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About The Show
In America, women make up more than half the population. Worldwide, women are expected to outnumber men within the next fifty years – and every issue we face is one that affects us all. Whether it’s the environment, health, our children, politics or the arts, there’s a women’s perspective, and 51% is a show dedicated to that viewpoint. Host Jesse King talks to experts in their field for a wide-ranging, entertaining discussion of issues that not only fall into the traditional ‘women’s issues’ category, but topics that concern us all as human beings and citizens of the global community.
Meet The Host
Jesse King has been with WAMC since 2018, and currently produces its afternoon news programs. She also produces the WAMC podcast, A New York Minute in History. She grew up an avid writer and radio-nerd in upstate New York, and holds a B.A. in Music Industry and Mass Communications from SUNY Oneonta. You can find her reading, watching Marvel movies, and playing the fiddle in her free time.
More Episodes
“Decolonizing science” with Drs. Fowler and Vandebroek
On this week’s 51%, our associate producer Jody Cowan speaks with ethnobotanist Dr. Ina...
Jessica Palden on “Teardrop on Fire”
On this week’s 51%, we hear from the director of a new documentary telling the stories of...
Muriel Fox on “The Women’s Revolution”
On this week’s 51%, we sit down with Muriel Fox, feminist activist and cofounder of the...
Kamala Harris steps forward
Following President Biden's decision to step away from this year's presidential election, Vice...
Dr. Camille Clare on C-section recovery
On this week's 51%, we speak with Dr. Camille Clare, an OB/GYN and professor at SUNY Downstate,...
Looking back on New Paltz’s “Winter of Love”
On this week's 51%, we brush up on the history of marriage equality in the U.S., and look back...
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Gloria Steinem and Leymah Gbowee on "Rise, Girl, Rise"
Feb 12, 2026 • 00:29:31
On this week’s 51%, we speak with feminist icons Gloria Steinem and Leymah Gbowee about their new children’s book, “Rise, Girl, Rise: Our Sister-Friend Journey. Together for All.” Describing their unique paths as feminists fighting for gender equality and peace, “Rise, Girl, Rise,” reminds readers young and old of the…
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Kate King on when to 'Mend or Move On'
Feb 5, 2026 • 00:32:40
Love isn’t always easy, but how do you know when it’s time to walk away? On this week’s 51%, we speak with counselor Kate King about the difference between good relationships, bad relationships, and toxic ones. King boasts nearly 20 years of experience as a licensed counselor and board-certified art…
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Meghan Rabbitt on 'The New Rules of Women's Health'
Jan 29, 2026 • 00:29:20
On this week’s 51%, we chat about The New Rules of Women’s Health with veteran health journalist Meghan Rabbitt. For too long, Rabbitt says the broader medical field has limited conversations around women’s health to “bikini medicine” — reproductive concerns and breast health — while otherwise assuming women have the same…
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Kat Koppett on 'Training to Imagine'
Jan 22, 2026 • 00:30:43
On this week’s 51%, we speak with Kat Koppett, co-director of The Mopco Improv Theatre in Schenectady, New York and founder of Koppett, a consultancy company that uses improv to help businesses improve their workplace culture and collaboration. Koppett says the tools used in improvisational theater can apply to many…
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Dr. Frank Putnam on how abuse impacts girls — and transcends generations
Jan 15, 2026 • 00:32:53
On this week’s 51%, we speak with Dr. Frank Putnam, professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, about the Female Growth and Development Study (FGDS), which he co-founded with the late Dr. Penelope Trickett in 1987. The FGDS, which is still running today, has…
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Quiara Alegría Hudes on "The White Hot"
Jan 8, 2026 • 00:29:09
On this week’s 51%, we speak with author and playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes about her debut novel, The White Hot. Hudes is the Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright of Water by the Spoonful and the musical In the Heights, which she also adapted for the screen. The White Hot takes the form of a letter…
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Olivia Dreizen Howell on fresh starts
Jan 1, 2026 • 00:31:51
On this week’s 51%, we speak with the founder and CEO of Fresh Starts Registry, a registry and education network for those navigating divorce, difficult breakups, and other major life changes. Olivia Dreizen Howell founded Fresh Starts Registry with her sister, Jenny, after her own divorce left her feeling isolated…
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The best of 2025
Dec 25, 2025 • 00:29:51
On this week’s 51%, we look back on some of our favorite conversations from 2025: Dr. Heather Hirsch discusses the FDA’s decision to remove “black box” warning labels from hormonal therapies used to treat symptoms of menopause; Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson explains how President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful…
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Miriam Udel on 'worldmaking' through Yiddish children's literature
Dec 18, 2025 • 00:29:30
On this week’s 51%, we speak with Emory University Professor Miriam Udel about how a 20th Century movement of Yiddish literature strived to help Jewish children make sense of a tumultuous world and shape the future of Jewish culture. Udel’s latest book on the subject — including how some Yiddish…
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Brianne Brinker on 'Skating Out of the Vault'
Dec 11, 2025 • 00:29:54
On this week’s 51%, we hear from author Brianne Brinker, assistant athletic director at Union College, about her experience coming out and transitioning as a transgender woman in 2019. Brinker says “skating out of the vault” has allowed her to be her most confident self, and she considers finding herself…