novelist
Novelist and 2002 MacArthur fellow
PROFILE
Colson Whitehead
Guest
FROM Colson Whitehead
Bookworm
Colson Whitehead: The Underground Railroad Colson Whitehead's new great American novel depicts a real underground railroad that transports a fugitive slave to stops that defy time and history, highlighting the daily struggles of black people, past and present.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
National Book Award winner talks race in America Colson Whitehead took home the prestigious National Book Award for fiction last night. He won it for his novel ‘The Underground Railroad,’ which follows a teenage slave named Cora to a hard-won freedom. She begins on a Georgia plantation, and then escapes via an actual underground railroad. Madeleine Brand spoke with Whitehead about his book earlier this year.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Colson Whitehead on his imagined real 'Underground Railroad' The Presidential candidates were asked during Monday’s debate about race relations in this nation – specifically, how each candidate would heal the racial divide. But to heal it, you first have to acknowledge what caused it. Namely, slavery. That’s the subject of Colson Whitehead’s new novel, titled “The Underground Railroad.” It follows a teenage slave named Cora to a hard-won freedom from a plantation in Georgia, through and escape via an literal underground railroad. Whitehead spoke to Press Play about that little bit of magical realism.
Recommended
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Accusations of lying fly between James Comey and White House During his testimony Thursday, former FBI Director James Comey accused President Trump and other White House officials of lying when they said the FBI was in disarray and its staff had lost confidence in him. President Trump’s lawyer said Comey was wrong -- that the president never asked for his loyalty, and never asked him to back off the investigation into former NSA director Michael Flynn.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Previewing James Comey's blockbuster testimony Former FBI director James Comey testifies Thursday in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, but his opening statement has been released. In it, he says he felt pressured by Donald Trump to declare loyalty to him and publicly clear him of any wrongdoing in the Russia investigation.
Design and Architecture
Securing Public Spaces, Super Wealthy Asians Vehicles are increasingly being used as weapons, as seen in the London Bridge attack over the weekend and in New York’s Times Square last month. The Compton-based company Calpipe is designing security bollards to help make public spaces safer. And novelist Kevin Kwan satirizes the “crazy rich” Asian jet set and their luxurious tastes in his latest book, “Rich People Problems.”