On June 24, 2015, Dawn Dorland, an essayist and aspiring novelist, did perhaps the kindest, most consequential thing she might ever do in her life. She donated one of her kidneys — and elected to do it in a slightly unusual and particularly altruistic way. As a so-called nondirected donation, her kidney was not meant for anyone in particular, but for a recip ... Show More
Nov 24
The Autism Diagnosis Problem
<p>Once primarily limited to severely disabled people, autism began to be viewed as a spectrum that included children and adults far less impaired. Along the way, the disorder also became an identity, embraced by college graduates and even by some of the world’s most successful p ... Show More
32m 40s
Nov 23
Sunday Special: Wicked, Good?
<p>“Wicked” was one of the biggest movies of 2024. It was culturally ubiquitous, a box office smash and an Oscar nominee for Best Picture. Now, a year later, “Wicked: For Good” arrives in theaters to finish the tale of the complicated friendship between Glinda the Good Witch and ... Show More
51m 44s
Feb 2023
'Wonderstruck': The author who learned to read again
Loneliness is part of life and can be difficult to overcome, but Nikki Fox and Emma Tracey come armed with solutions, recognising those solutions are sometimes different for disabled people. Howard Thorpe reveals he flipped his loneliness on its head by setting up events, while S ... Show More
37m 12s
Sep 2022
Laurie R. King, "Back to the Garden: A Novel" (Bantam, 2022)
Today I talked to Laurie R. King about her new novel Back to the Garden: A Novel (Bantam, 2022).
Inspector Raquel Liang of the San Francisco Police Department has reached a crossroads in her career. A recent incident ended with her transfer to the Cold Cases Unit and instructions ... Show More
40m 9s
Nov 2021
Ross Douthat on Dealing With Lyme Disease
<p>The New York Times columnist Ross Douthat is used to writing about politics and ideas at play in the broader world, but with his new book, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/26/books/review/the-deep-places-ross-douthat.html" target="_blank">“The Deep Places,”</a> he has ... Show More
56m 4s