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Director Connie Field and anti-apartheid activist Adwoa Dunn-Mouton discuss “Have You Heard from Johannesburg,” Field's seven-film documentary on the worldwide movement to abolish South Africa’s racist system of Apartheid. “Have You Heard from Johannesburg” is playing at Film Forum April 14-27. More information, schedule, and tickets here.

Last month, a black City councilmenber in Phoenix, Ariz. was tackled to the ground and handcuffed by a white police officer. At the time of the scuffle, the councilmember was checking on a neighbor whose house was on fire. The police department has since said its officer did nothing wrong. But many residents, particularly in South Phoenix, say this case highlights a deep-seeded racial conflict in the city and a long-standing mistrust between black residents and the police department.

David Remnick, discusses the circumstances and experiences of Barack Obama’s life and explores the ambition behind his rise. His book The Bridge offers the most complete account yet of Obama’s upbringing and the experiences that shaped his greater mission.

Hugh Pope, an acclaimed former foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, has lived and worked in two dozen countries throughout the Middle East. In Dining with Al-Qaeda, he presents a modern-day exploration of the politics, religion, and aspirations of Muslim peoples to show how the Middle East is ...

For every dollar of wealth held by their male counterparts, women of color have one small penny. Mariko Chang, author of a new report from Insight, the Center for Community Economic Development, discusses her research on the racial and gender wealth gap.

Gene Dattel explains how the relationship between cotton and the African American experience has been central to the history of the country, and central to America’s legacy of slavery and discrimination. His book Cotton and Race in the Making of America: The Human Costs of Economic Power describes how ...

On July First, all Puerto Rican birth certificates will become invalid. U.S. officials say many fraudulent applications for U.S. passports and social benefits use Puerto Rican birth certificates so the Puerto Rican government is requiring every one born on the island to apply for new ones. Among Puerto Ricans in ...

For today’s Underreported, Mac McClelland talks about the Burmese government’s secret ethnic cleansing campaign, and her experience living with associates of a US-designated terrorist organization battling Burma's. She’s the author of For Us Surrender Is Out of the Question: A Story of Burma’s Never-Ending War.

Rebecca Skloot discusses the life and legacy of Henrietta Lacks, a poor Southern tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. Her book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the story of the Lacks family, the dark history of experimentation on ...

Hiram Monserrate, who was expelled from the state senate, has lost his bid to get his seat back. He lost to Democratic Assemblyman Jose Peralta in a special election in Queens last night. WNYC's Ailsa Chang reports.

REPORTER: It wasn't even close. The unofficial returns gave Peralta 65 percent of the ...

Historian Nell Irvin Painter explains how the idea of the white race was invented, and why. In The History of White People she shows how the origins of American identity in the eighteenth century were tied to the elevation of white skin into the embodiment of beauty, power, and ...

Helen Simonson discusses her debut novel, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, which tells the story of Major Ernest Pettigrew, a wry, courtly Englishman who lives a quiet life who strikes up an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village.

Event: Helen Simonson will be ...

As part of this year's census, the city has launched the biggest grassroots campaign in history to count immigrants who're here illegally. One focus of the effort is northwest Queens: neighborhoods like Jackson Heights and Elmhurst, where there’s been a surge of new Hispanic immigrants since 2000. In the past, ...

A recent book unravels the myth of black inferiority. Tom Burrell, the author of Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority, shares insights from his book.

Our effort to spotlight some of the lesser-known films nominated for an Academy Award concludes with the film Which Way Home. Director Rebecca Cammisa discusses her HBO documentary.