Lenin, Sasha, and the Second March First

This Thursday, January 27th, at 4:15 p.m. (eastern), Merry Gangemi welcomes Philip Pomper, William F. Armstrong Professor of History at Wesleyan University, to Woman-Stirred Radio for a discussion of his latest book, Lenin's Brother: The Origins of the October Revolution

Lenin's Brother is an accessible and engaging history of Alexander Ulyanov (Sasha), the oldest brother of Vladimir Lenin. The book details and explores the complex family dynamics and psychology of the Ulyanov family, and how Alexander Ulyanov (Sasha) turned away from an undeniably promising and brilliant career in biology to become one of the leaders of the Second March First, a small group of would-be assassins of Tsar Alexander III.

" History has largely forgotten Alexander, but... his younger brother, Vladimir, went on to lead the October Revolution of 1917 and head the new Soviet government under his revolutionary pseudonym 'Lenin.' Probing the Ulyanov family archives, historian Philip Pomper uncovers Alexander’s transformation from ascetic student to terrorist,... Vividly portraying the psychological dynamics of a family that would change history, Lenin’s Brother is a perspective-changing glimpse into Lenin’s formative years—and his subsequent behavior as a revolutionary.

So please tune in or stream Woman-Stirred Radio live at WGDR. If you'd like to join in the conversation call the air studio 802.454.7762.

Mystery Writer Ellen Hart visits Woman-Stirred Radio

This Thursday, January 21st, at 5:00 (eastern) Merry Gangemi welcomes mystery writer extrodinaire Ellen Hart to Woman-Stirred Radio.

Ellen is a five-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Mystery, as well as a three-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award for Best Popular Fiction. Entertainment Weekly recently named her one of the "101 movers and shakers in the gay entertainment industry." For the last eleven years, Ellen has taught "An Introduction to Writing the Modern Mystery" through the The Loft Literary Center, the largest independent writing community in the nation. Her newest novels are No Reservations Required, A Sophie Greenway Mystery (June 2005) and The Mortal Groove, A Jane Lawless Mystery (December 2007). Sweet Poison, the next Jane Lawless mystery, will be released in November of 2008. The Mortal Groove has been nominated for this year's Lambda Literary Award. Ellen lives in Minneapolis with her partner of 30 years (ellenhart.com).

So please tune in, this coming Thursday, January 21st at 5:00 (eastern) for a delightful interview with Ellen Hart. Want to join the conversation? The air studio phone number is 802.454.7762.

Sexuality & Socialism: Sherry Wolf on Woman-Stirred Radio

This Thursday on WSR please join me, Merry Gangemi, in welcoming author and lesbian activist Sherry Wolf. We'll talk about her new book, Sexuality and Socialism: History, Politics and Theory of LGBT Liberation (Haymarket, 2009). Fluidly-written and delightfully accessible, Sexuality and Socialism recounts and explores the history of the LGBT liberation movement, and articulates strategies and possibilities in achieving equality and full citizenship.

Sherry Wolf is a member of the editorial board of International Socialist Review, Wolf has written articles on a variety of topics ranging from the war in Iraq to the struggle of women to gain access to abortion. Her articles “Stonewall: The birth of gay power,” and “The Myth of the Black/Gay Divide” as well as essays and lectures can be seen in Monthly Review, Znet, and on CounterPunch, and on YouTube.

Praise for Sherry Wolf and Sexuality and Socialism:

"'What humans have constructed they can tear down.' This is the powerful insight of this rare book that is at once politically important, theoretically and historically sophisticated, and clearly written. Sexuality and Socialism is enlivened in its engagement with a number of controversies, including those over the alleged biological determination of homosexuality, the myth of Black homophobia, and the consequences of postmodernist theories for the politics of gay liberation. Above all else, Wolf puts forward a cogent defense of the Marxist tradition—long and wrongly reviled as homophobic in itself—as a way to explain how LGBT oppression arose and what we can do to put it to bed” (Dana Cloud, University of Texas at Austin).

The Ticking Is the Bomb: An Interview with Nick Flynn

Today at 4:15, Nick Flynn visits Woman-Stirred Radio to discuss his new memoir The Ticking Is the Bomb, a memoir that explores the insidious, subtle consequences of the political crimes the United States has perpetrated since September 11, 2001.

"Flynn artfully interweaves passages from his childhood, his relationships with women, and his growing obsession: a questioning of terror, torture, and the political crimes we can neither see nor understand in post-9/11 American life" (WW Norton)

Shadows are ever-present in America today. We posit, as a consumer society, that whatever doesn't bring us pleasure is useless; it also precludes us from being curious about what Washington is doing in our name. This is what Nick Flynn alludes to in The Ticking is the Bomb: the fact that Americans accept "a potential truth buried in a tangible lie." But what else can we learn from Flynn? Probably that no one is free from responsibility and that we cannot claim whatever we dislike or find distasteful as unreal, as in not real.

So please tune in to Woman-Stirred Radio. on WGDR 91.1 fm (in Central Vermont) or stream us live at WGDR.

Want to join in the discussion? Call the air studio at 802.454.7762.

Woman-Stirred Radio broadcasts live every Thursday afternoon from 4 to 6 pm (eastern). For more information about Woman-Stirred Radio, click here.