Men Explain Things to Me

This production includes Solnit's influential "mansplaining" essay, which addresses the widespread phenomenon of men believing that they know what they're talking about (even when they don't) while women don't (even when they do). The work also includes six other previously printed pieces that challenge the conversations and assumptions that go on between women and men. For Solnit, it's more than conversation that falters—it's the entire spectrum of male-assumed agency, from morality mongers and traditional marriage dynamics to violence against women and rape culture. Women too often doubt themselves, and it is that misplaced humility that cedes ground to mansplainers of all stripes. This is a powerful, spare work, yet laced with the saving grace of humor. Narrator Luci Christian deftly balances the tonal shifts.