logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2021
18m 40s

BONUS: 'Nina' And 'Just Us' Offer Ways T...

NPR
About this episode
After the protests last year, we heard the phrase "racial reckoning" a lot, as some groups of people struggled to catch up with what's just been reality for many others. On this episode of NPR's new Book of the Day podcast, we've got two books that might help you reckon with that reckoning, in two different ways: Traci Todd and illustrator Christian Robinson's bright and powerful picture book biography Nina: A Story of Nina Simone and poet Claudia Rankine's Just Us: An American Conversation, in which she puts together poetry, essays and images to bring readers into an uncomfortable but necessary conversation about race.

Listen to NPR's Book of the Day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or NPR One.

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

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Today
After devastating floods a Central Texas community comes together
It's been nearly a week since devastating flooding tore through Kerr County, Texas killing more than a hundred people.Now, after unimaginable tragedy, residents are coming together to help each other move forward.NPR's Juana Summers and producers Erika Ryan and Tyler Bartlam visi ... Show More
10m 53s
Jul 8
The U.S. birth rate is falling fast. Why? It's complicated
The total fertility rate is a small number with big consequences.It measures how many babies, on average, each woman will have over her lifetime. And for a population to remain stable - flat, no growth, no decline - women, on average, have to have 2.1 kids.In the U.S., that numbe ... Show More
10m 12s
Jul 7
Flooding is common in Texas Hill Country. This was different
Imagine standing in water shallow enough to just barely hit the soles of your feet. And then it rises so fast that in just about ten minutes, it's up to your neck. That's how fast the Guadalupe River in Texas rose last week, according to state officials. Twenty-six feet in less t ... Show More
11m 23s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2021
In song and poetry, 'Nina' and 'Just Us' offer ways to start a conversation on race
After the protests last year, we heard the phrase "racial reckoning" a lot, as some groups of people struggled to catch up with what's just been reality for many others. This week we've got two books that might help you reckon with that reckoning, in two different ways: Traci Tod ... Show More
17m 48s
Jan 2021
Claudia Rankine On The Uneasy Conversations Between 'Just Us'
After a year that offered many moments of reflection—from the coronavirus pandemic, to protests for racial justice, to the long election season—acclaimed poet Claudia Rankine's latest book offers a framework to process it all. That book is called Just Us: An American Conversation ... Show More
30m 55s
May 2021
How Black And White Americans' Views On Race Differ
A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll out Monday reveals how Americans view race after a white police officer was found guilty of George Floyd's murder. More Poll Results This episode: demographics and culture reporter Danielle Kurtzleben, White House correspondent Ayesha Rascoe, an ... Show More
14m 43s
May 2021
The Winners And Losers Of America's Economic Transformation
Alec MacGillis' book Fulfillment tells the story of America's three-decade long economic transformation through the lens of Amazon's rise to corporate dominance. NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben interviews the author for the latest installment of the Politics Podcast book club. Connect: ... Show More
16m 14s
Feb 2021
“Books, Articles, and Documentaries Will Help Us Understand This Country’s Divide.”
Stories tell us who we are and help us understand others. They also suggest who we can be, if we overcome the ongoing divides in this country. In this podcast episode, Professor Brian Lowery sits down with American journalist and publishing executive Dana Canedy, dubbed by the Ne ... Show More
23m 29s
Nov 2022
Two books examine how we listen to music and why it resonates with us
The two books in today's episode explore how we construct meaning from the music we listen to. First, record producer Susan Rogers talks to WBUR's Robin Young about her book, This Is What It Sounds Like, which breaks down the science behind what draws different types of listeners ... Show More
20m 24s
Oct 2021
For White Evangelicals, The Identity Is About More Than Religious Faith
In the latest installment of the Politics Podcast book club, NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben interviews Calvin University historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez about Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. Interested in being a part of our next c ... Show More
15m 6s
Mar 2022
Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Connection Through Community
Sharing a special preview of Pushkin's newest show, Well-Read Black Girl. Glory Edim started a book club called Well-Read Black Girl in 2015, and since then it's exploded into a passionate, worldwide reading community. She aims to amplify the voices of BIPOC writers and celebrate ... Show More
16m 59s
Apr 2021
La France au miroir de ses minorités
L'actualité a récemment été marquée par plusieurs polémiques touchant aux questions raciales: l'archive de Pépita dans le jeu télé «Pyramide», les réunions non mixtes de l'Unef, la prise de position d'Audrey Pulvar sur le sujet. Pour mettre en perspective ces événements, pour les ... Show More
20m 22s
Aug 2022
Let's Keep Steppin' with Senator Nina Turner
In this last episode of the season, Senator Turner reflects. She inspires us to focus on life as a journey, not a destination. Speaking from the heart, SNT stays true-to-form and gets deep in her inspirational quotes to demonstrate the message that life is not a straight line; it ... Show More
30m 27s