These Days - Polygamy in America

These Days - Polygamy in America

From www.KPBS.org

As San Diegans prepare to celebrate Valentine's Day with their "one and only," there are towns in America where Valentine's Day is a lot more complicated. We'll explore the phenomenon of POLYGAMY IN AMERICA, the feature story in this month's National Geographic magazine.

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2010/feb/08/polygamy-america/

listen to audio Abt. 19mins

By Maureen Cavanaugh

February 8, 2010

MAUREEN CAVANAUGH (Host): It's an odd sort of Valentine that the National Geographic magazine and channel have given us this month. The magazine's February issue features an in-depth article on polygamy, that is, “Polygamy in America.” And their TV channel will premiere a documentary this week called “Inside Polygamy.” There seems to be a fascination with this lifestyle, as evidenced by the success of the HBO series “Big Love.” Even as polygamist compounds are raided and their leaders put on trial, the questions linger about why such cults still exist in the United States, why child welfare authorities have turned a blind eye for so long, and why some women still put up with it. I'd like to welcome my guest, Scott Anderson. He's a war correspondent and novelist, and he wrote the feature article “Polygamy in America” in this month's National Geographic. And welcome, Scott, to These Days.

SCOTT ANDERSON (Author): Thank you, Maureen, nice to be here.

CAVANAUGH: If you could start out by telling us about the town of Colorado City, Arizona, where your report starts out. That’s sort of really polygamy central in the United States, isn’t it?

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