Naturally Sweet Baking, Pickleball, Full Bio: Paul Laurence Dunbar, Student Loan Forgiveness

Brian Levy worked as a pastry chef at A-list restaurants like Babbo using traditional refined sugars and flours, but in his new book he explores a way to make sweet treats by harnessing the natural sweeteners found in fruits, nuts, and fermented products. His new book, Good & Sweet: A New Way to Bake with Naturally Sweet Ingredients, features 100 recipes and he joins us to discuss.

Pickleball is sweeping the courts of America. With an estimated 4.8 million Americans now playing the sport, Rachel Simon, author of Pickleball for All: Everything but the "Kitchen" Sink, takes listener calls from Pickleball players and fans alike, and explains the history and basics of the sport.

For the latest installment of our ongoing Full Bio series, we speak with Gene Jarrett, dean of the faculty and English professor at Princeton, and author of a new biography about the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, called, Paul Laurence Dunbar: The Life and Times of a Caged Bird. On day one, we talk about Dunbar's parents, who were born as slaves, and the environment he grew up in in Dayton, Ohio, in the 1800s. Plus, we hear WNYC's Michael Hill read a selection of Dunbar's poetry.

President Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness plan will affect tens of millions of borrowers. Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors explains what the plan does, and who it does – and doesn’t – help, and takes questions from callers.