Hey, it's Empire's Book the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. We are continuing our week of

Mother's Books in honor of Mother's Day. But today, I'm just going to pass it off to my colleague

Timby Irmias. My dad found his green thumb in recent years, and if witnessing his botanical

adventures has taught me anything, it's that gardens change people. They root you in a community,

help you grow and imagine what's possible, even ground you.

It's a sentiment that's at the heart of poet Camille Dunge's new book, soil, the story of a black mother's garden.

She spoke about it recently with NPR's Melissa Block, a gardener in her own right,

and touched on all the ways that the natural world shape and are

shaped by things that you might not think about, race, gender, even whether you live in a neighborhood,

any neighborhood. And in writing about her own connection to nature, Dunjee is doing something

utterly poetic, making space for others to do the same and find their way to growth.

Here she is with Melissa Block.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, Sources and Methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people,

helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

And why not? It's spring. So let's get out of the studio and into the garden.

Like many of you, I bet, I've spent a lot more time in my garden during the COVID years.

We've ripped up all the sod and refilled what used to be lawn with flowering perennials.

They're mostly native,

friendly to pollinators, and about 1,500 miles west of me. Good morning. How are you?

...