As far back as Dorothy Roberts can remember, her father’s book on interracial marriage loomed large. He worked on the book for decades, but never finished it. As an adult, Dorothy decided to go through old boxes of her father’s notes. What she found gave her insight not only into her father’s research, but also helped her learn more about parents’ own interracial marriage.

This hour, we’re talking to Dorothy Roberts about her new book The Mixed Marriage Project: A Memoir of Love, Race, and Family— it explores not only her parents' research, but also the way it helped her better understand her family.

GUEST:

• Dorothy Roberts: George A. Weiss University Professor of Law & Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty, and her newest book is The Mixed Marriage Project: A Memoir of Love, Race, and Family.

Photo Credit: Chris Crisman

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Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw's work as a legal scholar has been massively influential. She coined the term “intersectionality,” which refers to the way multiple interlocking systems of power overlap to shape people's lived experiences.

Her work has also faced its share of pushback. She came up with the phrase "critical race theory," a subject that has been widely misunderstood as it has become a flashpoint in the culture wars.

But when Professor Crenshaw meets controversy, she isn’t afraid to talk back. Hence the title of her new book, Backtalker: An American Memoir.

GUEST:

• Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw: Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law at Columbia Law School and Distinguished Professor of Law and Promise Institute Chair in Human Rights at U.C.L.A. Law School. She is also Executive Director of the African American Policy Forum. Her new book is Backtalker: An American Memoir.

This episode originally aired on July 24, 2026.

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Giving birth can have a serious impact on a person’s physical and mental health. Postpartum psychosis has been in the news recently due to the Lindsay Clancy case, but that is just one of many challenges that people can face during and after childbirth. 1 in 8 people who give birth experience postpartum depression. That’s according to the CDC.

There are also disparities in the way childbirth affects people— the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black people was three times higher than the rate for non-Hispnaic white people in 2023 and 2024.

This hour, we discuss childbirth and postpartum health.

GUESTS:

• Emily Fields: resident of Norwalk, CT.

• Sujata Srinivasan: Senior Health Reporter for Connecticut Public.

• Tiffany Donelson: President and CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation.

Resources Discussed in this Episode:

• ACCESS Mental Health and Substance Use for Moms

• Postpartum Support International

• Maternal health equity: A blueprint for Connecticut

Special thanks to our interns Julian Clarke-Dixon and Cooper Formica.

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