This Month on "Story in the Public Square" - November 2026
"Story in the Public Square" is a national broadcast that unpacks narratives with outside impact on public understanding and public policy. Hosted by Jim Ludes, the show can be seen each week on public television stations across the United States and seeks to study, celebrate and tell stories that matter.
Alex Wright: Nov. 2-8, 2026
Popular culture would insist that the rise of the American newspaper is the history of big, urban dailies. Author Alex Wright says that misses the point, that newspapers emerged in the 19th century because of the will and innovation of countless local publishers across the young and growing country.
Rory Cormac: Nov. 9-15, 2026
In the mid-twentieth century, strategists developed the idea of “cold war” as an alternative to “hot war” between nuclear armed Super Powers. Professor of international relations Rory Cormac unearthed a trove of previously classified documents revealing the role of forgeries, front-organizations, and fabrications at the height of the conflict.
Steve Feldstein: Nov. 16-22, 2026
The centrality of technology to international power and conflict is not a new or even modern phenomenon. But foreign policy expert Steve Feldstein says computer chips and artificial intelligence are transforming modern warfare and even the bases of international power.
Daniel Cox: Nov. 23-29, 2026
That women and men are different and have different hopes, dreams, and viewpoints is not news. But the divergence of men and women on issue after issue, from life goals to politics, is a remarkable phenomenon that researcher Daniel Cox argues threatens societal collapse.
Casey Michel: Nov. 30–Dec. 5, 2026
It’s no surprise to talk about the power that great wealth gives individuals. But author Casey Michel describes the rise of a new, American oligarchy with the kind of power once reserved for nation states now in individual hands.
In Rhode Island and southeastern New England, the show is broadcast on Rhode Island PBS on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. and is rebroadcast on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. Check your local public television listings for air times near you!
An audio version of the program airs Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET, Sundays at 3:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. and Mondays at 5:30 a.m. ET on SiriusXM’s popular P.O.T.U.S. (Politics of the United States), channel 124.