"The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science"

Our guest is Kate Zernike, who has been a reporter for The New York Times since 2000. (She was a member of the team that won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for stories about al-Qaeda before and after 9/11.) Zernike joins us to discuss her new book, "The Exceptions," which details alarming and pervasive discrimination against women scientists at MIT and other leading academic institutions in the US. As was noted of this book by Alan Lightman, the acclaimed science writer (and author of "Einstein's Dreams"): "Two decades ago, MIT recognized the gender inequality in its faculty and publicly began an effort to address the situation. This well-researched and well-written book tells that story and places it in an historical and national context. Despite our advances in science and technology, our country and our world still have a long way to go in acknowledging the talents, worth, and contributions of women."