Friday, July 25 – Friday, August 1

Gender inequality and discriminatory laws make it harder for women and girls around the world to climb out of poverty, but Ritu Sharma, co-founder of Women Thrive Worldwide, says there is hope. In her new book, “Teach a Woman to Fish: Overcoming Poverty Around the Globe”, Sharma shares stories of women who are fighting the crippling societal forces that have kept them in poverty.

In this week’s installment of “Five Things You Should Know About… “, Martin Bucknavage, Food Safety Extension Associate in the Department of Food Science at Penn State University, offers advice on how to prepare food safely.

In 2012, the city of Albuquerque, N.M., chose Hakim Bellamy as its first poet laureate. From politics to hip-hop, Bellamy uses his hard-hitting style to speak to the modern experience while paying homage to American history. He joins us to talk about his first collection of poetry, “Swear.”

There was more turmoil in Ukraine this week. Two of its fighter jets were shot down, the governing coalition in the nation’s Parliament collapsed and the prime minister resigned. All of this comes as the investigation into the destruction of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine continues. William B. Taylor, Jr., a former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, offers his analysis.

For decades, the Blue Ridge Mountains region of southwest Virginia was the furniture-making capital of the world. Then came intense competition from China, and one by one, the region’s small manufacturers began closing down. But one of them wouldn’t give in to globalization. Journalist Beth Macy recounts the tale in her new book, “Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local—and Helped Save an American Town”.

In the new book, “The Skeleton Crew: How Amateur Sleuths Are Solving America’s Coldest Cases”, the central characters are ordinary folks who spend their free time engaged in an unusual pursuit – matching missing persons with unidentified remains, using any number of Internet databases. Author Deborah Halber fills us in on this unusual subculture.

In his 3-minute sports drill, George Johnson revisits the issue of compensation for college athletes and addresses the controversial comments by former NFL coach Tony Dungy about Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted into the NFL.

Drummer Ralph Peterson’s influence on jazz is no surprise considering that his mentor was Art Blakey. Peterson assumed the role of mentor himself for his latest project, which brings together his current and former students from the Berklee College of Music in a band he calls his “Fo’tet.” Peterson joins us to share, “ALIVE at Firehouse 12, Vol. 2: Fo’ n Mo’”, presented by the Ralph Peterson Fo’tet Augmented.