Author Darcie Little Badger has her protagonists, Nina and a cottonmouth snake named Oli, tackle big, real world problems in her new Young Adult novel, A Snake Falls To Earth. She told NPR's Leila Fadel that young people are feeling climate anxiety acutely, so it was important to her to make it a part of this story, even though it takes place in a fantastical world. She does have a PhD in oceanography and a bachelors in geo-science, so understands the stakes really well. But, she doesn't want her readers to walk away feeling hopeless.
Ever wanted to sell yourself as a crypto investment? Now you can! This episode the gang explains how and its implications for the future of crowdfunding.
Rob explores the spiritual and sexy Carlos Santana. Assisted by Matchbox 20 vocalist Rob Thomas, Santana created what may have been the song of the decade, “Smooth.” Rob looks into the guitarist’s passion for collaboration and how record mogul Clive Davis took the ’70s rock legend and turned him into a 1990s Billboard chart-topping force.
This episode was originally produced as a Music and Talk show available exclusively on Spotify. Find the full song on Spotify or wherever you get your music.
The oral argument is complete in the Mississippi abortion case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. In our previous two episodes, Professor Amar prepared our audience with a remarkable menu of constitutional theory, a recap of the relevant cases and the orientation of the justices. We now look at the actual argument and find where it cohered with Akhil’s notions. We critique the arguments, the advocates, and the arbiters, and discuss arguments that might have been made. Was precedent ("Stare Decisis") the theme, and did it have to be? The voices of the justices, inserted in our podcast, put you right there, with Professor Amar as your guide.
Ravi and Cory discuss Mayor Bill de Blasio’s new sweeping vaccine mandate [0:22], the unpopularity of the term ‘Latinx’ [1:44], Trump’s new $1 billion media venture and associated SEC investigation [7:25], the aftermath of the Michigan school shooting [12:38], the rise of smash-and-grab robberies [18:00], Gen Z Memes [26:04], and finally, Ravi interviews Andy Mulvihill, son of the founder of the legendary and infamous Action Park, one of America’s first water parks [34:51].
Laura covers six ways to invest in crypto, including some clever, tax-advantaged options for avoiding capital gains taxes. You'll learn what cryptocurrency is, how to buy it, how it gets taxed, and a strategy to start stacking coins.
An investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times and Better Government Association found tens of thousands of people jailed on low-level drug possession cases had their charges routinely dropped in Cook County, but the consequences are costly. Reset checks in with reporters and local drug policy experts for details and analysis.
In October of 1941, a young soldier was on leave in southern California when he met the woman he was sure he would marry. Then, two months later while stationed in Hawaii, Art "Bud" Montagne witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor firsthand, and was swept up in the conflict that followed.
NPR special correspondent Renee Montagne tells the story of what her father witnessed on that day 80 years ago, and how a cinematic love story — put on pause by war — turned out for him.
Today’s episode of “The Breakdown” is a grab bag of news stories from the past several days. NLW covers:
The Bank for International Settlements report “DeFi Risk and the Decentralization Illusion”
Regulatory updates from the Biden administration, Japan, the U.K. and India
Institutions leading the selling last week
OpenSea appears headed for IPO
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NYDIG, the institutional-grade platform for bitcoin, is making it possible for thousands of banks who have trusted relationships with hundreds of millions of customers, to offer Bitcoin. Learn more at NYDIG.com/NLW.
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“The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell, research by Scott Hill and additional production support by Eleanor Pahl. Adam B. Levine is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. The music you heard today behind our sponsor is “Dark Crazed Cap” by Isaac Joel. Image credit: Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock/Getty Images Plus, modified by CoinDesk.
Not all history is learned - or taught - in school. In today's first interview, Robert Jones Jr. tells NPR's Scott Simon that he wanted to be 'a witness to [those] testimonies that have not made it into the official record.' His novel, The Prophets, is about enslaved Black queer people in America. The second interview is about the seemingly mundane day-to-day that makes up a person's history in Zorrie. Author Laird Hunt told NPR's Scott Simon that just because someone's story seems unremarkable doesn't mean it isn't rich.
