In 2010, the Arizona state legislature passed HB 2281, a law targeting the Mexican American Studies curriculum at some schools in Tucson Unified School District (TUSD), which teaches critical thinking skills to young Chicano students. Last year, the state's school superintendent found that Tucson's program violated the law, and ordered the school district to bring the program in compliance or shut it down. The school district challenged the ruling, and last month a judge upheld the superintendent's decision. At its meeting earlier this month, the TUSD school board decided not to challenge the ruling, and closed down the Mexican American Studies program.

Tina’s Mouth: An Existential Comic Diary is the new coming-of-age, graphic novel about a 15-year-old Indian American high school student, Tina, who struggles to find her identity and place in the world, after her best friend Alex dumps her for a girl who “wears slutty clothes and reads cheesy poetry.” Tonight, the author Keshni Kashyap will join us in the studio.