A compelling documentary produced by Ideastream Public Media aired this week on WVIZ PBS. It features the winners of the 88th Annual Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, the only American book prize focusing on works that address racism and diversity.
Ideastream's Gabriel Kramer and Natalia Garcia spent months in 2023 traveling around the country to produce the documentary. They traveled from Iowa to Massachusetts to New Hampshire, to here in Ohio to get to know these acclaimed writers.
The documentary was hosted by Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., who has served as the book awards' committee chair for the past 27 years. It premiered Monday night to PBS stations nationwide, but viewers will get another chance to watch it Thursday at 8 p.m. on WVIZ PBS. You can also stream it online and on PBS Passport.
We're going to start Thursday's "Sound of Ideas" by talking to Gabriel Kramer about lessons learned from meeting these writers, and from the documentary process as a whole.
And later in this hour, we'll discuss how local organizations are addressing food insecurity in Stark County.
Food insecurity has been a growing concern nationwide and here in Ohio. A recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found a severe increase in those facing hunger due to inflation and an end to increased funding for social safety-net programs.
A 2023 assessment from the Stark County Community Action Agency found over 40,000 people experienced food insecurity in 2021, the latest data available. But local organizations are stepping in to help meet the need by operating food pantries and grocery stores for low-income residents.
We’ll discuss the state of food insecurity in Stark County, and the work of these nonprofits, which is an idea that came to our team from listener Ryan when we asked for ideas to cover in 2024.
Guests:
-Gabriel Kramer, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Douglas Colmery, Food Justice Development Director, StarkFresh
-Stephanie Sweany, Executive Director, Stark County Hunger Task Force
-Don Ackerman, Lead Pastor, Canton For All People
