Category: DailyShorts

Posted on

NPR's Book of the Day - ‘Theater Kid’ is a memoir from the producer of ‘Rent,’ ‘Avenue Q,’ and ‘Hamilton’

Jeffrey Seller says he found his home on stage from an early age. He grew up in the suburbs of Detroit as an adopted, gay, Jewish kid in a low-income family – but he was also a theater kid. In his new memoir Theater Kid, Seller reflects on how he moved on from the challenges of his childhood to find incredible success on Broadway. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about what first drew him to projects like In the Heights and Hamilton, the surprising jobs held by Seller's father, and what theater can unlock for its audiences.

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

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Posted on

Curious City - ‘Have you checked on your ancestors?’ This woman brings dignity to deceased Black Chicagoans

Tammy Gibson wants you to visit the gravesites of your deceased relatives. “Have you checked on your ancestors?” said Gibson, the founder of Sankofa TravelHer, an organization dedicated to honoring the legacy of African-Americans who were often denied dignity in death. As we learned last episode, Chicago’s long history of segregation affected both the living and the dead, as many area cemeteries once offered burial space “for the exclusive use of the Caucasian race.” So where did African-Americans bury their loved ones in the 19th and early 20th centuries? “From my research, African-Americans could not get buried in Chicago,” Gibson told Curious City. Instead, she said many African-Americans buried their dead in the South Suburbs, at cemeteries like Mount Glenwood in Glenwood, Ill., and later Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Ill. In this episode, Gibson tells us about the people who first started these cemeteries and the notable people buried there. She talks about the work she does to continue honoring the deceased, including offering a reinterment ceremony years after the 2009 grave-stacking scandal at Burr Oak Cemetery. Gibson also works to get headstones for notable Chicagoans who do not have them. This includes Eugene Williams, whose death sparked the 1919 Chicago Race Riot, and journalist Ethel Payne from Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, who was known as the First Lady of the Black Press.
Posted on

Bay Curious - What Is That Massive Tunnel on the Beach South of Fort Funston?

On a Daly City beach just south of Fort Funston there's a large tunnel carved into the cliff. Bay Curious listener Francisco Alvarado noticed it one day while walking his chihuahua, Little Bean, down the beach. The tunnel is large enough for a person to stand up and several feet wide, so of course Francisco's mind started racing. What could this mysterious tunnel be? Is it a remnant of life long ago? Or could it be something as mundane as a drain outlet? We head to Phillip Burton Memorial Beach, as it's technically called, with a geologist to find some answers.


Additional Reading

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts


This story was reported by Katrina Schwartz. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and everyone on Team KQED.

Posted on

Everything Everywhere Daily - Macau

Located in the Pearl River Delta, off the coast of the mainland of the People’s Republic of China, is Macau.

Macau is often overlooked due to its larger neighbor, Hong Kong, but Macau, despite being similar, has had its own unique history.

What began as a fishing village evolved into a major trading port, and in the 21st century, it has become one of the most popular entertainment centers in Asia.

It remains unlike any other place in Asia, and indeed, the entire world.

Learn more about Macau and its history on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.


Sponsors


Subscribe to the podcast! 

https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/

--------------------------------

Executive Producer: Charles Daniel

Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer

 

Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere


Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com


Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily

Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip

Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/ 


Disce aliquid novi cotidie

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Posted on

Everything Everywhere Daily - Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great was one of the most influential rulers in Russian history, transforming the Russian Empire into a major European power through territorial expansion, internal reforms, and cultural patronage. 

Her reign marked the pinnacle of Enlightened Absolutism in Russia, as she embraced Western philosophical ideals while consolidating autocratic rule.

She modernized administration, promoted education and the arts, and extended Russia’s borders through diplomacy and military conquest.

Yet, she was unlike every other Russian ruler in one important aspect…and it wasn’t the fact that she was a woman.

Learn more about Catherine the Great and how she managed to change Russia on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.


***5th Anniversary Celebration RSVP***


Sponsors


Subscribe to the podcast! 

https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/

--------------------------------

Executive Producer: Charles Daniel

Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer

 

Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere


Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com


Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily

Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip

Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/ 


Disce aliquid novi cotidie


Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Posted on

The Indicator from Planet Money - An indicator lost: big disaster costs

The U.S. government has tallied the economic impact of major natural disasters going back to 1980. State and local governments used this data for budgeting and planning. But last month, the administration retired its Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters disaster database. Today on the show, we speak to Adam Smith, the architect of the program, on the work he did and what might be next.

Related episodes:
How much is a weather forecast worth? (Update) (Apple / Spotify)
How ski resorts are (economically) adjusting to climate change (Apple / Spotify)

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Posted on

NPR's Book of the Day - ‘Freedom Season’ argues the events of 1963 transformed the civil rights movement

The year 1963 was a landmark one for the civil rights movement – and it's the subject of Peniel Joseph's new book Freedom Season. In the book, the University of Texas at Austin professor argues the events of 1963 ushered in what would become a 50-year consensus on racial justice, including the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act and transformations to public institutions. In today's episode, Joseph joins Here & Now's Scott Tong for a conversation about the varied voices of the civil rights era – who didn't always agree – including James Baldwin, Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King Jr., and John F. Kennedy.

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

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy