Real Americans, the new novel by Rachel Khong, spans generations and decades within a family to understand the ongoing struggle to make sense of race, class and identity in the United States. Like with any family story, there are secrets and confrontations and difficult conversations, too; that desire to fill in the gaps about where we come from and how it has shaped our lineage is at the center of today's interview with Khong and NPR's Juana Summers.
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In the last year of the Second World War, things were not going well for the Imperial Japanese military.
They had lost several major naval battles against the United States, they were losing territory, and they had no capability to rebuild the ships that they were losing.
They were desperate to find something to turn the tide of the war. What they settled on was one of the most terrifying tactics of the entire conflict for participants on both sides.
Learn more about the kamikaze pilots and why Japan adopted such a desperate tactic on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
If a child loves reading, how big a difference does that make to their future success?
In a much-repeated claim, often sourced to a 2002 OECD report, it is suggested that it makes the biggest difference there is ? that reading for pleasure is the biggest factor in future success.
But is that true? We speak to Miyako Ikeda from the OECD and Professor Alice Sullivan from University College London.
Presenter / series producer: Tom Colls
Reporter / producer: Debbie Richford
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound mix: Graham Puddifoot
Editor: Richard Vadon
Indicators of the Week is back! This time, we dig into why gold prices are spiking, why the Biden administration has only spent a small portion of money pledged to infrastructure projects, and what the spurt of streaming consolidations means for you.
We begin with a clip of an interview with Joe Biden in 2019 saying the idea of withholding military aid from Israel would be unthinkable to him. And we're off and running with the question of just how damaging and destructive his moves this past week have been. Plus: can you "slut-shame" a porn star? Give a listen.
In 1956, one of the most important geopolitical events of the post-war period took place in Egypt.
Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, one of the most important waterways in the world.
In response, a coalition of several countries tried to take it back. However, it didn’t go as planned, and it signaled a major reshuffling of the geopolitical order.
Learn more about the Suez Crisis and how it shaped the second half of the 20th century on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.