The Second “Little Aunt Dora” Public Lecture: Still Asking Dr. Ruth

• 5:00 PM: Doors open
• 5:30 PM: Conversation with Dr. Ruth’s Co-Authors
• 6:15 PM-7:55 PM: Screening of Ask Dr. Ruth

In the second “Little Aunt Dora” Public Lecture at Roosevelt House, named in honor of former, longtime Hunter College Professor Dora Askowith, we are pleased to present a unique, double-header program—exploring, and celebrating, the improbable life and career of the late Dr. Ruth Westheimer (1928–2024), the German-born Holocaust survivor who went on to become America’s leading sex therapist.

The evening will feature, first, a discussion with two of Dr. Ruth’s collaborators, Allison Gilbert and Pierre Lehu, co-authors of her final book, The Joy of Connections: 100 Ways to Beat Loneliness and Live a Happier and More Meaningful Life. A screening of the 2019 documentary Ask Dr. Ruth (duration: 1 hour, 40 minutes) will complement the discussion by providing the full context of Dr. Ruth’s extraordinary life and career. Together, the discussion and film screening will illuminate the legacy of the inimitable, irreplaceable Dr. Ruth—and what we can continue to learn from her cherished memory. In particular, this program promises to show how she drew on her personal experiences—from the loneliness that followed the loss of her family in the Holocaust, to that of living in an orphanage, and the challenges of rebuilding her life in America—to help individuals break free from the bonds of sexual stigmatization, hopelessness, and isolation.

Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer broke stigmas for more than 40 years, beginning in the 1980s with her nationally syndicated radio show Sexually Speaking. She authored or co-authored 46 books on many topics and was named by Governor Kathy Hochul New York’s “Ambassador to Loneliness,” the first such position in the United States. A beloved therapist known to millions as “Dr. Ruth,” she died last summer.

Allison Gilbert is an Emmy Award–winning journalist who has written for the New York Times and been interviewed on the Today Show, Good Morning America, and NPR.

Pierre Lehu worked with Dr. Ruth Westheimer for four decades as a publicist, writer, and, as she called him, her “Minister of Communications.”

 The “Little Aunt Dora” Public Lecture Series is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Dora Askowith by her family, initiated by her great-niece Patti Askwith Kenner. Dora Askowith was a professor of history, religion, culture, Jewish studies, and women’s studies at Hunter College from 1912-1957.