Yangsze Choo says she doesn't thoroughly plan out her novels – her newest, The Fox Wife, blossomed from that core idea behind the title, of a woman who also happens to be a fox. But beyond that, it's a story about a mother avenging her child, about a murder investigation in early 20th century China, and about family curses. As the author tells NPR's Scott Simon, foxes hold a wide range of intrigue and mystery in Chinese, Korean and Japanese legends — and it's these traits that broke open a whole world of secrets for her characters.
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In the Pacific Theater in World War II, the leader of the combined Japanese fleet was Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.
Yamamoto was villanized as the arch-enemy of the American forces in the Pacific, and to be fair, he was their enemy.
But there is actually much more to the story. Yamamoto was the loudest voice against war with the United States and was one of the only officials in the Japanese leadership who spent time in the United States and understood it.
Learn more about Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, his rise and tragic end on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
It's Indicators of the Week — our weekly look under the hood of our global economy. Today we look at why cocoa prices are soaring, whether India's electoral bonds are bad for democracy and how a typo sent Lyft shares (briefly) soaring.
Today's episode features two thrillers that unravel in the darkened halls of historic houses. First, NPR's Scott Simon speaks with C.L. Miller about The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder, a whodunnit amongst antique collectors trapped in an English manor under very bizarre circumstances. Then, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly asks Tracy Sierra about her debut novel, Nightwatching, and how the author's own New England home inspired this terrifying tale about a mother hiding from an intruder during a blizzard.
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 2023, The Federal Reserve and other banking regulators announced they were making changes to how they grade banks on servicing local communities. This all stems from a 1977 law called the Community Reinvestment Act, which was designed to encourage banks to better meet the needs of moderate and low-income borrowers. However, major banking trade groups weren't too excited about the new rules and filed a lawsuit against the banking regulators last week.
Today on the show, we explain the history of racist housing policies in the United States and how that history informs the banks' fight with the government today.
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
This week, hear about historian Carter G. Woodson’s important Chicago ties, and how he came up with the idea for a “Negro History Week,” which later turned into the Black History Month we celebrate today.
This week, hear about historian Carter G. Woodson’s important Chicago ties, and how he came up with the idea for a “Negro History Week,” which later turned into the Black History Month we celebrate today.
When listener Beth Caissie moved to San Francisco she'd heard of Ghirardelli Chocolate, but she was surprised there were so many other fabulous chocolate shops around. She wondered if the lineage stretches all the way back to the Gold Rush. It does! And because high quality chocolate was produced here, innovative chocolate makers from all over the world have put their own cultural twist on the sweet treat.
This story was reported by Adhiti Bandlamudi. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Christopher Beale and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.