Back in 2013 author Anthony Marra wrote a book that is every bit as timely today. A Constellation Of Vital Phenomena takes place in Chechnya, a place very familiar with warring with Russia, in 2004. It's a story about the people - everyday, ordinary people - war and its aftermath impacts. Marra told NPR's Jacki Lyden that he wrote "a novel about people who are trying to transcend the hardships of their circumstances by saving others."
Located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is one of the smallest countries in the world. The country has only one proper hotel and that has just 9 rooms.
Once you visit the country, there is no car rental service, there isn’t an ATM machine anywhere in the country, and the entire country doesn’t take credit cards.
Oh, and good luck trying to get online.
Learn more about Tuvalu, the least visited country in the world, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
In 1940, the world was at war, but the United States wasn’t A strong isolationist sentiment kept the US on the sidelines while Germany and Japan ran roughshod over their neighbors.
While the US wasn’t in the war, many people in the US military knew that it was only a matter of time before we got sucked in.
Over a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor, a plan was developed for just that eventuality.
Learn more about the Plan Dog Memorandum on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Countries, like people, have names. Sometimes those names are long and they have a shorter version of it for common use.
There are some countries, however, that often have multiple names, and the names can be radically different from each other. They might want everyone to call it by one name, or by a certain name in a certain language, but no one does.
Why do some countries have multiple names, and does it really make a difference?
Learn more about countries with confusing or multiple names on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Today we look at the power of the Chinese government. The first book, How I Survived A Chinese Reeducation Camp, is by Gulbahar Haitiwaji, a Uyghur woman who spent years in a detention camp. It's a stark account of human rights atrocities. Haitiwaji told NPR's Scott Simon she feels lucky because millions of people are still suffering. Next is an interview with Chinese businessman Desmond Shum about his book Red Roulette. It's the story of his wife's disappearance and then reappearance. Shum told NPR's Steve Inskeep that when she resurfaced he felt like he was "negotiating with her kidnapper."
