Ten years later, Ta-Nehisi Coates says 'Between the World and Me' is no longer his

NPR's Book of the Day

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Arts, Books

4.2 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 7 July 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

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Summary

Ten years ago, Ta-Nehisi Coates published Between the World and Me, written as a letter to his then-15-year-old son. The book was released shortly after a shooting at Mother Emanuel church in Charleston left nine people dead – and it became a literary phenomenon as many Americans searched for answers about the state of race relations in the United States. In today's episode, Coates reflects on the 10 year anniversary of Between the World and Me. He speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about the book's dedication, efforts to ban his work, and the role of writers in the public sphere.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. I used to be a booker for NPR. That is, when
0:08.2	something happens in the news, I'd find someone to talk about it, call him up, see if they'd be
0:12.7	interested, get the schedules a lot, you know, that sort of thing. And when the world got weird
0:17.1	or scary, it was natural for me to call up writers, people who might have something to say
0:22.1	on the topic beyond the words they've written on the page. Today's interview has me questioning
0:27.1	that inclination. It's with the writer Tanahasi Coates, whose book Between the World and Me
0:32.0	just celebrated its 10-year anniversary. Now, a lot has changed since that book came out. Coates has become something
0:39.1	of a literary superstar, the exact type of person I'd call it frantically in my booking days.
0:45.6	But in this interview with NPR's Michelle Martin, he really questions this idea of a writer
0:50.9	as a wise and oracular figure that has something to add to the national discourse besides what they've written.
0:58.9	That's ahead.
1:00.6	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
1:05.5	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new new show, Sources and Methods. NPR
1:12.3	reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant
1:17.1	events matter here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get
1:22.8	your podcasts. Ten years ago, Tanaasi Coates published the book Between the World and Me.
1:29.2	The memoir, written as a letter to his then 15-year-old son, was a literary phenomenon.
1:34.0	Ten years later, as Tanahasi points out in his latest book, The Message,
1:38.2	nearly half the country's schoolchildren are under state orders to be protected from, quote,
1:42.6	critical race theory and other, quote, unquote, divisive concepts between the world and me. He's now out in paperback on the 10th anniversary of its publication, so we thought this would be a good time to check back in with Tana Hasi Coates, and he's with us now. Welcome back to the program. Thanks for having me, Michelle. It's good to talk to you again. You know, we actually spoke 10 years ago about this book.
2:01.9	Do we really?
2:02.9	Yes, we did.
	...

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