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“Writing with equal passion as a journalist and a mother, Courtney Martin interrogates the history and the moral contradictions of “elite parenting,” gentrification, and school choice. She lives the question of how to chart a new way forward with her daughter in their neighborhood. This is a kind of modeling our society needs – as openly messy as the work of remaking our world.”—Krista Tippett
When Courtney Martin learned that White families in her gentrifying neighborhood largely avoided the majority-Black, poorly-rated public school down the street, she began asking why. In Learning in Public, Martin examines her own fears, assumptions, and conversations with other parents as they navigate school choice. It’s a vivid portrait of integration’s virtues and complexities.
Courtney E. Martin is the author of five books, including Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists and The New Better Off: Reinventing the American Dream, as well as the popular newsletter Examined Family. She is the co-founder of the Solutions Journalism Network, FRESH Speakers, and the Bay Area chapter of Integrated Schools, as well as the Storyteller-in-Residence at The Holding Co. Martin has collaborated with a wide range of organizations, including TED, The Aspen Institute, and the Obama Foundation, won the Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics, and holds an honorary doctorate from ArtCenter College of Design.
Anna Sale is the host and managing editor of Death, Sex & Money, WNYC’s interview show about the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation. Death, Sex & Money was named the number one podcast of 2015 by New York Magazine and is an iTunes Editors’ Choice podcast. Before developing Death, Sex & Money, Anna covered politics for years, including the 2013 New York City mayoral race, the 2012 presidential campaign, and the statehouse beat in Connecticut and West Virginia. She has contributed to Fresh Air with Terry Gross, This American Life, NPR News, Marketplace, Studio 360, PBS Newshour, and Slate.