Short Wave - Code Switch: Archaeological skeletons in the closet

Today, we present a special episode from our colleagues at Code Switch, NPR's podcast about race and identity.

In a small suburb of Washington, D.C., a nondescript beige building houses thousands of Native human remains. The remains are currently in the possession of the Smithsonian Institution, but for the past decade, the Seminole Tribe of Florida has been fighting to get some of them back to Florida to be buried. The controversy over who should decide the fate of these remains has raised questions about identity, history, and the nature of archaeology.

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NPR's Book of the Day - Food is a gateway to the new and familiar in ‘Crying in H Mart’ and ‘Gastro Obscura’

Our relationship to food goes far beyond its nutritional value. What we eat can help us tap into something deeper, whether it brings up treasured memories or allows us to escape our own lives for just a few bites. That duality is captured by two different books in today's episode; while Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner explores how cooking Korean food helped the author grieve her mom's death, Gastro Obscura by Cecily Wong and Dylan Thuras takes readers to each continent to learn about its cuisine. In interviews with NPR's Ari Shapiro, Zauner and Wong talk about how food shapes our worlds.

Consider This from NPR - Why The Global Supply Chain Is Still Clogged — And How To Fix It

Last week the White House announced a plan to help move the port of Los Angeles into 24/7 operating status. But that will only "open the gates" of the clogged global supply chain, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told NPR on the NPR Politics Podcast.

Another crucial supply chain link is the trucking industry, which is short tens of thousands of drivers. Bruce Basada, President of the Diesel Driving Academy in Shreveport, Louisiana, explains why.

The clogged supply chain is leading to delays and shortage on all kinds of products. NPR coverage in this episode includes excerpts from Scott Horsley's report on a shortage of glass bottles, Petra Mayer's story on the slowdown in book production, and Alina Selyukh's look at shipping delays for children's toys. Special thanks to Scott, Petra, and Alina for editing help on this episode.

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NPR's Book of the Day - Karl Ove Knausgaard didn’t mean to write a 666-page book

The Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard gained an international reputation thanks to his breakout autobiographical series My Struggle -- but he actually made his literary debut in the world of fiction. Now, he's returned to that world with his novel The Morning Star, a dark tale of the uncanny events that unfold after a new star appears in the sky. Unlike his previous series, the book features multiple perspectives and otherworldly incidents that seem ripped from the pages of the Bible. But as the author explains to NPR's Leila Fadel, those acts of God happen alongside the mundanity of everyday life, in true Knausgaardian fashion.

Short Wave - An ode to the Pacific lamprey

Pacific lamprey may have lived on Earth for about 450 million years. When humans came along, a deep relationship formed between Pacific lamprey and Native American tribes across the western United States. But in the last few decades, tribal elders noticed that pacific lamprey populations have plummeted, due in part to habitat loss and dams built along the Columbia River. So today, an introduction to Pacific lamprey: its unique biology, cultural legacy in the Pacific Northwest and the people who are fighting to save it.

To learn more about tribal-led efforts to restore the lamprey, read the Tribal Pacific Lamprey Restoration Plan and watch the documentary The Lost Fish.

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Consider This from NPR - Havana Syndrome: Over 200 Cases Documented Yet Cause Remains A Mystery

Since 2016, a number of U.S. diplomats and federal employees have reported symptoms of a mysterious illness, the so-called Havana Syndrome.

The list of symptoms include hearing loud sounds, nausea fatigue, and dizzying migraines, among others.

The cause of this mystery illness is a source of curiosity, but it remains unknown.

Last year the State Department commissioned a study by the National Academies of Sciences for researchers to investigate Havana Syndrome.

NPR's Sarah McCammon spoke to Dr. David Relman, a Stanford professor who headed the investigation.

One possible cause their group came to was a form of microwave radiation that occurs in a pulsed or intermittent form.

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NPR's Book of the Day - Stephanie Grisham is — yes, really — taking our questions now

Former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham famously held no press briefings during her time in the White House — but now, she's ready to talk. Her memoir, I'll Take Your Questions Now, is the latest tell-all from a former Trump staffer — and Tamara Keith, from NPR's Politics Podcast, hit her with some tough questions about whether the book is simply an image rehab project. "Too many books have been out there to help one person's reputation so they can be rehabilitated ... or to try to rewrite history," Grisham says. "I just want to tell my story and have people take what they want from it."

Short Wave - A biodiesel boom (and conundrum)

There's a biodiesel boom happening! It's fueled by incentives and policies intended to cut greenhouse emissions, and is motivating some oil companies like World Energy in Paramount, California to convert their refineries to process soybean oil instead of crude. NPR's food and agriculture correspondent Dan Charles explains why farmers are happy, bakers are frustrated and people who want to preserve the world's natural forests are worried. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.

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Consider This from NPR - Colin Powell’s Complicated Legacy

Colin Powell's life was marked by public service, first as a soldier in Vietnam and then eventually as President George W. Bush's secretary of state. By that time he had already held many prominent positions in government, including national security adviser and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was the first African American to hold each of these roles.

But Powell's story will always be entwined with the Iraq War. Although he argued against the invasion in private White House meetings, he did see it through. And he famously defended the strategy on a national stage before the United Nations.

NPR National Correspondent Don Gonyea reports on Powell's enormous and complicated legacy.

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NPR's Book of the Day - How Colin Powell Wanted The World To Remember Him

When Colin Powell died on October 18 at the age of 84 from COVID-19 complications, he left behind a long, decorated career in Washington and the U.S. Army. He spent much of his life in the military, eventually rising to the rank of four-star general, and went on to become the first Black Secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs. But, as he discussed in a 2012 interview with NPR's Robert Siegel about his memoir It Worked For Me, Powell's reputation was tarnished when he used faulty evidence to push for the Iraq War: "I'll never leave it behind."