At the start of Juli Min's debut novel, it's 2040 in Shanghai, and a wealthy real estate developer is parting ways with his wife and adult daughters at the airport. But as the story progresses, Shanghailanders moves back in time, slowly unraveling the dreams, decisions and mistakes of the members of this family all the way back to 2014. In today's episode, Min speaks with NPR's Ailsa Chang about why she decided to write the events of the book in this order, and how the city of Shanghai is a character all on its own.
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
The U.S. wants to become a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. That will mean a lot of new generation from renewable energy. It also means more transmission networks are needed to bring it onto the grid.
But there's a debate over how that new transmission should be built — between a competitive or monopoly approach. Today, we look at why competition is so divisive and why each side thinks they should build the next generation of transmission infrastructure.
Related Listening: Texas' new power grid problem (Apple / Spotify) Green energy gridlock (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Does a former U.S. Senator from the Bay Area have more than the usual sympathy for tech firms fearing the heavy hand of federal regulators? Cato's Jennifer Huddleston evaluates candidates Trump and Harris on tech policy and regulation.
Dan Senor joins us to discuss the Democratic VP pick and what it says about the party and its vanguard and what it means to be a Jewish Democrat in 2024. Also, is there a reason to think the impending Iranian response to Israel won't be as horrifying as many fear? Give a listen.
During the Second World War, the United States embarked on one of the greatest science and engineering projects the world had ever seen.
Over 100,000 people took part in the program, the vast majority of which had no clue what it was for, and the total cost of the program was in the billions of dollars, at a time when a billion dollars was a lot of money.
The end result was the most devastating weapon ever created, and it fundamentally changed the world.
Learn more about the Manhattan Project and how the atomic bomb was created on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
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We're just hours away from the announcement of VP Harris's running mate—and she's reportedly narrowed it down to Gov. Tim Walz and Gov. Josh Shapiro. Jon and Lovett talk about what they love about both finalists, what the influx of Obama veterans like David Plouffe could mean for the Harris campaign, why Trump doesn't want to debate the Vice President, and Trump's grievance-filled rally in Atlanta. Finally, they play a round of "Okay, Stop" with RFK's bizarre bear cub admission.
For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Cory Richards made a name for himself taking photographs across the globe for National Geographic. His new memoir, The Color of Everything, grapples with the harsh realities of high-end climbing, fame, mortality – and some of the not-so-great things he's done. In today's episode, Richards speaks with NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer about why he jokes the book is a bit of 'memoir, mountains, mea culpa' and what it means for public figures to open up about their pitfalls.
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
The Washington Post’s Jeff Stein stops by to discuss his extensive new piece investigating the ever-ballooning U.S. international sanctions regime. Despite Biden recently bragging he’s leaving office with the U.S. not involved in any foreign conflicts, the U.S. now has sanctions in place in over a third of all nations around the world, including more than 60% of “developing” nations. Jeff walks us through this increasingly central policy of worldwide economic coercion, how it shapes American imperial aims, and some intended & unintended consequences of the exponential expansion of sanctions in the 21st century. Then, we take a quick look at the state of the Veepstakes, Josh Shapiro’s whole deal, and of course, RFK Jr. and the road-kill bear.
Check out Jeff’s sanctions investigation here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2024/us-sanction-countries-work/
Amanda Holmes reads David Gewanter’s “Stick the Landing.” 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.