Lexy Bloom first read Haruki Murakami in the '90s, when she picked up A Wild Sheep Chase. At that point, not much of the Japanese author's work had been published in English. But Bloom often read his stories in The New Yorker, trying to guess which of his three translators had worked on each one. Bloom, who is now a senior editor at Knopf, began to edit Murakami's English translations years later, starting with 1Q84. Now, Murakami has a new novel out, The City and Its Uncertain Walls, a revision of an earlier novella. In today's episode, Bloom joins NPR's Andrew Limbong for a discussion that touches on what it's like to collaborate with Murakami, feminist critiques of the author's female characters, and reading the author's work through a Western lens.
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SpaceX is capping off a busy 2024, with more than 100 rocket launches, including its vaunted Starship. NPR Science Correspondent Geoff Brumfiel attended the November launch of Starship alongside SpaceX founder Elon Musk and president-elect Donald Trump. He spoke with NPR's Short Wave about the environmental impact of these launches in south Texas — and what a second Trump administration could mean for the company.
A Curious City listener collects Christkindlmarket mugs. But there’s one mug in her collection without a year on it. We go in search of that lost year.
The modern world runs on electricity. That isn’t a throwaway statement. If we take away electricity, our modern civilization will quickly fall apart.
The power that runs the modern world is dependent on a very technical, and in some cases very fragile, network of electrical generation, transmission, and consumption.
These electrical networks can be as small as a city or as large as a continent.
Learn more about the electrical grid, how it works and how may change in the future on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
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Angela Merkel served as Chancellor of Germany through a number of global challenges: a pandemic, a migrant crisis and military aggression. But she also had to consider dilemmas that were specific to being the first and only woman to hold her position. The former chancellor reflects on this experience, her rise to power and her political record in a new memoir, Freedom. In today's episode, Merkel speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelley through a translator. They discuss going toe-to-toe with leaders like Vladimir Putin, what a second Trump term means for U.S. diplomacy, and whether Merkel sees herself as a feminist.
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For thirty years between 1455 and 1485, England suffered its greatest civil war at that point.
The war was ultimately over succession to the throne and who should be king.
The period was filled with death and bloodshed, and when the dust settled, it left England a changed country and set the stage for its later ascension.
Learn more about the War of the Roses, its causes, and its resolution on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Author Marisha Pessl has always loved puzzles and board games. She's intrigued by the feeling of forced companionship that comes from solving a puzzle together. Her new novel, Darkly, follows a teen named Arcadia and six others as they embark on an internship with the renowned game design company Darkly. Working on the mysterious island that houses the Darkly headquarters, they come across mysteries of the company and its owner. In today's episode, Pessl speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about the idea of contained chaos and how the mysteries of the past can unlock the mysteries of the present.
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