All Things Considered on WLRN

'Lager Queen' Author Was Tired Of Caricatures Of Midwestern Women

By Ari Shapiro • 6 hours ago

Edith Magnusson, the hard-working heroine in The Lager Queen of Minnesota is actually a composite of some of the women closest to author J. Ryan Stradal — his own mother and grandmothers. Stradal wasn't seeing the strong, Midwestern women who raised him reflected well in contemporary fiction. So he decided to write those characters himself.

"Sometimes when they are represented they can be oversimplified or caricatured ... " he says. "I know these people too well to do that. They contain multitudes just like everyone does — only they don't toot their own horn about it."

Mali's 'Guitar Gods' Tinariwen Receive Racist Threats Ahead Of U.S. Tour

By Anastasia Tsioulcas • 6 hours ago

A guitar band from Mali called Tinariwen is famous worldwide. The group's fans and collaborators have included Robert Plant, Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Bono of U2 and Nels Cline of Wilco. The band has fought extremism in their home country of Mali, and been victims themselves.

Acting ICE Director Says Targeted Raids Have Resulted In 35 Arrests So Far

By Joel Rose • 6 hours ago

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

In the new novel "The Lager Queen Of Minnesota," it is never quite clear who is the queen of beer. There is nothing royal about any of the characters. Take working-class grandmother Edith Magnusson. We meet her on the first page.

Chris Kraft, One Of The Architects Of The U.S. Space Program, Dies At 95

By Russell Lewis • Jul 22, 2019

One of NASA's first employees, key to creating the U.S. space program, has died at 95. Chris Kraft was the agency's first flight director and managed all of the Mercury missions, as well some of the Gemini flights. He was a senior planner during the Apollo lunar program. Later he led the Johnson Space Center in Houston and oversaw development of the space shuttle.

New Frightened Rabbit Compilation 'Carries On' The Songs Of The Late Scott Hutchison

By Connor Donevan • Jul 22, 2019

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

A lot of the songs by the Scottish band Frightened Rabbit are dark, like wince-when-you-listen-to-the-lyrics dark.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE TWIST")

Regal Fritillary Butterflies Find Rare Refuge On Military Base In Pennsylvania

By Marie Cusick • Jul 22, 2019

The regal fritillary butterfly has largely disappeared from the East Coast, save for a surprising refuge on a military base in Pennsylvania. A few days each summer, hundreds descend for a tour.

What It Means That Chinese Media Published Photos Of Hong Kong Protests

By editor • Jul 22, 2019

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Political Crisis In Hong Kong Deepens As Protests Turn Violent

By editor • Jul 22, 2019

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

To Hong Kong now, where a political crisis is deepening.

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Evangelical Writer Who Influenced Purity Culture Announces Separation From Wife

By Sarah McCammon • Jul 21, 2019

Joshua Harris, one of the most influential voices on sex and relationships for a generation of evangelical Christians, announced this past week that he and his wife are separating after 20 years of marriage.

Harris' book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, was published in 1997 when he was in his early 20s. It became a manual for young evangelicals looking for love.

In recent years, Harris has apologized for some of the ideas he promoted and publicly wrestled with them in a documentary.

With Alaskan Native Lead, 'Molly Of Denali' Breaks New Ground

By editor • Jul 21, 2019

SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:

Book: Author Discusses Novel 'Copperhead'

By editor • Jul 21, 2019

SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:

What's Happening With New Abortion Regulations Under Title X

By editor • Jul 21, 2019

SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:

'The Git Up': Dissecting The Country Rap Chart-Topper

By editor • Jul 20, 2019

SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:

And finally today, one of the definitive songs of the summer so far has been "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OLD TOWN ROAD")

LIL NAS X: (Singing) Riding on a horse - ha. You can whip your Porsche. I've been in the valley, you ain't been up off that porch. Now, can't nobody tell me nothing.

MCCAMMON: Is it rap? Is it country? That's the question that's been playing out for a while now, sparked by the song's removal from Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart back in March. And then along came a new song.

Keeping Cool In The D.C. Heat Wave

By editor • Jul 20, 2019

SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:

ProPublica Report: Black Americans Lose Big Under Longtime Property Provision

By editor • Jul 20, 2019

SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:

All Things Considered on WLRN

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