In the latest in World Book Club's season celebrating The Exuberance of Youth, Harriett Gilbert talks to Zimbabwean writer NoViolet Bulawayo about her extraordinary novel, We Need New Names.
A remarkable literary debut shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize We Need New Names is the unflinching, compelling story of a young girl's journey out of Zimbabwe and into America. A coming-of-age story, we follow a young girl named Darling, first as a 10-year-old in Zimbabwe with her friends, navigating a vibrant world of colour, political chaos and ultimately lethal danger. Later as a teenager emigrating to the Midwest United States, she hopes to find a better future living with her Aunt Fostalina in Michigan, only to discover that her options as a young immigrant are perilously few.
(Picture: NoViolet Bulawayo. Photo credit: Nye Lyn Tho.)
Today on the “Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at two old bitcoin FUDs that came roaring back with a vengeance. The “crypto is for criminals” narrative was built into the assumption that led the European Parliament to vote in favor of advancing strict new anti-money laundering (AML) rules with regard to crypto wallets. Meanwhile, Greenpeace, funded by the chairman of Ripple, decided to start a campaign to get Bitcoin to change its code to be more environmentally friendly.
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Consensus 2022, the industry’s most influential event, is happening June 9–12 in Austin, TX. If you’re looking to immerse yourself in the fast-moving world of crypto, Web 3 and NFTs, this is the festival experience for you. Use code BREAKDOWN to get 15% off your pass at www.coindesk.com/consensus2022.
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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 “I Don't Know How To Explain It” by Aaron Sprinkle. Image credit: Zephyr18/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk. Join the discussion at discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8.
Today we’re taking another deep dive into the human impact of the war in Ukraine and sharing the stories of some refugees you may not have heard about yet. Among the millions of people fleeing are tens of thousands of people who aren’t from Ukraine, but still need a safe place to go. Their stories suggest they’re facing additional obstacles because of their race, citizenship, or both.
We’re joined by award-winning journalist, author and former CNN International correspondent, Isha Sesay. She’s also the host of the new podcast “The Accidental Activist” and she’s a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.
Isha shares the stories of African students living in Ukraine, explains why she feels some of the news coverage of what’s happening has been offensive and offers a way for everyone to get involved — even if it’s as simple as posting on social media.
This Saturday edition of "The Daily Signal Podcast" features a discussion with Andy Smarick, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, on how education is evolving after the COVID-19 pandemic.
School lockdowns, masking, and other restrictions have affected how parents across America think about their children's education. COVID-19 accelerated certain trends that already were afoot, such as the demand for increasing school choice opportunities outside public schools.
Moreover, parts of America have been the scene of tremendous battles over the content of curriculum, particularly regarding critical race theory, which parents were shocked to find in their children's instruction.
So what's next?
Smarick observes that COVID-19 launched "small learning communities really oriented around the needs of families and kids" because restrictions during the pandemic resulted in "50 million students [who] suddenly had to find something different because their schools were shut down."
"And that's when we saw the rise of pods, hubs, and hybrid homeschooling and also microschooling," he says. "This is just a wonderful Tocquevillian response, spontaneous order to a calamitous situation where all these parents were saying, 'Heavens, we just need new options for our kids because they're not getting anything and I still have to work.'"
The real question is whether this revolution in education will continue.
As the Russian Invasion of Ukraine continues, the effects ripple around the rest of the world. One concern involves the wheat harvest. There have been claims that Ukraine and Russia supply 25% of the worlds wheat and that as a result we?re facing a global wheat crisis. We look into this misleading figure to determine what the real impact might be.
For a brief, strange period after the U.S.S.R. collapsed, "real" money was less valuable than tradeable objects like bricks or towels. We look back at the Russian barter economy and we see the nature of money and value underneath all currency. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
As the Final 4 finalizes a look at the instinctive, and backward, admonishment so many announcers issue as time is winding down. Plus how China is being regarded by its Asian neighbors in light of the Ukraine war, and Amazon unionizes much to the delight of other union members, including ones on the labor beat of major newspapers.
Mayor Lightfoot reignites a monumental debate, announcing the statue of Christopher Columbus statue may return to Grant Park. Meanwhile, Democrats eye Chicago as a potential host city for the 2024 convention. Reset talks with WVON commentator and attorney Kimberley Egonmwan and Chicago Sun-Times chief political reporter Tina Sfondeles about the Chicago area’s biggest stories of the week.
GUEST: Tina Sfondeles,Chicago Sun-Times chief political reporter, Kimberley Egonmwan [ee-GO-wen], commentator for WVON and attorney
