National Book Award winner M.T. Anderson has written his first novel for adults. Nicked is set in 1087 and follows a monk and treasure hunter looking to steal the bones of Saint Nicholas – this is based on true events — in hopes it will miraculously cure a plague raging through the Italian city of Bari. In today's episode, Anderson speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about why he considers the comic novel a 'medieval noir' and what it means to believe — or not believe – in miracles.
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
VP Kamala Harris hits the road with her new running mate, Tim Walz, who lands his first official couch joke of the campaign against his GOP counterpart, JD Vance. Meanwhile, Trump tries to brand Walz as a communist. Then, Dan and guest host Melissa Murray break down Biden’s Supreme Court reforms, Trump’s January 6th case and the infinite shadiness of Justice Clarence Thomas’s flight schedule.
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.
Globalization, as we once knew it, is dead ... well, that's according to the UK's new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.
Chancellor Reeves has run the UK Treasury since July 2024. She's facing an economic backdrop familiar to many countries: hollowed-out industrial towns; climate change; global wars and conflicts.
Today on the show: Our conversation with Chancellor Reeves on her visit this week to the US. What she thinks went wrong with globalization, and the new economic map she's coursing.
Public support for fostering robust legal immigration has taken a dramatic negative turn. What's likely under a Trump or Harris administration on immigration? David Bier comments.
Mark Halperin joins us today to evaluate the introduction of Veep candidate Tim Walz and the question of the role of Jewishness or his lack thereof in his selection. And what is Donald Trump doing, exactly? Give a listen.
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.