The novel Half-Blood Blues explores the plight of black musicians living in Germany on the cusp of World War II. Guest host Jacki Lyden takes listeners on a musical journey through some of the sounds that might have been heard in the fictional clubs of Esi Edugyen's award-winning novel.
Host Michel Martin and editor Ammad Omar open up the Tell Me More inbox. One listener expresses his disappointment that a discussion with a panel of moms about bullying didn't include any male voices. Also, an update on the story of James Craig Anderson, a black man from Mississippi who died after being beaten and run over by a truck last year.
The guys discuss the outrage around the shooting death of an unarmed African-American teen. They also talk about penalties the NFL imposed on the New Orleans Saints. Host Michel Martin checks in with freelance journalist Jimi Izrael, civil rights attorney Arsalan Iftikhar, sports editor Dave Zirin, and NPR's digital news correspondent Corey Dade.
Journalist Barbara Walters, Congressman John Lewis, and comedian Margaret Cho will join scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. to trace their family trees. His new PBS series, Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. , premiers this weekend. Gates discusses the series with host Michel Martin.
Margaret Sanger founded the organization that became Planned Parenthood. Her work around sexual health made her one of the most celebrated and vilified figures in women's history. Host Michel Martin explores Sanger's complex life and drive for her work with Jean Baker, author of the biography Margaret Sanger: A Life of Passion.