The shear amount of media generated and consumed in the United States every day is simply staggering.  Eric Deggans reminds us that the stories we tell, tell us something about ourselves—whether those stories are about music, or politics, or race.

Deggans is NPR’s first full-time TV critic and media analyst, providing reviews, feature stories, commentary and guest hosting services for the network’s shows such as “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered,” along with writing for NPR.org and appearing on NPR podcasts such as “Consider This,” “Life Kit,” “Code Switch,” “Pop Culture Happy Hour” and “It’s Been a Minute.” Deggans is also an adjunct instructor at Duke University and Indiana University, a member of the National Advisory Board for the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and chair of the Media Monitoring Committee for the National Association of Black Journalists. From 2017 to 2021, he served as a contributor/media analyst for MSNBC and NBC News. In April 2021, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida gave him its Irene Miller Vigilance in Journalism Award.

The shear amount of media generated and consumed in the United States every day is simply staggering.  Eric Deggans reminds us that the stories we tell, tell us something about ourselves—whether those stories are about music, or politics, or race.
Deggans is NPR’s first full-time TV critic and media analyst, providing reviews, feature stories, commentary and guest hosting services for the network’s shows such as “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered,” along with writing for NPR.org and appearing on NPR podcasts such as “Consider This,” “Life Kit,” “Code Switch,” “Pop Culture Happy Hour” and “It’s Been a Minute.” Deggans is also an adjunct instructor at Duke University and Indiana University, a member of the National Advisory Board for the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and chair of the Media Monitoring Committee for the National Association of Black Journalists. From 2017 to 2021, he served as a contributor/media analyst for MSNBC and NBC News. In April 2021, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida gave him its Irene Miller Vigilance in Journalism Award.

Story in the Public Square is a weekly, 30-minute series that brings audiences to the intersection of storytelling and public affairs. Hosted by Jim Ludes and G. Wayne Miller, Story in the Public Square offers a spirited but respectful dialogue. Often funny, always provocative, each episode of Story in the Public Square
moves beyond traditional public affairs programming to consider the impact of narrative and storytelling on public life today.

Story in the Public Square is a weekly, 30-minute series that brings audiences to the intersection of storytelling and public affairs. Hosted by Jim Ludes and G. Wayne Miller, Story in the Public Square offers a spirited but respectful dialogue. Often funny, always provocative, each episode of Story in the Public Square moves beyond traditional public affairs programming to consider the impact of narrative and storytelling on public life today.

Story in the Public Square

Season 16

Eric Deggans on The Stories We Tell and the Truths They Reflect About Our World Today

From the joyous streets of Paris and the opening of the Olympic Games to the snap of gunfire at a presidential campaign rally, 2024 has seen its highs and lows. Evelyn Farkas helps us unpack the stories that defined 2024 and name our story of the year.   

Farkas is a highly respected expert in American foreign policy and geopolitics, particularly known for her insights into U.S.-Russia relations and now serves as the Executive Director of the Arizona State University’s McCain Institute, based in Washington, D.C.  She earned her MA and Ph.D. from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and is fluent in multiple languages. Under President Obama, Farkas served as the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia. She is the author of the book, “Fractured States and US Foreign Policy: Iraq, Ethiopia, and Bosnia in the 1990s.” Her writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe and on sites including The Daily Beast, Politico, and Foreign Policy. Farkas has had an extensive career in government and has held prominent roles, such as senior advisor for Public-Private Partnerships to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the Commander of the U.S. European Command, and executive director of the bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism. She also served as a senior staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, overseeing U.S. defense policy and military budgets. Farkas also serves on the boards of several prestigious organizations, including the Council on Foreign Relations and the Aspen Institute Socrates Seminar.  

From the joyous streets of Paris and the opening of the Olympic Games to the snap of gunfire at a presidential campaign rally, 2024 has seen its highs and lows. Evelyn Farkas helps us unpack the stories that defined 2024 and name our story of the year.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Farkas is a highly respected expert in American foreign policy and geopolitics, particularly known for her insights into U.S.-Russia relations and now serves as the Executive Director of the Arizona State University&rsquo;s McCain Institute, based in Washington, D.C.&nbsp; She earned her MA and Ph.D. from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and is fluent in multiple languages. Under President Obama, Farkas served as the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia. She is the author of the book, &ldquo;Fractured States and US Foreign Policy: Iraq, Ethiopia, and Bosnia in the 1990s.&rdquo; Her writing has been featured in&nbsp;The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe&nbsp;and on sites including&nbsp;The Daily Beast, Politico, and Foreign Policy. Farkas has had an extensive career in government and has&nbsp;held prominent roles, such as senior advisor for Public-Private Partnerships to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the Commander of the U.S. European Command, and executive director of the bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism. She also served as a senior staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, overseeing U.S. defense policy and military budgets. Farkas also serves on the boards of several prestigious organizations, including the Council on Foreign Relations and the Aspen Institute Socrates Seminar.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Geopolitics, Climate Change, and the Olympics: The 2024 Story of the Year with Evelyn Farkas

America’s wars have produced a legion of heroes.  But historian Ronald C. White focuses us on the story of Maine’s Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a Civil War lion whose service in war and in peace still resonates today.

White is the author of two New York Times bestselling biographies, “A. Lincoln: A Biography,” and “American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant,” which won the William Henry Seward Award for Excellence in Civil War Biography. His latest book, “On Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain,” was published in 2023 and is a USA Today national bestseller. He has also written, “Lincoln’s Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural,” a New York Times Notable Book, “The Eloquent President: A Portrait of Lincoln Through His Words,” a Los Angeles Times bestseller, and “Lincoln in Private: What His Most Personal Reflections Tell Us About Our Greatest President,” which received of the 2021 Barnondess/Lincoln award.  White is a graduate of UCLA and Princeton Theological Seminary and received a Ph.D. from Princeton University. He is a Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum in Washington, D.C. and has taught at UCLA, Whitworth University, Colorado College, and Princeton Theological Seminary.  He has lectured at the White House and been featured on the PBS NewsHour. He has spoken on Lincoln in England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, and New Zealand. He lives with his wife Cynthia in Pasadena California.

America’s wars have produced a legion of heroes.  But historian Ronald C. White focuses us on the story of Maine’s Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a Civil War lion whose service in war and in peace still resonates today.
White is the author of two New York Times bestselling biographies, “A. Lincoln: A Biography,” and “American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant,” which won the William Henry Seward Award for Excellence in Civil War Biography. His latest book, “On Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain,” was published in 2023 and is a USA Today national bestseller. He has also written, “Lincoln’s Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural,” a New York Times Notable Book, “The Eloquent President: A Portrait of Lincoln Through His Words,” a Los Angeles Times bestseller, and “Lincoln in Private: What His Most Personal Reflections Tell Us About Our Greatest President,” which received of the 2021 Barnondess/Lincoln award.  White is a graduate of UCLA and Princeton Theological Seminary and received a Ph.D. from Princeton University. He is a Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum in Washington, D.C. and has taught at UCLA, Whitworth University, Colorado College, and Princeton Theological Seminary.  He has lectured at the White House and been featured on the PBS NewsHour. He has spoken on Lincoln in England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, and New Zealand. He lives with his wife Cynthia in Pasadena California.

Ronald C. White Reflects on the Life and Legacy of Joshua Chamberlain

Survey after survey shows that local media is the most trusted media in the United States today. Tiziana Dearing transformed a successful career in advocacy, philanthropy, and the academy into the morning voice of news and information in one of America’s great cities. 

Dearing is the host of WBUR’s “Morning Edition.” Prior to helping listeners start the morning with news from around the corner and around the world, she hosted “Radio Boston,” WBUR’s daily local magazine, for five years. Prior to journalism, Dearing’s career spanned academia and advocacy work. She taught graduate students at the Boston College School of Social Work and chaired its program in Social Innovation and Leadership. Dearing also ran a start-up foundation focused on breaking generational cycles of poverty in Boston neighborhoods and was the first woman president of Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Boston. Additionally, she ran a research center at the Harvard Kennedy School and worked in management consulting. She earned the Pinnacle Award from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and was named one of Boston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40.

Survey after survey shows that local media is the most trusted media in the United States today. Tiziana Dearing transformed a successful career in advocacy, philanthropy, and the academy into the morning voice of news and information in one of America’s great cities. 
Dearing is the host of WBUR’s “Morning Edition.” Prior to helping listeners start the morning with news from around the corner and around the world, she hosted “Radio Boston,” WBUR’s daily local magazine, for five years. Prior to journalism, Dearing’s career spanned academia and advocacy work. She taught graduate students at the Boston College School of Social Work and chaired its program in Social Innovation and Leadership. Dearing also ran a start-up foundation focused on breaking generational cycles of poverty in Boston neighborhoods and was the first woman president of Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Boston. Additionally, she ran a research center at the Harvard Kennedy School and worked in management consulting. She earned the Pinnacle Award from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and was named one of Boston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40.

Eric Deggans on The Stories We Tell and the Truths They Reflect About Our World Today

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