Learning from Elie Wiesel, 'The Female Persuasion,' The Helga Podcast

Author and rabbi, Ariel Burger, joins us to discuss his new book, Witness: Lessons from Elie Wiesel’s Classroom. As Elie Wiesel’s former teaching assistant, Burger offers his unique perspective on Wiesel as a teacher as well as Wiesel's thoughts about religion, hatred, activism, and memory. 

Meg Wolitzer (at 18:05) joins us to discuss her twelfth novel for adults, The Female Persuasion, which follows the life of Greer Kadetsky, a young woman who finds a mentor in Faith Frank. The novel has been seen as a modern story of our current national conversation on feminism, sexual harassment, and the #MeToo movement.

The performer and artist Helga Davis (at 39:15) has worked in opera, theater, and fine art. She starred in Robert Wilson and Philip Glass’s opera, Einstein on the Beach, as well as in Robert Wilson’s The Temptation of St. Anthony. She also hosts the Helga podcast and joins us to discuss a new, special presentation of her podcast, which airs on WNYC on November 26.