Natalie Benally (Diné) knew early on she was a performer. She has channeled her determined creative spirit in any number of disciplines for the stage and screen. She has performed and taught dance after honing her craft at Fort Lewis College in Colorado. Along the way, she has embodied enduring characters in film and television, including Natalie Bluehouse on the AMC series, Dark Winds, and was the delightful voice of Dory, in the Navajo version of "Finding Nemo". She is also the driving force behind her own production company, Tse’Nato’. Natalie Benally is the May Native in the Spotlight.
Today, to start a three-part series examining America's persistent racial wealth gap, we head to Tulsa, Oklahoma. There, in 1921, a violent white mob destroyed the thriving Greenwood neighborhood — then known as America's "Black Wall Street.” The event wiped out much of the prosperity experienced by the area’s Black residents and, along with it, the opportunity for intergenerational wealth-building. We'll learn about the history and attempts at restitution. But first: a downgrade of the nation's credit rating.
Former President Biden diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Trump and Putin phone call on Ukraine. Republican budget bill advances. CBS News Correspondent Steve Kathan has today's World News Roundup.
From the BBC World Service: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to unveil the results of a reset in post-Brexit relations with the EU on defense, trade and fishing rights. We'll hear more. Then, Canada is home to 2 million Indigenous people, roughly half of whom say they struggle to afford basics, including food. Historically, Indigenous Canadians were limited from profiting from food production by law, but the government has now pledged to increase food security.
As JB Pritzker goes back and forth on a third gubernatorial term and former Mayor Rahm Emanuel makes his own media rounds, speculation intensifies about whether the two Illinois politicians have plans to run for president. Reset gets the latest from WBEZ state politics reporter Dave McKinney.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
The Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, ended its relationship with noted Brown University economist Glenn Loury after he was critical of Israel's actions in Gaza. The cancelation followed an appearance from fellow Brown professor and Israeli historian Omar Bartov on his podcast, during which Bartov offered an analysis of the Gaza genocide that reflected international consensus on Israeli violations of international law. Professor Loury joins Briahna Joy Gray for a must-watch two hour discussion in which Loury reflects on his career as a Black conservative, Ta-Nehesi Coates' book The Message, and the fact that his own Blackness informs his sympathetic attitude toward the Palestinian people. Does identity matter after all? As conservatives attempt to strip funding from the National African American History Museum and obstruct educators from teaching diverse histories, does Loury have any regrets about supporting attacks on "woke" pedagogy? Also, Loury debriefs on his viral interview with Tucker Carlson, and how his lefty wife has helped him to become more establishment in recent years.
Pulitzer Prize-winner Dave Barry wrote a humor column for 22 years. In his new book Class Clown, he tells the story of the first 77 years of his life, spent embracing comedy – but also some difficulties. One focus of the book is his relationship with his parents. Barry writes that his mom was a kind of comedic mentor who possessed a uniquely dark, edgy wit, but also struggled with depression. And Barry's father was a Presbyterian minister and, he says, a famously good listener, but also developed alcoholism. In today's episode, the author joins NPR's Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on Barry's family, and also his concerns about new trends in the comedy industry.
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Plus: Nvidia is working with Foxconn to build an AI supercomputer in Taiwan. And NJ Transit says rail operations will resume tomorrow, after reaching a tentative agreement with union leaders. Kate Bullivant hosts.
A.M. Edition for May 19. Former President Joe Biden and his family are reviewing treatment options with his doctors, as representatives say the disease has spread to his bones. Plus, Israel says it will start allowing aid into Gaza for the first time in months, as the Israeli military expands its ground operation in the enclave. And Journal foreign correspondent Georgi Kantchev on what to expect from President Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin today after Russia unleashed a drone barrage on Ukraine. Azhar Sukri hosts.
Rafal Trzaskowski, the liberal mayor expected to win the first round cleanly only squeaked by. We ask what’s at stake in the NATO-front-line country now the second round looks so uncertain. In the new world of weight-loss drugs Wegovy, from Novo Nordisk, has reigned supreme—perhaps not for much longer (9:40). And people really do look—but also act—like their dogs (16:51).
Natalie Benally (Diné) knew early on she was a performer. She has channeled her determined creative spirit in any number of disciplines for the stage and screen. She has performed and taught dance after honing her craft at Fort Lewis College in Colorado. Along the way, she has embodied enduring characters in film and television, including Natalie Bluehouse on the AMC series, Dark Winds, and was the delightful voice of Dory, in the Navajo version of "Finding Nemo". She is also the driving force behind her own production company, Tse’Nato’. Natalie Benally is the May Native in the Spotlight.