NPR Cross Currents with Scott Widmeyer

Happy Labor Day weekend, listeners! Cross Currents is back this week to talk about the pandemic as we begin month six of our heavily-disrupted new day-to-day normal. Joining us today are Dr. Barry Chaiken, a Harvard-trained doctor who is board certified in Public Health and one of the nation’s leading experts applying public health technology during crises; and Sheila Bair, NYT bestselling author, former college president and FDIC ...

Summer is quickly winding down as students begin the next school year, however complicated, and this week we're wrapping up coverage on the political conventions that kick the 2020 campaigns into high gear. Joining us today to unpack the RNC are political strategists David Avella and David Leiter. Then, we move on to higher education, speaking with public health expert and instructor Dr. Christopher Martin, first-time freshman ...

We're halfway through the 2020 Democratic/Republican conventions, and this week on Cross Currents we're joined by two experts to help us unpack-- Frank Fahrenkopf, chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1983 to 1989 and current Chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates; and Loretta Ucelli, Director of White House Communications during the Presidency of Bill Clinton from 1999 to 2001.

Then, Bruce Mehlman ...

What's the word on Washington, D.C. streets ahead of the 2020 election? Could UBI help rebuild Appalachia? What books on race should top your list?

Today on NPR Cross Currents we're joined by the dynamic news duo Peter Baker of The New York Times and Susan Glasser of The New Yorker, Wendy Hudson from Mitchell's Book Corner and a segment from 100 Days on Appalachia on economic policy across the U.S. With, as always,

Dow...

We’re talking about the next step of the pandemic, WW2-era child refugees and a look inside the White House— new episode, streaming now with

* Sally Susman, Pfizer Executive Vice President/Chief Corporate Affairs Officer. She is also vice chair of the Pfizer Foundation and co-chair of Pfizer’s Political Action Committee;

* Mary Jordan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, best-selling author and National Correspondent for ...

There are five months left in the year and less than 100 days until the election. This week we're talking about representation, supporting creativity and First Lady Melania Trump with guests
- Dawn Hudson, CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences;
- Harvey Mason Jr., Acting President of the Recording Academy;
- Tim Ehrenberg, creator of Tim Talks Books;
- Mary Jordan, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.

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This week on NPR Cross Currents, we're tackling how the pandemic is affecting families with guests Dr. Phil Fisher, Anne-Marie Phelan, Frank Sesno, Lenny Steinhorn and Richard Rothstein. We're also featuring two of our 2020 partners-- a hands-on, kid-friendly project from 100 Days in Appalachia (produced in partnership with West Virginia Public Broadcasting) and a performance from the American Pops Orchestra with artist Mil...

Some might look at this problem as Mission: Impossible. Not so, however, for the National Black Leadership Commission on Health when it comes to tackling the huge disparities that continue to exist around the health of black Americans. Whether its HIV-AIDS, mental health, breast cancer, heart disease, diabetes, the black community in America suffers at far greater rates. My interview with C. Virginia Fields illustrates what her ...