The PEN Pod

It's Friday, which means it's time to pose tough questions about free speech and free expression to PEN America's CEO Suzanne Nossel. This week, while protesters are making major change, we ask the hard question: Is free expression back on its heels? We talk about The New York Times op-ed debacle, the president's selective affinity for the First Amendment, and how the publishing industry is impacted by this moment.

Pawan Dhingra's new book explores the hyper-educated child but also how the next generation might cope with the current crises. Then, as summer approaches, we're offering a new program for high school and college students eager to engage on the issues of free speech and free expression.

Nguyen Phan Que Mai weaves together a fictional family saga with the real-life traumas of Vietnam's tumultuous 20th century in her new work THE MOUNTAINS SING. Plus, a reading list for our moment.

In this installment of The PEN Pod, we check in with author and activist Simran Jeet Singh; he's out with a new children's book, and he reflects on the protests he's witnessed in New York City. Then we get an excerpt from our PEN World Voices Festival podcast These Truths with a conversation among three writers.

On today's edition, we talk to our CEO Suzanne Nossel about what literary organizations can do at this moment of crisis as part of our weekly series "Tough Questions." Then, we get insights from general counsel of the Authors Guild, playwright, and TV writer Cheryl L. Davis on how books and literature can help us better understand this difficult moment of unrest.

On today's edition of The PEN Pod, we announce the winner of our 2020 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, imprisoned Chinese writer and activist Xu Zhiyong. We speak to his friend, scholar and advocate Teng Biao. Then, an excerpt of a conversation between authors Yuri Herrera and Fernanda Melchor, part of our PEN World Voices podcast These Truths

On this episode of The PEN Pod, we check in with Karen Attiah, journalist and global opinions editor at the Washington Post. She reflects on the intersecting political crises of COVID-19 and state-sanctioned violence, and urges us to turn the lens of criticism inward. Then, we want to hear about how we can use this platform to uplift more voices.

Today, we take a break from our normal production schedule alongside others participating in #TheShowMustBePaused.

A weekend of demonstrations and excessive violence by state actors has led to a major reckoning for the First Amendment. On this episode, we hear from a Reuters journalist shot with rubber bullets by police in Minneapolis. And then our own Nora Benavidez examines the implications this weekend may have for protest rights moving forward.