Meredith Wolf Schizer

Are Americans really as polarized as it seems? Authors Sami Sage of Betches Media and the Morning Announcements podcast and Emily Amick, creator of @EmilyinYourPhone and former counsel to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, say not exactly. They connected on social media after the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and their collaboration resulted in their new book, Democracy in Retrograde (Gallery Books). Sage and Amick found that most Americans are part of the (very vocal) minority on the marg…

For working-class Americans, attaining the American Dream is out of reach, says Newsweek Opinion Editor Batya Ungar-Sargon in her new book, Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America’s Men and Women. Her book analyzes who constitutes the working class and why it is more and more difficult for this group to attain the stability that previous generations achieved. Ungar-Sargon shares intimate stories of the struggles of hard-working Americans across the country, finding commonalities across lin…

Single mothers by choice and LGBTQ+ couples are increasingly finding that traditional sperm banks aren’t fulfilling their needs. They are turning to the unregulated sperm market to get to know the men donating sperm to enable them to become a family. Investigative journalist Valerie Bauman wanted to become a mother herself. As she began her journey, she found that a donor she could meet made the most sense for her. She also realized that this was a large and growing trend and that it was worth e…

Harvard professor and international relations expert Joseph Nye has had a long and distinguished career, working on the ground in the Carter and Clinton administrations as well as many years teaching foreign policy. His new memoir, A Life in the American Century (Polity Books), is a diary of his life, including his years in the university and government and his thoughts about where the U.S. stands in today’s global world order. In this Q&A, Nye talks about his advice for the interim and future p…

Tennis champion Naomi Osaka is a megastar for both her on-court performance with four Grand Slam titles under her belt, as well as her off-court stands on racial and athletes’ mental health. When Osaka—the highest paid female athlete—issued a statement that she would not sit for the mandatory post-match press conferences at the 2021 French Open, it began a firestorm that spread beyond Roland-Garros and professional tennis. Atter being fined by tournament officials and threatened with disqualific…

Some people know Vince Vargas as Gilly Lopez, a war veteran in FX’s series Mayans M.C. In fact, Vargas is a real-life veteran. He served in the U.S. Army 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and on the U.S. Border Patrol and was able to “leverage” his “past experiences in the military and border control” to flesh out his character. His new book, Borderline: Defending the Homefront (St. Martin’s) reveals inside details about the challenges he faced as a Border Patrol Agent, including the affecting…

This month is the fiftieth anniversary of the 1973 Yom Kippur War—a coordinated, surprise attack by Egypt and Syria on Israel on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. The war lasted 18 days, in which Israel was able to push back the Egyptians and Syrians and advance into Egypt, and it ended in a negotiated ceasefire brokered by the Americans. There was a lot of controversy within Israel about their preparedness and how the strike was initially handled, resulting in an investigative commission.…

Speaking spontaneously—whether in a classroom, when giving a toast, making an apology or getting to know a stranger—can be scary and stressful. Stanford Business School lecturer and Think Fast Talk Smart podcast host Matt Abrahams identifies best practices for spontaneous communication in his new book, Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You’re Put on the Spot (Simon & Schuster). In this Q&A, he talks about how his experiences growing up with a name at the beginning of the…

Medical Anthropologist Theresa MacPhail talks about the changing recommendations for how to avoid food allergies, pet allergies, tips for alleviating seasonal allergies and more.

Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Kate Zernike tells the story of a group of women scientists who brought change for women, and she discusses the future of equal opportunity for girls and women in the sciences.