logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2020
50m 4s

The Untold Story Of Lyndie B. Hawkins

Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam
About this episode
In 2019, a novel by a new author, Gail Shepherd, arrived in bookstores. The True History of Lyndie B. Hawkins tells the story of a young white girl growing up in the South. The book has been well received, but it is not the book Shepherd intended to write. In her original drafts, Shepherd, a white author, created a Lyndie who was Vietnamese-American, and de ... Show More
Up next
Nov 17
The Power of Family Stories
<p>There’s a tradition around many Thanksgiving dinner tables that’s as consistent as pumpkin pie: the family stories that get told year after year. Sometimes these stories are funny; sometimes they make us roll our eyes. No matter how we feel about them, we rarely pause to consi ... Show More
1h 37m
Nov 10
Why Following Your Dreams Isn't Enough
<p>Entrepreneurs typically have no shortage of passion, heart, and vision. But at Stanford University, <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/hayagreeva-rao" target="_blank">Huggy Rao</a> says there are other elements that may matter more when it comes to ... Show More
1h 30m
Nov 3
How Nature Heals Us
<p>We've known intuitively for centuries that spending time in nature can give us a boost. But it’s only recently that scientists have begun to identify exactly what it is about the outdoors that has such a powerful effect on our mood and our minds. This week, psychologist <a hre ... Show More
1h 4m
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2021
#311 Georgina Lawton: On Her Book 'Raceless'
Georgina Lawton is a twenty-something journalist, weekly Guardian columnist, travel writer and host of Audible's DNA podcast, The Secrets In Us — a series that looks into 'do-it-yourself' DNA testing kits and Georgina follows the stories of those learning to live with the results ... Show More
29m 41s
Jan 2024
Women of Science Fiction: Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin (1929 - 2018) was an American author who wrote works of speculative fiction, science fiction, and fantasy. Her literary career spanned nearly 60 years and resulted in more than 20 novels, over 100 short stories, poetry, literary criticism, and childrens books.  ... Show More
7m 26s
Jun 2023
522 Class, Whiteness, and Southern Literature (with Jolene Hubbs) | My Last Book with Mark Cirino
In the late nineteenth century, a popular magazine ran a cartoon with what it called "a race problem." Tensions between black and white Americans in the postwar era? Nope. It was referring to a poor white southerner - shabby, slouching, lazy, and dumb - the kind of good-for-nothi ... Show More
55m 8s
Jul 2022
A Novel About Brilliant Young Game Designers
<p>Gabrielle Zevin’s new novel, “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow,” is set in the world of video game design, and follows two friends named Sadie and Sam as they collaborate on what becomes a very successful game.</p><p>“A friend of mine described the book as being what it’s ... Show More
49m 24s
Nov 2009
Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Melvyn Bragg and guests Roy Foster, Jeri Johnson and Katherine Mullin discuss A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce's groundbreaking 1916 novel about growing up in Catholic Ireland.Many novelists choose their own young life as the subject for their first book. But ... Show More
42m 19s
Sep 2021
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Anne Bronte's second novel, published in 1848, which is now celebrated alongside those of her sisters but which Charlotte Bronte tried to suppress as a 'mistake'. It examines the life of Helen, who has escaped her abusive husband Arthur Huntingdon ... Show More
49m 33s
Dec 2021
Take a Look, it's in a (Banned) Book
<p>Jerry Craft’s graphic novel <a href="https://jerrycraft.com/books/new-kid/" target="_blank"><i>New Kid</i></a> has won multiple awards, made the New York Times Best Sellers List, and is beloved by children across the country.But this year, <i>New Kid </i>made headlines for a d ... Show More
31m 29s
Dec 2021
Best Books of 2021- Nonfiction- Cynthia Barnett
On our final Best Books episode, Cynthia Barnett discusses The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans (Norton, July). This “absolutely captivating nature book” is one of Kirkus’ Best Books in young readers’ literature for 2021 (starred review). Then nonfiction edi ... Show More
50m 47s