Decoder Ring: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie... Will He Want a Welfare Check?
Adults have a long history of trying to find morals and lessons in children\u2019s literature. But what happens when a seemingly innocent book about a boy and a hungry mouse becomes fodder for the culture wars? Over the last decade, Laura Joffe Numeroff\u2019s If You Give a Mouse a Cookie has been adopted by some on the right as a cautionary tale about government welfare. In this episode, we explore the origins of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, the history of adults extracting unintended meaning from children\u2019s books, and try to figure out how this particular kid\u2019s book became a Republican battle cry.\nThis episode was written by Cheyna Roth. It was edited by Katie Shepherd and Evan Chung. It was produced by Sofie Kodner. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin, Evan Chung, Katie Shepherd and Max Freedman. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.\nIn this episode, you\u2019ll hear from author Laura Numeroff, book critic Bruce Handy, economist Rebecca Christie and former journalist Max Ehrenfreund.\nIf you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com\nIf you haven\u2019t please yet, subscribe and rate our feed in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And even better, tell your friends.\nIf you\u2019re a fan of the show, we\u2019d love for you to sign up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to listen to Decoder Ring and every other Slate podcast without any ads. You also get unlimited access to Slate\u2019s website. Member support is crucial to our work. So please go to slate.com/decoderplus to join Slate Plus today.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices