'Of White Ashes' follows a Japanese-American ...

Emily St. John Mandel’s new novel opens in the first spring after the collapse of the United States – and her protagonist, Ari, is on her way to a party. Exit Party is set in a new world emerging out of the chaos of a second American Civil War, one shaped by climate catastrophe a ...  Show more

In her 2016 book Grit, University of Pennsylvania psychologist Angela Duckworth argued that willpower and determination were keys to success. A decade later, her new book signals a change of heart. In Situated, Duckworth says – while grit still matters – changing the situation yo ...  Show more

Today we’re talking about the 1930s and 40s in Japan—fascism, World War II, and the American Occupation.In particular, how did 20 years of censorship shape Japanese literature?We're also taking a look at the life and work of Akiyuki Nosaka, whose novella, Grave of the Fireflies, ...  Show more

This episode is marked mature.In this episode, we take a look at Japanese writing about the American bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that killed as many as 215,000 people in August 1945. We’ll start with the history of the atomic bomb, its use, and its effects on the hibakusha ...  Show more

The most decorated regiment in US history was the 442nd, a segregated Japanese-American unit that fought in Europe after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. But while they were bravely risking their lives for their country, 120,000 of their fellow Japanese-Americans were languishing ...

This chapter is the turning point for REP. In a miraculous turn of events, Noor meets a group of Japanese American elders who were forced to live in US internment camps during WWII. Their stories, some being shared for the first time, are a testament to our interconnectedness.  T ...  Show more