Pushing Back: Interview with Ariella Rotramel
Interviewed by Hongdeng Gao
Today on the blog, Gotham editor, Hongdeng Gao interviews Ariella Rotramel, author of Pushing Back: Women of Color–Led Grassroots Activism in New York City. The book explores women of color’s grassroots leadership in organizations that are not singularly identified with feminism. Centered in New York City, Pushing Back brings an intersectional perspective to communities of color as it addresses injustices tied to domestic work, housing, and environmental policies and practices.
Read MoreA History of New York in 27 Buildings: The 400-Year Untold Story of an American Metropolis
Sam Roberts Interviewed by David O. Monda
David O. Monda, guest host of CUNY's Gotham Center for New York City History, speaks with longtime New York Times reporter Sam Roberts, host of CUNY-TV's The New York Times Close Up, about his new book — A History of New York in 27 Buildings: The 400-Year Untold Story of an American Metropolis.
Read MoreLast Subway: The Long Wait for the Next Train in New York City
Philip Mark Plotch Interviewed by Robert W. Snyder
Ever since New York City built one of the world’s great subway systems, no promise has been more tantalizing than the proposal to build a new subway line under Second Avenue in Manhattan. Yet the Second Avenue subway — although first envisioned in the 1920s, did not open until 2017 — and even then in a truncated form.
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Flash: The Making of Weegee the Famous
Christopher Bonanos Interviewed by Robert W. Snyder
In the middle of the 20th century, a newspaper photographer who went by the name of Weegee took memorable pictures of New York City’s street life that appeared everywhere from tabloid newspapers to seminars on the history of photography.
Read MoreEngineering America: The Life and Times of John A. Roebling
Richard Haw, interviewed by Beth Harpaz
The beloved Brooklyn Bridge was one of the most daring feats of 19th Century engineering. The man who designed it was equally daring and a paradox of personality: An oddball who engineered a structure that was a marvel of stability at a time when suspension bridges routinely fell down. Richard Haw, a professor in the Interdisciplinary Studies Program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, has written two previous books about the Brooklyn Bridge. The focus of his latest – after 13 years of research – is the man behind the bridge. Engineering America: The Life and Times of John A. Roebling tells one of the most fascinating American immigrant stories. Haw talks about it with Beth Harpaz, editor of CUNY SUM.
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Racial Migrations: New York City and the Revolutionary Politics of the Spanish Caribbean
Jesse Hoffnung-Garskof, interviewed by Tyesha Maddox
In the late nineteenth century, a small group of Cubans and Puerto Ricans of African descent settled in the segregated tenements of New York City. Jesse Hoffnung-Garskof’s book presents a vivid portrait of these largely forgotten revolutionaries and reveals the complexities of race-making within migrant communities and the power of small groups of immigrants to transform their home societies.
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The Rise and Fall of The Young Lords
Johanna Fernandez, interviewed by Beth Harpaz
One of the most influential groups of the radical ’60s was the Young Lords, an organization of poor and working class Puerto Ricans that began as a street gang and rose to confront the racism of institutions from government to religion. Johanna Fernandez, a professor of history at Baruch College, traces their roots and tells the story of their rise and fall in The Young Lords: A Radical History.
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Crying the News: A History of America's Newsboys
Interviewed by Beth Harpaz
Today on the blog, another podcast! Beth Harpaz, editor of CUNY SUM, interviews historian Vincent DiGirolamo about his new book, Crying For The News: A History of America's Newsboys. Listen to the interview here.
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(Podcast) Discovering Ancient Greece and Rome in the Modern City
Today on Gotham, Beth Harpaz, editor of CUNY SUM, interviews Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis about Classical New York: Discovering Greece and Rome in Gotham. The new volume, co-edited with Matthew McGowan, explores how and why New York City became a showcase for the art and architectural styles of ancient Greece and Rome — from the public spaces at Rockefeller Center to the Gould Memorial Library at Bronx Community College.
Listen to their interview here.
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