Best Of: Mixed Marriage Project / How Racism Costs Everyone

This episode of Fresh Air Weekend explores the complexities of race, identity, and American history through two distinct interviews. First, Dorothy Roberts discusses her memoir, "The Mixed Marriage Project," and her journey uncovering her father's research on interracial marriage, which predated his relationship with her mother, challenging her understanding of her family's history. Roberts grapples with her identity as a biracial woman and confronts the fetishization of interracial intimacy. Later, Heather McGhee, author of "The Sum of Us," examines the zero-sum lie, the false belief that progress for one group necessarily means loss for another, and its impact on American society. McGhee argues that racism ultimately harms everyone, citing economic data and historical examples to illustrate how racial inequality hinders collective prosperity.