Comedian Sarah Cooper blew up when her TikTok videos making fun of then-President Donald Trump's statements in press conferences went viral. Her new memoir, Foolish, recounts that moment in her life — but it also expands on Cooper's larger trajectory, from learning she was Black as the daughter of Jamaican immigrants to working at Google as an adult. She tells NPR's Leila Fadel just how surreal her rise in comedy has been, and why HomeGoods home decor actually dishes out some pretty wise life advice.
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Rob reminisces on his time witnessing Janelle Monae perform at South By Southwest in the year of Michael Jackson’s passing, before looking back at the King of Pop’s televised funeral. Along the way, Rob looks back at the height of Jackson’s powers in the '80s as well as a bit more tumultuous era in the '90s. Later, Wesley Morris joins the show to aid in deciphering how to process Michael Jackson’s career draped in success and controversy.
The French Revolution was one of the most significant events in history.
It wasn’t just a political revolution where one government replaced another. It was also a social revolution where the revolutionaries attempted to upend the entire foundation of French society.
But it wasn’t just enough to change France. They also wanted to obliterate the past.
Learn more about the Desecration at St. Denis and the purposeful attempt to destroy French history on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
There are lots of reasons to worry about climate change: rising temperatures, rising sea levels, devastating natural disasters. But in her new book, Not the End of the World, data scientist Hannah Ritchie says there's actually a lot of factors trending in the right direction, like declines in poverty rates and carbon emissions per capita. In today's episode, Ritchie speaks with NPR's Andrew Limbong about why it's important to reframe our thinking on the future of the planet, and how our decisions can actually make a difference.
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
Soon after correctional officer Valentino Rodriguez starts working at New Folsom prison, he gets caught up in a bad incident. An incarcerated man ends up in the hospital with horrific injuries, and the prison starts an investigation. Valentino feels pressured to back up his fellow officers' version of the story, even though he thinks it might not be the truth. Then he gets an opportunity he's dreamed of-- to join an elite unit investigating crimes in the prison.
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Told through the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac, Ai Weiwei's new graphic memoir moves between the past, present and future with anecdotes from his childhood in a Chinese labor camp to his most recent moments, including flashing the middle finger in front of Trump Tower. In today's episode, Ai Weiwei speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about some of those memories, including the 81 days he spent detained by the Chinese government.
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
Amanda Holmes reads Carolyn Wells’s “To a Milkmaid,” brought to our attention by her biographer, Rebecca Rego Barry. Have a suggestion for a poem by a (dead) writer? Email us: podcast@theamericanscholar.org. If we select your entry, you’ll win a copy of a poetry collection edited by David Lehman.
This episode was produced by Stephanie Bastek and features the song “Canvasback” by Chad Crouch.
Located in the area between philosophy and mathematics is the realm of logic.
Logic permeates everything we do, from the work of Socrates to modern computer programming to the musings of Mister Spock.
However, there is more to logic than just making sense and avoiding fallacies. It can also be a highly formal system using symbols and variables to represent statements.
Learn more about formal logic, its ancient roots, and its modern applications on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
As Donald Trump runs for office in 2024, a new book by journalists Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman details how Trump attempted to overturn the presidential election in 2020, and how Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis built a case against him. In today's episode, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Isikoff and Klaidman about Find Me the Votes, the layers of intimidation behind Trump's bid for power, and the fast-moving allegations against Willis and her counsel. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday