Michele Willens

Michele Willens is a freelance writer based in New York. She reports on the theater world for NPR-owned Robin Hood Radio. She cowrote, with Wendy Kout, the play Don’t Blame me. I Voted for Helen Gahagan Douglas.

Then-Representative Helen Gahagan Douglas speaks at the Democratic National Convention in 1948.

Nixon and Trump: The Good Women They Defeated Nixon and Trump: The Good Women They Defeated

We remember Trump’s female opponent. Time to remember Nixon’s?

Jun 21, 2024 / Michele Willens

Richard Goodwin And Doris Kearns Wedding

The Goodwins and Their “Unfinished Love Story” The Goodwins and Their “Unfinished Love Story”

A personal history of the 1960s.

Apr 5, 2024 / Michele Willens

Black and white photo of young people protesting against nuclear weapons, holding sign that reads 'stop nuclear weapons'

Why I Will See “Oppenheimer” Before “Barbie” Why I Will See “Oppenheimer” Before “Barbie”

How my father’s life working to end the nuclear threat influences me.

Jul 18, 2023 / Michele Willens

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice

Travels in the South Travels in the South

Throughout the journey, I was moved by Martin Luther King’s words, sickened by the statues of Jefferson Davis and Dr. J. Marion Sims, and inspired by the work of the Equal Justice ...

Jul 18, 2019 / Michele Willens

Gorbachev 1989

A Daughter’s Memories in Moscow A Daughter’s Memories in Moscow

When Mikhail Gorbachev came into power, my father offered his consulting services to fledging consumer enterprises in Russia, and several took him up on it.

May 8, 2018 / Michele Willens

Stanley Sheinbaum McGovern Fundraiser

A Liberal Lion Remembered A Liberal Lion Remembered

Stanley Sheinbaum’s achievements were countless.

Nov 16, 2016 / Michele Willens

A Farewell to a Rabbi Who Mattered

A Farewell to a Rabbi Who Mattered A Farewell to a Rabbi Who Mattered

Many will rightly remember Rabbi Leonard Beerman for his political and moral advocacy. My memories of him are of a more personal nature.

Dec 29, 2014 / Michele Willens

A Daughter’s Memory

A Daughter’s Memory A Daughter’s Memory

Three decades after World War II, a veteran returns to Japan on a quest of kindness.

Dec 3, 2013 / Michele Willens

The First H The First H

If California's historic 1950 Senate race had gone the other way there would have been no Checkers speech, no Watergate break-in, no Woodward and Bernstein, perhaps an early exit f...

Apr 28, 2008 / Feature / Michele Willens

The Liberator Released The Liberator Released

In the issue of January 4, 1866, The Nation--itself founded by a group of abolitionists--paid tribute to the final issue of William Lloyd Garrison's fiery anti-slavery newspaper,...

Feb 7, 2002 / Feature / Michele Willens

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