Nancy L. Cohen

Nancy L. Cohen is a historian and author of four books, including the widely acclaimed Delirium: The Politics of Sex in America and The Reconstruction of American Liberalism. Her writing on American politics has appeared in the Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, the New Republic, Rolling Stone, and other publications. She has taught politics and history at Occidental College, UCLA, and Cal State Long Beach. Cohen serves as a commissioner on the Los Angeles County Commission for Women. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two daughters.

Books

Breakthrough

The Making of America's First Woman President

Why Americans have never elected a woman president, how we changed to make it possible, and why it matters.

From Hollywood to the halls of Congress, a lively conversation about women's leadership, equal pay, and family–work balance is underway. On the cusp of a historic breakthrough—the potential election of America's first woman president—Nancy L. Cohen takes us inside the world of America's women political leaders. Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews with women governors and senators from both parties, experts, political operatives, and a diverse array of voters, Breakthrough paints an intimate portrait of the savvy women who've built an alternative to the old boys club and are rewriting the playbook for how women succeed in politics. In this accessible and often surprising story, Cohen introduces us to the inspiring women behind the women who have brought us to this threshold, and to a dynamic group of young leaders who are redefining how we think about leadership, feminism, and men's essential role in achieving gender equality. Breakthrough takes on our cultural assumptions to show that the barriers that once blocked a woman's ascent to the presidency have fallen, even more than we realize.

Delirium

The Politics of Sex in America

"Perhaps if the Pill had never been invented, American politics would be very different today," Nancy L. Cohen writes in her prescient new book, Delirium: The Politics of Sex in America

The 2012 election was supposed to be about the economy, but over the last few months it turned into a debate about sex and women's rights. In Delirium, Cohen takes us on a gripping journey through the confounding and mysterious episodes of our recent politics to explain how we and why we got to this place. Along the way she explores such topics as why Bill Clinton was impeached over a private sexual affair; how George W. Bush won the presidency by stealth; why Hillary lost to Obama; why John McCain chose Sarah Palin to be his running mate; and what the 2012 presidential contest tells us about America today. She exposes the surprising role of right–wing women in undermining women's rights, as well as explains how liberal men were complicit in letting it happen. Cohen uncovers the hidden history of an orchestrated, well–financed, ideologically powered shadow movement to turn back the clock on matters of gender equality and sexual freedom and how it has played a leading role in fueling America's political wars. Delirium tells the story of this shadow movement and how we can restore common sense and sanity in our nation's politics.