The 217 Today Podcast

217 Today: NPR journalist’s new book tells humanizing stories of life under current Chinese communist government

Kimberly Schofield and Stephanie Orellana
 

Courtesy of Emily Feng and Penguin Random House

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Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Today’s headlines: 

  • Texas House Democrats are still in Illinois despite warrants issued to try getting them back to Austin.
  • Illinois Congressman Danny Davis is retiring after 15 terms. And there are plenty of people who want to replace the Chicago Democrat. 
  • The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's solar car team came in first place during a national competition last month.
  • Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul finally explains why hospitals are not discriminating against patients even though they’re scaling back gender affirming care. 

In today’s deep dive, a voice you hear on NPR has a new book reflecting what happens when you live in China and disagree with the government.

217 Today is produced by Stephanie Orellana. Reporting today contributed by Alex Degman, Colin Hislope, Arjun Thakkar, Kristen Schorsch and Reginald Hardwick.