Jun 05 What to read, listen to and watch to learn about institutional racism By Bella Isaacs-Thomas The myriad consequences of institutional racism is a matter of national conversation and reflection. This list is just a starting point. Continue reading
May 08 New anthology collects dozens of poems about pandemic By Hillel Italie, Associated Press More than 80 poems are included in an anthology, “Together In a Sudden Strangeness,” coming in e-book and audio formats in June. Continue reading
Apr 16 'The Plague' perfectly captures the risk in returning to normal By Dr. Howard Markel It's the most vexing phase of an epidemic -- once an illness peters out, healthy people begin to place it in the past. Continue reading
Feb 26 5 ways prisoners were used for profit throughout U.S. history By Shane Bauer "American Prison" author Shane Bauer highlights a few key moments in the history of prison-as-profit in America, drawing from research he conducted for the book. Continue reading
Feb 21 Marie Yovanovitch, former diplomat pushed out by Trump, will write a memoir By Hillel Italie, Associated Press According to the publisher, the book will trace her long career, from Mogadishu, Somalia, to Kyiv and “finally back to Washington, D.C. — where, to her dismay, she found a political system beset by many of the same challenges she… Continue reading
Feb 10 Why the author of 'American Prison' embraces people's contradictions By Courtney Vinopal “It will make your writing much better in the end,” says Shane Bauer. Continue reading
Jan 13 How Terese Marie Mailhot stopped writing what other people wanted By Courtney Vinopal "I found myself writing the book professors wanted me to write," said author Mailhot, before she decided to strip her "fiction for the truth." Leaving expectations behind, she wrote a memoir, "Heart Berries," because, she said, you have to deal… Continue reading
Jan 07 'Prozac Nation' author Elizabeth Wurtzel dies at age 52 By Associated Press Wurtzel, whose blunt and painful confessions of her struggles with addiction and depression in the best-selling “Prozac Nation” made her a voice and a target for an anxious generation, died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. Continue reading
Jan 06 Discussion questions for 'Heart Berries' By Courtney Vinopal Terese Marie Mailhot’s “Heart Berries,” a memoir that addresses the trauma experienced by indigenous people across generations, is our January 2020 book pick. Continue reading
Nov 20 How 'America's perfect tree' was nearly wiped out By Elizabeth Flock The American chestnut tree, once the dominant tree throughout much of the Eastern United States, bore richly nutritious and sweet-tasting nuts before it was almost entirely wiped out. Continue reading