The Stonewall Riots were a flash point in LGBTQ history. After the riots that took place at the Stonewall Inn in June 1969, the LGBTQ civil rights movement went from handfuls of pioneering activists to a national movement mobilizing thousands. On this special episode we’ll hear what happened over the nights of the riots through archival audio of iconic transgender rights activists Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson, and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy. NYPL's Jason Baumann returns for an interview with pioneering photojournalist and gay rights activist Kay Tobin Lahusen. Plus stories from Eric Marcus' podcast Making Gay History, and the story of Stormé DeLarverie from the archives at The Schomburg Center.  Also mentioned:  'The Stonewall Reader' The exhibit 'Love & Resistance: Stonewall 50'  Barbara Gittings and Kay Tobin Lahusen Photographs and Papers NYC Trans Oral History Project, including Miss Major's full length interview  For more, listen to our previous episode “Before Stonewall” including an interview with writer and curator Hugh Ryan about his new book "When Brooklyn was Queer."         

Stonewall 50: The Sound of Memory

Aidan Flax-Clark welcomes co-host Jason Baumann, Assistant Director for Collection Development and Coordinator of Humanities and the Library’s LGBTQ Initiative, for a special episode about queer life before the Stonewall Riots.  Frank Collerius, Manager of the Jefferson Market branch at NYPL, interviews writer and curator Hugh Ryan about his new book 'when brooklyn was queer.' We also hear a reading of 'The How and Why of Virginia,' the personal story of Virginia Prince, the founder and editor of the magazine 'Transvestia,' read by actor LeLand Gantt. Next week we'll hear what happened during those few days at the Stonewall Inn in 1969 from iconic transgender rights activists Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson, and Miss Major. Jason Baumann returns for an interview with pioneering photojournalist and gay rights activist Kay Tobin Lahusen. Plus stories from Eric Marcus' podcast 'Making Gay History' and a story from the archives at The Schomburg Center. Also mentioned: -'The Stonewall Reader' -The exhibit 'Love & Resistance: Stonewall 50' Special Thanks to: The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada for use of Virginia Prince's story.

Before Stonewall

Marlon James is a Jamaican novelist and winner of the Man Booker Prize. His recent book Black Leopard, Red Wolf is the first in a epic trilogy that blends myth, fantasy, and history—what James has described as "African Game of Thrones." He spoke with fellow fantasy and comic book fan, Kevin Young, who is a poet and the Director for the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. They talked about James' two years of research for the series, map making, Afrofuturism, and books they love, while unleashing their inner nerd.

Marlon James Gets Nerdy with Kevin Young

The Gay Liberation Front was an organization recognized for publishing the first gay liberation newspaper in the world,"Come Out!". It provided openly queer media exposure for many activists, writers, and artists. In conjunction with the NYPL exhibition Love & Resistance: Stonewall 50, founding members of the GLF, Perry Brass and Karla Jay, speak with media and activism scholar Michael Bronski, and Kathy Tu and Tobin Low, co-hosts of WNYC Studios’ podcast Nancy. They discussed the fight for inclusion in the media, the rise of the queer press in the 1960s and 70s, and the lasting impact of its legacy.

A History of the Queer Press

Documentary filmmaker Erin Lee Carr remembers her father, legendary journalist David Carr, in a moving new memoir, "All That You Leave Behind." Erin Lee Carr, went looking for support and comfort in the lifetime of correspondence that they had shared. She was also looking for clues—advice the famous mentor, journalist, and father might have to offer on how to cope with her devastating loss, and continue on with her life and career. Erin Lee Carr will be joined by one of her father’s admiring mentees, Ta-Nehisi Coates, to discuss the legacy David Carr has left for his family, the journalistic community, and readers at large.

Erin Lee Carr and Ta-Nehisi Coates Remember David Carr

At age 83, Robert Caro pulls back the curtains on his process, in his new book "Working." He also answers the question he is asked most often: why does it take him so long to write his books? Caro is the author of the Robert Moses biography "The Power Broker" and "The Years of Lyndon Johnson," The biographer, who has spent much time doing what he does best in the Allen Room of The New York Public Library, returns to share some stories of his own with William P. Kelly, The New York Public Library’s Andrew W. Mellon Director of the Research Libraries.

How Robert Caro Writes About Power and the Powerless

Dr. Carla Hayden is the 14th Librarian of Congress, the first African American and the first woman to hold this position. Tracy K. Smith is the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States, and Director and Professor of Creative Writing at Princeton University. In a conversation with Schomburg Director, Kevin Young they discussed their work, the future of Black librarianship and the democratization of libraries

Breaking New Ground with Dr. Carla Hayden and Tracy K. Smith

The former executive editor of "The New York Times" tells the story of the news industry in  her new book "Merchants of Truth."  Jill Abramson traces the past ten years of four major news outlets and their prospective futures in the face of rapidly changing technologies, shifting business models, and a president who almost daily assails the mainstream media as fake news. She spoke with long-time friend and colleague, investigative reporter Jane Mayer.

Jill Abramson and Jane Mayer's Insider Take on the News

Journalist, Eliza Griswold just won a Pulitzer Prize and a Bernstein Award for her recent book,"Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America." Even at its most basic level, the book is a fascinating story about the energy boom's relationship to the natural land. But it's also a moving portrait of a family—a resolute mother trying to care for her two children, sickened by the fracking fallout. Griswold sat down with NYPL's Gwen Glazer to talk about the making of this story, immersion journalism, and where things stand in rural America today. 

Eliza Griswold Uncovers the Human Cost of Fracking

Going undercover as a prison guard in Winnifield, Louisiana, journalist Shane Bauer exposes the brutality of for-profit private prison systems, and this country's history of outsourcing criminal punishment in his book "American Prison." This stunning work recently won NYPL's 2019 Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism. In this conversation with Aidan Flax-Clark, Bauer discusses the making of this book, the dangers of private prisons in the U.S., and his personal difficulties balancing his identities as a prison guard and reporter.

Shane Bauer's Undercover Reporting from Inside a Private Prison

In the search for meaningful criminal justice reform, are prosecutors one of the keys to change? In her new book, "Charged," journalist  Emily Bazelon argues that prosecutors play an "outsize role" in mass incarceration -- from choosing the charge to setting bail to determining the plea bargain. To discuss the issue, Bazelon was joined by Stacey Abrams, a lawyer, novelist and politician who in 2018 campaigned for criminal justice reform as a candidate in a historic race for governor in Georgia. 

Emily Bazelon and Stacey Abrams talk Criminal Justice Reform

G. Willow Wilson is a critically acclaimed novelist and co-creator of the first Muslim superhero with their own Marvel comic book series. Wilson's new book, The Bird King, is the story of a fantastical quest through the Iberian peninsula at the height of the Spanish Inquisition. She read from the novel and spoke with Hugo award-winning writer N. K. Jemisin about the power of imagining different worlds and how writing fantasy can expose reality.

Bending Reality with G. Willow Wilson

Few people understand the state of our national security as well as Janet Napolitano and Joe Biden. Napolitano, former Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary and the first appointed by President Obama, has written about the subject in her new book,"How Safe Are We?" She spoke with Vice President Joe Biden, who—in addition to being Barack Obama's Vice President— chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and sat on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security. “Homeland security is not only the job of the secretary or of the 240,000 professionals who work for the department,” says Napolitano, “it is everyone’s responsibility.”

Janet Napolitano Explains Homeland Security with Joe Biden

When "Cat Person" appeared in "The New Yorker" in December 2017, it quickly became a viral hit, striking a chord with readers at the height of the #MeToo Movement. People seemed surprised by the Internet popularity of a long form fiction story—including its author, Kristen Roupenian. "You Know You Want This" is Roupenian's highly anticipated debut collection of stories that, like "Cat Person," dwells in discomfort and is compulsively readable. "The New Yorker"'s fiction editor, Deborah Treisman, joined her for a conversation about why she chose "Cat Person" from a stack of other submissions, Roupenian's new book and plans for an upcoming horror film.

Still Cringing After 'Cat Person'

The 1970s are sometimes hailed as the true dawn of young-adult literature, the decade when authors like Judy Blume and Lois Lowry showed that teen readers were worth taking seriously. Decades later, J.K. Rowling revolutionized YA, permanently broadening its appeal to adults. But teen fiction of the '80s and '90s is often ignored. Bustle editor and writer Gabrielle Moss has a soft spot in her heart for what she calls the genre's "intellectual dead zone"—the era of The Baby-sitters Club, Sweet Valley High, and so many more girl-centered series. In this interview with NYPL's Gwen Glazer, Moss discusses her new book "Paperback Crush," which makes the case for why the YA fiction of the '80s and '90s shouldn't be overlooked, and why it's so much fun to revisit.

Paperback Crushin'

Over 200 years ago, a teenage girl started a literary legacy that continues to haunt us today. Why do we still keep telling this story and how does it reflect our darkest fears? The New York Public Library's curators join monster theory scholars and best-selling authors to trace the history of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley’s classic. This special podcast episode unpacks the genius of Shelley’s novel, its origins and evolution—from the British Romantics to Black Lives Matter—to uncover how the story helps us better understand ourselves, our humanity, and our future.      

Frankenstein: Our Dark Mirror

This week we're featuring part two of Marilynne Robinson's lecture on American society, government and economy titled "Liberalism and American Tradition." Robinson discusses our country's Puritan history  and how society constructs value, referencing a number of political philosophers and social reformers.

Marilynne Robinson: Liberalism and American Tradition Pt. II

Marilynne Robinson is one of the most celebrated American writers—she won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was awarded a National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama, to name just a few of her accolades. She recently delivered a lecture on American Civilization and Government titled "Liberalism and American Tradition," which traces the origins of liberalism. Part two of the lecture will be released next week.  

Marilynne Robinson: Liberalism and American Tradition Pt. I

Despite the fact that New York City is one of the most diverse places in the country our school system is among the most segregated. As part of the nationwide campaign, Black Lives Matter at School Week, Schomburg Center's Associate Director of Education, Brian Jones organized a panel about this issue and how to challenge structural racism in schools. Featuring award-winning journalist, Nikole Hannah-Jones, public school teacher José Vilson, and two NYC high school student activists Xoya David and Joshua Brown.    

How to Make Black Lives Matter at School

Howard Zinn’s seminal 1980 work "A People’s History of the United States" challenged dominant narratives of our country’s past by uncovering its darker truths; nearly 40 years later, a new collection of speculative fiction, "A People’s Future of the United States" challenges our visions of tomorrow. Like Zinn's work, this collection of stories centers on the experiences of traditionally marginalized communities. The collection's co-editor, Victor LaValle, speaks with four contributors— Maria Dahvana Headley, N.K. Jemisin, Alice Sola Kim, and Sam J. Miller—about the fantasies and projections for the future of the country.

Library Talks

Library Talks