Natwest, 23, is about to finally leave for university. But a package he's waiting for has gone missing and – fearing humiliation if its contents are found out – he spends 24 hours looking for it all over town. That's the premise of Nathan Newman's comic novel, How to Leave the House. In today's episode, Newman speaks with NPR's David Folkenflik about some of the odd neighborhood characters Natwest bumps into along the way, and how their own concerns and their perceptions of Natwest completely challenge the notion of who he thinks he is as the protagonist of his own story.
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
Lovett and guest host Symone Sanders Townsend of MSNBC discuss the Harris-Walz campaign's latest moves: new ads hitting Trump and touting her housing plan, and a big bus tour through southeastern Georgia. Then, they look at Trump's counter-programming—notably, selling trading cards of himself—and who benefits most from muted mics at the September 10 debate.
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.
Even with falling interest rates in recent weeks, mortgage rates are still higher than you'd expect.
Mortgage interest rates are usually a little less than two percentage points higher than what you would get on a 10-year Treasury bond. But for the last couple of years that difference has been noticeably higher: 2.6% at the moment. New borrowers have been paying potentially thousands of dollars extra each year on their mortgages.
Today on the show, how mortgage interest rates work and why they're currently out of whack ... with new borrowers footing the bill.
Adam White joins us today to talk about the re-indictment of Donald Trump relating to January 6 and whether the new effort by the special prosecutor answers the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this summer. But first: She's being interviewed! But not alone! Why not alone? And what will interviewer Dana Bash do? Give a listen.
What do hedge fund managers, poker players and the scientist behind the mRNA vaccine have in common? In his new book, On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything, Nate Silver argues that they all exist in what he calls "the River" – a community of like-minded power brokers taking quantitative risks. In today's episode, Silver speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about what differentiates "the River" from what he calls "the Village" – think journalists and professors – and how cancel culture plays a role in this societal structure.
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
Parents in West Virginia have new education options thanks to the Hope Scholarship. It's also dramatically expanded education entrepreneurship in the state. Jessi Troyan of the Cardinal Institute explains what it means for other efforts to broaden the range of choices available to families.
When Shi Zhengrong started making solar panels at the turn of the century, there was basically no solar industry in China. But in the decades that followed, the nation started heavily investing in renewables. Today, we dig into how China became a leader in solar power while following the story of one man: the Sun King.
Related episodes: Rooftop solar's dark side (Apple / Spotify) The debate at the heart of new electricity transmission (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
A large child tax credit is among a handful of remarkably similar campaign pledges from the campaigns of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Vanessa Brown Calder offers some analysis.