MEMETERIA by Thomas May

Arts & Culture Stories from NPR

• Novelist John Le Carré Reflects On His Own 'Legacy' Of Spying
  Le Carré worked for MI5 and MI6 early in his career. "I felt I had to suppress my humanity," he said of those years. His novel A Legacy of Spies came out in 2017. Originally broadcast Sept. 5, 2017.
• Sasha Velour: 'Anyone Can, And Must, Do Drag'
  Sasha Velour, a winner of RuPaul's Drag Race, evangelizes for the art form, and competes against rapper and actor Awkwafina in "This, That or The Other": Drag name, rap name or off-brand soda?
• Awkwafina: 'No Turning Back'
  Awkwafina, the breakout star of Ocean's 8 and Crazy Rich Asians, reflects on her can't-turn-back moment that led to viral success. Then, she recommends New York City's finest public restrooms.
• Steven Pinker: Can Numbers Show Us That Progress Is Inevitable?
  It might seem like the world is getting worse and worse. But psychologist Steven Pinker says that across the board, data suggests we've made a lot of progress. The question is — will it continue?
• Paul Gilding: How Do We Continue To Grow If The Earth Has Reached Its Limit?
  Environmental activist Paul Gilding says the world has been growing too fast for too long. And now...the Earth is full. The only solution, he says, is to radically change the way we consume.
• Michael Green: What Does GDP Not Tell Us?
  To fully understand progress, economist Michael Green says we must weigh social well-being and wealth. But by using this new measurement, he noticed something striking — the U.S. falls far behind.
• Hanna Rosin: Data Shows Women Have Progressed. But What's Next?
  Post-recession, journalist Hanna Rosin noticed an economic shift: jobs dominated by men were on the decline, jobs dominated by women were on the rise. But does that data signify meaningful progress?
• Tyler Cowen: Do The Numbers Give Us The Full Picture?
  When it comes to global progress, Tyler Cowen says there's much more to the story than numbers can tell. And it's important, he says, to pay attention to the inherent "messiness" of the data.
• Ready For A Linguistic Controversy? Say 'Mmhmm'
  Mmhmm is a small word that's often used unconsciously. But it can actually tell us a lot about language, bias and the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
• Here's To The Romantic Comedy Pleasures Of 'To All The Boys I've Loved Before'
  The Netflix adaptation of Jenny Han's YA romance is sparkly, sweet and very well-acted by its young leads.