Rock climbing is a great sport for thrill-seekers. In Gabriel Tallent’s Crux, main characters Dan and Tamma fit the bill perfectly. At just 17 years old, they bond over the side of a mountain where one miscalculated inch of movement could mean life or death. However, risk doesn’t disappear once they make it safely to flat ground. For Dan and Tamma, risk exists in growing up, and growing out of their physical and emotional comfort zones. In today’s episode, Tallent joins NPR’s Juana Summers to discuss his newest novel and how rock climbing can widen more than one type of human perspective.
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
According to activists, Iran has killed over 7,000 people as part of a crackdown on protesters. Why did protests engulf Iran in the first place? A big contributor: Its flagging economy, which has been in a tailspin for years. It’s a tinderbox.
Amanda Holmes reads Ruth Stone’s “Curtains.” 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.
Live from Sydney, Jon, Lovett, Tommy, and Dan discuss the lurid details of The Wall Street Journal exposé on Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski's eye-opening behavior at (and high above) the Department of Homeland Security. Then, they look at the latest with Republicans' efforts to steal the midterms, including Noem's promise to make sure "we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders," RFK Jr.'s new war on donuts, and Barack Obama's advice for Democrats on resolving their differences. Then, they stage their own debate about which Democratic presidential hopeful would be the strongest candidate, drawing names from the 2028 Sorting Hat.
Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the first drilling at Mount Rushmore, the iconic American landmark in South Dakota. But Matthew Davis, author of the new book A Biography of a Mountain, says the project is actually unfinished. In today’s episode, he joins NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer for a conversation about the original vision for Mount Rushmore, which was intended to diversify a struggling South Dakota economy after World War I.
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