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'Mercury Rising' Explores Treacherous U.S. Attempts to Control Space

Mercury Rising, by Jeff Shesol WW Norton hide caption

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WW Norton

Space

'Mercury Rising' Explores Treacherous U.S. Attempts to Control Space

Fresh Air

In Mercury Rising, historian Jeff Shesol recalls the early days of the U.S. space program, when Cold War fears ruled and no one was sure John Glenn would survive America's first orbital flight.

'Mercury Rising' Explores Treacherous U.S. Attempts to Control Space

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4 Books To Broaden Your Pride Month Reading List
David Malan/Getty Images

Pride Month

4 Books To Broaden Your Pride Month Reading List

There are a lot of Pride Month reading lists out there — so we thought we'd get away from the classics everyone knows. We asked author Akwaeke Emezi to recommend some of their favorite reads.

4 Books To Broaden Your Pride Month Reading List

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Zakiya Dalila Harris And 'The Other Black Girl'

Zakiya Dalila Harris is the author of the book The Other Black Girl. Nicole Mondestin hide caption

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Nicole Mondestin

It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Zakiya Dalila Harris And 'The Other Black Girl'

Zakiya Dalila Harris was working as an editorial assistant at a New York publisher when she ran into another Black woman for the first time on her office floor. That's when she got the idea for her book, The Other Black Girl. What's it like when you're used to being the only one, but now there's another one like you? And what if things get weird? Like, really weird. Sam and Zakiya talk about how her book subverts the office drama and what lessons it has for a still very white publishing industry.

Zakiya Dalila Harris And 'The Other Black Girl'

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The Supreme Court Justice Who Made History By Voting No on Racial Segregation

John Marshall Harlan, who was named for Chief Justice John Marshall, served on the Supreme Court from 1877 until his death in 1911. Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

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Corbis via Getty Images

Author Interviews

The Supreme Court Justice Who Made History By Voting No on Racial Segregation

A new book explores the life of Justice John Marshall Harlan, who wrote the dissenting opinion in the Supreme Court case that upheld the principle of racial segregation.

The Supreme Court Justice Who Made History By Voting No on Racial Segregation

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Historian Uncovers The Racist Roots Of The 2nd Amendment

Civil rights activists are blocked by National Guard members brandishing bayonets while trying to stage a protest on Beale Street in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968. Bettmann/Bettmann Archive hide caption

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Bettmann/Bettmann Archive

Race

Historian Uncovers The Racist Roots Of The 2nd Amendment

Fresh Air

Carol Anderson says the Second Amendment was designed to ensure slave owners could quickly crush any rebellion or resistance from those they'd enslaved. Her new book is The Second.

Historian Uncovers The Racist Roots Of The 2nd Amendment

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Slavery Wasn't 'Long Ago': A Writer Exposes The Disconnect In How We Tell History

Clint Smith is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of the poetry collection Counting Descent. Carletta Girma/Courtesy of Broadside hide caption

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Carletta Girma/Courtesy of Broadside

Race

Slavery Wasn't 'Long Ago': A Writer Exposes The Disconnect In How We Tell History

Fresh Air

In How the Word is Passed, Clint Smith visits eight places central to the history of slavery in America, including Thomas Jefferson's Monticello plantation and Louisiana's Angola prison.

Slavery Wasn't 'Long Ago': A Writer Exposes The Disconnect In How We Tell History

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