Today's podcast takes up the question of the Biden administration's problematic response to the tragic strike on a food aid convoy in Gaza—something for which Israel took immediate responsibility and for which it apologized wholeheartedly at the highest levels with little effect on the condemnations that continue to pour on its head. Meanwhile, Biden's polling continues to suggest a loss in November with no changes in strategy from Biden or his people. Give a listen.
It's been four years since the world went into lockdown mode as COVID-19 rapidly spread across the globe. But a new book by political scientist Dali Yang dives into the information about, and mitigation of, the disease in its earliest days in China. In today's episode, Yang speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about the research that went into Wuhan, the way local governments and medical officials abstained from disclosing crucial intelligence in the early days, and the strict lockdown that followed.
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 sun is shining, birds are singing, and...our allergies are going NUTS. That can only mean one thing: It's time for The Indicator Quiz! The show where we bring a lucky listener on to test their econ knowledge. Today's quiz focuses on questions related to labor. Play along with us and see how you do! Are you interested in being a contestant on our next Indicator Quiz? Email us your name and phone number at indicator@npr.org and put "Indicator Quiz" in the subject line.
In this episode, David Bonagura joins Mark Bauerlein to discuss his new book, “Jerome’s Tears: Letters to Friends in Mourning.”
Music by J. S. Bach/C. Gounod, public domain. Track edited, cropped, and merged with another track.
Today we discuss unforgivable acts of Jew-hatred—including a riot outside a synagogue where money was being raised to help a Jewish burial society—and forgivable tragic events that occur during war. There is a difference. A big difference. Also, a beautiful statement by a grieving Israeli father and Donald Trump's very good day in and out of court. Give a listen.
Jay, the 17-year-old at the heart of Daniel Kraus' novel Whalefall, has an hour of oxygen left on his tank. He's been diving in the ocean off the coast of Monterey, California trying to recover a skeleton — but his mission is complicated when he's swallowed whole by a sperm whale. In today's episode, Kraus speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about how a book that's so enmeshed in death also reveals quite a lot about life, and how he conceptualized the pacing of his chapters to emphasize Jay's race against time.
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
Ever since the discovery of the planet Neptune in 1846, astronomers have noticed that something was not right. The orbit of Neptune was being gravitationally influenced by some other, unknown body that was dubbed Planet X.
In 1930, it was thought that this body had been discovered with the discovery of Pluto, but that couldn’t have been the object that was influencing Neptune because it was too small.
The search for this mysterious object has continued to this day, and some astronomers think we are finally close to finding it.
Learn more about the hunt for Planet X, aka Planet 9, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
