In their new noir novels, authors Joseph Finder and Jo Nesbø choose small towns as the settings for dark plotlines. First, Finder's The Oligarch's Daughter follows a man named Paul who has built a new life under a new name in New Hampshire. He's on the run from a Russian oligarch, who happens to be his father-in-law. In today's episode, Finder speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the difficulty of disappearing in today's era of surveillance technology, the difference between typical wealth and oligarch wealth, and how the Russian oligarch class' status has shifted under President Vladimir Putin. Then, one of the protagonists in Nesbø's Blood Ties is Roy, a 35-year-old mass murderer who's ready to start a family. Nesbø says his challenge was to make Roy someone readers could root for. In today's episode, the author speaks with NPR's Kelly about a piece of advice he received from Christopher Nolan, the way small towns hold secrets, and how writing lyrics prepared him to write novels.
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Music
Two from Lambert: Fremd and The Open
Plantasia from Mort Garson's amazing, ridiculous album of the same name.
Two from Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans' score to Christine: Paranoia and Newsroom.
Once every 450,000 years or so, the Earth undergoes a radical transformation.
The planet’s magnetic field will literally flip. The North Pole becomes the South Pole and vice versa.
Despite the fact that we know this has happened many times in the Earth’s history, we really don’t know what would happen if the poles were to reverse today.
Learn more about when the Earth’s magnetic poles reverse on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
In 1936, Merle Oberon became the first Asian woman–and person of color–to receive an Oscar nomination for best actress. She was nominated for her role in The Dark Angel and later starred in films like Wuthering Heights. But Oberon kept her mixed-race, South Asian heritage a secret, passing as white for her entire career. Mayukh Sen tells this story in Love, Queenie, the first biography of Oberon. In today's episode, Sen speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about prejudice the actress faced during her upbringing in India, the role men played in her career, and the elaborate stories she told to keep her identity a secret.
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
In 2009, Bitcoin launched as the first cryptocurrency. Just under two decades, President Trump has signed an executive order to create the "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and United States Digital Asset Stockpile." On today's show, we look at what the U.S. government plans for this new strategy, plus who benefits from a crypto reserve.
Related episodes: Is an American sovereign wealth fund such a bad idea? (Apple / Spotify) Is 'government crypto' a good idea? (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Scientist Alice Hamilton’s investigations into toxins in Chicago’s factories led to some of the first workplace safety laws in the country. She was known for her “shoe leather” epidemiology, wearing out the soles of her shoes from all the trips she made to Chicago homes, factories and even saloons to figure out what was making people sick.
Every March, the United States experiences a period known as March Madness. It is the time when college basketball teams compete for a national championship.
The process of crowning a national champion is a months-long process where teams vie for a chance to make the national tournament.
From there, in theory, every team that makes the big dance has a shot at becoming a champion. All you have to do is win five, or maybe six, consecutive games.
Learn more about March Madness and how the NCAA Basketball tournament works on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Thirty years ago, the U.S. helped create the World Trade Organization, a group of countries linked by a common set of free trade agreements. But then the U.S., starting with the Obama administration, turned against the WTO. This leaves a void where there should be a referee to settle trade disputes between countries. On today's show, how American grievances paralyzed the WTO's dispute settlement system and what happens when the U.S. no longer wants to play by the rules it once agreed to.
Related listening: A polite message from Canada to the U.S. (Apple / Spotify) Trump's contradictory trade policies (Apple / Spotify) Worst. Tariffs. Ever. (Update) (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.