Nic Stone tells it like it is. The New York Times bestselling author of “Dear Martin” and “Clean Getaway” and social media phenom leans into shining a light on overlooked stories. And on this episode of The Reading Culture, she holds nothing back.
After Nic graduated college, she went on a trip to Bethlehem in the West Bank to connect with the story behind her faith. But instead of a religious experience, she found herself moved by the stories of the people who lived in the city—stories she decided also needed telling. In this episode, Nic shares more about how she found her voice and why she tells the stories she does. She speaks about the importance of appreciating the things kids love (even if we think they’re ridiculous), and why, despite being fearful of backlash over the release of her most recent book, “How to Be a (Young) Antiracist” with Ibram X. Kendi, she is still optimistic about the future of reading freedom in the classroom. She also tells my very favorite story of any author on the show of their most memorable classroom visit.
For her reading challenge, Mirror Mirror, Nic challenges participants to read a book about a character who appears to be very different from them, and then find connections and similarities with them. The goal? More humanity! As Nic said, “We live in divisive times, and sometimes divisiveness comes from people who inoculate themselves from people who are different from them.”
Listen to the full episode, “Comfortably Uncomfortable: Nic Stone on the Story Less Told,” on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review, subscribe, and share with someone who will enjoy it.
Keep reading!
Xo
Jordan
P.S. The episode's Beanstack featured librarian is Rita Smith, the children and teen librarian for Hershey Public Library in Pennsylvania. She shares a heartwarming story that reminded her of the value libraries play in the community.