Author George M. Johnson says they knew their memoir, All Boys Aren't Blue, would be challenged by school boards – but they didn't realize just how much controversy it would stir up. The memoir explores Johnson's upbringing as a queer young person of color in New Jersey and Virginia. In today's episode, they tell NPR's Leila Fadel that despite all the pushback the book has received, it's been overwhelmingly gratifying to see how much it's helped teachers, librarians, parents...and especially the students themselves.
On December 21, 1891, a physical education teacher in Springfield, Massachusetts, looking to keep athletes occupied during the winter, hung some peach baskets on the balcony of the gymnasium.
With these peach baskets and an old soccer ball, he created something that revolutionized sports and became one of the most popular games in the world.
Learn more about the history of basketball and how it became a global phenomenon on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Jordan Banks, the protagonist of New Kid, is a seventh grade student who loves to draw and hopes to one day become a cartoonist. But the graphic novel following Jordan's arrival at a predominantly white, elite, private school has been challenged numerous times in the state of Texas by people claiming it promotes critical race theory. In today's episode, author Jerry Craft tells NPR's A Martinez how those challenges were often presented by parents who had not truly engaged with the material – and why it's crucial for him to tell coming-of-age stories for Black kids that don't involve catastrophe.
This episode was originally released in August 2016
Note
* Here’s a link to watch an excerpt of the CBS news break.
* One of my favorite things I came across while reading up on the lottery was this site, which includes a remarkable page where folks send in their personal stories of their draft experience.
Music
* Elevator Song by Keaton Henson (feat. Ren Ford)
* Waves by Abby Gundersen
Professor Ashley Hope Pérez's book Out of Darkness explores school segregation in 20th century Texas through a fictional love story between a young African-American boy and a Mexican-American girl. But the YA novel has been banned in a number of places and effectively pulled out of several school libraries. In today's episode, the author tells NPR's Rob Schmitz how sexual content is used as a scapegoat to target books addressing race, gender and other identity-based topics – and how those battles ultimately set back strides in diversifying children's literature.
During World War II, allied soldiers would often spend their time listening to the radio. They could, at least for a little while, be transported back home by listening to popular music with the soothing sounds of a female radio host with a flawless American accent.
Along with the music, the troops would also get a healthy dose of enemy propaganda.
Learn more about Tokyo Rose and Axis Sally, how they got stuck doing radio, and what happened to them after the war, on this Episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
As an enticement to get tickets to our next ATXplained Live show at the Paramount Theatre on Feb. 22 — here’s a taste of our last live show from back in September 2022.
