When Nikki travels to visit her grandmother in western North Carolina, she expects answers about her family's history. But instead, she uncovers her connection to the Kingdom of the Happy Land, a community of formerly enslaved people. Dolen Perkins-Valdez's new novel Happy Land follows Nikki as she delves deeper into family secrets. The author says she was inspired by the true story of an autonomous Black community that once lived in the mountains of Appalachia. In today's episode, Perkins-Valdez joins NPR's Michel Martin for a conversation about how the author first heard of this little-known chapter in North Carolina history.
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After the death or resignation of a pope, but before the election of a new pope, there is a period of time at the Vatican known as Sede Vacante.
The Sede Vacante doesn’t last very long, and it doesn’t happen very often, but when it does occur, it is a very busy time.
This period has its own coat of arms and highly regimented series of events that have to take place. There are also firm rules about what can’t happen and what can’t be done.
Learn more about the Sede Vacante and the selection of a new pope on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Three years ago, trans content creator and actor Dylan Mulvaney posted a video on TikTok documenting her first day of girlhood. Though she didn't expect to turn the post into a series, Mulvaney says the videos became a way to track both her journey and her experience of trans joy. Now, she's out with a memoir called Paper Doll: Notes from a Late Bloomer, which continues to document her transition, as well as her rise to social media stardom. In today's episode, Mulvaney speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about religion, earnestness, and the fallout of a controversial partnership with Bud Light.
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Related episodes: What's so bad about a trade deficit? (Apple / Spotify) Why there's no referee for the trade war (Apple / Spotify) Tariffied! We check in on businesses (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Episode: 2268 The Lucifer Effect: From Stanford University to Abu Ghraib. Today, our guest, UH journalist Michael Berryhill, looks at the Lucifer effect.
One of the greatest periods of social and technological change in world history was the Renaissance.
At the heart of the Renaissance was the city-state of Florence. It was the home to some of the world’s greatest artists and thinkers.
At the heart of Florence was a family that ran the city for several centuries. They became fabulously wealthy and sponsored much of the great art that we still appreciate today.
They also purchased themselves an enormous amount of power and even the papacy.
Learn more about the Medici Family and Renaissance Florence on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
By now, you've heard a lot about how the U.S.-China trade war is affecting American consumers, businesses and the stock market. But how is the trade war being felt in China? Today on the show, two of NPR's in-house China experts, Emily Feng and John Ruwitch, explain the view from China.
Related episodes: What might save China's economy (Apple / Spotify) Tarrified! We check in on businesses (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.