US at 250: writers examine identity, book bans and AI
A France 24 programme brings novelists Taffy Brodesser-Akner and Rabih Alameddine into a debate about the American dream, political divisions and who gets to write.
As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, questions about its founding promises, identity and place in the world are the focus of a France 24 arts programme, released as Festival America opens in Vincennes.
Novelists Taffy Brodesser-Akner and Rabih Alameddine discuss whether the American dream remains alive, how America looks to people who arrived from elsewhere, and whether Donald Trump’s second presidency has changed the country’s story or exposed existing divisions.
The programme also examines challenges and bans on books in American schools, where thousands of titles have faced restrictions in recent years, according to France 24. It asks why literature has become a political battleground.
Artificial intelligence and authorship form another strand of the discussion. The programme mentions allegations that Canadian-Haitian writer Thélyson Orélien’s novel “C'était ça ou mourir” was written using AI. Orélien denies the accusation.
Alameddine’s novel “The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)” won the 2025 National Book Award for Fiction.
