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Tochi Onyebuchi’s 'Racebook' is a 'personal history' of a less serious time online

Tochi Onyebuchi’s 'Racebook' is a 'personal history' of a less serious time online

Update: 2025-11-11
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Tochi Onyebuchi remembers when the internet was fun. The science fiction and fantasy author says he initially existed online as a “skinless, raceless entity” until he experienced a shift around 2012. His new memoir Racebook traces this shift to the shooting death of Trayvon Martin and subsequent acquittal of the man who killed him. In today’s episode, Onyebuchi speaks with NPR’s Juana Summers about online forums, early Twitter, and the other communities that made the early internet so satisfying.


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Tochi Onyebuchi’s 'Racebook' is a 'personal history' of a less serious time online

Tochi Onyebuchi’s 'Racebook' is a 'personal history' of a less serious time online