Best Of: Creator Of HBOs ‘The Tale / Reducing Mass Incarceration
In 1973, Jennifer Fox wrote a story for her 8th grade English class called ‘The Tale, which alluded to an intimate relationship between a 13-year-old girl and her running and riding coaches. Her teacher thought it was fiction. It wasnt. “I wrote at 13 with no concept of abuse at all,” she says. “It was a love story.” Decades later, Foxs mother found the story, forcing her to confront her past trauma and see it with new eyes. Fox wrote and directed the new HBO film ‘The Tale, starring Laura Dern.
Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews Spike Lees new film ‘BlacKkKlansman.
Julian Adler, co-author of ‘Start Here, and Judge Victoria Pratt discuss alternatives to jail, including community service, social services and even personal essays. Adler and his co-author Greg Berman write, jails “are accelerants of human misery.”
Sedaris pulls from his decades-old diaries in ‘Theft by Finding. In it, he revisits major turning points, such as the death of his mother, as well as more prosaic, everyday moments. Sedaris talks with Terry Gross about how his writing has changed, leaving Raleigh for the Art Institute of Chicago, and why he stopped drinking. (Originally broadcast May 2017) Film critic Justin Chang reviews Spike Lees new film ‘BlacKkKlansman.
Journalist Franklin Foer says President Trump has “radicalized” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), opening the door for the agency to deport any undocumented immigrant. “Never before have we had such a large, dedicated police force whose mission is to remove undocumented immigrants from the communities in which theyre rooted.” Foers cover story in ‘The Atlantic explores how the Trump administrations immigration policy relies upon cultivating fear.
Linguist Geoff Nunberg examines the term “deep state.”
Filmmaker Reckons With Childhood Sexual Abuse In ‘The Tale
In 1973, Jennifer Fox wrote a story for her 8th grade English class called ‘The Tale, which alluded to an intimate relationship between a 13-year-old girl and her running and riding coaches. Her teacher thought it was fiction. It wasnt. “I wrote at 13 with no concept of abuse at all,” she says. “It was a love story.” Decades later, Foxs mother found the story, forcing her to confront her past trauma and see it with new eyes. Fox wrote and directed the new HBO film ‘The Tale, starring Laura Dern, about her reckoning with the abuse. “The film is about the stories we tell ourselves to survive,” she says.
David Kirkpatrick, author of Into the Hands of the Soldiers, says the Obama White House watched Arab democracy fall and now the Trump administration is embracing Egypts autocratic president. Kirkpatrick was the New York Times Cairo Bureau Chief from 2011-15. During the coup, he was in Rabaa Square when soldiers massacred protesters, killing as many as 1,000 people.
Julian Adler, co-author of ‘Start Here, and Judge Victoria Pratt discuss alternatives to jail, including community service, social services and even personal essays. Adler and his co-author Greg Berman write, jails “are accelerants of human misery. If you are poor or mentally ill or struggling to keep your family together when you enter, the chances are that all of these conditions will be markedly worse when you come out.”
Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the album ‘Hive Mind by the band The Internet.
In honor of our 20th anniversary, Faith Salie sits down with Peter, Bill, a bunch of her fellow panelists and a handful of producers to give you an unflinching look behind the scenes of Wait Wait...Dont Tell Me! We call it Wait Wait: Naked and Ashamed. First up, one of Faiths oldest friends, Mo Rocca.
The force behind scientific progress is the simple act of asking questions. This episode, TED speakers explore how a deeper and more humble style of inquiry may help achieve the next big breakthrough. Guests include educator Michael Stevens, professor and science historian Naomi Oreskes, surgeon Kevin Jones, former college president Liz Coleman, and author Eric Haseltine. (Original broadcast date: February 24, 2017.)
Moments of crisis can upend our lives, but can also help define them. This episode, TED speakers explore how a quick, compassionate or unexpected response can turn crisis into opportunity. (Original broadcast date: April 1, 2016.)
Should all speech, even the most offensive, be allowed on college campuses? And is hearing from those we deeply disagree with ... worth it? This hour, TED speakers explore the debate over free speech. Guests include recent college graduate Zachary Wood, political scientist Jeffrey Howard, novelist Elif Shafak, and journalist and author James Kirchick.
The five senses shape all our experience, but we still dont fully understand them. This episode, TED speakers explore how our brains make sense of sensation, and how our minds manufacture “reality.” Guests include astronomer Wanda Diaz Merced, geneticist Nicole Garneau, author Isaac Lidsky, zoologist Tristram Wyatt and neuroscientist David Linden. (Original broadcast date: January 20, 2017.)
From bullying to hate crimes, cruelty is all around us. So what makes us hate? And is it learned or innate? This hour, TED speakers explore the causes and consequences of hate — and how we can fight it. Guests include reformed white nationalist Christian Picciolini, CNN commentator Sally Kohn, podcast host Dylan Marron, and writer Anand Giridharadas.
Networks surround and sustain us, in nature, in our bodies, in relationships, in the digital world. This hour, TED speakers explore how we rely on networks and how we have the power to shape them. Guests include ecologist Suzanne Simard, UPS executive Wanis Kabbaj, computer scientist Avi Rubin and anthropologist Robin Dunbar. (Original broadcast date: January 13, 2017)
Are grit and perseverance enough to succeed? Or does someone need to give you a chance? This hour, TED speakers explore why some are overlooked despite their talents, and how that can begin to change. Guests include recovering politician Jeff Smith, human resources expert Regina Hartley, sociologist Victor Rios, arts curator and activist Malika Whitley, and middle school principal Pearl Arredondo.
Just a few years before he got the internship at NPR that started him in radio, our host Ira Glass had another career. He performed magic at childrens birthday parties. A powerful sense of embarrassment has prevented him from ever doing an episode on the subject, but when he learned that producer David Kestenbaum was also a kid conjurer, they decided to dive in together.