Author: NPR

Posted on

NPR's Book of the Day - ‘Chouette’ is part owl part human baby. Fine. But how to raise her?

Claire Oshetsky's new novel Chouette is... pretty strange, but also kind of wonderful? Oshetsky says the story is a parable about motherhood, in which a woman gives birth to an owl baby. The mother finds this strange not because the baby is an owl, but because she only had intercourse with the owl parent in a dream, and that owl was a woman. Still with us? Good. Oshetsky talked with NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben about how her own daughter consulted on writing the book, and what she learned from raising an autistic child.
Posted on

Short Wave - Omicron’s Arrival Is ‘Wake-Up Call’ That The Pandemic Is Ongoing

The coronavirus is still circulating and mutating — case in point, the World Health Organization has designated a new variant of concern, called omicron. The variant appears to have some characteristics that may make it more transmissible than others, but much about it is still unknown. NPR health correspondent Allison Aubrey talks with Emily Kwong about how researchers and public health experts are racing to learn all they can about it — including how transmissible it actually is and how it responds to current vaccines. They also talk travel bans, a weak tool in preventing viral spread that may even penalize information sharing.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Posted on

Consider This from NPR - What We Know (And Don’t Know) About The Omicron Variant

The World Health Organization is warning that the omicron variant of the coronavirus, which was first detected in South Africa, has a "very high" global risk because of the possibility that it spreads more easily and might resist vaccines and immunity in people who were infected with previous strains.

On Monday, President Joe Biden said this this variant is a "cause for concern, not a cause for panic." He urged Americans to get fully vaccinated and get a booster dose if they qualify.

WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris explains what more there is to learn about the severity and transmission of this new variant.

And Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) discusses why vaccine hesitation on a global scale could make this next phase of the pandemic more dangerous.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Posted on

Short Wave - Why Puerto Rico Is A Leader In Vaccinating Against COVID-19

Puerto Rico was still recovering from Hurricane Maria and a string of earthquakes when the pandemic started. The island was initially hit hard by COVID-19, but is now is a leader in vaccination rates across the United States. Ciencia Puerto Rico's Mónica Feliú-Mójer explains the cultural factors that may have contributed to the success of Puerto Rico's COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Posted on

NPR's Book of the Day - ‘Black Food’ is more than just recipes, it’s the stories behind them

Cookbook author and chef Bryant Terry edited and curated the new book, Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes From Across The African Diaspora. His goal was to preserve Black American recipes and their complex stories, but he uses more than just food to tell those stories. The book is also full of essays, art and music. Terry told Here And Now's Scott Tong that the cookbook is a "communal shrine to the shared culinary histories of the African Diaspora."
Posted on

Consider This from NPR - Constance Hauman ‘Plays It Forward’: A Musical Gratitude Project

This Thanksgiving week, we're sharing a segment from our special series Play It Forward, in which artists tell us about their own music and the musicians who inspire them.

This episode, opera singer and funk keyboardist Constance Hauman speaks to Ari Shapiro about her new album, Tropical Thunderstorm, her experiences as a multi-genre musician and an artist she's grateful for: Daf player Asal Malekzadeh.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Posted on

NPR's Book of the Day - Celebrating NPR’s Petra Mayer with three literary things she loved

Our beloved friend and colleague Petra Mayer died suddenly a few weeks ago. This episode is for her. First, a conversation with NPR's Scott Simon and Sir Andrew Motion on The Folio Book of War Poetry, edited by Motion. Among her many nerdy interests, Petra was a self avowed "WWI poetry dork." The poetry is dark and moving, conveying universal feelings around loss. Then, a few quintessentially "Petra" pieces that capture her work and who she was. A conversation with romance author Beverly Jenkins and Petra talking about one of her favorite comfort reads, The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison.
Posted on

Consider This from NPR - George Clinton ‘Plays It Forward’: A Musical Gratitude Project

For Thanksgiving Day, we're sharing a segment from our special series Play It Forward, in which artists tell us about their own music and the musicians who inspire them.

In this episode, funk legend George Clinton speaks to Ari Shapiro about the longevity and enduring influence of his band, Parliament-Funkadelic, being a hype man for other musicians, and an artist he's grateful for: opera singer and funk keyboardist Constance Hauman.

On tomorrow's episode: Constance Hauman plays it forward.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Posted on

NPR's Book of the Day - Tommy Orange is here to hold the door open for future Indigenous writers

This Thanksgiving, we're bringing you an author whose narrative likely runs counter to what you learned in school. Tommy Orange's novel, There There, is a brutal, remarkable, and necessary Native history. It's also a story of the shameful way America still treats its Native people. Orange was not comfortable with his new rising fame back in 2018. But he told NPR's Lynn Neary it was important to him to pave the way, spotlight and all, for young Indigenous writers.
Posted on

Consider This from NPR - The Indigenous Stories Glossed Over In The Typical ‘First Thanksgiving’ Story

The commonly-told version of the first Thanksgiving story leaves out a lot: The indigenous Wampanoag people who lived in a complex society long before the Mayflower arrived at Plymouth Rock; Squanto escaping bondage in Spain before becoming an emissary to the Pilgrims; and the long legacy of violent displacement that followed.

Paula Peters, a writer and a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, still lives near where the Pilgrims made landfall on her ancestral homeland. She talks about how the 1621 feast fits into history.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.


Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy