WAMU 88.5 : The Kojo Nnamdi Show

Kurt Andersen: "True Believers"

How does the 21st century so far compare with the 1960s? What values are still recognizable? And what couldn't be more different? Join Kojo to explore these questions and answers -- all of which form the backdrop to a new novel by a very popular public radio personality.

From The Studio

Kurt Andersen, novelist, journalist and co-founder of Spy magazine, talked about the tendency of people who grew up in the 1960s to romanticize their youth. He said that radicals of that era blamed their youthful indiscretions on authority figures. The Internet and social media have made it more difficult for today's generation to leave behind their follies of youth. "There was something about getting away with it that really characterizes that generation," Andersen said.

Related Video

Author Kurt Andersen discusses his book “True Believers” and the influence of the 1960s on our current modern society and discourse. Video courtesy NBC News:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Read An Excerpt

Excerpted from True Believers by Kurt Andersen. Copyright © 2012 by Kurt Andersen. Excerpted by permission of Random House, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

NPR

Three-Minute Fiction Readings: 'Geometry' And 'Snowflake'

NPR's Bob Mondello and Susan Stamberg read excerpts of two of the best submissions for Round 11 of our short story contest. They read Snowflake by Winona Wendth of Lancaster, Mass., and Geometry by Eugenie Montague of Los Angeles.
NPR

Gals Who Grill: What Will It Take For Women To Man The Q?

The grill "is the one and only male-dominated appliance in America," says a researcher who recently crunched the numbers. He found that men are more than twice as likely as women to be the primary grillers at home. One reason? Grilling can feel like a form of recreation.
NPR

IRS Hearings Highlight Ambiguity Of Nonprofits In Politics

The congressional hearings about the IRS's handling of Tea Party applications for tax-exempt status raise the question of why and how tax-exempt groups engage in politics in the first place.
NPR

Google Reportedly Faces FTC Antitrust Probe Over Display Ads

The Federal Trade Commission is in the early stages of opening an antitrust probe into how Google runs its online display advertising business, according to a report by Bloomberg News, citing sources who want to remain anonymous because the FTC has not announced the probe.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.