This week’s essay, just before Thanksgiving gatherings, lets us know that hugs aren’t just for humans, but abound among other animals, too (which doesn’t mean that a bonobo wants a hug from you).
One of the many pleasures of interviewing a volume (pun intended) of authors is the range of voices. This week that range includes a Nobel Laureate, Mario Vargas Llosa, on his Harsh Times, a novel drawn from the real history of Guatemala and the U.S. And then Huda Fahmy, a creator of comics, has drawn from her own life as a Muslim high school student in Michigan for Huda F Are You?. Hear what her mother thinks of that title.
The world’s largest topiary chicken, 64 feet from beak to feet, has been going up in Fitzgerald, Georgia. Mayor Jim Puckett hoped to attract tourists. But he was defeated recently, in an election in which the dollars and sense of the monumental fowl was at issue. Mayor Puckett defended his public art project to our producer, Gabriel Dunatov. “I'm doing an interview with NPR right now because of this silly chicken,” he said. Really, Mr. Mayor, you don’t need a 64-foot chicken to get on NPR. But it helps.
There are approximately 325 million people in the United States, and all of them have podcasts. Or so it seems. NPR has dozens of outstanding podcasts. But there are others—no names mentioned! —that think podcasts are, you know, just opening a mic, and like, talking, whether anyone is, you know, really listening. (Then add music.) This week Kim Quindlen, a comic in Chicago, posted her telling and hilarious impersonation of a podcast question. As she says, “You have to take in everything in the zeitgeist.”
Scott Simon
Scott Simon is one of NPR's most renowned news anchors. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and one of the hosts of the morning news podcast Up First. Be sure to listen to him every Saturday on your local NPR station, and follow him on Twitter.
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by Jill Hudson
Stories You May Have Missed
Fatima Shbair for NPR
Many Gazans are still coping with the trauma of the war with Israel in May, and it's very difficult to treat them, says psychologist Ismael Ahel. "We can't just deal with the first trauma or the second trauma. It's a complexity of trauma." And children are deeply affected.
A texting mix-up sparked a Thanksgiving dinner tradition will continue this year. The story began when Wanda Dench texted Jamal Hinton about coming over for Thanksgiving, thinking it was her grandson. Their shared dinners have brought joy to the internet ever since.
Pandemic or no, kids are still getting — and spreading — head lice. Read more here.
A once-remote patch of rainforest is now packed with migrants trying to reach the U.S.Click here to read more.
Back in 2016, the Planet Money team profiled a baby-faced connoisseur who sold truffles out of his trunk to some of the fanciest restaurants in New York. In this episode, they tag along in a race against time to sell $20,000 worth of truffles before their value depreciates. (Planet Money)
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