Journalist Ian Johnson is the author of “Wild Grass: Three Portraits of Change in Modern China.” He talks with Anne Strainchamps about one of them.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
James McManus writes for Harpers. With an advance from the magazine, he entered the world series of poker. McManus talks about playing with professionals and muses on the balance of luck and skill required for tournament play.
For much of her early life, rock critic Jessica Hopper was an ardent fan of punk rock. But despite her passion, she never felt like she quite fit in. That began to change once she started seeing female fronted bands performing onstage. She says the experience convinced her that there was a place for her in music. The discovery set her on a quest to uncover the countless other ways women are excluded from music, which she writes about in her book, "The First Collection of Criticism By A Living Female Rock Critic." She spoke to producer Craig Eley about the various forms of sexism she encountered in her decades-long career as a music journalist.
How did the rich get richer while the American middle class got poorer? Yale political scientist Jacob Hacker outlines the political policies that led to historic levels of income inequality.
Ingrid Betancourt was abducted by Marxist rebels and held captive in the jungle for 6 years. She tells the story of her ordeal in a book called "Even Silence Has an End."
New York Magazine columnist Jonathan Chait recently published a critique of political correctness, arguing that it was being used to stifle crucial debate. He sees political correctness as a tool to censor critics of far-left political groups.
Ian Baker describes his eight separate trips to find the hidden waterfall at the end of the Tsangpo Gorge. It's the legendary gateway to Shangri-La.
James Lasdun talks about his book, "Give Me Everything You Have: On Being Stalked."
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