Race

From tweet to three-book deal, this author wants to transform the fantasy genre

5:28pm May 08, 2024

by Kathryn Fink

A new young adult novel called Blood at the Root follows a Black teen learning to harness his ancestral magic. Before it was a novel, it was a failed TV pilot. Before that, it was a tweet.

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The Food and Drug Administration has missed its own deadline to propose a ban on the use of formaldehyde as an ingredient in hair relaxers and hair straighteners on the market in the United States. The federal agency proposed the ban in October 2023 and was scheduled for implementation in April 2024.

The FDA misses its own deadline to propose a ban on formaldehyde from hair products

12:37pm May 08, 2024

by Jonathan Franklin

It is unclear why the suggested rule was not released by its intended deadline. But a spokesperson for the federal agency told NPR that its implementation "continues to be a high priority."

U.S. Senate candidates aim to win over Latino voters in Arizona

6:04pm May 07, 2024

by Ben Giles

Latino voter turnout is expected to swell in swing states like Arizona, a trend that voting data indicates should help Democrats like congressman and U.S. Senate hopeful Ruben Gallego.

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Revisiting our talk about the podcast 'You Didn't See Nothin,' now a Pulitzer winner

6:04pm May 07, 2024

The podcast You Didn't See Nothin' has now won a Pulitzer Prize in Audio Reporting. We revisit a conversation with the reporter behind the project, Yohance Lacour.

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Alissa Pili #35 and Jenna Johnson #22 of the Utah Utes react after a basket against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the second round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament in Spokane, Wash. on March 25, 2024. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Man admits racial harassment of Utah women's NCAA basketball team

4:42pm May 07, 2024

by Kirk Siegler

Prosecutors in northern Idaho say they won't bring charges against a man who admitted to using a racial slur against University of Utah women's basketball players.

National

A conversation with the Derby's 1st Black trainer in over 30 years

5:54pm May 04, 2024

NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Larry Demeritte, the first Black trainer to participate in the Kentucky Derby since 1989.

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In an episode of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee called "Larry Eats A Pancake," Jerry Seinfeld has coffee with Larry David.

Jerry Seinfeld and the fraught history of comedians and 'political correctness'

6:21am May 04, 2024

by Leah Donnella

Jerry Seinfeld has the become the latest in a string of public figures to blame "political correctness" for the death of comedy (among other societal ills). But what does the term actually refer to?

A number of Democratic lawmakers have reintroduced the CROWN Act, legislation that would ban discrimination based on one's hairstyle or hair texture. Here, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signs Crown Act legislation on June 15, 2023 in Lansing, Mich. that will outlaw race-based hairstyle discrimination in workplaces and schools.

Black lawmakers reintroduce federal CROWN Act legislation to ban hair discrimination

7:48am May 03, 2024

by Jonathan Franklin

The bill which was previously passed in the House in 2019 and 2022 but blocked in the Senate, aims to end race-based hair discrimination in schools and workplaces.

National

The Witness Stones Project unearths and shares stories of northern slavery

5:01pm May 01, 2024

by Diane Orson

For centuries, stories of northern slavery were not easy to find. Understanding slavery in this project involves learning the stories of those enslaved — and bearing witness.

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Rachel Khong explores genetics, race and the idea of being American in new novel

5:01pm May 01, 2024

NPR's Juana Summers talks with author Rachel Khong about her book Real Americans, a multi-generational new novel about coming of age and defining who you are.