Story Archives of 'Women'

Girl Power

By Andrew Walsh on Monday, June 9, 2008.

The world faces a lot of big problems -- poverty, AIDS, hunger, war, just to name a few. And the folks at the Nike Foundation say all of these problems can be fixed by girls.

Choosing Single Motherhood

By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, May 8, 2008.

You don't have to be a social scientist to see that the traditional American family is changing, and motherhood is changing right along with it. More and more women are choosing to have children without partners. The growth of groups like Single Mothers By Choice and the proliferation of books like Choosing Single Motherhood and Knock Yourself Up point to a generation of women who are choosing a new path. Technology, money and often the loud ticking of a biological clock is making single motherhood a good option for some women. Word of Mouth host Virginia Prescott talks about this trend with Jean Railla, who wrote about it in the parenting magazine Babble. Her article is called Fatherless Brooklyn: Why Today's Women are Choosing to have Babies Alone.

Obviously, not all single mothers choose to raise their kids on their own, and when very young women -- like teenagers still in high school -- get pregnant, they can face many challenges. An unexpected pregnancy can throw a girl's life into chaos, and these young mothers can usually use all the help they can get. That's where the Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers comes in. Along with the regular high school subjects of English, History and Math, the students at this school also attend parenting classes. Producer Sarah Elzas visited the school and produced this story. Sarah's story was produced with the help of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.

(Photo by waI.ti:)

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Writers on a New England Stage: Cokie Roberts

By Laura Knoy on Monday, April 28, 2008.

NPR's contributing senior news analyst Cokie Roberts is one of the most recognizable women political reporters today. In 2004 she penned “Founding Mothers” about America's early revolutionary women; her new book, “Ladies of Liberty,” picks up where “Founding Mothers” left off. Last week, Cokie Roberts came to Portsmouth to talk about her new book in the latest installment of our Writers on a New England Stage series. Today we play back for you part of that performance.

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Writers on a New England Stage: Cokie Roberts (Full Version)

By Laura Knoy on Thursday, April 24, 2008.

NPR contributing senior news analyst Cokie Roberts came to Portsmouth to talk about her new book, "Ladies of Liberty," in the latest installment of our Writers on a New England Stage series. This is the full, unedited version of that event.

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Antrim Girls Shelter and School

By Deborah Schachter on Saturday, March 15, 2008.

Christie Green from the Antrim Girls Shelter says the shelter is a safe place for at-risk girls to discover their own talents and gifts, through education, health and behavioral intervention.

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Don't Tase Me, Sis!

By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, March 6, 2008.

What do you get for the woman who has everything? How about a Taser with an MP3 player built-in?


New lines of personal Tasers come in pink, blue and silver, and are about the size of an electric razor. They're a hot new gift item, and Taser parties are beginning to replace the Tupperware parties of more innocent times. A personal Taser can offer a lot of protection to those who brandish it, but critics like Silja Talvi say they cause more problems than they solve. She recently wrote about Tasers for In These Times magazine, and she spoke with us on Word of Mouth.

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Comic Relief

By Virginia Prescott on Friday, February 29, 2008.

Funny women are revitalizing TV sitcoms. Shows like 30 Rock, The Sarah Silverman Program, and The New Adventures of Old Christine all star women who got their start in comedy - showing that women are not being relegated to the role of best friend or wacky neighbor. Word of Mouth host Virginia Prescott spoke with Bambi Haggins, who teaches television history and popular culture at the University of Michigan, about the migration from comedy and improv stages to television. She wrote about the topic for Ms. Magazine. We also look at how the role of women in the workplace has changed since the 1970s by comparing "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "30 Rock."

Watch clips from 30 Rock

Watch a clip from The Mary Tyler Moore Show

For the full article by Bambi Haggins, see the Winter 2008 issue of Ms. Magazine

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The Art of Interrupted Lives

By Ellen Grimm on Friday, February 1, 2008.

A traveling art exhibit has stopped at St. Anselm College in Manchester. It's called "Interrupted Life: Incarcerated Women in the United States,” and presents the experience of being a mother in jail.

Most of the work is by professional artists but there are several pieces by inmates themselves, including some in New Hampshire.

NHPR Correspondent Ellen Grimm attended the recent opening at the College's Chapel Art Center and files this report.

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Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History

By Liz Bulkley on Friday, September 28, 2007.

"Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History". You've probably seen that quote written on bumper stickers or t-shirts a million times. Tonight on the Front Porch, we'll talk with the woman inadvertently coined it. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich is a Pulitzer-prize winning historian, and when she wrote that now-famous phrase in an essay 30 years ago, she didn't realize it would become so celebrated. Her new book examines the deeper significance behind the catchy slogan and the women that make it meaningful.

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Women's Support for Hillary Clinton is Not Universal

By Dan Gorenstein on Thursday, September 13, 2007.

For the first time, American voters have a viable female candidate for president.

New York Senator Hillary Clinton has money, political experience, and pedigree.

One might assume for much of the female Democratic base- she's a dream come true.

But New Hampshire Public Radio's Dan Gorenstein reports not all women democrats are ready to jump on the Hillary bandwagon.

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