Best Of: The Status Of Abortion Rights / Novelist Jonathan Escoffery

We’ll talk about the latest developments and strategies in the fight over abortion rights with Mary Ziegler, who has written several books on the law, history and politics of abortion. Her new book, Roe: The History of a National Obsession, is about how abortion has remained at the center of America’s culture wars and political battles.

Also, we’ll hear from writer Jonathan Escoffery. His semi-autobiographical collection of stories, If I Survive You, is on our book critic Maureen Corrigan’s list of the best books of 2022. The main character, like Escoffery, is the American-born son of Jamaican immigrants, trying to figure out how race and racism work in America, and where he’s supposed to fit.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new solo album from pianist and composer Kenny Baron.