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PEN America Writer’s Organization President Resigns Amid Controversy
On July 9, 2026, a long-simmering controversy burst into the headlines pitting allies of robust freedom of expression against each other over how writers, publishers and literary agents should respond to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The dispute was so divisive that Professor Dinaw Mengestu resigned as president of the free expression group PEN America.
Guest – Professor Dinaw Mengestu is the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor of the Humanities and Director of the Written Arts Program at Bard College, where he has taught since 2016. He is the author of three novels, all of which were named New York Times Notable Books. A native of Ethiopia, he came with his family to the United States at the age of two. Professor Mengestu is also a freelance journalist. His articles and fiction have appeared in the New York Times, New Yorker, Harper’s, Granta, Jane, and Rolling Stone. He is a 2012 MacArthur Fellow and recipient of a Lannan Literary Fellowship for Fiction, National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Award, Guardian First Book Award, and Los Angeles Times Book Prize, among other honors. He was elected President of PEN America in December 2025, having served on its Board of Directors for about a decade.
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For decades, debates over sex work have been shaped by criminal law, morality, and public safety. Supporters of tougher enforcement argue that prostitution fuels exploitation and human trafficking. Advocates for decriminalization contend that criminal penalties often make sex workers less safe and discourage people from seeking help when they need it. It’s a conversation that raises difficult questions about policing, labor, consent, and human rights.
A 2025 documentary, Sex Work: It’s Just a Job, enters that debate. The film was directed by documentary filmmaker Tami Gold from the Film Department at Hunter College. Through the voices of current and former sex workers, organizers, and researchers, it explores the movement to decriminalize sex work and the broader social consequences. The film also distinguishes consensual sex work from human trafficking.
Guest – Sociologist Alex Vitale, Professor at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, and co-producer of the film. The populations and advocates for decriminalization and non-police safety interventions in the documentary is inspired by Vitale’s book The End of Policing, which argues that criminalizing sex work harms vulnerable.
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