NPR's Book of the Day - ‘Our Book of Awesome’ celebrates the small joys that can actually make us happier

Bestselling author Neil Pasricha knows what it's like to feel down. Fifteen years ago, he was going through a difficult period in his life – so he started a blog to write down the ordinary, everyday things that brought him happiness: unsubscribing from annoying emails, finding the right tupperware lid on the first try, wearing warm undies out of the dryer. That positivity is the driving force behind Our Book of Awesome. In today's episode, he explains to Here & Now's Jane Clayson how those seemingly insignificant moments can add up to actually change our outlook on life.

Unexpected Elements - Mosquito pesticide failing

Mosquito pesticide failing - prevention of dengue fever and other diseases at risk.

Dangerous bird flu evolving fast - researchers are learning why bird flu is persisting and spreading fast round the world, and assess the threat to humans.

Drilling for ancient ice in the Antarctic - Roland talks to one of the team drilling kilometres into an ancient, frozen record of past climate.

Martian rock store opens - NASA's Mars Perseverance rover is stashing rock samples future missions could bring back to Earth.

Does your mum’s singing make you cringe with embarrassment? Do your dad’s jokes make you want to scream - and not with laughter? Or maybe you are the parent driving your offspring round the bend with rules and curfews?

If so, you are not alone. CrowdScience listener Ilixo, age 11, has been wondering why it is that our parents become so annoying as we become teenagers. Is it something that is changing in his brain or are they actually becoming more annoying as they age? Presenter Marnie Chesterton consults our assembled panel of experts to discuss conflict between parents and their offspring.

Developmental psychologist Liane Alampay, from the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines, describes how the teenage experience varies around the world. Child and educational psychologist Laverne Antrobus in London says the teenage quest for independence is a normal - and necessary - developmental stage for becoming an adult. And Jennifer Lansford, a Research Professor at Duke University who studies parenting and child development, offers insights into the role peers play. Do not despair! - the panel offers tips for how to keep the peace - whether you’re an argumentative adolescent or a provoking parent.

Image credit: Shinji Kasai

NBN Book of the Day - Stuart Klawans, “Crooked, But Never Common: The Films of Preston Sturges” (Columbia UP, 2023)

In a burst of creativity unmatched in Hollywood history, Preston Sturges directed a string of all-time classic comedies from 1939 through 1948--The Great McGinty, The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story, and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek among them--all from screenplays he alone had written. 

Stuart Klawans' Crooked, But Never Common: The Films of Preston Sturges (Columbia UP, 2023) pays close attention to Sturges' celebrated dialogue, but also to his films surprisingly intricate structures, marvelous use of a standard roster of character actors, and effective composition of shots. Klawans goes deeper than this, though, providing compelling readings of the underlying personal philosophy depicted in these films, which for all their seen-it-all cynicism nonetheless express firmly-held values, among them a fear for conformity and crowd-mentality, a dread of stasis, and a respect for intelligence, whether of a billionaire or of a Pullman porter. This is a book that will return you to these great films with new eyes.

Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Arizona School for the Arts.

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Everything Everywhere Daily - The Christmas Truce of 1914

In the very early morning of Christmas Day, 1914, something remarkable happened on the western front during the First World War. 

Soldiers in the trenches on both sides of no man’s land ceased fighting. Not only did they stop fighting, but they came out of their trenches to meet each other to celebrate Christmas. 

It has become one of the most mythologized events of the war and one of the oddest events in military history.

Learn more about the Christmas Truce of 1914 and what really happened on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.


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Slate Books - Working: Revisiting Two Great Books From 2022

This week, we revisit two of our favorite interviews from 2022. In the first one, Isaac Butler discusses his book The Method: How the 20th Century Learned to Act. After that, Karen Han reveals the process behind her book Bong Joon Ho: Dissident Cinema.


Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com or give us a call at (304) 933-9675.


Podcast production by Cameron Drews.


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The Gist - BEST OF THE GIST: Duets Edition

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we are replaying Mike’s Monday Spiel about AirBNB’s ineffective attempts at combatting racism. Then we dig into the Gist archives and listen back to Mike and his then-eight-year-old son Emmett sing political duets to the tune of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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Consider This from NPR - From ‘Harry & Meghan’ to ‘The Slap’, Celebrity Gossip Was Big News in 2022

Even if you don't follow gossip sites, it was almost impossible this year to ignore the scandals, missteps, and legal woes of celebrities.

Gossip has been a part of the media landscape almost since the advent of newspapers, gaining popularity throughout the 20th century and expanding across new media platforms.

But this year, stories that might have once been relegated to sites like TMZ or Gawker became part of the mainstream news feed.

NPR's Andrew Limbong speaks with media critic Eric Deggans, and Constance Grady of VOX, on the thin line between news and gossip.

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