novelist
Novelist and 2002 MacArthur fellow
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Colson Whitehead
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FROM Colson Whitehead
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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.
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Terrorism in London: Lessons for the US This weekend’s terrorist attack in London left seven people dead and almost 50 injured. London police fatally shot the attackers, and ISIS claimed responsibility.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Why did Jared Kushner want a back channel with Russians? News broke Friday that President Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, tried setting up a back channel between the Trump transition team and the Russian government. What are the consequences for Kushner, President Trump, and the investigation into Russian meddling?