NPR's Book of the Day - ‘Atlantic’ writer James Parker says his odes are exercises in gratitude and attention

James Parker finds inspiration for odes in small and large things: history, America, brain farts, his flip phone, Pablo Neruda, meditation. The Atlantic staff writer’s book Get Me Through the Next Five Minutes spans these subjects and more. In today’s episode, Parker joins Here & Now’s Anthony Brooks for a conversation that touches on the subjects he’s found difficult to write odes to, the origins of ode, and what it means to stay ode-ready.


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Everything Everywhere Daily - Rasputin

In the early 20th century, the Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, the Tsarina Alexandra, welcomed a homeless monk into their home. 

As this scruff, unkempt-looking man became closer to the royal family, he seemingly performed miracles, predicted the future, and cured illnesses. 

He starts to gain influence over the Imperial Family, too much influence for comfort. 

So, a group of nobles decided that he needed to be eliminated. However, that proved to be much easier said than done.

Learn about Rasputin, the magical man who wouldn’t die, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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The Indicator from Planet Money - Cobalt-free batteries reign in Chinese EVs. Why not the US?

There’s been an era-defining race underway between two types of batteries used in electric vehicles: lithium batteries that use cobalt, and ones that use iron phosphate. Cobalt, a metal with a checkered human rights record, has been in the lead. Until recently. 

Henry Sanderson’s book on the elements that build electric vehicles is Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green.

Related episodes: 
The race to produce lithium 
How batteries are already changing the grid 
How batteries are riding the free market rodeo in Texas 
How EV batteries tore apart Michigan (Update) 
Batteries are catching fire at sea 

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NPR's Book of the Day - In ‘The Hounding,’ rumors swirl around five sisters living in 18th-century England

Author Xenobe Purvis says the premise for her new novel is based on a nugget of history. In 1700, a doctor reported that five sisters in Oxfordshire, England were said to be “seized with frequent barking in the manner of dogs.” Purvis’ The Hounding imagines what happens to these girls after a ferryman starts a dangerous rumor about them. In today’s episode, Purvis talks with NPR’s Scott Simon about rumors, gossip and the danger of being a girl in society.


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