Middle school can be a rough time no matter what. But for Isaiah, the eighth grader at the heart of Alicia D. Williams' book Mid-Air, there are some added challenges: feeling like his affinity for rock music and nail polish makes him weird, grieving the loss of a close friend, and drifting further and further apart from his other best bud. In today's episode, Williams speaks with NPR's Andrew Limbong about the particular difficulties Black boys face to feel like they belong, and why — in the face of tragedy or discomfort — it can be even harder for them to connect with one another.
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Joe Biden cracks jokes, mocks Trump, and goes around traditional media outlets to get his message out on shows like Smartless and Howard Stern. Democratic and Republican politicians get involved in the debate over the Gaza protests on college campuses. One-time Republican Trump critics line up to kiss the ring, and Kristi Noem destroys her VP chances by coming out as an unapologetic puppy killer.
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.
Alex joins us again to catch up on the ongoing pro-Palestinian protests and the range of responses to them, from blatant attempts to provoke the protesters, to complaining about encampments ruining your teaching of silence. Then, Kristi Noem killed her dog, the defrocking of an AI priest, and Trump expressions that live in our heads.
Tickets to Will & Hesse’s Movie Mindset screening & talkback of Death Wish 3 in NYC on May 4: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chapo-trap-houses-movie-mindset-screening-of-death-wish-3-w-will-hesse-tickets-877569192077
Amanda Holmes reads J. R. Solonche’s “Spring.” 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.
In this episode, J. Mark Ramseyer joins Mark Bauerlein to discuss his co-written new book, “The Comfort Women Hoax: A Fake Memoir, North Korean Spies, and Hit Squads in the Academic Swamp.”
Music by J. S. Bach/C. Gounod, public domain. Track edited, cropped, and merged with another track.
What does the case of Peru have to teach us about state capacity to foster (or hamper) human flourishing? Edwar Escalante of Angelo State University discusses the upsides and downsides of increasing state capacity.
Launches by commercial space companies are becoming more frequent. Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration licensed 117, an all-time high. But these spaceflight companies aren't paying for all of the FAA's services that they use.
Today, we explore why the government is looking to change that and dig into the larger debate over whether human activity in space is a public or private project.
Today Adam J. White joins the podcast, and first we discuss whether the pro-Hamas cry-bullies will have the ability to function in life beyond the campus. Then we take up the Supreme Court's response to arguments over Donald Trump's immunity and presidential immunity in general. The justices seem warmer to immunity than the liberal commentariat would like. And after the Court rules, how will the lower courts respond? Give a listen.