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Hillary Clinton has spent a lot of time in the spotlight. We know her as a First Lady, a U.S. Senator from New York, President Obama's Secretary of State, a candidate in the 2016 presidential election, and as the wife of former President Bill Clinton. 

Yet most everything we know about Hillary as an individual separate from Bill has been filtered through the media, through President Trump's Twitter feed, and through the many conspiracy theories linked to her name. 

But after all the years of Hillary at Bill's side and after her loss in the 2016 election, didn't you wonder how Hillary Clinton's life might have been different if she never married Bill? Would she have broken the "glass ceiling" if she hadn't been married to Bill?

We talk to a writer who imagined Hillary's life without Bill. 

GUEST:  
Curtis Sittenfeld is the author of a collection of short stories, You Think It, I’ll Say It, as well as six novels, including Prep and Eligible. Her non-fiction has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and NPR’s This American Life, among others. Her new novel is Rodham.

Hillary Clinton has spent a lot of time in the spotlight. We know her as a First Lady, a U.S. Senator from New York, President Obama's Secretary of State, a candidate in the 2016 presidential election, and as the wife of former President Bill Clinton.&nbsp;
Yet most everything we know about Hillary as an individual separate from Bill&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review/the-hunting-of-hillary-michael-dantonio.html">has been filtered</a>&nbsp;through the media, through President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-26951-y.pdf?origin=ppub">Trump's Twitter feed</a>, and through the many&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/hunting-of-hillary-author-on-clinton-conspiracies-and-conservative-attacks-118701/">conspiracy theories</a>&nbsp;linked to her name.&nbsp;
But after all the years of Hillary at Bill's side and after her loss in the 2016 election, didn't you wonder how Hillary Clinton's life might have been different if she never married Bill? Would she have broken the "glass ceiling" if she hadn't been married to Bill?
We talk to a writer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rodham-Novel-Curtis-Sittenfeld/dp/0399590919">who imagined</a>&nbsp;Hillary's life without Bill.&nbsp;
GUEST:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<ul>
<li><a href="https://curtissittenfeld.com/">Curtis Sittenfeld</a>&nbsp;is the author of a collection of short stories,&nbsp;You Think It, I&rsquo;ll Say It, as well as six novels, including&nbsp;Prep&nbsp;and&nbsp;Eligible. Her non-fiction has appeared in&nbsp;The New York Times, The Atlantic,&nbsp;and NPR&rsquo;s&nbsp;This American Life,&nbsp;among others. Her new novel is&nbsp;Rodham.</li>
</ul>

The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/about">The Colin McEnroe Show</a> is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/tags/the-nose">The Nose</a> for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

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