The first interview today is with debut novelist Lizzie Damilola Blackburn about her book, Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? The protagonist Yinka is constantly being hounded by her family to get married. But Damilola Blackburn tells NPR's Sarah McCammon that learning to love oneself first can be important. The second interview is with award-winning writer Edmund White who is out with a new book about sex. A Previous Life follows a couple – they are writing to each other about their romantic pasts. White told NPR's Scott Simon that though the book might offend some, he has always written this way.
Ravi, Cory, and Rikki jump into Brian Flores’ suit accusing the NFL of widespread racism. Newly leaked documents suggest the Biden administration was as disorganized as they appeared in the days before the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Talks in Washington over the child tax credit appear to be back on the table, and two new studies cast serious doubt on separate policies we’ve heard a lot about in the last year: universal pre-K and COVID-19 lockdowns.
Jeff Maurer is a 5-time Emmy Award-winning writer for HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, which he says never strayed from the POVs you'd expect, during the six years he wrote for the show. Jeff’s proud of the show, but he also realized that there was little opportunity to tackle topics that weren't firmly in the liberal/progressive consensus. So he left.
In the Spiel, Mike assesses critics of The New York Times’ David Leonhardt. He’s cautiously offering a glimpse at a post-Covid conviction, they're accusing him of crimes against humanity.
Donald Trump goes from fascist curious to fascist enthusiast, Stacey Abrams stops by to talk about her run for Georgia governor and how to save democracy, and Dan and guest host Alyssa Mastromonaco answer some mailbag questions.
Two experts discuss Chicago Public Media’s acquisition of the Chicago Sun-Times and other models for reinvigorating local news coverage.
Guests: Mark Jacob, independent journalist
Victor Pickard, professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania
China has been detaining and arresting ethnic Uyghurs in the region of Xinjiang en masse while their children are often sent to state boarding schools.
China closely guards information about Xinjiang, including about these forced family separations. But NPR's Beijing correspondent Emily Feng managed to talk to two children who made it out of one such school and are sharing their story for the first time.
We’re 40 years into the AIDS pandemic, and even with massive public health campaigns, still, 1 ½ million become infected with HIV each year; about half that number die of its ravages. And a study just out shows that this well-understood virus can still take on more worrying forms as a new variant has been uncovered. Although the total number of cases involved is small, and the new variant is as treatable as earlier strains, the finding underlines that viruses can become more infectious and more virulent.
Back in October 2020, before we had effective vaccines, 36 plucky volunteers agreed to be deliberately infected with SARS-CoV-2 in order to better understand the infection process and outcomes in what’s known as a human “challenge” trial. Dr. Chris Chiu from Imperial College reveals what they’ve learned now the results of the study are in. We’ll hear about a new plastic that’s stronger than steel and as many gardeners have long suspected, – spring-flowering has over many years been occurring earlier and earlier, at least according to a new UK study. We discuss the implications for the ecosystem.
Presenter: Roland Pease
Producers: Julian Siddle and Rami Tzabar
(Image: 3D illustration of HIV virus. Credit: Artem Egorov/Getty Images)
Two Tezos stakers sued the IRS to get back taxes paid on property they say they created through staking. The IRS offered to pay them back but didn’t commit to clear policy guidance. The stakers will now continue the suit, and they’re being backed by the Proof of Stake Alliance. NLW also examines a new bill that would eliminate taxes on bitcoin transactions with capital gains under $200.
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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 “Vision” by OBOY. Image credit: Constantine Johnny/Moment/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk. Join the discussion at discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8.
