Race relations
Podcast Examines How 'Nice White Parents' Become Obstacles In Integrated Schools
Serial reporter Chana Joffe-Walt says progressive white parents may say they want their kids to go to diverse schools — but the reality tells a different story. Her new podcast is Nice White Parents.
In 'Leave The World Behind,' 2 Families Face The Unknown Together
Rumaan Alam's latest novel, Leave the World Behind, centers on a white family and an older Black couple who find themselves together in a beautiful vacation house on Long Island while a power outage — and possibly something much worse — grips much of the East Coast. The novel, which is up for the National Book Award, explores class and race relations — and how we respond to crisis and fear
'Leave The World Behind' Is A Signature Novel For This Blasted Year
Leave the World Behind is atmospheric and prescient: Its rhythms of comedy alternating with shock and despair mimic so much of the rhythms of life right now. That's more than enough to make it a signature novel for this blasted year.
Author Yaa Gyasi Says Writing Can Be 'An Act Of Love And Justice'
Race and belonging are the central themes of Yaa Gyasi's work. Her 2016 debut novel, Homegoing, about slavery, won a National Book critic's circle award, and the National Book Foundation's 5 under 35 honor.
Gyasi's new novel, Transcendent Kingdom, draws on Gyasi's life as the daughter of immigrants from Ghana.
'She Wrote Her Own Rules': Kerry Washington's 'Little Fires' Role Reminds Her Of Mom
Washington is nominated two Emmys for producing and starring in the Hulu series Little Fires Everywhere, about an enigmatic artist adjusting to life in the suburbs. Originally broadcast April 6, 2020.
Ta-Nehisi Coates On Magic, Memory And The Underground Railroad
After writing three non-fiction books dealing with race and identity, and relaunching Marvel's black superhero series Black Panther, Ta-Nehisi Coates has written his first novel. Set during slave times, it re-imagines leaders of the underground railroad as having a magical power to help people out of slavery.
'Fresh Air' Remembers Toni Morrison With 3 Conversations Over 4 Decades
The Nobel laureate died Monday at 88. Terry Gross talked with Morrison in 1987 after she wrote Beloved, in 1992 after she authored Jazz and in 2015 when she published God Help the Child.
Wanda Sykes Loves Stand-Up: 'That's Where I Can Be Free,' She Says
Before Wanda Sykes became a comic, she worked as a procurement officer for the National Security Agency and had top security clearance. But she always loved telling jokes, and when a local radio station sponsored a talent show that included a comedy category, she decided to audition.