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Books

LeVar Burton has portrayed the Black experience "from our enslavement to the stars"

LeVar Burton on Wild Card Etienne Laurent/Getty Images hide caption

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Etienne Laurent/Getty Images

Wild Card with Rachel Martin

LeVar Burton has portrayed the Black experience "from our enslavement to the stars"

LeVar Burton has three roles he'll forever be known for: Kunta Kinte on the TV series Roots, Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation and host of Reading Rainbow. Those roles have had profound impacts on people and he now understands, as he puts it, "my job is to be LeVar Burton." He talks to Rachel about the tension of that job, his changing definitions of success and learning to embrace the chaos.

LeVar Burton has portrayed the Black experience "from our enslavement to the stars"

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Scenes of destruction at the Factor Druk printing house, one of Ukraine's largest, can be seen days after it was hit in a Russian missile attack, on May 27.

Scenes of destruction at the Factor Druk printing house, one of Ukraine's largest, can be seen days after it was hit in a Russian missile attack on May 27. Laurel Chor for NPR hide caption

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Laurel Chor for NPR

Ukraine invasion — explained

Ukraine's bookstores are thriving, but a top printing plant took a deadly hit

Ukraine's bookstores have expanded despite the war, fueled by interest in works by Ukrainian writers, some who have been killed by Russian forces. But a Russian missile struck a top printing plant.

Bookstores have come under attack in Ukraine. But interest in reading is only growing

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The political evolution of J.D. Vance

Trump's pick for Vice President, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) arrives on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Consider This from NPR

The political evolution of J.D. Vance

When President Biden heard that Donald Trump had picked J.D. Vance to be his running mate, he called the Ohio senator "a clone" of Trump. But when Vance first gained national attention, he was one of Trump's loudest critics.

The political evolution of J.D. Vance

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This absorbing debut novel about writing takes its cue from 'Mrs. Dalloway'
Practice, by Rosalind Brown/Macmillan

Review

Book Reviews

This absorbing debut novel about writing takes its cue from 'Mrs. Dalloway'

Rosalind Brown's debut novel, Practice, centers on an undergraduate student trying to write an essay on Shakespeare. Along the way, we are treated to the fleeting insights of the the brain at work.

This absorbing debut novel about writing takes its cue from 'Mrs. Dalloway'

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Simmering over summer books
Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

Review

It's Been a Minute

Simmering over summer books

We're at the peak of summer, which means sunny days on the grass with a good book! Bestselling authors Tia Williams and Jean Chen Ho join host Brittany Luse to give their recommendations for great summer reads. They also offer some armchair theories on why we love a gossipy summer novel.

Simmering over summer books

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The Sunday Story: The love that shaped Whoopi Goldberg
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Tribeca Festiva

Up First

The Sunday Story: The love that shaped Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg is an icon of entertainment. She's played many roles in Hollywood, and she has perhaps been most inspirational for the way she has shown up as herself. But before the acclaim, Whoopi Goldberg was known as Caryn Johnson and in her own words, "A little bit different.. and out there."

The Sunday Story: The love that shaped Whoopi Goldberg

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Nikki Giovanni doesn't think about her legacy. But here's a moment she felt proud

Nikki Giovanni on Wild Card Michael Loccisano/Getty hide caption

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Michael Loccisano/Getty

Wild Card with Rachel Martin

Nikki Giovanni doesn't think about her legacy. But here's a moment she felt proud

At 81, Nikki Giovanni isn't afraid of getting older. And the legendary poet also isn't spending any time thinking about her legacy. She's mostly focused on having fun and being able to look back on her life and feel like she did her duty. She talks to Rachel about the myth of a happy family, what she's learned on safaris and why she's fascinated with Mars.

Nikki Giovanni doesn't think about her legacy. But here's a moment she felt proud

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Cory Richards

Self-portrait after the avalanche, first winter ascent of Gasherbrum II, Karakorum Himalaya, Pakistan, Feb. 4, 2011. Cory Richards hide caption

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Cory Richards

Author Interviews

This photographer nearly died mountain climbing. His memoir details the mental toll

Former National Geographic photographer details his struggles with mental health while climbing the world’s mountains

In 'The Color of Everything," photographer shares how being bipolar shaped his life

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Mavis Staples on Prince, MLK and a life onstage

Grammy award-winning soul singer Mavis Staples Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images hide caption

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Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

Mavis Staples on Prince, MLK and a life onstage

This week, the legendary singer and civil rights figure Mavis Staples is turning 85 and there's no sign of her slowing down: She released a new song, "Worthy," and a children's book, Bridges Instead of Walls: The Story of Mavis Staples.

Mavis Staples on Prince, MLK and a life onstage

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Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer shares her leadership philosophy in her new book.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer shares her leadership philosophy in her new book, True Gretch: What I've Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between. Simon and Schuster hide caption

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Simon and Schuster

Politics

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has “complete confidence” in Biden’s candidacy

NPR's Juana Summers talks with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer about her new book True Gretch: What I've Learned About Life, Leadership and Everything in Between.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has 'complete confidence' in Biden’s candidacy

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Jill Ciment met her husband Arnold Mesches when she was his teenage art student.

Jill Ciment met her husband Arnold Mesches when she was his teenage art student. Random House/Random House hide caption

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Random House/Random House

Author Interviews

She was 17. He was 47. #MeToo changed how she thinks of their relationship

Ciment met her husband in the 1970s. At the time of their first kiss, he was a married father of two; she was his art student. In her memoir Consent she reconsiders the origin story of their marriage.

She was 17. He was 47. #MeToo changed how she thinks of their relationship

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Author Alice Munro in 2009. Her daughter has come forward with allegations her stepfather abused her as a child and that Munro was aware and stayed with him until his death.

Author Alice Munro in 2009. Her daughter, Andrea Skinner, has come forward with allegations her stepfather abused her as a child and that Munro was aware and stayed with him until his death. Peter Muhly/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Peter Muhly/AFP via Getty Images

Book News & Features

Alice Munro's daughter says her mother did nothing to stop abusive stepfather

Alice Munro died in May at the age of 92. Her daughter Andrea Skinner wrote a Toronto Star op-ed revealing her stepfather abused her as a child for years.

A member of the 'T-Shirt Swim Club' chronicles life as 'the funny fat kid'

"The first place I learned to be funny was on the schoolyard trying to defuse this weird tension around my body, says Ian Karmel. He won an Emmy Award in 2019 for his work on James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke" special with Paul McCartney. Kenny McMillan/Penguin Random House hide caption

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Kenny McMillan/Penguin Random House

Author Interviews

A member of the 'T-Shirt Swim Club' chronicles life as 'the funny fat kid'

Comedy writer Ian Karmel has been making fun of his own body since he was a kid. He wrote T-Shirt Swim Club: Stories from Being Fat in a World of Thin People along with his sister.

Ian Karmel

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A taste of Black Appalachia

Crystal Wilkinson's praisesong biscuits Felix Cruz hide caption

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Felix Cruz

It's Been a Minute

A taste of Black Appalachia

Too often, our attempts at nailing the family recipes end up in disaster and disappointment. This week, host Brittany Luse is joined by former Kentucky Poet Laureate Crystal Wilkinson, author of Praisesong for the Kitchenghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks. The two talk about Appalachian food culture, turning oral recipes into written ones, and the emotional relationship between food, family and memory.

A taste of Black Appalachia

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Contestants on Love is Blind live apart from one another and do not see each other before agreeing to be married.

Contestants on Love is Blind live apart from one another and do not see each other before agreeing to be married. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Television

'Love is Blind' is mired in lawsuits. What does that mean for reality TV?

New Yorker writer Emily Nussbaum discusses the lawsuits brought forth by the Love is Blind cast members, and reflects on how reality TV has impacted our culture. Her new book is Cue the Sun!

Emily Nussbaum

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Emergency Quarters

Emergency Quarters Illustrations © 2024 by Gracey Zhang hide caption

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Illustrations © 2024 by Gracey Zhang

Picture This

'Emergency Quarters' are for pay phones (remember those?) in a new book by ‘90s kids

Ernesto's mom gives him a quarter every morning. "For emergencies," she says. "If you need me, look for a pay phone." Hey, it was the '90s! But how will Ernesto spend his Emergency Quarters?

'Emergency Quarters' are for pay phones (remember those?) in a new book by ‘90s kids

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Pedestrians walk past the Fabulosa Books store in San Francisco's Castro District on Thursday, June 27, 2024. The bookstore is sending LGBTQ+ books to parts of the country where they are censored.

Pedestrians walk past the Fabulosa Books store in San Francisco's Castro District on Thursday. The bookstore is sending LGBTQ+ books to parts of the country where they are censored to counter the rapidly growing effort by anti-LGBTQ+ activists and lawmakers to ban queer-friendly books from public schools and libraries. Haven Daley/AP hide caption

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Haven Daley/AP

National

A San Francisco store is shipping LGBTQ+ books to places where they are banned

In what she calls "Books Not Bans," Becka Robbins sends titles to groups that want them in the face of a movement by conservative advocacy groups and lawmakers to ban them from schools and libraries.

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