Mayoral Candidate Jeff Brown, Authors Confronting Book Bans, Black Maternal Health

Jeff Brown is the next Philly mayoral candidate to join us. We're also talking about book challenges in Central Bucks School District with Jean Kwok and Laurie Halse Anderson.

Air Date: April 19, 2023 12:00 pm

Sarah Zhang, a Central Bucks alum, spoke at a rally ahead of the Central Bucks School District’s vote to remove books perceived to have sexualized content from their libraries on July 26, 2022. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)

Philadelphia mayoral candidate Jeff Brown is next to join our interviews with the people who want to succeed Mayor Jim Kenney, less than a month out from the democratic primary.

Acclaimed best-selling authors Laurie Halse Anderson and Jean Kwok, whose books are on a list of over 65 titles being challenged in Central Bucks School District, join us to talk about the rise in book bans and what it’s like for authors to have their stories threatened. They’ve both defended their own books in front of the school board, and the rights of other authors to have their stories remain on library shelves.

Black women are four times more likely to die of pregnancy related causes than their white counterparts in Philadelphia. We’re talking about the cause — and ways to fix the problem — with maternal health researcher Dr. Jill Baker.

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