Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie hasn't published a novel in more than a decade. After writing literary hits like Americanah and essays like the popular We Should All Be Feminists, the author says she went through a period of writer's block. But now, she's out with a new novel Dream Count that tells the stories of four interconnected women. In today's episode, Adichie speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about a phrase that lodged itself in the author's mind and ultimately served as the book's first line. They also talk about a loss that caused Adichie to question how well she knew herself and a real-life sexual assault case that inspired her to write one of the novel's central characters.
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Episode: 1049 Hugh Miller: a fundamentalist radicalizes 19th century geology. Today, a 19th-century geologist struggles with the creation of the earth.
Episode: 1048 Medieval machines in a 20th century hydraulics text. Today, two 20th-century thinkers look at the end of an era. One sees it. One does not.
Between the Trump administration wanting to change how GDP is calculated and DOGE accessing sensitive government information, statistical agencies are under the microscope. Can we still trust official numbers like the monthly jobs report? A former Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner shares her worries about the future integrity of government data.
Two biographical picture books introduce children to the life stories of writer Toni Morrison and civil rights activist Ruby Bridges. First, Andrea Davis Pinkney initially encountered Morrison's work as a child. But later, she became the editor of Morrison's children's books. Now, Pinkney is out with And She Was Loved, a picture book about Morrison's life. In today's episode, the author talks with Here & Now's Lisa Mullins about her decision to write the book in the form of a poem and love letter, Morrison's upbringing in the oral tradition, and how Pinkney approached her editing role. Then, Ruby Bridges tells her own story in an autobiographical picture book. In I Am Ruby Bridges, she recounts her experience as the first Black child to desegregate an all white school in 1960. In today's episode, she joins NPR's Mary Louise Kelly for a conversation about the book. They discuss what that first day of school looked like through a six-year-old's eyes – and the way white parents responded.
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