As one of only six black pre-med students at Duke, Damon Tweedy was mistaken for a janitor…just one of many humiliations from the predominantly white field. Today, we’ll talk to Dr. Tweedy about the dearth of black doctors and what that means for people of color. Then, the trail of writers that have migrated from New York to New England to launch their careers have left a well-worn path. We’ll talk to two authors about the appeal of leaving the big apple for the natural beauty and quirky ways of New England.
Listen to the full show.
Black Man in a White Coat
In his memoir, Black Man in a White CoatDamon Tweedy writes about being caught between the white-dominated medical profession and his identity as a black man one generation removed from segregated poverty. He is now a physician and professor of psychiatry at Duke University who is concerned about the dearth of black doctors and what affect that has on people of color.
The "Great Gay Poet"?
In 1890 a young Englishman wrote to Walt Whitman with a simple question – were some of his most erotic poems about men? It wasn’t an outrageous claim – over the last few decades, the evidence suggest that Whitman indeed did have male lovers, which has made him something of a gay icon of the literary world. But how do we understand the sexuality of someone who lived prior to our conception of an LGBTQ community? BackStory producer Jesse Dukes tells the story of one gay poet’s struggle to do just that.
You can listen to this story again at PRX.org.
Airbnb in China
Alison Griswold is a contributor to “Moneybox”, Slate’s business and economics blog, where she wrote about Airbnb’s plans to house the expanding number of Chinese tourists.
Matt Harding - This I Believe
Matt Harding or “Dancing Matt” has spent a lot of time traveling to exotic locations and experiencing different cultures. His viral YouTube videos feature him dancing “terribly” all over the world, and they’ve turned him into an internet phenomenon. So, what has Matt learned from traveling to all those places and meeting all those people? He explained for the podcast This I Believe.
You can listen to this story again at PRX.org.
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New York to New England
Portsmouth Book & Bar is hosting “Leaving New York, Coming to New England: a Panel and Reading” on September 14. The panel includes Ann Beattie, Katherine Towler, Yascha Mounk, and Kate Christensen. Kate joined us, along with Benjamin Nugent(Director of Southern NH University’s Low Residency MFA Writing Program, which is sponsoring the panel), to tell us more about the event and the tradition of writers escaping New York for New England.
