Can’t-miss interviews: The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, John Green, Amanda Knox
A lot happened this week, and NPR has you covered to catch up on the big news and culture moments you might have missed (and the experts to tell you all about them). We spoke to The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg about his decision to release the screenshots from the Signal group chat he was mistakenly added to about war plans, author John Green played a game of Wild Card and a columnist explains why critics were so angry about Meghan Markle’s new show.
The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg says “public interest” served full Signal chat release
The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg has released nearly all of the transcript of the Signal group chat that he was included in, where Trump administration officials planned a deadly military strike on Yemen earlier this month.
In an interview with Here & Now’s Deepa Fernandes, Goldberg defended his decision to release the Signal chat that has put a spotlight on how the administration handles sensitive information.
“The White House issued some sort of anodyne statement about how this is sensitive and it shouldn’t be out, but there was no specific request on data,” Goldberg said. “So we decided since they said that this is not a problem and that there’s nothing secret or classified in it, we decided that we should put it out and let people decide for themselves.”
Read or listen to the full interview.
More interviews on the Signal group chat news:
- Sen. Mark Kelly calls for Pete Hegseth to resign after Signal leak
- “Plain sloppiness’: Sen. Mark Warner says on Signal chat fiasco
- Former DoD official Mick Mulroy calls Signal chat “significant breach of security”
- Signal leak put lives of military personnel “at stake,” says House Democrat
Why Meghan Markle’s new show angered critics
Critics and the internet are angry about Meghan, Duchess of Sussex — again.
This time, the viral uproar is about Meghan’s Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, which premiered on Netflix in early March. The lifestyle show follows Meghan as she offers tips on homemaking and entertains celebrity guests at a beautiful California estate.
Netflix has renewed the show for a second season slated to stream in the fall.
The first season, though, was met with harsh critiques. Some reviews labeled the show as being out of touch, while memes and TikToks lambasted the actress-turned-princess’ on-screen persona.
So why all the hate, the snarky memes, the takedown pieces?
Leslie Gray Streeter, a columnist for The Baltimore Banner, thinks she knows why. Earlier this month, she published a column headlined “The real reason people are mad at Meghan Markle’s new lifestyle show.”
She joined Morning Edition host Michel Martin to discuss why she believes Meghan is being subjected to such criticism.
John Green cherishes life by writing about death
Different people have different reference points for John Green. He is most famous as the young adult author who wrote the massively popular book The Fault in Our Stars, which was turned into a movie by the same name. But then there are the millions of people who know and love him from his many YouTube channels, especially Vlogbrothers, and Crash Course, which he does with his brother Hank.
John Green’s latest project is another book, but it’s way different from the coming-of-age stories that catapulted him into the culture. It’s titled Everything Is Tuberculosis, and it is, as advertised, a nonfiction account of the most deadly disease on the planet, and how simple it would be to wipe it out — if societies just made it a priority.
But the truth is, this book makes sense coming from John Green. Because everything he creates — books, essays, YouTube shows — they are all designed to make you engage with the broader world and to care about other people.
A Chinese scholar on what Trump is doing to the U.S.
A Chinese scholar who studies the United States has some opinions about the early moves of the second Trump administration.
Da Wei spoke with NPR last year. He told us then that his decades of studying China’s rival gave him some idea of what made America strong, including a “mature political system,” stable institutions and immigration, among other things.
Now the U.S. has a new president, so we asked to meet Da Wei again to hear what he’s thinking now.
Amanda Knox opens up with Fresh Air
American Amanda Knox was catapulted into global infamy after being accused of the 2007 murder of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, during a study abroad program in Perugia, Italy. Knox spent nearly four years in an Italian prison before her conviction was overturned, and she was eventually exonerated. Still, Kercher’s murder remains the defining moment of Knox’s life.
“Two very young women went to Perugia and one of them didn’t get to go home and one of them came home completely and utterly changed,” she says. “It’s a grieving process for me for both of us.”
In the years since her exoneration, Knox has worked to reclaim her narrative. In her first book, Waiting to Be Heard, she focused on the details of her conviction. Her latest memoir, Free: My Search for Meaning, goes beyond the events of her trial and imprisonment and explores the realities of reintegrating into society and rebuilding a life.
A film about love, exile and the memory of war
Some of the most touching scenes in Việt and Nam happen underground, when the two young coal miners at the center of the film embrace each other in silence. Those are moments when they can love each other freely.
But their relationship almost takes a backseat in the film, which will hit select theaters in the U.S. on Friday. Set in 2001, it follows the lovers’ quest to find the body of Nam’s father — a soldier who died during wartime in Vietnam — and Nam’s decision to leave the country for a better life.
Writer and director Trương Minh Quý says the film, which debuted at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, was banned in his home country of Vietnam because the movie is “very dark.” The Vietnam Cinema Department has not responded to NPR’s requests for comment.
Hungry for more? Check out the NPR App for more great interviews, the latest news, music and our favorite podcasts from across the NPR Network.
2 mothers bring the House to a halt over push to allow proxy voting for new parents
GOP leaders tried to block a bipartisan measure to allow proxy voting, but nine Republicans joined with Democrats to overcome it.
Top scientists warn that Trump policies are causing a ‘climate of fear’ in research
Some 2,000 scientists, including dozens of Nobel Prize winners, have signed an open letter warning that the U.S. lead in science is being "decimated" by the Trump administration's cuts to research.
Trump administration admits Maryland man sent to El Salvador prison by mistake
This latest case, in which lawyers argue their client had no proven links to MS-13, adds to the growing judicial and public scrutiny about the deportations to El Salvador's notorious mega-prison.
Widespread firings start at federal health agencies including many in leadership
Staffers began receiving termination notices this morning as part of a major restructuring at HHS. Some senior leadership are on their way out too.
What kind of support is the U.S. offering in the wake of the Myanmar quake?
The White House and former USAID staff have differing views on the nature of the U.S. response to the earthquake that struck Myanmar and neighboring countries.
Thyme for some healing soup recipes from around the world
Every culture has its own special soup. The belief is that a bowl will make you feel better if you're feeling under the weather, hung over or just in need of a pick-me-up.
