An "impeccably researched book" (Michelle Bowdler) about intimate abuse, campus politics, and the narratives we choose to believe "gives a fresh perspective on what it means to be a survivor." ( Kirkus starred review ) In this poignant self-investigation, historian and journalist Joy Neumeyer explores how violence against women is portrayed, perceived, and adjudicated today. Interweaving the harrowing account of the abuse she experienced as a graduate student at Berkeley with those of others who faced violence on campus and beyond, Neumeyer offers a startling look at how the hotly-debated Title IX system has altered university politics and culture, and uncovers the willful misremembrance that enables misconduct on scales large and small. Deeply researched, daringly inquisitive, and resonant for our times, A Survivor's Education reveals the entanglement of storytelling, abuse, and power–and how we can balance narrative and evidence in our attempts to determine what “really” happened.

Recommended on 1 episode:

What if Trump Just Ignores the Courts?

We are moving into the next phase of Donald Trump’s presidency. Phase 1 was the blitz of executive actions. Now comes the response from the other parts of the government — namely, the courts. A slew of judges, some of them Republican appointees, have frozen a number of the administration’s most aggressive actions: the destruction of U.S.A.I.D., the spending freeze, DOGE’s access to the Treasury payments system and the executive order to end birthright citizenship, to name just a few. The administration has largely — though not entirely — been abiding by these court decisions. Over the weekend, Vice President JD Vance suggested it might stop. “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” he posted. Down that path lies a true constitutional crisis. So what happens if the Trump administration simply tells the courts to shove it? And what other pushback and opposition is the administration beginning to face across the government? Quinta Jurecic, a senior editor at Lawfare, joins me to talk it through.

Books recommended:

• 📕  Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory by David W. Blight
• 📘  A Survivor's Education: Women, Violence, and the Stories We Don’t Tell by Joy Neumeyer
• 📗  The Rebel: An Essay on Man in Revolt by Albert Camus

Quinta Jurecic Feb. 11, 2025 3 books recommended

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