If you’re feeling burnt out from your annual holiday cookie-baking marathon, don’t fear. There’s hope on the other side… in the form of cake. In today’s episode, Here and Now's Robin Young speaks with two authors and bakers about their newest cookbooks focused on cake. First, she joins Dorie Greenspan to discuss Dorie’s Anytime Cakes, a beginner-friendly collection of comforting cake recipes. Then, Young talks with The Great British Baking Show’s Paul Hollywood about Celebrate, his volume of cakes meant to inspire joyful, low-stakes baking with the whole family.
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Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1496: Mrs. Greenhow, Confederate Spy
Episode: 1496 Mrs. Greenhow, the first great Confederate spy. Today, we meet a Confederate spy.
Audio Poem of the Day - The Only Ones
By Harryette Mullen
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NPR's Book of the Day - ‘Unabridged’ explores the history of the dictionary – and why it’s in trouble now
Dictionaries were once bestsellers, but between the internet and artificial intelligence, its role in our culture has changed. Stefan Fatsis is out with a new book called Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) The Modern Dictionary, which documents this shift. In today’s episode, he speaks with NPR’s Don Gonyea about embedding with the publisher of Merriam Webster, the history of lexicography, and what he anticipates for the dictionary’s future.
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Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2548: Informs
Episode: 2548 INFORMS and the mathematics of problem solving. Today, strange bedfellows.
NPR's Book of the Day - ‘Hiddensee’ is a ‘Nutcracker’-inspired novel from the author of ‘Wicked’
In 2017, Wicked author Gregory Maguire set out to tell the backstory of another classic fairytale. His novel Hiddensee focuses on Herr Drosselmeyer, the powerful toymaker in The Nutcracker. In today’s episode, we revisit a conversation between Maguire and then-NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro. Maguire tells Garcia-Navarro about his interest in writing a Nutcracker prequel, giving people “consolation” through literature, and his personal collection of nutcrackers.
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Audio Mises Wire - Why Are Houses So Expensive? It’s Deliberate Government Policy
Historically, it has been very poor manners in Washington to admit that keeping home prices high is a deliberate policy. High prices are not the "unintended consequence" of good intentions.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-are-houses-so-expensive-its-deliberate-government-policy
Audio Mises Wire - Reclaiming the Antistate Roots of Christmas
Shortly after hearing about the birth of Jesus, Herod the king tried to have the child murdered. Indeed, Herod's oppressive rule and the predations of the Roman state play a huge role in the Christmas story.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/reclaiming-antistate-roots-christmas
More or Less - Were there really Three Wise Men?
The surprising things we learn when we count everyone - a tour of the UK census through time.
We also figure out just how many parking officers there are versus soldiers in the British army.
Who really does all the housework? Plus - 20 years of ‘Freakonomics’ with Stephen Dubner.
And finally - were there really three wise men who visited baby Jesus? And were they kings as the Christmas hymn would lead us to believe?
Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Lizzy McNeil Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Nathan Gower and Katie Solleveld Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound Mix: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon
The Indicator from Planet Money - Why every A-lister also has a side hustle (Encore)
Happy Holidays from The Indicator! For the next week, we're running some of our favorite shows from this year. On today's show, why celebrities are increasingly investing in their own brands.
This piece originally aired August 14, 2025.Related episodes:
The celebrity crypto nexus
The Olympian to influencer pipeline (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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