Rough Translation
115 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★★ - 7.3K ratingsHow are the things we're talking about being talked about somewhere else in the world? Gregory Warner tells stories that follow familiar conversations into unfamiliar territory. At a time when the world seems small but it's as hard as ever to escape our echo chambers, Rough Translation takes you places.
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Episodes
Our Boxes, Ourselves
January 27, 2021 21:59 - 24 minutes - 25 MBFrom Montréal to Edinburgh, and from São Paulo to Taipei: your stories about belonging, or longing to just be.
We (Still) Don't Say That
December 16, 2020 17:09 - 49 minutes - 46.3 MBFrance is the place where for decades you weren't supposed to talk about someone's blackness, unless you said it in English. Today, we're going to meet the people who took a very French approach to change that.
Presenting 'It's Been A Minute': White Supremacy And Its Online Reach
December 09, 2020 19:17 - 28 minutes - 26.9 MBFor close to a year, Talia Lavin went undercover in white supremacist online communities, creating fake personas that would gain her access to the dark reaches of the internet normally off-limits to her, a Jewish woman. That research laid the groundwork for her book, Culture Warlords: My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy. Lavin talks to It's Been A Minute host Sam Sanders about what it was like to infiltrate those online spaces, what she learned, and how white supremacy cannot exis...
Welcome To The New World
November 25, 2020 05:30 - 33 minutes - 30.5 MBWhat can a young refugee who's survived a war teach a novelist about writing young adult adventure?
All Eyes On US
November 12, 2020 02:28 - 38 minutes - 35.8 MBJust because you can't vote, doesn't mean you're not watching. We crisscross the globe to understand how people see their fates and fortunes in the aftermath of the 2020 U.S. election.
Presenting 'Louder Than A Riot': Lyrics On Trial
November 06, 2020 15:53 - 34 minutes - 31.1 MBOn this bonus drop, we feature an episode from the NPR podcast Louder Than A Riot called "Lyrics on Trial."
Radical Rudeness
October 28, 2020 19:19 - 44 minutes - 42.1 MBAfter a Ugandan scholar is suspended from her university job, she discovers a new tool for resistance: extreme public rudeness. Will it work against a strongman president?
The Loneliness Of The Climate Change Christian
October 14, 2020 22:21 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MBWhat if more evangelical Christians in the United States fought climate change with the same spirit they bring to the issue of abortion? We go back to a surprisingly recent period when that happened.
How To Be An Anti-Casteist
September 30, 2020 21:30 - 32 minutes - 31.2 MBHow does India's caste system play out in the hiring practices of Silicon Valley? And what happens when dominant caste people in the U.S. grapple with their own inherited privilege for the first time?
Dream Boy And The Poison Fans
September 16, 2020 17:25 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBA Chinese idol had millions of fans who adored him for his kindness and good looks. Then, this February, one group of fans accused another of violating their image of him. What happens is a lesson in morality and revenge, love and hate, and how these feelings are weaponized on the internet.
New Season: School of Scandal... Coming Sept. 16
September 09, 2020 19:29 - 1 minute - 1.51 MBWe're back with a special series, Rough Translation's "School of Scandal," stories about people around the world calling each other out and taking each other down to change the status quo.
El Hilo: Walking To Venezuela
July 22, 2020 19:50 - 29 minutes - 28.3 MBOne man's mission to get hundreds of his fellow Venezuelans back home from Ecuador in a pandemic, even if it means walking all 1,300 miles. This story was originally reported for El Hilo, a new podcast from the makers of NPR's Radio Ambulante.
Hello, Neighbor
July 08, 2020 19:58 - 24 minutes - 22 MBIreland's "cocooning" policy during the coronavirus lockdown asked people over age 70 to stay at home and not to leave for any reason. Suddenly, neighbors and strangers leapt to help them with everything — if the cocooners would let them.
Hello, Neighbor
July 08, 2020 19:58 - 23 minutes - 22 MBIreland's "cocooning" policy during the coronavirus lockdown asked people over age 70 to stay at home and not to leave for any reason. Suddenly, neighbors and strangers leapt to help them with everything — if the cocooners would let them.
So Long, Black Pete
June 24, 2020 20:27 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MBResolving conflict through consensus is a very Dutch tradition. But how do you compromise when it comes to racism? This week on Rough Translation, the controversial Dutch character Black Pete, and how Black Lives Matter may have helped change the holiday season in the Netherlands forever.
The Global Legacy of George Floyd
June 10, 2020 17:53 - 29 minutes - 27 MBFive personal stories from five continents on the global impact of George Floyd.
From Niqab To N95
May 27, 2020 17:36 - 19 minutes - 18.9 MBThe French republic "lives with her face uncovered," say the posters. But now face masks are mandatory. We look back at why covering your face in France used to be a sign of bad citizenship, until it wasn't.
Hotel Corona
May 13, 2020 21:12 - 33 minutes - 31.6 MBOne hundred and eighty recovering COVID-19 patients. One Jerusalem hotel. Secular, religious, Arabs, Jews, old, young. Their phones are out, they're recording. And the rest of Israel is... tuning in.
American Surrogate: 30 Months Later
April 29, 2020 20:06 - 46 minutes - 43.4 MBBack in 2017, we brought you the story of a Chinese mom who hired an American surrogate to carry her baby. Each needed something from the other that was hard to admit. Their relationship became a crash course in transcontinental communication and the meaning of family. Now, in the middle of a pandemic, we check in with them.
The Coronavirus Guilt Trip
April 17, 2020 10:02 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBPublic shame is a powerful tool. But how useful is it when trying to curb a global pandemic? Shaming stories from South Korean chat rooms, a Pakistani street corner, and a Brooklyn grocery store.
WeChats From The Future
April 02, 2020 02:00 - 22 minutes - 16.3 MBShe felt the urgency before her husband did. A story about the time lag between the arrival of the coronavirus in two different nations, and how that played out in a marriage
How Covid-19 Is Challenging Cultures
March 19, 2020 00:20 - 21 minutes - 20.4 MBThis week on Rough Translation, we check in with NPR international correspondents in China, Germany and Greece about the ways that culture shapes—and is reshaped by—responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Original Sin Of Li Jiabao
February 26, 2020 20:22 - 24 minutes - 23.1 MBA young Chinese exchange student in Taiwan with no history of activism posts a video criticizing China's president Xi Jinping on Twitter, then asks for asylum. His request for protection fuels a larger discussion about Taiwan's role as a haven for Chinese dissidents, and also raises questions about who he is as an individual and his motivations. Who is he, and can he be trusted?
Rough Translation Presents: Throughline
January 29, 2020 23:17 - 52 minutes - 48.1 MBThis week, we present the latest episode of NPR's Throughline, a look at the life and complicated legacy of the assassinated Iranian military leader, Qassem Soleimani.
Rough Translation Presents: Throughline
January 29, 2020 23:17 - 51 minutes - 48.1 MBThis week, we present the latest episode of NPR's Throughline, a look at the life and complicated legacy of the assassinated Iranian military leader, Qassem Soleimani.
Whose Ukraine Is It Anyway?
December 04, 2019 23:25 - 27 minutes - 25.9 MBPlease, take our survey! At a Ukrainian comedy competition founded by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, can humor unite a divided country?
Ukraine Part 1: Race Against The Machine
November 20, 2019 22:39 - 18 minutes - 17.2 MBIn the country on the other side of the impeachment hearings... A comedian runs for president of Ukraine and wins in a landslide, with a parliamentary majority to pass any law he wants. So now what? Our host, Gregory Warner, reports from Kyiv.
Ukraine: Race Against The Machine
November 20, 2019 22:39 - 18 minutes - 17.2 MBIn the country on the other side of the impeachment hearings... A comedian runs for president of Ukraine and wins in a landslide, with a parliamentary majority to pass any law he wants. So now what? Our host, Gregory Warner, reports from Kyiv.
Preview: Rough Translation In Ukraine
November 13, 2019 22:13 - 1 minute - 1.23 MBListen to hear a preview of a special two-part episode about Ukraine, reported by Gregory Warner.
Preview: Rough Translation In Ukraine
November 13, 2019 22:13 - 1 minute - 1.23 MBListen to hear a preview of a special two-part episode about Ukraine, reported by Gregory Warner.
Mom In Translation
October 02, 2019 22:35 - 26 minutes - 26 MBFor our season finale, a listener's story: When a six-year-old boy adopts Tokyo as his new home, his American mom has to figure out where she belongs in her son's new life. If you want to share your story, email [email protected]
Liberté, Égalité and French Fries
September 19, 2019 02:50 - 45 minutes - 41.2 MBWhat happens when the employees of a French McDonald's take the corporate philosophy so deeply to heart, that it actually becomes a problem for the company? To listen to more Rough Translation, check out our previous episodes.
Liberté, Égalité And French Fries
September 19, 2019 02:50 - 43 minutes - 41.2 MBWhat happens when the employees of a French McDonald's take the corporate philosophy so deeply to heart, that it actually becomes a problem for the company? To listen to more Rough Translation, check out our previous episodes.
When We Talk About Love
September 04, 2019 16:30 - 38 minutes - 36.4 MBWe visit a storytelling podcast from China that slips under the radar of China's government censors, and other international podcast stories about the search for love.
Brazil In Black And White: Update
August 21, 2019 19:31 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBTwo radically different ways of seeing race come into conflict in Brazil, provoking a national conversation about who is Black? And who is not Black enough? We revisit our first ever Rough Translation episode, with an update on how the election of an anti-affirmative action president is affecting the debate. If you want to see a photo of the medical school students: npr.org/roughtranslation
Brazil In Black And White: Update
August 21, 2019 19:31 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBTwo radically different ways of seeing race come into conflict in Brazil, provoking a national conversation about who is Black? And who is not Black enough? We revisit our first ever Rough Translation episode, with an update on how the election of an anti-affirmative action president is affecting the debate. If you want to see a photo of the medical school students: npr.org/roughtranslation
The Mind Of The Mark
August 07, 2019 04:01 - 34 minutes - 33 MBIf you're the kind of person who thinks you can't be conned, that assumption may make it harder for you to recognize when you actually are being scammed. We speak with professional poker player and author Maria Konnikova about how con-artists get inside the stories we all tell ourselves, about ourselves. Then we go to an international multimillion dollar scam in Costa Rica, where a master of the con meets his match... the IT guy.
The Mind Of The Mark
August 07, 2019 04:01 - 36 minutes - 33 MBIf you're the kind of person who thinks you can't be conned, that assumption may make it harder for you to recognize when you actually are being scammed. We speak with professional poker player and author Maria Konnikova about how con-artists get inside the stories we all tell ourselves, about ourselves. Then we go to an international multimillion dollar scam in Costa Rica, where a master of the con meets his match... the IT guy.
What Would Jesus Drive?
July 24, 2019 23:29 - 34 minutes - 33.2 MBWhat if more evangelical Christians in the United States fought climate change with the same spirit they bring to the issue of abortion? In this episode, we go back to a surprisingly recent period when that nearly happened. We meet two evangelicals who made it their mission to bridge the divide between Christians and environmentalists. What happened, and why they say the best way to start conversations about the planet is with readings of the bible. For photos and links: www.npr.org/roughtra...
What Would Jesus Drive?
July 24, 2019 23:29 - 36 minutes - 33.2 MBWhat if more evangelical Christians in the United States fought climate change with the same spirit they bring to the issue of abortion? In this episode, we go back to a surprisingly recent period when that nearly happened. We meet two evangelicals who made it their mission to bridge the divide between Christians and environmentalists. What happened, and why they say the best way to start conversations about the planet is with readings of the bible. For photos and links: www.npr.org/roughtra...
When Failure Is A 4-Letter Word
July 11, 2019 03:05 - 28 minutes - 27.5 MBOn today's episode, entrepreneurs around the world are trying to redefine how their societies perceive failure, by doing the scariest thing possible: standing up in public and admitting their mistakes. Links to more stories: http://npr.org/roughtranslation Tell us your story: #ShareYourFailure (http://bit.ly/ShareYourFailure)
The Search: Part 2
June 20, 2019 02:07 - 44 minutes - 42.8 MBA fragile alliance begins to fracture, as a romantic photo of Kamaran resurfaces. Ahmed confronts his family. And Sebastian meets with ISIS. * Note: This story contains strong language and sounds of war.
The Search: Part 1
June 12, 2019 04:01 - 39 minutes - 38.2 MBWhen a journalist goes missing in Iraq, his friends and family have to figure out a rescue plan. * Note: This story contains strong language and sounds of war.
The Man Who Sedated Eichmann
May 29, 2019 10:05 - 29 minutes - 29.1 MBThe capture of Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann was one of Israel's proudest moments. But the doctor at the center of the spy operation refused to talk about his role — even with his family. Today, his children ask why.
How to Speak Addiction
May 15, 2019 04:01 - 31 minutes - 31.3 MBA daughter — and reporter — discovers an uncomfortable truth about her mother's alcoholism. She travels to the other side of the world to find out if there's a better way to treat addiction.
We Don't Say That
May 01, 2019 04:01 - 41 minutes - 40.1 MBFrance is the place where for decades you weren't supposed to talk about someone's blackness, unless you said it in English. Today, we're going to meet the people who took a very French approach to change that. (Note: This story contains strong language in English and French.)
D.I.Y. Mosul
April 17, 2019 04:01 - 38 minutes - 36.3 MBFed up with government inaction, young people start rebuilding Mosul on their own. But in post-ISIS Iraq, volunteering can quickly become an act of rebellion.
New season: The Rebels. Starting April 17
April 10, 2019 04:01 - 1 minute - 1.72 MBWe've traveled far away to bring you stories that hit close to home. This season, we follow people who break the rules and challenge what's normal, wherever they are.
New season: The Rebels. Starting April 17
April 10, 2019 04:01 - 1 minute - 1.72 MBWe've traveled far away to bring you stories that hit close to home. This season, we follow people who break the rules and challenge what's normal, wherever they are.
Austenistan
July 11, 2018 08:29 - 46 minutes - 43.8 MBTwo sisters attempt to use a 19th century novelist to outwit modern Pakistani restrictions on women. And a war reporter discovers the power of drawing room comedy to understand her own family. (And warning: This episode has explicit language.)