
What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape NBC is backing off plans to develop a new comedy starring Bill Cosby because of the rape allegations against the comedian. And Netflix says it will postpone a Cosby comedy special. As more women come forward with accusations, the media is getting mixed reviews for its handling of the matter. We talk about how far the media has come and how far it still has to go when it comes to covering stories like this.
Accusations of lying fly between James Comey and White House During his testimony Thursday, former FBI Director James Comey accused President Trump and other White House officials of lying when they said the FBI was in disarray and its staff had lost confidence in him. President Trump’s lawyer said Comey was wrong -- that the president never asked for his loyalty, and never asked him to back off the investigation into former NSA director Michael Flynn.
Securing Public Spaces, Super Wealthy Asians Vehicles are increasingly being used as weapons, as seen in the London Bridge attack over the weekend and in New York’s Times Square last month. The Compton-based company Calpipe is designing security bollards to help make public spaces safer. And novelist Kevin Kwan satirizes the “crazy rich” Asian jet set and their luxurious tastes in his latest book, “Rich People Problems.”
Hua Hsu: A Floating Chinaman Author Hua Hsu stops by to discuss his book A Floating Chinaman, recounting the life of 1930's actor/writer H.T. Tsiang and his struggles entering the American literary world.
George Saunders: Lincoln in the Bardo (Part I) Lincoln in the Bardo dramatizes a grieving President Lincoln as he visits the grave of his beloved son Willie, who died at age eleven. In the novel, the buried dead believe they're not dead -- "they're sick and refer to their coffins as "sick boxes."