NPR's Book of the Day

'The Irish Goodbye' and 'Frog' are micro-memoirs and essays about everyday life

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 08:00:00 +0000

In today’s episode, two authors tackle everyday experience through short-form writing. First, The Irish Goodbye is a collection of micro-memoirs by the poet Beth Ann Fennelly. In these recollections, she considers childhood, marriage, and old friends – and she told NPR’s Scott Simon about the immense difficulty she had writing about her sister’s death. Then, Anne Fadiman joins Simon to discuss Frog: and Other Essays, in which she takes on topics like a printer, an unpettable pet, M&Ms, and the rules of grammar.

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'An American Marriage' author Tayari Jones is out with a new novel 'Kin'

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Tayari Jones, author of the 2018 novel An American Marriage, says her next book was supposed to be about gentrification in the American South. But while writing her draft, Jones says she realized the backstory of that project was actually the real story. That’s how her new historical fiction novel Kin was born. The book follows two cradle friends who grow up without mothers in Honeysuckle, Louisiana and must navigate life in the Jim Crow South. In today’s episode, Jones tells NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about how she tapped into something “older than herself” in order to write this story.

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Andrew Krivak’s novel 'Mule Boy' takes readers inside a Pennsylvania coal mine

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Author Andrew Krivak grew up hearing stories about his grandfather, who died in a coal mine collapse in the early 1900s. These stories inspired Mule Boy, a novel about a 13-year-old who survives a deadly accident at a Pennsylvania mine. The story takes place during a 24-hour period in which the boy, now an old man, reflects on what took place there. In today’s episode, Krivak joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about being the grandson of Slovak immigrants, the trio brought together in Mule Boy, and the way Krivak tried to mimic oral storytelling in the novel.

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Jason Zengerle says Tucker Carlson is more 'movement leader' than media persona

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Journalist Jason Zengerle spent years observing right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson. His new book Hated by All the Right People asks: Does Carlson believe what he says? Zengerle’s reporting maps changes in the former Fox host’s views, such as the shift in how he spoke to his audience about the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and the 2020 election. In today’s episode, Zengerle talks with NPR’s Steve Inskeep about what Carlson was like as a young journalist, the controversial Nick Fuentes interview, and why Zengerle views Carlson more as a "movement leader” than a media persona.

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Author was struck by story of mixed-race orphans behind 'Keeper of Lost Children'

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Keeper of Lost Children is the latest work of historical fiction by Sadeqa Johnson. The novel is told from three vantage points and follows the story of mixed-race children orphaned in Germany after WWII. At the heart of the novel is Ethel Gathers, a character based on a real-life woman named Mabel Grammer. In today’s episode, Johnson tells NPR’s Emily Kwong about the Google search that inspired her novel and how she views the responsibility of writing historical fiction.

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A psychoanalyst and a priest share insights in 'Love's Labor' and 'Work in Progress'

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

New books by a psychoanalyst and a priest have something in common: They draw on the experience of holding other people’s stories. Stephen Grosz says his book, Love’s Labor, is a collection of “hard-won truths” he’s arrived at through sessions with his patients. In today’s episode, he speaks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about his observations on love, work and relationships. Then, Father James Martin joins NPR’s Scott Detrow for a conversation about Work in Progress. They discuss the litany of odd jobs Martin held before becoming a priest – and what ultimately led him to the church.

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Reshona Landfair, formerly 'Jane Doe,' recounts abuse by R. Kelly in new memoir

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Reshona Landfair met R. Kelly when she was a pre-teen in 1996. Starstruck, Landfair says she fell victim to his grooming tactics, followed by years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. A video of Kelly abusing Landfair eventually became public – and helped lead to Kelly’s conviction. Now, Landfair tells her story for the first time in her memoir Who’s Watching Shorty? In today’s episode, she tells NPR’s Juana Summers about being “kept” by Kelly, the way the public treats young Black women who survive abuse, and what she wants the world to know about her today.

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'The Renovation' is a novel with a surrealist take on prison structures big and small

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

There are many ways that a home renovation project can become a nightmare for all involved. But in The Renovation, narrator Dilara’s remodeling woes aren’t strictly financial or aesthetic—they’re absurdly surreal. When she finds her bathroom transformed into an armed Turkish prison cell, Dilara and her family must reckon with fragments of their past, present and future, all while fighting against the pace of time itself. In today’s episode, author Kenan Orhan joins NPR’s Scott Simon to discuss his debut novel, and how the concept of “prison” is a metaphor in far more ways than one.

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'Fly, Wild Swans' weaves Jung Chang’s family history with the history of China

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Jung Chang’s memoir Wild Swans, published in 1991, told the story of three generations of women in her family as they survived upheaval in 20th-century China. Now, Chang picks up her family’s story in Fly, Wild Swans, which she was moved to write as her mother’s health failed. In today’s episode, Chang talks with Here & Now’s Scott Tong about her inability to return to China, the biography of Mao she co-authored with her husband, and the Xi era.

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'Clutch' follows a college friend group trying to maintain their bond in midlife

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

The new novel Clutch follows five women who have known each other since college as they navigate the challenges of midlife. Author Emily Nemens recently told NPR’s Juana Summers that she wanted to tell this story through the group chat, which Nemens calls “the vernacular of now.” In today’s episode, they also discuss negligence in relationships, the novel’s head-on approach to abortion rights, and how writing Clutch impacted Nemens’ own friendships.

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Brush up on American history with 'Common Sense' and 'We the People'

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

In preparation for the U.S. Semiquincentennial this summer, we’re featuring two key texts in American history. First, Professor Nora Slonimsky joins NPR’s Sarah McCammon to discuss the legacy and reach of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense – including how we might see Paine as an influencer-like figure. Then, Jill Lepore’s We the People is a new history of the U.S. Constitution. In today’s episode, she speaks with NPR’s Steve Inskeep about historical attempts to reinterpret our law long after the Constitution was first drafted.

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In 'Eradication,' a grieving man sets off to a remote island to save the world

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Adi is a man grieving the death of his young son and the end of his marriage. Following these losses, he comes across a strange job listing, which brings him to a remote island populated by non-native goats. Jonathan Miles’ new novel Eradication follows Adi’s journey as he struggles with a gruesome mission assigned to him. In today’s episode, Miles joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about Adi’s personal motives and the difficulty of killing animals.

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Gisèle Pelicot’s 'A Hymn to Life' is both a memoir and an act of ultimate defiance

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Content warning: this episode contains discussions of sexual abuse.

In 2024, Gisèle Pelicot waived her right to anonymity as the victim during her own rape case in France, demanding a public trial. Soon after, she became an international feminist icon for her self-sacrifice. In A Hymn to Life, Pelicot recounts the unconscionable horrors she suffered at the hands of her husband and 50 other men—but she also establishes herself as a witness rather than simply a victim. In today’s episode, Pelicot joins NPR’s Michel Martin to discuss her new memoir, and her complex relationship with the hope that remains.

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'Crux' is a novel about rock climbing, but risk exists far beyond the mountain’s edge

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Rock climbing is a great sport for thrill-seekers. In Gabriel Tallent’s Crux, main characters Dan and Tamma fit the bill perfectly. At just 17 years old, they bond over the side of a mountain where one miscalculated inch of movement could mean life or death. However, risk doesn’t disappear once they make it safely to flat ground. For Dan and Tamma, risk exists in growing up, and growing out of their physical and emotional comfort zones. In today’s episode, Tallent joins NPR’s Juana Summers to discuss his newest novel and how rock climbing can widen more than one type of human perspective.

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After 100 years of Mount Rushmore, its biographer says the landmark is incomplete

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the first drilling at Mount Rushmore, the iconic American landmark in South Dakota. But Matthew Davis, author of the new book A Biography of a Mountain, says the project is actually unfinished. In today’s episode, he joins NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer for a conversation about the original vision for Mount Rushmore, which was intended to diversify a struggling South Dakota economy after World War I.

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'Football' and 'Everybody Loses' examine changes to America’s most popular sport

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

The Super Bowl is over, but the NFL season is set to ramp up again in just a few months. Today’s episode features two nonfiction books that delve into the world of football. First, Chuck Klosterman’s Football is a critical reading of the sport. He spoke with NPR’s Juana Summers about why football became dominant in American culture and why he believes it’ll lose popularity over the next decades. Then, Danny Funt speaks with NPR’s A Martínez about his new book Everybody Loses, which charts the sports gambling boom and the NFL’s role in the popularization of prop bets.

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A new book focuses on a queer, Black, WWII-era translator who risked safety for love

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

About a decade ago, professor and historian Ethelene Whitmire was presenting research on the experiences of African Americans living in Denmark. At that talk, she met – by chance – a relative of Reed Peggram, one of her research subjects. That relative directed Whitmire to a trove of letters written by Peggram, a queer, Black translator who found himself in Europe on the eve of World War II. In today’s episode, Whitmire joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about her book The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram, the project that emerged from his family’s archive.

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George Saunders' 'Vigil' is a ghostly novel about an oil tycoon in his final hours

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

In his latest novel, George Saunders continues to explore his interest in death and the afterlife. Vigil tells the story of an oil tycoon and climate change denier named K.J. Boone who’s visited by a series of ghosts in his final hours. In today’s episode, NPR’s Scott Detrow asks Saunders about similarities between this novel and A Christmas Carol. They also discuss the author’s Substack, his experience in the oil industry, and the role of storytelling in this political moment.

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Gov. Josh Shapiro emphasizes civic engagement in new memoir 'Where We Keep the Light'

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Gov. Josh Shapiro has plenty of dark experiences that he could recount in his new memoir, Where We Keep the Light. In his first term as Pennsylvania’s governor, he investigated abuse within the Catholic Church and was the victim of an arson attack in his own home. But as Shapiro eyes a second term in Pennsylvania, he says he’s choosing to focus on the light. In today’s episode Shapiro sits down with NPR’s Scott Detrow, and the two discuss the power of local civic engagement — including how small communities can produce big change.

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In 'Room 706,' a woman confronts her extramarital affair during a hostage crisis

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Kate loves her husband and their family, but she’s also involved in a long-standing affair with a married lover. Ellie Levenson opens her novel Room 706 with the secret lovers in their London hotel room. There, they soon find themselves trapped during a hostage crisis. In today’s episode, the author talks with NPR’s Scott Simon about why she chose to tell a story about modern womanhood and motherhood through such extreme circumstances.

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Two new books take on lesser-known chapters of WWII and Cold War-era Black history

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Two new books focus on lesser-known chapters of Black history. First, Kings & Pawns tells the story of Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson, who were pitted against each other during the Red Scare. In today’s episode, author Howard Bryant, a frequent contributor to NPR’s Weekend Edition, speaks with Scott Simon about how the men got caught between patriotism and activism. Then, NPR investigative reporter Cheryl W. Thompson tells NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about Forgotten Souls, a history of the 27 Tuskegee Airmen who went missing during World War II.

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A woman takes over her dead sister’s dating profile in 'Dandelion is Dead'

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Dating apps are full of small lies, but Rosie Storey’s debut novel imagines a relationship built on a much bigger one. What if you take over the profile of someone who’s no longer alive? In Dandelion is Dead, a grieving woman named Poppy gets into her dead older sister’s phone and logs into her dating app. There, a particular message catches her eye. In today’s episode, Storey talks with NPR’s Juana Summers about online dating, writing from a male perspective, and the author’s own friend who died at a young age.

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'How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder' is a dark new novel about sisterhood

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

In today’s interview, author Nina McConigley tells NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe that she wanted to write a sister book. How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder is the author’s dark debut novel about two Indian-American sisters growing up in rural Wyoming in the 1980s. There, they experience abuse that drives them to seek revenge. In today’s episode, McGonigley and Rascoe discuss split identities and the complex feelings that arise from life under colonialism – and from surviving abuse.

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In Sara Levine’s novel 'The Hitch,' a corgi’s soul enters a little boy’s body

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

When Rose’s 6-year-old nephew arrives for a week-long visit, she has a lot of expectations for how their time together will go. Instead, the boy’s soul ends up possessed by … a corgi. This zany twist is the setup for Sara Levine’s novel The Hitch, which she calls a blend of horror, comedy and metaphysics. In today’s episode, Levine speaks with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan about parenting, writing a shapeshifter character, and crafting a novel where divergent interpretations are possible.

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Angela Tomaski’s debut novel takes readers on a tour of an English manor in decline

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

In Angela Tomaski’s debut novel, an old English manor has just been sold and is on the brink of conversion into a hotel. The Infamous Gilberts tells the story of the crumbling building, and the people who once lived there through the objects that inhabit it. In today’s episode, Tomaski joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about the family at the center of her story – and the secrets held by the story’s narrator.

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Romance authors Emily Henry, Beverly Jenkins, and others on the state of their genre

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

To wrap up our pre-Valentine’s Day week of reads, we revisit two roundtable discussions with contemporary romance authors. First, Here & Now’s Celeste Headlee speaks with Helen Hoang and Emily Henry about the state of the genre – and how the authors approach writing sex scenes. Then, Here & Now’s Kalyani Saxena moderates a conversation between Beverly Jenkins, Jasmine Guillory, and Ali Hazelwood in front of a crowd of romance fans at WBUR’s CitySpace.

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A meet-cute followed by real life: 'Party of Two' is about love in the real world

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Romance writer Jasmine Guillory writes beautiful love stories – but that doesn't mean they aren't based in reality. Her novel Party of Two, from the summer of 2020, is about a Black woman and a white man who have a meet-cute and start a casual long-distance relationship. But race does have an impact on their connection because of the different ways the world has received them. Guillory told former NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro that real-life couples have these conversations, so her characters should too.

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Looking back at 'Normal People,' before Sally Rooney’s rise to fame

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

In 2019, Sally Rooney was promoting Normal People, the novel that would become her breakout hit. The book inspired a popular Hulu adaptation and positioned the author as one of the leading literary voices of her generation. In today’s episode, we revisit an interview between Rooney and NPR’s Rachel Martin, in which they reflect on the shifting nature of the novel’s central relationship.

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'Emergency Contact' explores love in the age of modern technology

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Content warning: this episode contains discussions of sexual assault.

It’s not breaking news that technology has seeped into modern dating culture. Screens make it easier for us to meet people, but does this convenience trigger a loss of genuine connection? In Mary H.K. Choi’s Emergency Contact, two young lovers are put to the test when their devices become an unwanted third party in their relationship. In today’s episode, Choi joins NPR’s Lulu Navarro for a conversation about her debut novel, and how teenagers can seek meaningful connections with each other beyond a phone screen.

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Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan on 'Remain,' their supernatural romance novel

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan are authors known worldwide for their contributions to the genres of romance and horror. But in 2025, they brought these genres together for a collaborative book and movie project titled Remain. In today’s episode, we kick off Book of the Day’s 2026 romance week with a discussion between Sparks, Shyamalan, and NPR’s Leila Fadel. The two join Fadel at NPR’s New York Bureau to talk about their co-authored novel, its inspirations, and the heartfelt, supernatural roots of storytelling itself.

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New books argue that far-off goals and humor can help shift daily routines

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

January is the month for people to take stock of their habits and routines – and two new books offer unconventional approaches to shaking up our lives. First, Mark Medley’s Live to See the Day is about the pursuit of far-fetched goals. He spoke with NPR’s A Martínez about what we can learn from no-hope political candidates, amateur creature-hunters, and dreamers. Then, comedian Chris Duffy’s Humor Me asks readers to find the funny alongside the grim. In today’s episode, he tells NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer about the inspiration for the book, which came from his experience as a teacher.

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Iranian pop star Googoosh on her new memoir and life in pre-revolution Iran

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

The Iranian government has exerted forceful control over its citizens since the Islamic Republic seized power nearly 50 years ago. The pop star Googoosh has firsthand experience of opposition to the regime – and its consequences. In 1980, the singer was imprisoned and forced into a basement with other women after the government deemed her music sinful. Afterwards, she spent decades living in silence and exile. In today’s episode, she joins Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd for a conversation about her new memoir, Googoosh: A Sinful Voice, and her relationship with Iran, then and now.

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Sarah Harman’s debut novel is a lighthearted take on the 'missing kid' mystery genre

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Is there anything you wouldn’t do for your favorite person? That question is at the center of Sarah Harman’s debut novel All the Other Mothers Hate Me. The book follows a single mom, Florence, who goes to extreme lengths to defend her son when he becomes a suspect in the disappearance of his school bully. In today’s episode, Harman tells NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about her misfit protagonist and her observations of British culture from an outsider’s perspective.

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'Firestorm' tells journalistic – and personal – story of the LA wildfires

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Jacob Soboroff was one of the reporters on the front lines of last year’s devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. For him, the story was also deeply personal: He grew up in the Palisades, one of several neighborhoods engulfed by the flames. In his new book Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America’s New Age of Disaster, Soboroff provides a firsthand account of the Palisades and Eaton fires – and tries to understand what went wrong. In today’s episode, Soboroff speaks with Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd about witnessing the destruction of his childhood neighborhood and the political aftermath of the fires.

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'This is Where the Serpent Lives' is a sprawling debut novel set in modern Pakistan

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Author Daniyal Mueenuddin has hit the ground running with his debut novel, This is Where the Serpent Lives. Set in modern Pakistan, the story spans generations and explores class, corruption, and crime — themes that Mueenuddin says he believes might resonate with American readers in particular. In today’s episode, Mueenuddin speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about his novel-writing process for This is Where the Serpent Lives, and why he sprinkled subtle autobiographical details across its pages.

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'Body Beautiful' and 'My One-of-a-Kind Body' aim to cultivate kids’ body positivity

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Body image can be a tricky subject to navigate for those of all ages – including kids. In today’s episode, we’re highlighting two kids’ books that encourage body positivity and spark curiosity about our outsides and insides. First, NPR’s Scott Detrow talks to author Susan Verde about her book Body Beautiful, and her quest to stop kids’ negative self-talk before it begins. Then, Here & Now’s Robin Young speaks with author Whitney Casares about her book My One-of-a-Kind-Body, and how teens (and tweens) can cultivate healthy relationships with their own bodies – even during the internet age.

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'Freedom on the Sea' is a biography of Robert Smalls – by his great-great-grandson

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Robert Smalls’ dynamic life story – his daring escape from slavery, his pivotal role in the Civil War, and the political career that ensued – was almost lost to history. But now there are plans to preserve and celebrate him. A new monument honoring Smalls is set to be unveiled outside the South Carolina Statehouse. In today’s episode, Michael Boulware Moore, Smalls’ great-great-grandson and author of the book Freedom on the Sea, joins Here & Now’s Anthony Brooks to talk about Smalls' legacy.

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The novel 'These Days' fictionalizes a lesser-known chapter in the history of Belfast

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

In the spring of 1941, Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, braced for incoming attacks from German bombers. Over April and May, four German air raids killed thousands of Belfast residents. Lucy Caldwell’s novel These Days is set during this time. In today’s episode, she speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about a piece of writing advice from Gabriel García Márquez, what she learned from survivors of the Belfast Blitz, and why she wanted to share this chapter in her city’s history.

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With her new book, Scottish author Val McDermid wants to “charm you into winter”

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

We are in the thick of winter in the U.S. Days are short, nights are long, and in much of the country, it’s crisp and cold outside. A new book by the Scottish author Val McDermid makes the case for the season’s beauty – despite its challenges. Winter: The Story of a Season is a work of creative nonfiction that explores seasonal traditions and McDermid’s personal memories. In today’s episode, the author joins NPR’s Daniel Estrin for a conversation that touches on McDermid’s crime novels, the difficulty of winter for unhoused people, and the tradition of a “Burns Supper.”

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'The Definitions' features dorm room conversation – with a dystopian twist

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Matt Greene’s new novel The Definitions starts with new college dormmates getting to know each other. But there’s a dystopian twist: The students have survived a virus that has erased people’s memories. Nameless students attend school at The Center, where they’re told their memories will one day return to them. In today’s episode, Greene chats with NPR’s Lauren Frayer about the philosophy of language, the pandemic, and some unresolved questions from his book.

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Two debut novels, two murder mysteries set in the United Kingdom

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Two debut novelists are out with murder mysteries set in the United Kingdom. First, Jennie Godfrey’s The List of Suspicious Things is a coming-of-age story inspired by the Yorkshire Ripper, the English serial killer who murdered 13 women in the 1970s. In today’s episode, Godfrey tells NPR’s Scott Simon about her own experience growing up during the time of these murders. Then, Death at the White Hart is a novel by Chris Chibnall, the creator of the television show Broadchurch. In today’s episode, Chibnall tells NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly about the two rival pubs at the center of his story.

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Amitav Ghosh’s 'Wild Fictions' gathers essays on empire and the environment

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Indian Bengali writer Amitav Ghosh has been writing about empire, the environment, and other subjects for the past 25 years. Now, he has gathered some of his essays into a new collection called Wild Fictions, which asks big questions about the way humans are connected to other forms of life. In today’s episode, Ghosh joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on climate change as a problem of politics, culture, and imagination. They also discuss an idea central to Ghosh’s thought: that anthropocentrism is responsible for our current planetary crisis.

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In 'Twice Born,' a daughter discovers her father through his biography of Mark Twain

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Hester Kaplan, the daughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Justin Kaplan, knew her father was an esteemed writer and researcher, but she didn’t quite know him personally. After the elder Kaplan died in 2014, Hester began to discover her father, unexpectedly, through his famous biographical account of Mark Twain. In today’s episode, Kaplan speaks with Here and Now’s Tiziana Dearing about the power of biography, and how her memoir Twice Born recounts the stories of a man – and a family – still alive in the margins.

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'The Philosopher in the Valley' paints an eccentric portrait of Palantir’s Alex Karp

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 17:22:00 +0000

Palantir is one of the world’s most valuable companies, analyzing data for businesses, but also for U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies. The Philosopher in the Valley, a new book by Michael Steinberger, is a portrait of the company’s CEO, Alex Karp. In today’s episode, Steinberger speaks with NPR’s Steve Inskeep about Palantir’s operations at the nexus of technology and national security, Karp’s liberal arts background, and the CEO’s unusual lifestyle.

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'Russ & Daughters' cookbook documents a century-old New York City establishment

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Russ & Daughters opened in 1914 and is one of the last remaining “appetizing stores” in New York City. The shop – which the owners say is not a deli – is famous for its bagels and lox, among other classic Jewish foods. Now, the Russ family is out with a cookbook that includes history, recipes and musings from the last century. In today’s episode, NPR’s Scott Simon visits Russ & Daughters, where he finds the shop brimming with smoked salmon, whitefish salad, chubs, trout, sable, sturgeon and more.

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Susan Choi’s 'Flashlight' is about an alternate-universe version of her own family

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 17:07:58 +0000

As 2025 comes to a close, we're revisiting interviews with this year's nominees and winners of some of the biggest prizes in literature. Last up: A 10-year-old girl, Louisa, is later found on a beach in Japan – and her father has disappeared. She and her mother are left on their own – but the tragedy doesn’t bring them closer together, at least for a long time. Susan Choi’s novel Flashlight follows this family across generations and a vast historical expanse. In today’s episode, Choi speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about why her protagonist fends off love, her interest in the historical tensions between Korea and Japan, and the benefit of writing in chronological order.

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'Feeding Ghosts' is a graphic memoir grappling with generational trauma

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 09:20:04 +0000

As 2025 comes to a close, we're revisiting interviews with this year's nominees and winners of some of the biggest prizes in literature. Tessa Hulls’ grandmother, Sun Yi, was a dissident journalist in Shanghai who faced intense political persecution during the Chinese Communist Revolution. In today’s episode, Hulls tells Here & Now’s Scott Tong that her grandmother’s trauma often cast a shadow over their family – one she decided to finally face in her new graphic memoir, Feeding Ghosts. It’s a reexamining of Hulls’ matriarchal lineage, of Chinese history and of generational love and healing.

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In ‘A Guardian and a Thief,’ a mother’s love for her family threatens her own morals

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

As 2025 comes to a close, we're revisiting interviews with this year's nominees and winners of some of the biggest prizes in literature. Megha Majumdar’s novel A Guardian and a Thief, a finalist for the 2025 National Book Award, takes place in a near-future Kolkata struck by climate change. There, one family’s possibility of escape is put in jeopardy when their passports are stolen. In this conversation with Here & Now, Majumdar tells Jane Clayson that hope isn’t always noble in situations of crisis.

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A new novel from Karen Russell is a sprawling story set during the Dust Bowl

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

As 2025 comes to a close, we're revisiting interviews with this year's nominees and winners of some of the biggest prizes in literature. Karen Russell’s novel The Antidote is set during the Dust Bowl – a period when poor farming practices and drought led to a wave of severe and damaging dust storms. In this bleak setting, we’re introduced to a cast of characters, including a woman who stores other people’s memories and a photographer tasked with documenting the crisis. In today’s episode, Russell speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about the inspiration behind The Antitode’s core characters, including the work of photographer Gordon Parks and an image that came to Russell as she finished her first novel.

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In Rabih Alameddine’s new novel, a mother and son share a tiny Beirut apartment

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

As 2025 comes to a close, we're revisiting interviews with this year's nominees and winners of some of the biggest prizes in literature. First up: Raja teaches philosophy to high schoolers and shares an apartment with his 82-year-old mother, Zalfa. Rabih Alameddine explores their relationship – and other forms of intimacy – in his new novel The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother). In today’s episode, the author joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about Raja’s self-deprecation, Zalfa’s relationship with another older woman, and Alameddine’s mother’s memory loss.

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Dorie Greenspan and Paul Hollywood discuss their new and nourishing cake cookbooks

Fri, 26 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

If you’re feeling burnt out from your annual holiday cookie-baking marathon, don’t fear. There’s hope on the other side… in the form of cake. In today’s episode, Here and Now's Robin Young speaks with two authors and bakers about their newest cookbooks focused on cake. First, she joins Dorie Greenspan to discuss Dorie’s Anytime Cakes, a beginner-friendly collection of comforting cake recipes. Then, Young talks with The Great British Baking Show’s Paul Hollywood about Celebrate, his volume of cakes meant to inspire joyful, low-stakes baking with the whole family.

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'Unabridged' explores the history of the dictionary – and why it’s in trouble now

Thu, 25 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Dictionaries were once bestsellers, but between the internet and artificial intelligence, its role in our culture has changed. Stefan Fatsis is out with a new book called Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) The Modern Dictionary, which documents this shift. In today’s episode, he speaks with NPR’s Don Gonyea about embedding with the publisher of Merriam Webster, the history of lexicography, and what he anticipates for the dictionary’s future.

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'Hiddensee' is a 'Nutcracker'-inspired novel from the author of 'Wicked'

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 18:59:37 +0000

In 2017, Wicked author Gregory Maguire set out to tell the backstory of another classic fairytale. His novel Hiddensee focuses on Herr Drosselmeyer, the powerful toymaker in The Nutcracker. In today’s episode, we revisit a conversation between Maguire and then-NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro. Maguire tells Garcia-Navarro about his interest in writing a Nutcracker prequel, giving people “consolation” through literature, and his personal collection of nutcrackers.

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Jeff Kinney on his iconic, now 20-book 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' series

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has sold more than 300 million books since the first installment was published in 2007. The star of the series is the famous line drawing, Greg Heffley, a frequently frowning, middle-school-aged antihero. Now, Kinney is out with Partypooper, the 20th book in the series. In today’s episode, Here & Now’s Robin Young travels to An Unlikely Story in Plainville, Massachusetts, the bookstore Kinney owns with his wife. There, Young and Kinney discuss the inspiration behind Greg, whom Kinney says is a “funhouse” version of himself.

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Mahmood Mamdani’s 'Slow Poison' centers politics of belonging in postcolonial Uganda

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Mahmood Mamdani — a professor of government at Columbia University and the father of Zohran Mamdani, NYC’s next mayor — has spent decades researching colonialism and its effects on the African continent. His work is both political and personal, influenced by his own experience in Uganda as an exiled citizen deemed nonindigenous by colonial structures. In today’s episode, Mamdani talks to NPR’s Leila Fadel about his newest book, Slow Poison, an account of colonial legacy in Uganda, the rise of the country’s modern autocrats, and the politics of belonging that surround it all.

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Revisiting ‘Waiting to Exhale’

Sat, 20 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

As the film adaptation of Waiting to Exhale celebrates its 30th anniversary, B.A. Parker and Andrew Limbong, along with It’s Been a Minute host, Brittany Luse, revisit its source material about four friends, Savannah, Gloria, Robin, and Bernadine, as they make their way through the 30s, in love and in life. Later on, special guest, Tia Williams, speaks to Andrew about how Terry McMillan paved the way for her career path as a romance novelist.

Brittany’s Recommendation: ‘Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons & Love Affairs’ by Pearl Cleage

Parker’s Recommendation: ‘The Wilderness’ by Angela Flournoy

Andrew’s Recommendation: ‘Where I’m Coming From’ by Barbara Brandon-Croft

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Paul McCartney on his band 'Wings,' plus the story of indie label Bloodshot Records

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Two new memoirs zoom in on important moments in music history. First, Paul McCartney’s new book Wings reflects on the life of his post-Beatles band, which he formed in London in 1971. In today’s episode, McCartney speaks with NPR’s A Martínez about establishing a distinct identity in The Beatles’ shadow. Then, Rob Miller founded Bloodshot Records in the 1990s when a new sound – “insurgent country” or “alt-country” – was just emerging. Miller joined NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about his memoir The Hours Are Long, But the Pay Is Low, which tells the story behind the label.

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In this novel, the residents of a Brussels apartment building brace for Nazi invasion

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

33 Place Brugmann opens with a list of the residents of a Brussels apartment building. The year is 1939 and Germany’s invasion of Belgium is on the horizon. Alice Austen’s debut novel winds together the fates of these residents under Nazi occupation. In today’s episode, Austen joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on the backstory of the building’s address, how she balanced the novel’s many narrative voices, and the questions that consumed her as she wrote the book.

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William Boyd’s 'The Predicament' is a spy thriller with a conspiratorial edge

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

In William Boyd’s newest novel The Predicament, lead character and travel writer Gabriel Dax becomes a secret spy, scouring the globe on British orders during the Cold War. He’s looking for an escape from espionage, but when he starts to receive envelopes of cash from the KGB, can he resist? In today’s episode, author William Boyd talks with NPR’s Scott Simon about the second book in the Gabriel Dax trilogy, and how his own conspiracies about President Kennedy’s assassination influenced his novel-writing process.

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Rep. Jim Clyburn’s new book 'The First Eight' traces the history of his predecessors

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn has spent more than three decades in Congress. But he’s not the first Black congressman to represent South Carolina; there were eight others before him. His new book, The First Eight, dives into the political careers of figures like Robert Smalls and George Washington Murray. In today’s episode, Clyburn speaks with NPR’s Michel Martin about one major takeaway from the project – and his thoughts on reelection .

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'The Heir Apparent' asks existential questions about Britain and its beloved crown

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Becoming the queen of England wasn’t in the plan for Lexi Villiers, the heroine of The Heir Apparent. But when tragedy strikes Lexi’s family and she discovers that she’s next in line for the throne, she finds herself forced to choose between her own modernity and the crown’s antiquity. Is the best option to just leave the monarchy entirely? In today’s episode, author and journalist Rebecca Armitage talks with NPR’s Miles Parks about her debut novel, and the process of turning her real reporting on the British crown into a fictionalized narrative.

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Revisiting ‘Kitchen Confidential’

Sat, 13 Dec 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Anthony Bourdain published his memoir Kitchen Confidential in 2000 as a little-known chef. In the 25 years since its publication, his writing – and subsequent work in TV and entertainment – has shaped the way we talk about restaurants and food. In today’s Books We’ve Loved, Andrew Limbong and B.A. Parker are joined by Eric Deggans, critic-at-large at NPR. They discuss Bourdain’s documentation of a particular time in the restaurant industry, the book’s impact on dining culture, and Bourdain’s personal legacy. Then, special guest Samin Nosrat shares her perspective on what’s changed in the culinary world in the years since.

Eric’s Recommendation: ‘Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets’ by David Simon

Parker’s Recommendation: ‘Land of Milk and Honey’ by C Pam Zhang

Andrew’s Recommendation: ‘Meet Me in the Bathroom’ by Lizzy Goodman

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‘How a Game Lives,’ ‘How to Save the Internet’ show the best and worst of life online

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Two new books delve into the best and worst corners of the internet. First, Jacob Geller creates YouTube essays about art, literature, film, video games and more. He’s compiled those essays in print form in a new book called How a Game Lives. In today’s episode, Geller speaks with Here & Now’s Scott Tong about how video games help him explore life’s big questions. Then, Nick Clegg was president of global affairs at Meta, a position he left earlier this year. In today’s episode, Clegg talks with NPR’s Steve Inskeep about his new book How to Save the Internet.

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A new book of poems by Kate Baer wrestles with the realities of middle age

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

NPR’s Scott Detrow and poet Kate Baer share a favorite bookstore in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They recently met there to discuss Baer’s new poetry collection How About Now, which wrestles with the realities of middle age. In today’s episode, Baer tells Detrow about navigating honesty and privacy in her work, what it’s like to share shelf space with poets like Ada Limón and Sharon Olds, and writing moments that made her hear “the angels sing.”

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In 'The Unveiling,' a disastrous cruise becomes an opportunity for cultural reckoning

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Even if you’re scared of cruise ships, don’t turn away from Quan Barry’s The Unveiling. When film scout and photographer Striker boards an Antarctic cruise in search of locations for a new biopic, things start to go wrong — lots of things. But there’s much to learn from Barry’s quirky cast of characters, with a tech billionaire and a blended queer family among them. In today’s episode, Barry talks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about the power of discovery on and off the ship, and the process of crafting a novel without a single chapter break.

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Deborah Willis on her seminal history of Black photography, reissued 25 years later

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Deborah Willis is one of the foremost authorities on Black photography. The MacArthur “genius award” winner has dedicated her career to cataloging and showcasing Black photographers and photos of Black people. And her seminal work – Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers 1840 to the Present – has been reissued after 25 years. In today’s episode, Michel Martin visits Willis at New York University to talk about the expanded edition of the book and the gallery show inspired by it.

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In ‘Best Offer Wins,’ an ambitious millennial is driven mad by the homebuying process

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Marisa Kashino used to report on the real estate industry in Washington, D.C. That experience inspired her debut novel, Best Offer Wins, which follows an ambitious woman who goes to extreme lengths to secure her dream home. In today’s episode, Kashino joins NPR’s Miles Parks for a conversation that touches on the changing nature of home ownership in the United States, particularly for millennials.

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Revisiting Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’

Sat, 06 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Frank Herbert’s 1965 epic Dune was once the domain of sci-fi diehards. But in recent years, the book has crossed over into the mainstream. In today’s Books We’ve Loved, Andrew Limbong and B.A. Parker are joined by Throughline’s Ramtin Arablouei, who makes a personal case for the story’s appeal – despite its density. Then, special guest, author Pierce Brown, shares whether he thinks Dune has reached Star Wars levels of cultural saturation.

Ramtin’s Recommendation: ‘Rendezvous with Rama’ by Arthur C. Clarke

Parker’s Recommendation: ‘The Left Hand of Darkness’ by Ursula K. Le Guin

Andrew’s Recommendation: ‘Saga’ by Brian K. Vaughn

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In new novels, marriages are tested by a last request and a moment in the spotlight

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

In two new novels, marriages are tested by unusual circumstances. First, in Ann Packer’s Some Bright Nowhere, a woman dying of cancer makes a big ask of her husband. In today’s episode, Packer speaks with NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly about the uncertainty of illness and what writers do between books. Then, Craig Thomas, the co-creator of How I Met Your Mother, is out with a novel. In today’s episode, he tells NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer about That’s Not How It Happened, in which a feel-good movie threatens to destroy the family who inspired it.

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Abby Phillip’s 'A Dream Deferred' chronicles Jesse Jackson’s rise to political esteem

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Rev. Jesse Jackson is well-known as an icon of the American Civil Rights Movement, a protégé of Martin Luther King Jr., and a steadfast activist — but he has quite a past in electoral politics, too. A Dream Deferred charts Jackson’s rise to political prominence during his 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns, as the first major Black candidate for U.S. president. In today’s episode, author and CNN anchor Abby Phillip talks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about her debut biography, and how Jackson himself approached politics and activism with separate mindsets.

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'The Devil Is a Southpaw' is a story within a story — or so its narrator says

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Are all unreliable narrators self-aware? The answer might depend on the novel, but in Brandon Hobson’s The Devil Is a Southpaw, our primary narrator, Milton (a writer and artist) uses his prose to sew complexity and confusion into the narrative itself. In today’s episode, Hobson speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about his newest novel, and the journey of crafting a story about two ex-convicts bound together through jealousy and the mutual dream of artistic success.

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John Fetterman on his new memoir, his mental health, and disagreements with his party

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

When Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) won Pennsylvania’s Senate seat in 2022, Democrats saw him as a symbol of a new direction during the Trump era. Three years later, things are very different. His new memoir, Unfettered, discusses his mental health struggles, the stroke he suffered in 2022 and his relationship with the left. In today’s episode, Fetterman speaks with NPR’s Scott Detrow about the book and some of his disagreements with fellow Democrats.

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A new book looks to the writings of Renaissance-era nuns for advice on life today

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Modern life can make it tempting to return to simpler times, like a 16th-century Spanish convent. In the new book Convent Wisdom, academics Ana Garriga and Carmen Urbita look to the writings of Renaissance-era nuns for insights to apply to modern dilemmas. In today’s episode, the co-authors speak with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about the backstory behind the project and what makes these nuns of the past relevant today.

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Revisiting ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’

Sat, 29 Nov 2025 20:55:11 +0000

Janie Crawford – back in her hometown of Eatonville, Florida – recounts a journey of self-discovery, structured around three marriages. Their Eyes Were Watching God is Zora Neale Hurston’s most celebrated work and a classic text of the Harlem Renaissance. In today’s Books We’ve Loved, Andrew Limbong and B.A. Parker, joined by R. Eric Thomas, discuss what makes this novel a coming-of-age story, despite its focus on a woman in her late 30s. And special guest Tayari Jones shares her take on Hurston’s relationship to folklore.

Eric’s Recommendation: ‘Getting Mother's Body’ by Suzan-Lori Parks

Parker’s Recommendation: ‘Like Water for Chocolate’ by Laura Esquivel

Andrew’s Recommendation: ‘Tom Lake’ by Ann Patchett

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A Claire McCardell biography and an AI sci-fi are among NPR’s top book picks of 2025

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

NPR’s annual Books We Love guide is back for its 13th year, sharing over 380 hand-selected reads by NPR staff and critics. In today’s post-Thanksgiving episode, host Andrew Limbong joins Morning Edition and All Things Considered to chat about all things Books We Love. First, he shares some top non-fiction picks with NPR’s Michel Martin; among them Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson’s biography of American fashion designer Claire McCardell, who you might want to credit for those handy pockets on womenswear. Then, he talks fiction with NPR’s Scott Detrow, recommending titles such as Nnedi Okorafor’s Death of the Author.

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'My Cambodia: A Khmer Cookbook' is Nite Yun’s love letter to food and family

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Some cookbooks don’t just provide recipes; they tell stories—and Nite Yun’s My Cambodia: A Khmer Cookbook is a perfect example. Yun discovered the rich history of her Cambodian-American heritage in the kitchen, and her debut cookbook tells these stories through her family’s most beloved recipes. In today’s episode, Yun talks with NPR’s Leila Fadel about her book’s unique creation process and the power of food to bring together families across generations and continents.

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'We Were Liars' author returns for more teenage catharsis in 'We Fell Apart'

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 09:02:11 +0000

E. Lockhart understands the struggle of being a teenager. Her first novel We Were Liars was a standout YA hit of 2014, celebrated (and at times, criticized) amongst teens in particular for its twisty and devastating coming-of-age narrative set on a fictional island near Martha’s Vineyard. Lockhart returns to the East Coast for We Fell Apart, her third book in the series, crafting another summer tale of mystery and self-discovery. In today’s episode, Lockhart joins NPR’s Juana Summers to discuss her newest novel, and what we could all learn from teenagers — and perhaps their reading habits too.

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Comic journalist Joe Sacco on his portrait of deadly riots in Uttar Pradesh, India

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

In 2013, two young Hindu cousins killed a Muslim man in a rural part of Uttar Pradesh, India. What followed was a series of alternating violence in the region between Hindus and Muslims. Renowned comic journalist Joe Sacco's new book, The Once And Future Riot, investigates that conflict and the stories people tell themselves about what happened. In today’s episode, Sacco speaks with NPR’s Andrew Limbong about illustrating violence and the “she-said, he-said” nature of this story.

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Justinian Huang’s new novel follows a Taiwanese-American family intent on a male heir

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Justinian Huang’s new novel Lucky Seed is about a single, gay son pressured by his Taiwanese-American family to produce a male heir. In an interview with NPR’s All Things Considered, Huang tells NPR’s Ailsa Chang that his own family asked him to have a baby boy – or else they would risk punishment in the afterlife. In today’s episode, Huang speaks with Chang about being the “chosen one” in his family, the concept of “hungry ghosts,” and how writing the book changed Huang’s relationship with his mother.

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Revisiting ‘Gone Girl’

Sat, 22 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Amy and Nick Dunn have the perfect life and are the perfect couple until they reach a breaking point, revealing their true selves. The book that spawned dozens of imitators but few peers, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl is this week’s read on the latest Books We’ve Loved. Andrew Limbong and B. A. Parker are joined by Greta Johnsen to divulge how this suspense thriller continuously brings fans back to this story. Special guest, Andrea Bartz, shares how being from the Midwest, like Flynn, is your best tool to write a mystery.

Greta’s Recommendation: ‘Fates and Furies’ by Lauren Groff

Parker’s Recommendation: ‘My Sister, the Serial Killer’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Andrew’s Recommendation: ‘Liars’ by Sarah Manguso

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'The Ten Year Affair,' 'Sex of the Midwest' look at the role of sex in domestic life

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Two new books examine how sex fits into suburban and small-town life, respectively. First, Erin Somers explores marriage and desire in her novel The Ten Year Affair. In today’s episode, she speaks with NPR’s Andrew Limbong about combining a multiverse plot with domestic fiction. Then, Robyn Royle knits a dozen short stories together in Sex of the Midwest, in which the residents of a small town receive an email inviting them to participate in a sex survey. In today’s episode, Royle tells NPR’s Scott Simon about the many misconceptions surrounding small-town life.

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'Fire in Every Direction' is a personal work by Palestinian scholar Tareq Baconi

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Tareq Baconi is a Palestinian scholar best known for Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance. But in his new memoir Fire in Every Direction, the academic turns to more personal subjects, reflecting on three generations of displacement in his family. In an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition, Baconi speaks with NPR’s Leila Fadel about how silence – around queerness, politics, and shame – has shaped his family’s story.

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Kathy Iandoli on Gucci Mane’s memoir and becoming the go-to writer for rappers

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Gucci Mane’s new memoir Episodes covers a range of difficult topics: depression, mania, anxiety, drug abuse. There are even pages of the book that are blacked out to reflect the rapper’s gaps in memory. Writer Kathy Iandoli worked with Gucci on the project – and she’s become the go-to writer for rappers looking to tell their stories. In today’s episode, Iandoli speaks with NPR’s Andrew Limbong about her collaboration with Gucci and her take on what draws musical artists to write books in the first place.

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'Bog Queen' cherishes Earth’s mossy wetlands and the bodies they preserve

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

You may have heard of a bog — those wet, mucky environments found mostly in the northern temperate pockets of Canada or Europe — but did you know that bogs can preserve human bodies for thousands of years? Anna North’s Bog Queen, part-history and part-mystery, explores the abiotic relationship between humans and what may be their greatest protector: the moss. In today’s episode, North sits down with NPR’s Scott Simon to discuss her newest novel, and the importance of caring for that which cares for us.

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Margaret Atwood on what finally made her agree to write a memoir

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Best-selling author Margaret Atwood says she originally rejected the idea of writing a memoir. But she warmed up to the idea after she began to think of a memoir as a recollection of “stupid things you did, near-death events, catastrophes, and surprising highlights and jokes.” Now, at age 85, Atwood is out with Book of Lives. In today’s episode, she joins NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer for a conversation that touches on the difference between memoir and biography, Canadian identity, and writing from the perspective of an “Inner Advice Columnist.”

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Revisiting ‘Giovanni's Room’

Sat, 15 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

James Baldwin’s recent centennial birthday allowed us to discuss one of his most celebrated novels, Giovanni’s Room. Andrew Limbong and B. A. Parker are joined by NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour’s Glen Weldon, examining the story of three lovers, chasing connection, love, and acceptance in 1950s Paris. Special guest Garth Greenwell also drops by to share how Giovanni’s Room made an impact on his work.

Glen’s Recommendation: ‘Florenzer’ by Phil Melanson

Parker’s Recommendation: ‘The Stranger’ by Albert Camus

Andrew’s Recommendation: ‘The Sun Also Rises’ by Ernest Hemingway

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Music biographies 'The Cars,' 'Only God Can Judge Me' balance greatness and tragedy

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Two new biographies focus on legendary musical acts: the rock band The Cars and rapper Tupac Shakur. First, in the late 1970s, a Boston radio DJ played The Cars’ demo tape – and the band went on to inform rock music for decades. In today’s episode, author Bill Janovitz speaks with Here & Now’s Robin Young about his new book The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told. Then, Tupac was one of the most influential rappers of all time, but his life was cut short at age 25. In today’s episode, author Jeff Pearlman tells Here & Now’s Scott Tong about his new biography of the music artist Only God Can Judge Me.

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John Grisham brings a money-hungry lawyer to center stage in 'The Widow'

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

In The Widow, his 52nd novel and counting, author John Grisham returns to one of his cherished topics: lawyers. But not the type of lawyer one would hire if they’d like to keep their money safe. Simon Latch is a small town lawyer sick of equally small cases, until he finds himself in charge of drafting a will for an enormously wealthy widow. Will Simon keep her wealth an untouched secret, or attempt to turn a profit for himself? In today’s episode, Grisham talks to NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer about this legal thriller-turned-murder mystery, and the age-old lie that every lawyer tells at least once.

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In 'A Guardian and a Thief,' a mother’s love for her family threatens her own morals

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Megha Majumdar’s new novel takes place in a near-future Kolkata struck by climate change. There, one family’s possibility of escape is jeopardized when their passports are stolen. A Guardian and a Thief, a finalist for the 2025 National Book Award, weaves together their plot with the story of their burglar. In a conversation with Here & Now, Majumdar tells Jane Clayson that hope isn’t always noble in situations of crisis.

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

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

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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Philip Pullman’s new novel follows ‘The Golden Compass’ heroine into young adulthood

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

It’s been more than 30 years since Philip Pullman began the His Dark Materials series – and now, that story is coming to a close. Pullman’s latest book The Rose Field follows the series’ heroine Lyra Belacqua as she chases the same mystery she began unraveling as a child. In today’s episode, Pullman joins NPR’s Scott Detrow for a conversation that touches on organized religion, reimagining Lyra as an adult, and a central concept in the series – Dust.

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Revisiting ‘The Joy Luck Club’

Sat, 08 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

The stories of mothers and daughters trying to connect with each other, across time, space and generations – this is the centerpiece of Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club. This week, Andrew Limboong and B. A. Parker are joined by NPR’s The Indicator’s Wailin Wong to discuss how the desperation to bridge the divide between parent and child continues to be present in stories of immigrant families today. We are also joined by Jessamine Chan to discuss parenting in this present moment.

Wailin’s Recommendation: ‘The Fox Wife’ by Yangsze Choo

Parker’s Recommendation: ‘Beloved’ by Toni Morrison

Andrew’s Recommendation: ‘Afterparties: Stories’ by Anthony Veasna So

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Reese Witherspoon, Harlan Coben and Chris Kraus are out with new crime thrillers

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Today’s episode features two new crime thrillers written by big names. First, Harlan Coben says he stopped in his tracks when Reese Witherspoon asked to collaborate on a novel. In today’s episode, the co-authors speak with NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly about their collaboration on Gone Before Goodbye. Then, I Love Dick author Chris Kraus took an autofiction approach to her crime novel The Four Spent the Day Together. In an interview with NPR’s Elissa Nadworny, Kraus describes the protagonist as “me at the moment of the story.”

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These previously unpublished Harper Lee stories were discovered in her NYC apartment

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

After Harper Lee’s death in 2016, previously unpublished writing was discovered in her New York City apartment. The Land of Sweet Forever includes eight new short stories from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Lee wrote them a decade prior to To Kill a Mockingbird and some of the stories include early versions of Atticus and Scout, the characters who made her famous. In today’s episode, Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd interviews The New Yorker’s Casey Cep, who edited the collection.

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In 'The Eleventh Hour,' Salman Rushdie writes about morality, revenge and ghosts

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Salman Rushdie lived for decades under a death sentence and survived a knife attack three years ago. His latest book The Eleventh Hour is his first work of fiction since that near-death experience. These short stories and novellas center around the end of life, what might come after, and the idea of personal legacy. In today’s episode, Rushdie joins Here & Now’s Scott Tong for a conversation that touches on mortality, changes to the author’s writing process, and his first ghost story.

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Julian Brave Noisecat’s 'We Survived the Night' is part memoir, part Native history

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

As a newborn, Ed Archie NoiseCat was found in an incinerator at a Catholic-run Indian boarding school. In a new book We Survived the Night, his son, Julian Brave NoiseCat, writes about this trauma in the broader context of Native history in the United States and Canada. The book blends memoir and reporting, exploring a culture of silence around Native stories. In today’s episode, Julian Brave NoiseCat speaks with NPR’s Michel Martin about his efforts to understand both his father’s story and Native identity.

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Karine Jean-Pierre’s new memoir 'Independent' explains why she left the Democrats

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

For almost three years, Karine Jean-Pierre was White House press secretary for the Biden-Harris administration. Her new memoir, Independent, explains her recent decision to leave the Democratic Party and identify as an independent. In today’s episode, Jean-Pierre joins NPR’s Michel Martin for a conversation about Democratic disunity, former President Biden’s health, and why she says her former party has failed Black women.

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Revisiting Charles Portis’ True Grit

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Westerns are seemingly back in the culture. With the popularity of the television series Yellowstone and musical artists like Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter winning Album of the Year, it feels like we need to dust off our spurs and dig into this week’s book selection, Charles Portis’ True Grit. Andrew Limbong and B. A. Parker speak with NPR’s Morning Edition host, Michel Martin about how young Mattie Ross goes on the adventure of a lifetime with her father’s gun and hunger for vengeance – and how Portis’ young female lead illustrates real-world consequences.

This week's recommendations:

Andrew: Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy

Parker: Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery

Michel: Harriet the Spy, Louise Fitzhugh

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Stephen King on 'The Shining' sequel and the novel he co-authored with his son

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

In today’s episode, "King of Horror" Stephen King reflects on his sobriety, the sequel to The Shining and a novel he co-wrote with his son. First, The Shining came out in 1980, but King didn’t publish the sequel – Doctor Sleep – until more than 30 years later. In a 2013 interview, the author spoke with NPR’s David Greene about revisiting his iconic characters. Then, King and his son Owen co-wrote Sleeping Beauties after Owen approached his father with an idea for the book’s premise. In today’s episode, we revisit a 2017 conversation between the father-son duo and NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly.

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In 'The Hacienda,' the protagonist is trapped in a haunted house – and her marriage

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

After Mexico’s war for independence, a new bride finds herself alone in a haunted house surrounded by people who don't believe her. Isabel Cañas' debut novel The Hacienda blends romance, terror, and the supernatural to tell a story infused with Mexican culture. In a 2022 interview with Weekend Edition Sunday, Cañas told Ayesha Rascoe about the novel’s themes – colonialism, social status, the syncretism of Catholicism and indigenous practices – and her own fear of the dark.

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Shirley Jackson’s biographer on the writer’s ability to find evil in the ordinary

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

With stories like “The Lottery” and The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson was one of the great horror authors of the 20th century. In 2012, Ruth Franklin wrote a biography of the writer called Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life. In today’s episode, we revisit a conversation between Franklin and NPR’s Linda Wertheimer. They talk about Jackson’s childhood, domestic life, and her unique ability to see "extraordinary evil” under the surface of ordinary life.

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Princeton professor Susan Wolfson on why we love 'Frankenstein' two centuries later

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, written in 1818, permeated our cultural imagination in a way few stories have. With a new film adaptation directed by Guillermo del Toro out now, we’re revisiting a 2012 conversation about the Gothic classic. In today’s episode, NPR’s Rachel Martin speaks with Princeton English professor Susan Wolfson, who co-edited an annotated version of the book. They discuss Frankenstein’s representation in pop culture, film, and television – and Wolfson’s favorite depiction of the monster.

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'Interview with the Vampire' author Anne Rice takes NPR on a tour of her haunted home

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Novelist Anne Rice was known for her supernatural tales about vampires, witches, and ghosts. In 1976, she gained notoriety for Interview with the Vampire, the first book in The Vampire Chronicles series. In today’s episode, we revisit a 2003 conversation between Rice and NPR’s Liane Hansen about Rice's novel 'Blood Canticle' — and the spirits that haunted the author’s own home.

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Revisiting Anne Rice’s ‘Interview with the Vampire’

Sat, 25 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Do you ever get the feeling that you’re watching or reading… a lot about vampires? With the 20th anniversary of the Twilight book series upon us, plus the fact that one of the year’s biggest films, Sinners, happens to be a vampire movie, we feel like we can’t escape them - but maybe we don’t want to! On this week’s episode of Books We’ve Loved, Andrew Limbong and B.A. Parker are joined by longtime NPR editor Barrie Hardymon to talk all things Interview with the Vampire – including how author Anne Rice established the pensive prototype of the vampire as we know it today.

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'Paper Girl' and 'Joyride' are memoirs by journalists who get close to their subjects

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Today’s episode features new memoirs by journalists who aren’t afraid to connect deeply with their subjects. First, in Paper Girl, Beth Macy travels back to her hometown, Urbana, Ohio. In today’s episode, she tells NPR’s Ailsa Chang about the socioeconomic and cultural changes she found there. Then, Susan Orlean is known for going deep on niche subjects, like orchid enthusiasts or umbrella inventors. In today’s episode, she talks with NPR’s Scott Simon about her memoir Joyride and how she came across her best-known stories.

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This Palestinian journalist kept a diary as Israeli forces invaded – now it’s a book

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

As Israeli forces invaded Gaza in 2023, Palestinian journalist Plestia Alaqad kept a diary. Her writing is a record of the 45 days she spent reporting on the ground during the invasion until she evacuated. Now, she’s published her diary as a book called The Eyes of Gaza. In today’s episode, Alaqad joins NPR’s Lelia Fadel for a conversation about the journalist’s memories of home both before and after the conflict.

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A new James Baldwin biography asks how the writer’s lovers might’ve shaped him

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

The scholar Nicholas Boggs has a new perspective on James Baldwin. The new biography Baldwin: A Love Story considers how the writer and Civil Rights leader’s lovers might’ve shaped him. In today’s conversation with NPR’s Michel Martin, Boggs argues Baldwin provided a dynamic model for how we relate to other people – both in platonic and romantic relationships.

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Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir recounts abuse by Epstein, Maxwell and others

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Today’s episode centers an important voice in the still-unfolding story of Jeffrey Epstein. Virginia Roberts Giuffre survived abuse at the hands of Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and a number of powerful men. Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year. But before her death, she wrote a memoir called Nobody’s Girl. In today’s interview with NPR’s Leila Fadel, Giuffre’s collaborator on the project, Amy Wallace, and her brother, Sky Roberts, share what it was like for Giuffre to write about what she endured.

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Ken Liu’s latest novel ‘All That We See or Seem’ is speculative fiction about AI

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 10:05:46 +0000

Ken Liu is a big name in science fiction. His latest novel All That We See or Seem takes place in a world that’s not too different from ours. But in the book, AI is more embedded in day-to-day life and one character uses it to guide collective dream experiences. In today’s episode, Liu speaks with NPR’s Andrew Limbong about the novel’s hacker protagonist, dreams as knowledge, and how human patterns influence technology.

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Books We’ve Loved: Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, a blueprint to the modern romance

Sat, 18 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

This year, readers around the world are celebrating Jane Austen’s 250th birthday. On the inaugural episode of Books We’ve Loved, hosts Andrew Limbong and B.A. Parker are joined by Pop Culture Happy Hour’s Linda Holmes to discuss Austen’s seminal novel Pride & Prejudice. The trio weighs in on how the romance genre continues to reference the book’s “enemies to lovers” story – and why the tale’s leads Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy still make us and laugh and swoon even today. Special guest romance novelist, Casey McQuiston also drops by to share how Austen’s legacy provides inspiration for their own work.

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Cookbooks 'House of Nanking' and 'Boustany' honor rich family legacies through food

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Today’s episode features two new cookbooks that solidify family legacies through food. First, NPR’s Ailsa Chang joins Peter and Kathy Fang for a meal at House of Nanking in San Francisco. There, they discuss the father-daughter duo’s new cookbook named after the famed family restaurant. Then, Sami Tamimi’s cookbook Boustany celebrates vegetables in Palestinian cooking. In today’s episode, the chef and author speaks with Here & Now’s Robin Young about recipes from the book, which now serve as a record of what’s been lost during starvation and war in Gaza.

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'I Am You' fictionalizes the story of a Dutch Golden Age painter and her maid

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Dutch Golden Age painter Maria van Oosterwijck and her assistant, Gerta Pieters, lived side by side in 17th century Amsterdam, Pieters having started out as van Oosterwijck’s maid. Victoria Redel’s new historical novel I Am You fictionalizes their story, exploring their personal and working relationships. In today’s episode, Redel tells Here & Now’s Robin Young about expanding on what we know about the women – and whether it’s plausible they were lovers.

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'The Persian' is a spy thriller written by former CIA analyst David McCloskey

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

David McCloskey keeps writing spy thrillers – and the plots keep coming true. In the opening of his latest novel The Persian, Israel has just launched a surprise attack on Iran. But the author says he had already finished writing by the time conflict broke out between the two nations earlier this year. In today’s episode, McCloskey speaks with NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly about working at the intersection of reality and fiction, and having his work reviewed by the CIA.

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In her new memoir, Jeannie Vanasco gets 'A Silent Treatment' from her mom

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Jeannie Vanasco’s memoir A Silent Treatment is about the period her mother spent living in the basement apartment of Vanasco’s home. Sometimes, Vanasco’s mother would stop communicating altogether. The silent treatment could last a few days – but once, it lasted six months. In today’s episode, the author speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about how she came to understand her mother’s retreat.

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'Pick a Color' is a novel that takes place over a single day at a nail salon

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Ning is the manager of a nail salon where all of the workers wear a nametag with the same name – Susan. Pick A Color takes place over a single day at the salon and it’s the first novel by Souvankham Thammavongsa. In today’s episode, the poet and short story writer speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about Ning’s background as a prizefighter, what Thammavongsa has observed as a salon customer, and the author’s distinction between knowledge and intelligence.

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Introducing: Books We've Loved

Sat, 11 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Books We've Loved, a new limited series from Book of The Day. Every episode, we will dig into some of our favorite books, to make the case for picking up a book from the past. Hosted by Book of the Day’s Andrew Limbong and Code Switch’s B.A. Parker, they will be your guides through these timeless stories. Bringing on NPR voices and book nerds far and wide, they will discuss titles by authors like Anthony Bourdain, James Baldwin, and Jane Austen, and asking their guests questions like — why can’t they get this book out of their head? How did this book shift a paradigm, shake the culture, or change their life? And, most importantly, why should you read it now?

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These new mystery novels are 'whodunits' that might as well be called 'whydunits'

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Today’s episode features two mystery novels with special twists. First, The Killer Question is a story told via emails, WhatsApp messages and texts. When a new trivia team becomes suspiciously successful, egos are hurt and a body is found in the river. In today’s episode, author Janice Hallett joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about the mystery that unfolds. Then, Kill Your Darlings is a novel written in reverse: The murderer is revealed in the first chapter. In today’s episode, author Peter Swanson talks with NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly about the marriage at the center of the story.

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In 'Dream School,' Jeff Selingo wants parents to rethink what makes a ‘good’ college

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Over the past 20 years, the number of college applications filed to top schools has exploded. And while many American colleges accept most applicants, some parents and students hold tightly to the idea that prestige matters. In his new book Dream School: Finding the College That’s Right For You, journalist and higher education expert Jeff Selingo argues elite schools aren’t always the best. In today’s episode, Selingo speaks with NPR’s Michel Martin about why he wants to give parents permission to think more broadly about higher education.

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For her latest novel, Patricia Lockwood says she wanted to write about confusion

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 13:54:35 +0000

In Patricia Lockwood’s latest novel, the protagonist is an author named Patricia. Will There Ever Be Another You documents a four-year period of disorientation, disassociation and confusion after Patricia becomes severely ill. The story is based on Lockwood’s own experience with brain fog and other symptoms after becoming sick with Covid-19 in March 2020. In today’s episode, the real-life author talks with NPR’s Ari Shapiro about embodying confusion as she wrote about it.

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Mariana Enriquez’s new book connects her interest in cemeteries with Argentina’s past

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Cemeteries are not everyone’s idea of fun, but they’re a source of fascination for author Mariana Enriquez. Her new nonfiction book Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave is a collection of personal short stories she gathered while traveling to final resting places across four continents. In today’s episode, the author joins NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe for a conversation about her past as a goth, the connection between graves and Argentina’s dictatorship, and where Enriquez would like to be buried.

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'For the Sun After Long Nights' is a history of Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom Movement

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Three years ago, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman named Mahsa Jina Amini was fatally beaten by Iran’s morality police. She’d been arrested for not following the Islamic Republic’s dress code. Her death sparked the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement, one of the largest uprisings in Iran in decades. Journalists Fatemeh Jamalpour and Nilo Tabrizy tell this story in their new book For the Sun After Long Nights: The Story of Iran's Women-Led Uprising. In today’s episode, Jamalpour speaks with Here & Now’s Jane Clayson about the movement and Iran’s future.

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Two new history books use the past to explain what’s important now

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Two new history books make a strong case for why learning about the past is critical to understanding the world today. First, History Matters is a posthumous collection of writings by American historian David McCullough. In today’s episode, co-editor Dorie McCullough Lawson and historian Jon Meacham tell NPR’s Scott Simon about McCullough’s endless curiosity. Then, in Midnight on the Potomac, Scott Ellsworth explores little-known corners of Civil War history. In today’s episode, he speaks with Here & Now’s Sarah McCammon about long-held myths about the period.

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'F*** Approval, You Don’t Need It!' makes the case against ‘people pleasers’

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

In her new book, F*** Approval, You Don’t Need It!, therapist Lizzie Moult says people who seek the approval of others are doing a great disservice to themselves — and others too. In a conversation with Here & Now host Peter O’Dowd, Moult explains why being a “people pleaser” can be counterproductive.

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Angela Flournoy’s 'The Wilderness' focuses on a Black, female ‘chosen family’

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

The group of friends at the center of Angela Flournoy’s new novel, The Wilderness, are figuring out how to navigate life as they enter middle age. NPR’s Juana Summers spoke with the author about the evolving journey of her characters and what their ups and downs say about the dynamics of long-term friendships.

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Former senator Joe Manchin makes the case for the middle in the memoir 'Dead Center'

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Former West Virginia senator Joseph Manchin III was a gadfly in the ear of his own Democratic party for many years, and a sometime Republican ally. Manchin’s new memoir, Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense, is packed with stories about his relationships with the likes of President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden. In this interview with NPR’s Michel Martin, Manchin explains why this country needs an “American independent party."

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Ian McEwan’s latest novel ‘What We Can Know’ is science fiction without the science

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

At 77, the Booker Prize-winning British novelist Ian McEwan shows no signs of slowing down. His new novel, What We Can Know, is set in Great Britain in the 22nd century – a country now partly underwater as a result of global warming. In today’s episode, McEwan speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about the book’s plot – it tells of a search for a lost poem that was written in our own times – and notes that he is less interested in the future of science than that of the humanities, love and daily life.

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‘Peacemaker’ and ‘Tomorrow Is Yesterday’ are personal histories of diplomacy

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Two new books dive into the details of diplomacy. First, in the 1960s U Thant became the first non-Western secretary-general of the United Nations. Now his grandson, historian Thant Myint-U, has written Peacemaker, a new biography of the diplomat. In today’s episode, Thant speaks with NPR’s Michele Keleman about his grandfather’s journey. Then, Hussein Agha and Robert Malley have been a part of negotiations to end the conflict between Israel and Palestine. In today’s episode, they speak with NPR’s Scott Simon about their book Tomorrow Is Yesterday, a history of that failed peace process.

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Ken Jaworowski’s new crime novel ‘What About the Bodies’ has a surprising tender side

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Ken Jaworowski is out with a new crime novel with a surprising tender side. What About the Bodies is set in a fictional town past its glory days with a shuttered steel plant, closed coal mines, and a community that everyone talks about leaving. In today’s episode, the New York Times editor and author speaks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about the three characters who converge in his story, the failed novels that predated this project, and why Jaworowski says he’s a better editor than writer.

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‘Dark Renaissance’ historian on how Christopher Marlowe paved the way for Shakespeare

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

The Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe is known as Shakespeare’s greatest rival. But in his new book Dark Renaissance, historian Stephen Greenblatt makes the case that Marlowe paved the way for Shakespeare. In today’s episode, Greenblatt joins NPR’s Ari Shapiro for a conversation about what made Marlowe a “lost soul,” how the playwright navigated a world of intense censorship, and evidence that points to his role as a spy.

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‘Beyond Fast’ chronicles one coach’s unlikely revolution in high school cross-country

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

When Sean Brosnan started coaching the Newbury Park High School cross-country team, the school hadn't qualified for a state championship in 25 years. But within just three years, they were state champions. Now, the coach has written a memoir with Chris Lear and Andrew Greif called Beyond Fast: How A Renegade Coach And His Unlikely High School Team Revolutionized Distance Running. In today’s episode, he talks with NPR’s Scott Simon about what it meant to ask his runners for total commitment.

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In his new novel ‘The Secret of Secrets,’ Dan Brown takes on human consciousness

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, is out with his sixth book starring fictional Harvard professor Robert Langdon. In The Secret of Secrets, Langdon is dragged out of his comfort zone by a noetic scientist and finds reality is much stranger than he once imagined. In today’s episode, Brown joins NPR’s Scott Detrow for a conversation about how the author’s perspective on human consciousness shifted over the course of writing his latest novel.

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‘Long Way Down’ and ‘The Hate U Give’ are modern classics about gun violence

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

The final episode in our Back to School series focuses on two contemporary books that tell stories about gun violence. First, Jason Reynolds’ 2017 novel in verse Long Way Down centers on a moment of decision that occurs when a teenage boy is on his way to avenge his brother. In today’s episode, Reynolds speaks with NPR’s David Greene about avoiding one-dimensional characters and promoting literacy. Then, Angie Thomas’ 2017 debut The Hate U Give is about a girl who attends school in a neighborhood that’s very different from where she lives. In an interview with NPR’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Thomas discusses codeswitching and combatting the “ghetto girl” stereotype.

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What Toni Morrison learned from revisiting five of her most-read novels

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Arguably, no high school reading list is complete without one of Toni Morrison’s books. In today’s episode, we look back at a 2004 conversation between the author and NPR’s Renee Montagne, who visited Morrison to talk about a new paperback re-release of five of her novels. The interview focuses on Morrison’s perspective on hauntings, apparitions and ghosts, including the way Morrison’s late father helped her complete Song of Solomon.

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Sandra Cisneros’ ‘The House on Mango Street’ was born from a feeling of displacement

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street is a series of vignettes drawn from the experiences of a Mexican-American girl living in Chicago. Since its publication in 1983, it’s become required reading for high school students across the country. In today’s Back to School episode, we revisit a 2009 conversation between the author and NPR’s Renee Montagne, which recognized the book’s 25th anniversary.

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In her translation of ‘The Odyssey,’ Emily Wilson aimed for ‘a crystalline clarity’

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

In 2017, Emily Wilson became the first woman to translate Homer’s The Odyssey into English – more than three millennia after the epic’s inception. In the second installment of our Back to School series, Wilson talks with NPR’s Lauren Frayer about how she approached aspects of her translation, including social hierarchies and Homeric epithets.

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Jhumpa Lahiri says the phrase ‘Interpreter of Maladies’ came to her in grad school

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

It’s Back to School week at NPR’s Book of the Day, which means we’re looking back at interviews with authors who may have shown up on your high school syllabus. First, Jhumpa Lahiri debuted her short story collection Interpreter of Maladies in 1999. In the title story, an American family visits India and their guide develops an infatuation with the wife. In today’s episode, Lahiri speaks with NPR’s Liane Hansen about the inspiration behind the book’s title, the author’s relationship with speaking Bengali, and Lahiri’s experience writing a story from a male perspective.

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‘2024’ and ‘From the Clinics to the Capitol’ dissect opposing political movements

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 02:31:42 +0000

Today’s episode features two books that dissect very different case studies in politics: Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign and the anti-abortion movement. First, in July 2024, Harris’ presidential campaign launched like a rocket – but it seemed to stall shortly after. 2024 goes behind the scenes of the Harris team as they leapt into the race months before the election. In today’s episode, NPR’s Scott Detrow speaks with two of the book’s authors, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf, about how Harris’ inner circle saw crucial campaign moments. Then, Carol Mason’s new book From the Clinics to the Capitol breaks down the political strategy of the anti-abortion movement. In today’s episode, she speaks with NPR’s Sarah McCammon about ties between the movement and white nationalism.

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In Meg Medina’s new young adult novel, a 13-year-old girl becomes a sea ghost

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Meg Medina’s new young adult novel begins with a fall: Graciela, a 13-year-old-girl, is blown off a cliff and sucked into the bottom of the sea. A century later, she awakens and her afterlife begins. Most of the characters in Graciela in the Abyss are ghosts and spirits, but Medina says the story is really about life. In today’s episode, she joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on the author’s “graveyard” of ideas, death as a constant, and her role as the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

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‘Misbehaving at the Crossroads’ is a lesson in the complexity of reconciliation

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

In her first nonfiction book Misbehaving at the Crossroads, Honoree Fanonne Jeffers weaves together history, political commentary and poetry that centers Black women. The poet and novelist’s essays explore what it’s like to occupy an intersectional identity while excavating the past. In today’s episode, Jeffers speaks with NPR’s Juana Summers about how writing this book led to a surprising reconciliation within her family.

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In Rabih Alameddine’s new novel, a mother and son share a tiny Beirut apartment

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Raja teaches philosophy to high schoolers and shares an apartment with his 82-year-old mother, Zalfa. Rabih Alameddine explores their relationship – and other forms of intimacy – in his new novel The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother). In today’s episode, the author joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about Raja’s self-deprecation, Zalfa’s relationship with another older woman, and Alameddine’s mother’s memory loss.

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Tamara Yajia’s memoir recounts a chaotic upbringing between the U.S. and Argentina

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Tamara Yajia’s memoir Cry for Me, Argentina describes a chaotic upbringing between Argentine and American cultures. A big focus of the memoir is her “insane” family, who exposed Yajia to a high level of sexual openness, including group excursions to Buenos Aires’ red-light district. In today’s episode, the writer speaks with NPR’s Ailsa Chang about her mixed experience as a childhood performer, a formative moment involving Madonna’s “Like a Prayer,” and the way humor has “kept [her] alive.”

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‘Papilio’ and ‘Chooch Helped’ are children’s books brought to life by friendship

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Two children’s books were brought to life by close collaborations, one between longtime friends and another that began with a chance encounter. First, Papilio follows an adventurous caterpillar through different stages of metamorphosis, each written and illustrated by three friends: Ben Clanton, Corey R. Tabor, and Andy Chou Musser. In today’s episode, the authors speak with NPR’s Scott Simon about how they made each section of the book their own. Then, author Andrea L. Rogers and illustrator Rebecca Kunz met by chance at the Cherokee National Holiday. Their book, Chooch Helped, went on to win the 2025 Caldecott Medal. In today’s episode, they talk with NPR’s Scott Simon about writing a sibling story.

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In ‘The Sunflower Boys,’ a 12-year-old boy comes of age during war in Ukraine

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Artem is a 12-year-old Ukrainian boy who likes to spend summer days on his grandfather’s sunflower farm swimming with his younger brother, Yuri. But one night in February 2022, they hear sirens and bomb blasts – and soon, they’re fleeing war. Sam Wachman’s debut novel The Sunflower Boys was inspired by his ancestral ties to Ukraine and his experience volunteering with Ukrainian children. In today’s episode, he joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about national history, the boys he tutored, and the sense of mission behind his writing.

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‘Friends with Words’ is a book about language, from word origins to regional dialects

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

For Martha Barnette, griping about grammatical pet peeves is one of the least interesting ways to talk about language. Instead, the co-host of the radio show “A Way with Words” says she’d rather think about word origins, regional dialects, slang, or that phrase your grandma used to say. Her new book Friends with Words is full of surprising facts about language. In today’s episode, she talks with Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd about the “spark word” that launched her language journey, some of her favorite etymologies, and why people hate the word moist.

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Kate Riley’s novel ‘Ruth’ was inspired by her year in an insular religious community

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Author Kate Riley says her book Ruth was partly based on her year spent living in an insular religious community. The debut novel explores what it’s like to live in a world without total access to information, despite the protagonist's intense curiosity. In today’s episode, Riley speaks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about the Peace Church tradition, how her interior life shaped the novel, and why this might be Riley’s first and last book.

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In his memoir, poet Raymond Antrobus writes of ‘deaf gain’ instead of hearing loss

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

When poet Raymond Antrobus was 6 years old, he learned he was deaf. His new memoir The Quiet Ear describes living in a world of in-betweenness, straddling intersections of race, class, hearing and deafness. In today’s episode, Antrobus joins NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly for a discussion that touches on his connection with the creative deaf community in London, his dad’s DJ sets, and differences between British and American Sign Language.

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‘Your Favorite Scary Movie’ and ‘Ready for My Close-Up’ are histories of iconic films

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Ashley Cullins and David Lubin are out with new books that delve into the histories of iconic films. First, in 1996, the character Ghostface was introduced to audiences in the first Scream movie. Cullins has written a history of these films–which are still being made–called Your Favorite Scary Movie. In today’s episode, she joins NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe to talk about the franchise. Then, this year marks the 75th anniversary of Sunset Boulevard – and Lubin has written an anatomy of the film called Ready for My Close-Up. In today’s episode, he speaks with NPR’s Ailsa Chang about genre-jumping, comeback narratives, and elements of the film that still feel current.

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Eighty years after Hiroshima, a new book narrates the history of the atomic bomb

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 07:05:00 +0000

It’s been 80 years since the United States detonated atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, resulting in more than 200,000 deaths. Garrett Graff’s new book The Devil Reached Toward the Sky is an oral history from scientists, politicians, pilots, soldiers and survivors of these weapons. In today’s episode, he speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about the development of the atomic bomb, the lived experience of those who survived the attacks, and the threat of nuclear war today.

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In the novel ‘Loved One,’ an ambiguous friendship is further complicated by loss

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Aisha Muharrar’s debut novel Loved One is about a woman’s effort to understand her relationship with a friend who’s recently died. Julia had been friends with Gabe for nearly a decade after the two briefly dated – but their relationship became complicated right before his death. In today’s episode, Muharrar joins NPR’s Juana Summers for a conversation about ambiguous loss, uncertainty, and how the author hoped to write a book about grief that wouldn’t depress people.

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‘Dinner with King Tut’ follows experimental archaeologists as they recreate the past

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 07:00:00 +0000

To write his latest book Dinner with King Tut, Sam Kean joined a group of experimental archaeologists who learn by doing. These researchers aim to recreate the sites, sounds, smells and tastes of lost civilizations in order to solve mysteries about how people lived. In today’s episode, Kean talks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about eating caterpillars, making acorn bread, and the tension between experimental archaeologists and their academic counterparts.

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For her 25th book, Karin Slaughter wanted to capture life in small-town Georgia

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Karin Slaughter’s new book opens on a hot summer night in Georgia. It’s Madison Dalrymple’s 15th birthday and she has a big night planned with her best friend. But both girls go missing and there’s no easy answer to what happened to them. We Are All Guilty Here is the crime writer’s 25th book in 25 years of writing. In today’s episode, Slaughter joins NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly for a conversation that touches on the dynamics of small Southern towns and the impact of the 1979-1981 Atlanta child murders.

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‘Cook Once, Eat Twice’ and ‘Accidentally on Purpose’ are new books from cooking stars

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Nadiya Hussain and Kristen Kish are winners of two of the most popular cooking shows on television – and they’re both out with new books about life and food. First, Hussain won The Great British Baking Show in 2015. Her latest cookbook Cook Once, Eat Twice is about simplicity, efficiency, and turning one dish into two different meals. In today’s episode, she speaks with NPR’s Sarah McCammon about a two-part recipe from her cookbook. Then, Kristen Kish won season 10 of Top Chef, but says she wasn’t always comfortable being showcased. Her new memoir Accidentally on Purpose tells the story of that journey. In today’s episode, she talks with Here & Now’s Jane Clayson about growing up adopted, working at fast food restaurants, and filling in for Padma Lakshmi on Top Chef.

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‘Atlantic’ writer James Parker says his odes are exercises in gratitude and attention

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 07:00:00 +0000

James Parker finds inspiration for odes in small and large things: history, America, brain farts, his flip phone, Pablo Neruda, meditation. The Atlantic staff writer’s book Get Me Through the Next Five Minutes spans these subjects and more. In today’s episode, Parker joins Here & Now’s Anthony Brooks for a conversation that touches on the subjects he’s found difficult to write odes to, the origins of ode, and what it means to stay ode-ready.

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In ‘The Hounding,’ rumors swirl around five sisters living in 18th-century England

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Author Xenobe Purvis says the premise for her new novel is based on a nugget of history. In 1700, a doctor reported that five sisters in Oxfordshire, England were said to be “seized with frequent barking in the manner of dogs.” Purvis’ The Hounding imagines what happens to these girls after a ferryman starts a dangerous rumor about them. In today’s episode, Purvis talks with NPR’s Scott Simon about rumors, gossip and the danger of being a girl in society.

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Alexis Okeowo’s ‘Blessings and Disasters’ is an ode to Alabama’s complicated history

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 09:31:38 +0000

Alexis Okeowo grew up in Alabama. But it wasn’t until they left for college that Okeowo realized the strong stereotypes outsiders held about their home state. With their new book Blessings and Disasters, the New Yorker staff writer blends memoir and reporting to tell an alternate history of Alabama. In today’s episode, Okeowo speaks with NPR’s Emily Kwong about those who are often excluded from the state’s history, including the Poarch Creek Indians and Alabama’s West African communities.

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‘Dwelling’ fictionalizes the American housing crisis with elements of fairy tale

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 11:08:58 +0000

In Emily Hunt Kivel’s new novel Dwelling, a mass eviction in New York City throws a young woman’s life into chaos. Suddenly homeless, Evie relocates to Gulluck, Texas, where she moves into a giant cowboy boot, the only rental property she can afford. In today’s episode, Kivel joins NPR’s Adrian Ma for a discussion about how she approached American capitalism through the lens of fairy tales.

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For the authors of ‘Reading Van Gogh,’ ‘Black in Blues,’ art opened a door to meaning

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 07:00:00 +0000

In today’s episode, the authors of two recently released nonfiction books search for meaning in art. First, Elizabeth Barks Cox’s Reading Van Gogh: An Amateur’s Search for God chronicles her infatuation with the painter’s writings, especially those on spirituality. In today’s episode, Cox joins Here & Now’s Lisa Mullins for a conversation that touches on the artist’s eye for beauty and despair – and why the author says she fell “a little bit in love with him.” Then, Harvard professor Imani Perry’s book Black in Blues tells the story of Black history through the color blue. In today’s episode, Perry speaks with Here & Now’s Scott Tong about the many ways blue appears in African American culture, art and literature.

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In ‘Human Nature,’ Kate Marvel bridges the gap between climate science and emotions

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Kate Marvel is a climate scientist who has testified before Congress and served as lead author of the U.S. National Climate Assessment. But in her new book Human Nature, she takes a different approach to climate change, exploring the crisis through nine emotions. In today's episode, the scientist and author speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about watching the world end through computer models, pushing back against emotional neutrality, and her book’s chapter on pride.

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Jason Mott’s new novel ‘People Like Us’ is metafiction that was almost memoir

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 07:00:00 +0000

In 2021, Jason Mott won the National Book Award for Hell of a Book. Now, he’s out with a new novel called People Like Us, in which two Black writers navigate life in the United States in an era of gun violence. Mott says the book is loosely based on himself – and leans into the audience’s tendency to conflate authors with the stories they write. In today’s episode, Mott talks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about his personal relationships with American identity, guns, and fiction.

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‘Sloppy’ author Rax King says she’s inspired by writers who did their best work sober

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Author Rax King says her new book of essays Sloppy is unified by themes of “addiction and bad habits.” King has been sober from alcohol and cocaine for three years and in these essays, she openly shares her sobriety journey. In today’s episode, King speaks with NPR’s Juana Summers about why the author doesn’t see addiction as a shameful secret, King’s relationship with her dad, and learning to generate creativity without substances.

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A new mystery novel by Liza Tully pairs a green assistant with a seasoned detective

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 07:00:00 +0000

In a new murder mystery, a young woman, Olivia Blunt, is eager to impress her new boss, a no-nonsense detective named Aubrey Merritt. This intergenerational pairing is at the center of The World’s Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant, the latest novel from Liza Tully, which is the pen name of author Elisabeth Brink. In today’s episode, Tully joins NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe for a conversation that touches on why the author chose to write this duo, how she lays out her clues, and what draws readers to murder mysteries.

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2 new books were inspired by dark moments in Japanese and Japanese American history

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Authors Tracy Slater and Julia Riew published two very different books last month that were inspired by a similar time in history. First, Together in Manzanar is set during the incarceration of Japanese Americans following Pearl Harbor. The book tells the real-life story of a mother who had to decide whether to go to a concentration camp with her 3-year-old Japanese American son or stay back with her daughter, who was white. In today’s episode, Slater speaks with NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer about this family’s story. Next, The Last Tiger is a fictional book for young readers about the Japanese occupation of Korea. In today’s episode, its co-author Julia Riew talks with NPR’s Scott Simon about writing the book with her brother and how their grandparents shaped the story.

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‘The Feather Detective’ is a biography of Roxie Layboune, forensic ornithologist

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 07:00:00 +0000

In 1960, a commercial flight was struck by a flock of birds, resulting in a deadly crash. Evidence was sent to the Smithsonian, where a woman named Roxie Laybourne successfully identified the species of bird involved. That case began her career as the first forensic ornithologist – and Laybourne’s work is the subject of Chris Sweeney’s new book, The Feather Detective. In today’s episode, Sweeney joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about Laybourne’s unique expertise, her influence on aviation safety, and the sexism she faced as a female scientist.

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In Lisa Smith’s ‘Jamaica Road,’ a young girl searches for belonging in 1980s London

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Lisa Smith’s debut novel Jamaica Road is a coming of age story and romance set in 1980s London. The story follows Daphne, a young girl born to a Jamaican family, and her best friend Connie over the course of 12 years as they contend with love, hatred and some historical events in British history. In today’s episode, Smith talks with Here & Now’s Deborah Becker about growing up as “the posh Black girl,” writing patois, and a surprising character’s presence in the novel.

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‘Algospeak’ looks at algorithms' transformative impact on how we speak on and offline

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Words like "rizz" and "skibidi" didn’t exist just a few years ago, but now they’re used and understood by millions of people. In his new book, Algospeak, linguist and content creator Adam Aleksic argues our language is evolving at a rapid pace. And he says this is driven in large part by social media algorithms that amplify linguistic trends. In today’s episode, Aleksic speaks with NPR’s Adrian Ma about the engagement treadmill, influencer accents and why the word "skibidi" will be out of style within the year.

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Katie Yee's 'Maggie' approaches a tough diagnosis - and a marriage's end - with humor

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 14:07:06 +0000

In Katie Yee's debut novel 'Maggie; Or, a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar,' the unnamed protagonist is contending with the end of her marriage and a breast cancer diagnosis. But these topics are approached with humor, which Yee says is essential to stay sane. In today's episode, the author joins Here & Now's Asma Khalid for a conversation about the relationship women have with their bodies, the affair at the center of the novel, and writing about race and identity.

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New books by Irene Vega, Tim Weiner chronicle changes to federal agencies under Trump

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Two new books add context to changes at federal agencies under the Trump administration. First, Irene Vega interviewed 90 ICE agents over a number of years for her book Bordering on Indifference. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's A Martínez about the frequent tension between agents' professional and personal backgrounds. Then, Tim Weiner's new book The Mission considers how the CIA is reimagining the art of espionage in the modern era. In today's episode, he talks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about what he calls an "ideological purge" at the CIA under President Trump and how technology can make spying more difficult.

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'On Her Game' is Christine Brennan's portrait of basketball star Caitlin Clark

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In 2024, ratings for the NCAA women's basketball final topped the men's final by 4 million viewers – and Caitlin Clark was largely responsible. American sports fans fell in love with the athlete and Clark, now with the Indiana Fever, went on to become a star. Christine Brennan's new book On Her Game looks at the athlete's role in U.S. sports and culture. In today's episode, Brennan talks with NPR's Scott Simon about Clark's time playing on a boys' team, conversations about race surrounding her success, and pay disparities between the NBA and WNBA.

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Short story collection 'Heart Lamp' is the winner of the International Booker Prize

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Heart Lamp, this year's International Booker Prize winner, is the first short story collection to receive the award. It is also the first time the prize has been awarded to an author writing in Kannada and a translator from India. The collection tells the stories of women living in southern India against a backdrop of poverty and patriarchal systems. In today's episode, author Banu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi join Here & Now's Asma Khalid to discuss the collection and the impact of the prize.

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In Sophie Elmhirst's 'A Marriage at Sea,' a couple tries to keep themselves afloat

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 09:49:47 +0000

In 1972, Maurice and Maralyn Bailey set out from England to sail around the world. Partway through the voyage, a whale knocked a hole in their boat, leaving the couple stranded at sea. A Marriage at Sea, a new book by Sophie Elmhirst, chronicles how the Baileys struggled to survive for months as they awaited rescue. In today's episode, the author speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the Baileys' story.

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Through politics, fiction and her latest novel, Stacey Abrams aims to inspire action

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Avery Keene has unraveled international conspiracies and investigated mysteries involving the Supreme Court, but now she's focused on what could be a deadly side of artificial intelligence. That's the setup for the novel Coded Justice, the latest legal thriller by Stacey Abrams, former Georgia State Representative and two-time gubernatorial candidate. In today's episode, Abrams joins NPR's Michel Martin for a conversation about the intersection of AI and healthcare, a GOP-led investigation into the New Georgia Project, and how Abrams views her role in politics today.

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'No Sense in Wishing' and 'Hit Girls' consider the way culture shapes identity

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Two new books explore how culture shapes our identity. First, Lawrence Burney's essay collection, No Sense in Wishing, is an appreciation of the arts and artists that shaped him as he grew up in Baltimore. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about his influences, from Gil Scott Heron to local Baltimore rappers. Then, Nora Princiotti's Hit Girls takes a serious look at the impact of female pop stars from the 2000s. In today's episode, she talks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about her obsession with millennial pop culture.

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After 20 years, Mary Jo Bang has completed her translation of Dante's 'Divine Comedy'

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

About 20 years ago, Mary Jo Bang read a poem that inspired her to take on a translation of Dante's Divine Comedy. At first, she began with just three lines – but two decades later, she's completed all three parts: "Inferno," "Purgatorio" and "Paradiso." In today's episode, she joins NPR's Ari Shapiro for a conversation about translating Dante into contemporary language, why English is a "rhyme-poor" language, and the parallels between Dante's journey and her own.

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Mark Kurlansky's novel 'Cheesecake' was inspired by a recipe from ancient Rome

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In Mark Kurlansky's novel Cheesecake, a Greek family living on Manhattan's Upper West Side sets out to follow a recipe dating back to ancient Rome. What results is a block-wide battle to make the best cheesecake, set against the backdrop of a quickly-changing neighborhood. In today's episode, Kurlansky talks with NPR's Scott Simon about coming across the oldest written recipe, the food writer's relationship to fiction, and Kurlansky's own favorite cheesecake.

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In her new memoir, Hala Alyan searches for home amid a family history of exile

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Palestinian American writer Hala Alyan has a personal history of exile. Over the years, the author and her relatives have been displaced from their homes in Gaza, Kuwait, and Lebanon – and she says it's difficult to fully separate herself from these places. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Leila Fadel about her new memoir I'll Tell You When I'm Home, which contends with themes including exile, infertility, surrogacy, and motherhood.

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Aisling Rawle's 'The Compound' follows characters on a semi-dystopian reality TV show

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 10:16:47 +0000

Aisling Rawle's The Compound explores reality television as a kind of dystopia. In the novel, a group of men and women live on a compound in the middle of a desert, where they participate in house competitions and vie for personal awards. In today's episode, Rawle joins NPR's Pien Huang for a conversation that touches on binge-watching Love Island as research, how the author came up with The Compound's rules and rewards, and how her characters perceive their own desirability.

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New biographies look at the careers of designers Claire McCardell and Virgil Abloh

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 16:21:17 +0000

Two new books look at the lives and careers of designers who revolutionized American fashion. First, Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson is out with Claire McCardell, a biography of a lesser-known designer who radically changed the way we think about women's clothing. In today's episode, Dickinson speaks with NPR's Andrew Limbong about the history of pockets and the psychology of what we wear. Then, Robin Givhan joins NPR's Michel Martin to discuss Make It Ours, her new cultural history of Virgil Abloh. They discuss how Abloh redefined luxury fashion, despite beginning his career as an industry outsider.

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Congress has voted to eliminate government funding for public media

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 13:11:42 +0000

Act now to ensure public media remains free and accessible to all. Your donation will help this essential American service survive and thrive. Visit donate.npr.org now.

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'Trailblazer' is a memoir by Carol Moseley Braun, first Black woman elected to Senate

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 07:00:29 +0000

Carol Moseley Braun is a woman of many firsts. She was both the first Black woman and Black Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate, and the first female senator from Illinois. In her new memoir Trailblazer, Moseley Braun shares the highs – and high costs – of breaking these barriers. In today's episode, she talks with NPR's Michel Martin about her political origin story and the high expectations she faced while in office.

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Liane Moriarty on her novel 'Here One Moment' and on writing 'women's fiction'

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In Liane Moriarty's Here One Moment, a woman on a flight from Tasmania to Sydney, Australia looks around at her fellow passengers and reveals how each of them will die. Moriarty says the idea for the novel – which is now out in paperback – came to her during a time when she was contemplating her own mortality. In today's episode, the author speaks with Here & Now's Robin Young about putting her characters in difficult situations and being known as an author of women's fiction.

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'The Last Sweet Bite' is a cookbook that documents the way conflict changes cuisine

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Michael Shaikh's The Last Sweet Bite is filled with recipes, but it's also a document that reflects the way conflict alters cuisine. The project, which blends travel writing, memoir and the traditional cookbook structure, profiles six regions impacted by war, violence and genocide. In today's episode, Shaikh joins NPR's Leila Fadel for a conversation that touches on how he went from covering human rights abuses in conflict zones to creating this non-traditional cookbook.

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In Ann Patchett's latest, a mother tells her daughters about a seminal summer

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

The author Ann Patchett has talked about her decision to focus on her writing and to forgo entering the world of motherhood. But in her latest book, Tom Lake, the main character Lara made a different choice: She chose being a mother over pursuing acting and the fame that may have come with it. In today's episode, Patchett speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the decision to make Lara a mother who is reveling in time spent with her daughters, sharing the tale of one seminal summer before they were born.

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New books ask how we can protect threatened land in the Amazon rainforest and Hawaii

Fri, 11 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Two new books ask how we might protect vulnerable ecosystems in the Amazon rainforest and Hawaii. First, journalist Dom Phillips was reporting in the Amazon when he and a colleague were shot and killed. Phillips was in the middle of writing a book – and now, that project, How to Save the Amazon, has been completed by his widow and a team of contributors. In today's episode, Alessandra Sampaio, Phillip's widow, and co-author Jonathan Watts join NPR's Ari Shapiro to discuss the challenges they faced in completing the book. Then, Sara Kehaulani Goo's new book, Kuleana, chronicles her family's effort to hold onto ancestral land in Hawaii. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about her own complex relationship with Hawaii and what tourists might consider before they visit.

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With novel 'Among Friends,' Hal Ebbott says he wanted to take friendship seriously

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In Hal Ebbott's debut novel, Among Friends, two wealthy New York families are spending a weekend in the country. They've gotten together for decades – but one act ruptures their close ties. In today's episode, Ebbott tells Here & Now's Asma Khalid that he's drawn to story premises where a lot happens in a tightly-contained space. They also discuss Ebbott's interest in writing about an event's aftermath more than the event itself, his decision to write a world where marriage orbits friendship, and how he landed on the book's ending.

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David Litt's new memoir is about finding common ground through surfing

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Former Obama speechwriter David Litt and his brother-in-law, Matt, couldn't be more different. But during the pandemic, Matt taught Litt how to surf. The time they spent together out on the water created what Litt refers to as "neutral ground" – a space that isn't coded as liberal or conservative. In today's episode, Litt speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about his new memoir, It's Only Drowning. They discuss the way surfing changed Litt's approach to fear, political discussions, and his perceptions of Matt.

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In the new speculative novel 'Weepers,' mourning is outsourced to professionals

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In Peter Mendelsund's novel Weepers, many in the world are concerned they'll be replaced by smart machines. But a cowboy poet named Ed has found work in the American Southwest. He's a professional weeper, part of a group of union workers hired to mourn at funerals. In today's episode, Mendelsund tells NPR's Scott Simon that the novel was inspired, in part, by the author's own experience with depression and "oversensitivity."

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Ten years later, Ta-Nehisi Coates says 'Between the World and Me' is no longer his

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Ten years ago, Ta-Nehisi Coates published Between the World and Me, written as a letter to his then-15-year-old son. The book was released shortly after a shooting at Mother Emanuel church in Charleston left nine people dead – and it became a literary phenomenon as many Americans searched for answers about the state of race relations in the United States. In today's episode, Coates reflects on the 10 year anniversary of Between the World and Me. He speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about the book's dedication, efforts to ban his work, and the role of writers in the public sphere.

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Kevin Kwan explores race and identity in 'Sex and Vanity' and 'Lies and Weddings'

Fri, 04 Jul 2025 09:44:19 +0000

Today's encore episode features two interviews with Kevin Kwan, author of the Crazy Rich Asians series. First, former NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro spoke to the writer in 2020 about Sex and Vanity, exploring identity through the lens of a biracial character and setting a new trilogy between Europe and the U.S. Then, Here & Now's Robin Young asks Kwan about his newest novel, Lies and Weddings, and his thoughts on the fascination with wealth and power in literature.

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In Emma Straub's novel 'All Adults Here,' family is messy

Thu, 03 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Author Emma Straub has written a book about family dynamics and the mess and love that comes with them in All Adults Here. It's no secret that families are complicated. Straub argues a lot of our familial relationships are about watching each other grow up — and whether or not you allow those you love to grow and change. In today's encore episode, she told NPR's Scott Simon that even the imperfect bits are worth loving.

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In 'Lessons in Chemistry' a chemist is the star of... a cooking show?

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Bonnie Garmus' novel Lessons in Chemistry got a lot of buzz when it was first released in 2022. Elizabeth Zott is a talented chemist but because it's the 1960s, she faces sexism in her quest to work as a scientist. So instead, she has a cooking show that is wildly popular. In this encore episode, Garmus told NPR's Scott Simon that the character of Elizabeth lived in her head for many years before she started writing this novel.

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'The Rachel Incident' looks back on early-20s friendships, love and mistakes

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

The novel The Rachel Incident is rooted around a wonderful, messy friendship. Rachel and James live together, party, and get themselves into a peculiar situation with an older married couple. In today's encore episode, author Caroline O'Donoghue speaks with NPR's Miles Parks about how abortion and sexual repression in Irish society play a large role in Rachel's early adulthood. O'Donoghue also shares why it was important to her that the novel be told from an older Rachel's perspective, reflecting on her youth.

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Emily Henry's 'Funny Story' centers a new character in rom-com tropes

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 11:39:39 +0000

Two childhood best friends realize they're in love and break up with their significant others to be together – that's a classic romantic-comedy storyline. But in her book, Funny Story, author Emily Henry wonders about some of the other forgotten cast members: what happens to the people who got dumped along the way? In today's encore episode, NPR's Juana Summers asks Henry about writing male characters that go to therapy, leaning into the cringey moments of falling in love and looking up to her own parents' relationship.

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New books by Damon Young and Dennard Dayle take different routes to humor

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Today on the show, two new books take different routes to humor. First, writer Damon Young is out with an anthology of comedic essays called That's How They Get You. Young says he reached out to people who represent the expansiveness of Black humor and gave them one directive: Be funny. In today's episode, Young talks with NPR's Juana Summers about his essay on his relationship with Invisalign. Then, Dennard Dayle's fixation with the Civil War was the impetus for his satirical novel How to Dodge a Cannonball. The book follows a teenage Union flag twirler as he switches sides, steals uniforms, and claims to be an octoroon. In today's episode, Dayle chats with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about taking a comedic approach to history.

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'The Pretender' centers on a real peasant who learns he is heir to England's throne

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In 1483, a 10-year-old peasant named John Collan is visited by a stranger who shares a life-changing piece of information. John isn't the son of a farmer, but the Duke of Clarence – and it's time for him to reclaim his destiny as king of England. Jo Harkin's novel The Pretender expands on this footnote of history from the Tudor period. In today's episode, she joins NPR's Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on her approach to historical fiction, which includes filling in gaps left by patchy records from the 15th century.

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In 'The Science of Revenge,' an expert explains why humans are hardwired for payback

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In his new book, The Science of Revenge, James Kimmel Jr. argues that there is a human desire to get even – and it might even be an addiction. Kimmel Jr., a professor at the Yale School of Medicine, realized his own taste for retaliation as a teenager and later felt that he would benefit from a kind of "revenge rehab." In today's episode, the author tells NPR's Michel Martin that revenge lights up the same area of the brain activated by drug addiction. They also discuss the role of revenge in U.S. politics and the biological benefits of forgiveness.

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'Great Black Hope' is a character study of a young, Black, queer man in high society

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Smith – the protagonist in Great Black Hope – is at a party in the Hamptons when he's arrested for cocaine possession. Smith is a young, Black, queer man of privilege who's floated through New York's largely white downtown social scene – but that changes when his roommate is found dead. In today's episode, author Rob Franklin joins NPR's Ayesha Rascoe to talk about his debut novel. They discuss Black respectability politics, the long tradition of bored rich kids in the literary canon, and the novel's origins.

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'Fatherhood' traces a history of masculinity, from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 10:01:36 +0000

Historian Augustine Sedgewick became a father in the summer of 2017. At the time, media events like the Bill Cosby trial were publicly challenging ideals of masculinity and fatherhood. Motivated by care for his son, Sedgewick began to research the history of masculinity and the figure of the dad. His new book Fatherhood approaches the topic through historical examples, from figures like Aristotle and Henry VIII to the work of Sigmund Freud. In today's episode, Sedgewick tells NPR's Steve Inskeep that men – like women – face impossible standards as parents, but are less likely to talk about them.

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New books by Carl Hiaasen and John Seabrook tell distinctly American stories

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 12:51:45 +0000

Carl Hiaasen and John Seabrook are out with new books that draw from their personal experiences in order to tell distinctly American stories. First, many of the scenarios in the novel Fever Beach were inspired by Hiaasen's experience living in Florida. The book satirizes the white nationalist movement, following a ragtag militia that forms when its leader is kicked out of the Proud Boys. In today's episode, Hiaasen speaks with Here & Now's Robin Young about striking a balance between satire and reality. Then, New Jersey's Seabrook Farms was once called the biggest vegetable factory on earth. But the family that ran it – according to John Seabrook – was backstabbing, alcoholic, and ruthless. In The Spinach King, Seabrook tells the true story behind his family's empire. In today's episode, he joins NPR's Ari Shapiro for a conversation about the man behind Seabrook Farms, the violence that underlies large fortunes, and family betrayal.

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Evan Osnos' 'The Haves and Have-Yachts' is a book of essays about the new Gilded Age

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 12:42:32 +0000

Following Donald Trump's election in 2016, New Yorker reporter Evan Osnos wanted to understand what the president's wealth and status represented in the minds of his supporters – and in American culture at large. Osnos began reporting on the lives of the ultrawealthy, including the small but growing billionaire class. Now, Osnos has published a collection of essays The Haves and Have-Yachts, which explores the American relationship to immense wealth through anecdotes about superyachts, private concerts with pop stars, and doomsday preppers. In today's episode, Osnos speaks with NPR's Frank Langfitt about widening inequality, status anxieties among oligarchs, and what it feels like to live in a new Gilded Age.

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Leisha Hailey and Kate Moennig reflect on 'The L Word' in memoir 'So Gay For You'

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

By the early 2000s, only a handful of queer female characters had ever been featured on television. Then, The L Word entered the scene in 2004, exploring lesbian identity, friendship and sex over six seasons and a 2019 reboot. Now, two of The L Word's stars – Leisha Hailey and Kate Moennig – are out with a new memoir So Gay For You. In today's episode, the authors talk with NPR's Juana Summers about the way representation of queer characters has changed since the 2000s, the parts of the show that didn't stand the test of time, and their tips for lifelong friendship.

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For a novel on the first women astronauts, Taylor Jenkins Reid studied old NASA PDFs

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Joan Goodwin, an astronomer who has been in love with the stars since childhood, learns one day in 1980 that NASA is seeking the first women astronauts to join its space shuttle program. Taylor Jenkins Reid's new novel Atmosphere follows Joan as she becomes one of those astronauts, navigating new challenges, disaster, and a secret romance along the way. In today's episode, Reid speaks with NPR's Debbie Elliott about her research process for the novel, which included visiting the Johnson Space Center, conversations with a former NASA employee, and a lot PDFs. They also discuss the early days of NASA's shuttle program and the way the agency had to adjust to women joining the astronaut corps.

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As prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern juggled leadership and motherhood

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In 2017, Jacinda Ardern was sitting in a bathroom waiting to learn two things: whether she was going to be the prime minister of New Zealand – and whether she was pregnant. Ardern became only the second person in history to give birth while holding elected office at the top of government. And as prime minister, she had few people to turn to for advice on balancing the challenges of motherhood with leading a country. In today's episode, Ardern joins NPR's Mary Louise Kelly for a conversation about her new memoir A Different Kind of Power. They discuss what it was like to be a young woman running a country, the way Ardern has experienced parental guilt inside and outside of her political career, and how she knew when it was time to leave office.

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In 'The Dry Season,' Melissa Febos chronicles a transformative year of celibacy

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Writer and professor Melissa Febos had been in a series of consecutive relationships for decades. Then, one particularly devastating experience led her to take stock of her dependency on sex and love. She says she was in "the right amount of pain" to make a change. For Febos, that period kicked off what would become a year of transformative celibacy. Her new book The Dry Season chronicles the way abstinence from sex and relationships allowed Febos to awaken to her desires, motivations and decisions in a new way. In today's episode, she speaks with Marielle Segarra – host of NPR's Life Kit podcast – about how this year changed her outlook on attraction, attention, dancing, and the divine.

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Susan Choi's 'Flashlight' is about an alternate-universe version of her own family

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

A 10-year-old girl, Louisa, and her father take a walk on breakwater in Japan, where her family is living. Louisa is later found on a beach – her father has disappeared. She and her mother are left on their own – but the tragedy doesn't bring them closer together, at least for a long time. Susan Choi's new novel Flashlight follows this family across generations and a vast historical expanse. In today's episode, Choi speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about why her protagonist fends off love, her interest in the historical tensions between Korea and Japan, and the benefit of writing in chronological order.

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'Sea of Grass' chronicles the disappearance of the North American prairie

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

The North American prairie is home to bison, elk, wolves and bald eagles – and it's disappearing at a rapid rate. In their new book Sea of Grass, writers Dave Hage and Josephine Marcotty chronicle the forces behind the loss of this ecosystem. In today's episode, they join Here & Now's Chris Bentley at a prairie outside of Chicago for a conversation about their research. They discuss the innovations in industrial agriculture that have transformed the prairie to farmland, the ecological consequences of that change, and what could be done to restore parts of the prairie.

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In 'The Catch,' estranged sisters confront a mystery surrounding their mother's death

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Yrsa Daley-Ward's new novel The Catch has a mind-bending premise. Clara and Dempsey are twin sisters raised separately after their mother's mysterious death. Then, on their 30th birthday, Clara swears she sees her mom on a city bus. But there's a catch: Her mom is the same age as the twins – 30. In today's episode, Daley-Ward speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about what happens when we desperately want something to be true. They discuss writing as a kind of wish-fulfillment, the book's dedication to readers who have lost a parent, and Well-Read Black Girl's new publishing imprint.

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Madeleine Thien's new novel 'The Book of Records' is a story that traverses centuries

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

It took author Madeleine Thien nearly a decade to write her new novel The Book of Records. In the story, 7-year-old Lina and her father take refuge at an imagined place called the Sea. There, buildings serve as a waystation for people who are fleeing one place to make home in another. Thien says she wanted to set her novel in a location where centuries and histories might converge. In today's episode, Thien talks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about her personal relationship to the three historical thinkers who enter the story: Hannah Arendt, Baruch Spinoza, and Du Fu.

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'What Will People Think?' and 'Climbing in Heels' star women trying to make it big

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

New novels by Sara Hamdan and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas follow women in the entertainment industry who must balance ambition with the pressures of family, friendship and love. First, in What Will People Think?, a Palestinian-American woman named Mia works as a fact checker by day and performs standup comedy by night. She hides her comedy career in order to protect her family until she discovers her grandmother has a secret too. In today's episode, Hamdan joins NPR's Ailsa Chang for a conversation about the politicization of the Palestinian identity and using comedy to explore cultural stereotypes. Then, in Climbing in Heels, three women working as secretaries at a Hollywood agency face sexism as they aspire to careers beyond their office jobs. In today's episode, Goldsmith-Thomas talks with NPR's Leila Fadel about moving from secretary to agent in her own career.

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'Theater Kid' is a memoir from the producer of 'Rent,' 'Avenue Q,' and 'Hamilton'

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 10:51:56 +0000

Jeffrey Seller says he found his home on stage from an early age. He grew up in the suburbs of Detroit as an adopted, gay, Jewish kid in a low-income family – but he was also a theater kid. In his new memoir Theater Kid, Seller reflects on how he moved on from the challenges of his childhood to find incredible success on Broadway. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about what first drew him to projects like In the Heights and Hamilton, the surprising jobs held by Seller's father, and what theater can unlock for its audiences.

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'Freedom Season' argues the events of 1963 transformed the civil rights movement

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

The year 1963 was a landmark one for the civil rights movement – and it's the subject of Peniel Joseph's new book Freedom Season. In the book, the University of Texas at Austin professor argues the events of 1963 ushered in what would become a 50-year consensus on racial justice, including the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act and transformations to public institutions. In today's episode, Joseph joins Here & Now's Scott Tong for a conversation about the varied voices of the civil rights era – who didn't always agree – including James Baldwin, Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King Jr., and John F. Kennedy.

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In new memoir, women's college basketball coach Dawn Staley says she's a 'sore loser'

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

There's a statue of Dawn Staley in Columbia, South Carolina, where she's coached the University of South Carolina women's basketball team to three national championships. But she's from Philadelphia, where she grew up in the projects surrounded by both a nurturing environment and tough love. In her new memoir Uncommon Favor, Staley writes about the life lessons she's learned from the sport that's defined her career, her upbringing in North Philly, and her mother. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about fighting for equal pay and being a sore loser.

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In debut novel 'Food Person,' a food writer ghostwrites a celebrity cookbook

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In Adam Roberts' debut novel, a food writer named Isabella loses her job after fumbling a chocolate souffle demonstration on Instagram Live. But soon after, she is offered the opportunity to ghostwrite a cookbook for Molly Babcock, a famous actress whose career is in need of a reboot. Food Person follows this chaotic collaboration between Isabella, who lives and breathes food, and Molly, who doesn't care much for food at all. In today's episode, Roberts joins NPR's Scott Simon for a conversation about pushing past celebrity stereotypes, the author's favorite food writers, and a recipe involving cavatappi.

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Two authors consider how being a daughter shaped their relationship to motherhood

Fri, 30 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

New books by Joy Harjo and Ruthie Ackerman focus on very different moments in the life cycle of motherhood. First, Harjo's new book Washing My Mother's Body is an illustrated version of a poem she wrote in order to process grief. Harjo, the 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate and member of the Muscogee Nation, never got to carry out an important ritual after her mother's death – but returns in the poem to take care of things left undone. In today's episode, Harjo speaks with NPR's Leila Fadel about that ritual and the potency of the mother-daughter relationship. Then, journalist Ruthie Ackerman grew up hearing family stories that made her believe she shouldn't become a mom. But years later, she learned pieces of those stories weren't true. The Mother Code is a new memoir exploring Ackerman's indecision around becoming a parent. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about viewing maternal ambivalence as the norm.

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In 'Anima Rising,' Gustav Klimt encounters a young woman under strange circumstances

Thu, 29 May 2025 10:28:05 +0000

In 1911 Vienna, a man on his way home spots the figure of a woman at the edge of the river. She is still, beautiful and nude, framed by tendrils of yellow hair. The man is Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. So instead of calling for help, the artist takes out his sketchbook. In his new historical novel Anima Rising, Christopher Moore uses this strange encounter as the jumping off point for his story, which goes on to involve characters like Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. In today's episode, Moore joins NPR's Scott Simon for a conversation about the mystery at the center of the story and the real-life Klimt's relationship to women.

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'Lost Marvels No. 1: Tower of Shadows' restores a lost chapter of comic book history

Wed, 28 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In the 1950s, horror comic books – featuring at times gory depictions of violence – were rising in popularity. But these comics triggered a moral panic, ultimately leading to the Comics Code Authority's decision to outlaw werewolves, vampires and even the word "horror." Now, journalist Michael Dean is out with an anthology of these long-forgotten Marvel comics: Lost Marvels No. 1: Tower of Shadows, first published in 1969. In today's episode, Dean talks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about the horror ban, the perceived relationship between comics and juvenile delinquency, and how Tower of Shadows compares to its superhero siblings.

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Honor Jones' 'Sleep' explores how our childhoods influence who we are as parents

Tue, 27 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In Honor Jones' new novel Sleep, the protagonist Margaret grows up in a verdant suburban world with her family and a best friend who follows her through life. But when something disorienting happens to her, Margaret isn't protected – and so she grows up learning to protect herself instead. As a mother, she becomes concerned with how to raise her children to be safe but unafraid. In today's episode, Jones joins NPR's Mary Louise Kelly for a conversation about the novel. Their discussion touches on what stays with us from childhood, parenting as a lowering of expectations, and how Jones achieves her distinctly spare prose.

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Karen Hao's new book is a skeptical look at Sam Altman and Elon Musk's AI empire

Mon, 26 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit meant to conduct artificial intelligence research that would benefit the general public. In the company's early days, reporter Karen Hao arranged to spend time in OpenAI's offices and noticed the culture there was incredibly secretive. That secrecy raised questions for Hao that ultimately resulted in her new book, Empire of AI. The book is an intimate look at the company behind ChatGPT, but also at the industry-wide race to control AI. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about early disagreements between founders Sam Altman and Elon Musk, Altman's talents for fundraising and storytelling, and how the AI race is reproducing elements of colonial empire.

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With new novel, Ocean Vuong says he wants to reframe America as a place of salvage

Fri, 23 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Ocean Vuong's debut novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous placed him in an elite club of American writers. He teaches at NYU and is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, among many other honors. But before all this, the author was raised by working-class Vietnamese immigrant parents in Hartford, Connecticut. Vuong's new novel The Emperor of Gladness takes place in a similar environment and centers on an unlikely friendship between a 19 year-old college dropout named Hai and an 82-year-old with dementia named Grazina. In today's episode, Vuong joins NPR's Ari Shapiro for a conversation about reframing our view of the United States and the American dream, describing ugly things in a beautiful way, and Vuong's experience working in close quarters at a fast food restaurant.

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'Little Bosses Everywhere' looks into the Wild West of multilevel marketing

Thu, 22 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Multilevel marketing – or MLM – first became popular in the period that followed World War II. Since then, millions have tried their luck as salespeople for companies like Amway, Mary Kay, Cutco and Herbalife. MLMs offer themselves as low-cost paths to entrepreneurship, but very few of their participants are able to earn a living wage. A new book Little Bosses Everywhere by Bridget Read traces the history and culture of the MLM industry. In today's episode, Read speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about why this business model flourishes in economic uncertainty, the unregulated nature of the industry, and the blurred lines between MLMs and pyramid schemes.

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A new biography of Rafael Nadal focuses on the tennis star's domination on clay

Wed, 21 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Tennis legend Rafael Nadal retired last year after a record-breaking career, one that included winning every major championship. In a new biography, Christopher Clarey – former tennis correspondent for The New York Times – considers the player's life and career, with particular focus on Nadal's domination on clay courts. In today's episode, Clarey joins Here & Now's Scott Tong for a conversation about the emotional side of Nadal's game, including the player's rituals and tics, his rivalries with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, and his early mentor in the sport.

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'Original Sin' argues Biden aides enabled his reelection bid, despite mental decline

Tue, 20 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Original Sin recounts a number of moments during which former President Joe Biden allegedly struggled to recognize the people around him, like close aide Mike Donilon or longtime donor George Clooney. The new book by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson argues that there were two versions of the former president, one "functioning" and one "non-functioning." Biden's inner circle, they say, worked to shield the "non-functioning" version from the American public – and even other White House officials. In today's episode, Tapper and Thompson talk with NPR's Scott Detrow about the book and the Biden team's decision to "cover-up" his alleged mental decline.

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In 'Class Clown,' humorist Dave Barry embraces both the funny and hard parts of life

Mon, 19 May 2025 10:30:07 +0000

Pulitzer Prize-winner Dave Barry wrote a humor column for 22 years. In his new book Class Clown, he tells the story of the first 77 years of his life, spent embracing comedy – but also some difficulties. One focus of the book is his relationship with his parents. Barry writes that his mom was a kind of comedic mentor who possessed a uniquely dark, edgy wit, but also struggled with depression. And Barry's father was a Presbyterian minister and, he says, a famously good listener, but also developed alcoholism. In today's episode, the author joins NPR's Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on Barry's family, and also his concerns about new trends in the comedy industry.

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'The Golden Road' and 'The Lucky Ones' examine India's ancient and recent history

Fri, 16 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In light of the latest conflict between India and Pakistan, today's episode focuses on two books that examine India's ancient and recent history. First, ancient India was home to the exchange of goods and ideas that transformed the world, including the number system, heliocentrism, and Buddhism. In his book The Golden Road, historian William Dalrymple makes the case for India's centrality to the story of human civilization. In today's episode, the author speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about why this history isn't a larger part of our popular imagination. Then, we hear from Zara Chowdhary about The Lucky Ones, her first-person account of anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat. In today's episode, she speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about the aftermath of the Godhra train burning, Prime Minister Modi's role in the incident, and the dangers of releasing her book in this political moment.

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A new biography tells the twin stories of James Gandolfini and Tony Soprano

Thu, 15 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

James Gandolfini starred in The Sopranos for six seasons. The show, which ended in 2007, was considered an instant classic and permanently linked Gandolfini to his character, Tony Soprano. Gandolfini died in 2013, but a new biography tells the story of his life. In Gandolfini, Jason Bailey portrays the actor as an unlikely star who struggled after The Sopranos to grow as an artist. In today's episode, the author joins NPR's Scott Simon for a conversation about Gandolfini's path to HBO stardom, a famous pay negotiation, and the actor's struggle with personal demons.

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'The Lost and the Found' takes an intimate look at homelessness in San Francisco

Wed, 14 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

As a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, Kevin Fagan embedded with the city's unhoused population. Now retired, he's written a book built around two of the people he got to know through his reporting. The Lost and the Found zooms in on the lives of Rita and Tyson, who ended up chronically homeless in San Francisco through a cascade of circumstances. In today's episode, Fagan speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about their stories, Fagan's own experience with poverty and housing insecurity, and the Reagan-era policies that led to an increased unhoused population in the 1980s.

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In 'Julie Chan Is Dead,' former influencer Liann Zhang takes a swipe at the industry

Tue, 13 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Julie Chan has an average life working as a cashier at a grocery store. But she's constantly getting mistaken for a famous influencer, her estranged identical twin Chloe. One day, Julie receives a mysterious phone call that results in her decision to swap lives with her sister, adopting Chloe's followers and the glamorous lifestyle that comes with them. That's the setup of Liann Zhang's debut novel, Julie Chan Is Dead. In today's episode, Zhang talks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about the author's own experience as a teenage "skinfluencer" – and Zhang's views on influencer culture today.

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Isabel Allende's latest historical novel draws from her time at a women's magazine

Mon, 12 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

While crafting her latest novel, Isabel Allende says she wanted to tell the story of the Chilean Civil War of 1891 from the perspective of a neutral party. She decided to make her protagonist a female writer who uses a male pen name and convinces an editor to hire her as a war correspondent. In today's episode, Allende joins Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes to talk about My Name is Emilia Del Valle. They discuss the feminist spirit throughout the author's body of work, their shared interest in pushing back against dominant narratives, and Fernandes' personal relationship to Allende's work.

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In 'Romantic Friction,' 'The Fact Checker' the publishing world is fodder for fiction

Fri, 09 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In their new novels, authors Lori Gold and Austin Kelley draw from personal experiences in the publishing and magazine industries. First, Gold's Romantic Friction follows Sofie Wilde, a popular fantasy romance author and self-proclaimed outcast. At a book event, she finds out about a new author who's billed herself as "the next Sofie Wilde" – and is using AI to write books pulled directly from Sofie's. In today's episode, Gold speaks with Here & Now's Tiziana Dearing about the author's feelings about AI's role in publishing, the rabid fandom of romance readers, and books that go viral. Then, we hear from Kelley about his new novel The Fact Checker, in which a fact checker ends up on a quest for a missing source. In today's episode, Kelley joins NPR's Scott Simon for a conversation about the book and the author's time as a fact checker with The New Yorker.

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'Personhood' argues fetal rights are the next frontier of the anti-abortion movement

Thu, 08 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Mary Ziegler is a law professor at UC Davis and a leading scholar on the abortion debate. In her new book Personhood, she argues that the anti-abortion movement's ultimate goal is fetal personhood, which would give fetuses and embryos the rights of people under the Constitution. Ziegler's book makes the case that the history of this movement is crucial to our understanding of where the abortion fight is headed next. In today's episode, Ziegler talks with Here & Now's Tiziana Dearing about the legal meaning of fetal personhood, the way conservatives might reimagine constitutional equality, and whether this debate amounts to a new Civil War.

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The new novel 'Fair Play' is a self-aware take on the golden age of detective fiction

Wed, 07 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In the new novel Fair Play, Abigail is hosting a murder mystery party at an Irish country house on New Year's Eve. She's also in deep mourning for her brother. The story's opening reads as a typical setup for a crime novel. But Irish author Louise Hegarty's debut novel honors the golden age of detective fiction while simultaneously turning the genre on its head. In today's episode, Hegarty joins NPR's Ayesha Rascoe for a conversation that touches on Fair Play's meta elements, as well as its atypical relationship to grief.

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Loryn Brantz's 'Poems of Parenting' gives parents permission to laugh out loud

Tue, 06 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Parenting young children can be extremely taxing, but also beautiful – and hilarious. That nuance is at the core of Loryn Brantz's new poetry collection, Poems of Parenting. The illustrated poems are based on Brantz's popular series of Instagram posts that give parents permission to laugh. In today's episode, the artist and author shares a selection of poems with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes. They also discuss Brantz's creative pivot from children to adults, the phrase "mom brain" and Brantz's relationship to her own children.

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In her new memoir, Tina Knowles, mother of Beyoncé and Solange, tells her own story

Mon, 05 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Tina Knowles intended to write a behind-the-scenes look at her career in the music business. But she says that when she began writing, her own story flowed onto the page instead. In her new memoir Matriarch, the entrepreneur and mother of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Solange Knowles shares the story of how she helped her daughters become cultural icons. In today's episode, Tina Knowles speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about fighting to allow her girls to express their style, a memorable moment on set with the singer Maxwell, and Knowles' relationship with her ex-husband.

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New cookbooks from Sarah Ahn and Roy Choi take different approaches to Korean cuisine

Fri, 02 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Two new cookbooks take different approaches – one modern and one more traditional – to Korean cuisine. First, Roy Choi is the co-founder of Los Angeles' Kogi BBQ food trucks, which put Korean-Mexican fusion on the map. He rose to fame cooking meat, but his first full cookbook The Choi of Cooking focuses on vegetables. In today's episode, Choi speaks – and cooks – with NPR's Ailsa Chang. Over breakfast burritos, they discuss the chef's quest to elevate vegetables and break what Choi calls an addiction to junk food. Then, Sarah Ahn became social-media-famous for posting videos of her mother's traditional Korean recipes. Now, the two women are out with Umma, a cookbook that focuses on preserving identity through recipes. In today's episode, Ahn speaks with Here & Now's Lisa Mullins about collaborating with her mom, the cultural history of kimchi, and the difference between Korean and Southern fried chicken.

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With 'Rabbit Moon,' Jennifer Haigh chooses Shanghai as the backdrop to family tragedy

Thu, 01 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Jennifer Haigh's latest novel Rabbit Moon opens with a hit and run accident in pre-dawn Shanghai. The victim is a 22-year-old American woman named Lindsey. Her parents immediately fly into Shanghai while Lindsey's sister awaits news from a New England summer camp – and the accident scars an already-fractured family. In today's episode, Haigh speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about their impressions of Shanghai, her interest in turning the idea of studying abroad on its head, and how she approached the topic of international adoption.

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In 'Putin's Revenge,' Lucian Kim traces the lead-up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

For more than 20 years, Lucian Kim covered Russia and Ukraine as a journalist. Now, the former NPR reporter is out with a new book that aims to explain the confluence of personal and geopolitical motivations that led to Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Putin's Revenge identifies key moments in the decades leading up to the invasion, including the 2004 Orange Revolution, George W. Bush's support of NATO membership for Ukraine, and Russia's 2014 seizure of Crimea. In today's episode, Kim talks with Here & Now's Robin Young about several turning points in the conflict, the evolution of Putin's position towards the West and Ukraine, and why Kim was initially drawn to cover Russia as a story of a collapsed empire.

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Katie Kitamura's 'Audition' is a puzzle, but she says it's not meant to be solved

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 07:00:11 +0000

In a Manhattan restaurant, the narrator of Audition meets a young man for lunch. Everyone has a different understanding of the pair's relationship, including the narrator herself. Katie Kitamura says she got the idea for the story after coming across a headline that said, "a stranger told me he was my son." That headline turned into the premise for her latest novel, which experiments with the idea of contradictions to destabilizing effect. In today's episode, Kitamura joins NPR's Ari Shapiro for a conversation about her decision to cut the book in half. They also discuss other media that's split into two parts – like the films Vertigo and Shoplifters – and Shapiro shares his interpretation of the novel.

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Emily Henry's latest novel 'Great Big Beautiful Life' explores love beyond romance

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 10:23:02 +0000

Known for books like Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation, Emily Henry is the patron saint of millennial romance. But for her latest novel, the author says she wanted to challenge herself in a new way. Great Big Beautiful Life is a story within a story about two journalists who are competing to write the biography of a fictional media heiress. There's romance at the center of the novel, but the story also follows a century-long family drama. In today's episode, Henry speaks with NPR's Miles Parks about braiding these two plots together, her interest in mother-daughter relationships, and grief as the flipside of love.

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Zadie Smith looks back at her debut novel 'White Teeth' 25 years after its release

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Zadie Smith's White Teeth marked its 25th anniversary in January. The now canonical novel tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a shy Englishman named Archie Jones and his friend Samad Iqbal, a devout Bengali Muslim. Both men are trying to pass on their religious and moral beliefs to their children. In today's episode, we revisit a conversation between Smith and NPR's Liane Hansen that aired shortly after White Teeth's release. Then, we'll hear some of Smith's conversation last month on NPR's Wild Card with Rachel Martin in which Smith reflects on the novel's anniversary. The two discuss the author's distance from the person she was when she wrote White Teeth and the novel's place among the canon of books for teenagers.

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'Happy Land' was inspired by a real-life kingdom of formerly enslaved people

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

When Nikki travels to visit her grandmother in western North Carolina, she expects answers about her family's history. But instead, she uncovers her connection to the Kingdom of the Happy Land, a community of formerly enslaved people. Dolen Perkins-Valdez's new novel Happy Land follows Nikki as she delves deeper into family secrets. The author says she was inspired by the true story of an autonomous Black community that once lived in the mountains of Appalachia. In today's episode, Perkins-Valdez joins NPR's Michel Martin for a conversation about how the author first heard of this little-known chapter in North Carolina history.

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'Paper Doll' documents trans TikTok creator Dylan Mulvaney's journey through girlhood

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Three years ago, trans content creator and actor Dylan Mulvaney posted a video on TikTok documenting her first day of girlhood. Though she didn't expect to turn the post into a series, Mulvaney says the videos became a way to track both her journey and her experience of trans joy. Now, she's out with a memoir called Paper Doll: Notes from a Late Bloomer, which continues to document her transition, as well as her rise to social media stardom. In today's episode, Mulvaney speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about religion, earnestness, and the fallout of a controversial partnership with Bud Light.

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An early biography paints Pope Francis as 'The Great Reformer' of the Catholic Church

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Pope Francis died Monday, leaving behind a legacy as "Pope of the People" and a change agent within the Catholic Church. Austen Ivereigh's The Great Reformer was published just a year into Pope Francis's papacy. But already, the biography argues, the pope had solidified his position as a radical reformer, both in his approach to hot-button issues and his interactions with regular people. In today's episode, we revisit a conversation between Ivereigh and NPR's Eric Westervelt. They discuss Pope Francis's upbringing in Argentina, his approach as an evangelizer, and the way his positions were at times misjudged by certain Catholics and the media.

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Aided by new sources, Clay Risen's 'Red Scare' brings McCarthyism back to life

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 12:37:02 +0000

Journalist Clay Risen is out with a new narrative history of the Red Scare, based in part on newly declassified sources. In Red Scare, Risen depicts McCarthyism as a cultural witch hunt against all kinds of people, not just potential communist spies. And he argues that the Red Scare was part of a broader cultural backlash against New Deal progressivism and an increasing sense of cosmopolitanism in the United States. In today's episode, Risen joins NPR's Steve Inskeep for a conversation about Senator Joseph McCarthy's personal and political opportunism, the enduring power of conspiracy theories, and how the Constitution did – and didn't – stand up to protect American civil liberties.

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Two new children's books view the natural world as a site of personal growth

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Two new picture books explore how the outside world can transform our relationships with our communities and ourselves. First, Kiese Laymon is out with a children's book about three Black boys who connect during a transformative summer in the South. With City Summer, Country Summer, Laymon says he wanted to explore the experience of getting lost as a kind of experimentation. In today's episode, the author speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about his wish to write a book about the emotional tenderness of Black boys. Then, The Littlest Drop is Sascha Alper's debut children's book, based on a parable from the indigenous Quechua people of South America. Brian Pinkney took over illustrations for the project after his father, Jerry Pinkney, died in 2020. In today's episode, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe brings Alper and Brian Pinkney together in conversation. The author and illustrator discuss the collaboration between father and son and Alper's desire to broaden the story beyond the climate crisis.

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A new cookbook by Darjeeling Express chef Asma Khan was inspired by seasonal cooking

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Asma Khan grew up in India, where late summer means monsoon season. But it wasn't until she moved to England in the '90s that she learned how to cook. At 45, after earning a PhD in constitutional law, she opened Darjeeling Express. The London restaurant made her into a celebrity chef and an authority on Indian food. Now, Khan is out with a new cookbook called Monsoon, which celebrates a seasonal approach to cooking. In today's episode, Khan speaks with NPR's Asma Khalid about making a big career change in her 40s, her commitment to an all-women kitchen staff, and the meaning of modular cooking.

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Rex Ogle's 'When We Ride' is a novel-in-verse about a best friendship under pressure

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Seventeen-year-old Benny is studying hard and working as a busboy, hoping to attend college. Meanwhile, his childhood best friend, Lawson, is on a different path, dealing drugs – and is always in need of a ride. Rex Ogle's When We Ride is a novel-in-verse about their relationship, which becomes strained as differences between the two young men come into focus. In today's episode, Ogle joins NPR's Ayesha Rascoe for a conversation about the book. They discuss friendship breakups, what we owe our oldest relationships and an unlikely high school romance between the author's own best friends.

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'Adventures in the Louvre' will teach you how to fall in love with the famous museum

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Elaine Sciolino has one mantra: "Never go to the Louvre on an empty stomach or with a full bladder." The former Paris bureau chief of The New York Times has written a guide filled with her best advice for enjoying the world's most-visited museum. Her new book, Adventures in the Louvre, is part journalism, part memoir and part art history. In today's episode, Sciolino speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the contested origins of the museum's name, the staff's love-hate relationship with the Mona Lisa, and why some Louvre visitors might feel underwhelmed.

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An obituary writer makes a grave error in John Kenney's 'I See You've Called in Dead'

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

John Kenney's I See You've Called in Dead is about an obituary writer named Bud Stanely. One late night after a particularly bad date and too many glasses of Scotch, Bud drunkenly writes his own remembrance – and hits publish. The newspaper where he works wants to fire him, but can't legally terminate a dead person. But the error sets off a change in Bud's life as he begins to attend the funerals of strangers. In today's episode, Kenney joins NPR's Scott Simon for a conversation about the college journalism assignment that sparked the idea for the novel, the author's experience of male friendship, and a nugget of dark humor from Kenney's late brother.

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Two new novels explore a world where technology has even greater access to our minds

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Two new novels explore technology's increasing access to our most intimate thoughts. First, the protagonist in The Mechanics of Memory can't remember her last year. Hope has found herself in a too-perfect mental health facility where she participates in questionable treatment, some involving virtual reality. Audrey Lee's novel follows Hope as she slowly starts to recall pieces of her life and questions what to believe. In today's episode, Lee joins Here & Now's Scott Tong for a conversation about memory and identity – and the extent to which our memories are malleable. Then, a new book by Laila Lalami imagines a world in which dreams are surveilled through special implants designed to aid sleep. The Dream Hotel is about a woman who's pulled aside when her dreams indicate she's on the verge of committing a crime. In today's episode, Lalami speaks with NPR's Emily Kwong about coming face to face with the surveillance state and the author's efforts to untether herself from certain technology.

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A new oral history of Lollapalooza recalls the alt-rock music festival's wildest days

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Lollapalooza is a popular music festival that takes place in Chicago's Grant Park each year. But it was conceived as a farewell tour for the band Jane's Addiction, kicking off with a series of chaotic performances across the United States in the summer of 1991. Lollapalooza, a new oral history by Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour, documents the wild early days of the festival through interviews with bands like Jane's Addiction, Nine Inch Nails and Green Day. In today's episode, the book's authors speak with NPR's A Martínez about the way the festival united genres and helped bring alternative music into the mainstream.

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Emma Pattee's 'Tilt' imagines the aftermath of a life-changing earthquake

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Annie is 37 weeks pregnant. She's shopping at IKEA in Portland, Oregon, when everything around her begins to shake. It's an earthquake – the big one. Unable to get in touch with her husband or anyone else, she starts to walk. This is the setup for Emma Pattee's new novel Tilt, which the author says was inspired by the major earthquake predicted to hit the Pacific Northwest in the next 50 years. In today's episode, Pattee talks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about millennial disappointment, striving for scientific accuracy in the writing process, and what it means to prepare for disaster.

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In the wake of a sexual assault, astronaut Amanda Nguyen turned to activism

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In 2013, Amanda Nguyen was a Harvard senior interested in pursuing a career at NASA or the CIA. But she says those plans were temporarily derailed when she was raped just a few months before graduation. Nguyen went on to become an advocate for survivors of sexual assault – and her advocacy resulted in federal legislation that changed the way law enforcement handles rape kits. Now, she's out with a book about her experience called Saving Five: A Memoir of Hope. In today's episode, Nguyen speaks with NPR's Ailsa Chang about navigating bureaucracy as a survivor, sharing her story with lawmakers, and her parents' response to her activism.

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In 'Everything Is Tuberculosis,' John Green turns his attention to a deadly disease

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Tuberculosis is one of the oldest diseases in human history – and it still kills more than a million people every year. In a new book, The Fault in Our Stars author John Green argues the infection persists only because we allow it to. Everything Is Tuberculosis takes on the history of the human response to and treatment of tuberculosis. The book, Green says, was partially inspired by a young boy named Henry whom the author met at a hospital in Sierra Leone. In today's episode, Green joins Here & Now's Robin Young for a conversation that touches on Henry's story, the history of tuberculosis in Green's own family, and the interconnected nature of human health.

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Authors of two new novels draw inspiration from history in wildly different ways

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Today on the show, we hear from authors who were inspired by history in wildly different ways. First, when Emma Donoghue encountered a famous photo of the 1895 Montparnasse derailment, she says she couldn't believe no one had written a novel about it. Donoghue's The Paris Express imagines what life was like for passengers on the old-fashioned steam locomotive. In today's episode, she talks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about the extensive historical research she conducted in order to write the book. Then, Bob the Drag Queen has called Harriet Tubman "the first Black superhero." In Bob's debut novel Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert, Tubman returns to continue her work as an abolitionist through hip-hop. In today's episode, Bob speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about the idea of freedom, Tubman's military service, and a recent appearance on The Traitors.

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To confront radical change, 'Slate' writer Scaachi Koul wrote a new book of essays

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Three years ago, Scaachi Koul went through a divorce, a process that she says was "disorienting." But divorce, the Slate writer says, also offered a framework for rethinking everything: her relationship with men, family, conflict, and herself. Her new book of essays Sucker Punch works through this personal evolution. In today's episode, Koul speaks with NPR's Leila Fadel about one of the primary relationships in these essays: the writer's relationship with her mother. They also discuss Koul's shifting perspective on fights, her interest in speaking with the man who sexually assaulted her, and her loose interpretation of Hindu fables.

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A new book from Emily Feng asks what it means to be Chinese in Xi Jinping's China

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

NPR reporter Emily Feng lived in, and reported from, Beijing for years. But in 2022, the Chinese government told Feng, who was born in the United States to Chinese parents, that she couldn't return to the country. The experience prompted her to ask: What does it mean to be Chinese under Xi Jinping's government? Her new book Let Only Red Flowers Bloom explores this question through the lens of individuals who don't fit the government's ideal. In today's episode, Feng joins NPR's Ailsa Chang for a conversation about one of the central characters in the book, the way the Chinese government connects religion and ethnicity, and the personal impact of identity politics.

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In 'Long Island,' one woman returns to Ireland after discovering her husband's affair

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

At the beginning of Long Island, an Irish-American woman named Eilis opens the front door of her New York home and is greeted by news of her husband's affair. The other woman is pregnant – and Eilis must decide what to do next. Author Colm Tóibín says this scene convinced him to write the novel, an unplanned sequel to Brooklyn. Long Island picks up 25 years after Brooklyn left off, following Eilis as she returns to the Irish town where she grew up. In today's episode, Tóibín talks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about his decision to write the sequel, his own hometown in Ireland, and his characters' views of what makes someone a foreigner.

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Christine Wenc's 'Funny Because It's True' calls 'The Onion' "the original fake news"

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

The satirical news magazine The Onion has been putting out ironic and often absurd headlines for more than 40 years. Christine Wenc was part of the paper's original staff, dating back to its origins as an alt weekly in Madison, Wisconsin. Now, Wenc has written a book Funny Because It's True: How the Onion Created Modern News Satire that traces the history of the magazine's influence. In today's episode, she joins NPR's Scott Detrow for a conversation about the cheap living conditions that allowed the original The Onion staff to experiment, how the paper responded to 9/11, and why she believes The Onion is "good fake news."

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John Himmelman, Reginald Dwayne Betts take a populist approach to poetry in new books

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

The authors of two new poetry collections aspire to reach broad audiences with their work. First, John Himmelman says he wanted to tell stories with as few words as possible. The Boy Who Lived in a Shell, a book of illustrated poems intended for children, is connected by a single narrator, Ivo, who lives in a giant moon snail shell. In today's episode, Himmelman speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about working at a New York library, writing to make himself laugh, and making poetry accessible to short attention spans. Then, lawyer, educator and author Reginald Dwayne Betts spent eight years in prison for a crime he committed at 16. While there, Betts began to write. His latest collection Doggerel plays with the idea of mediocre poetry and a recurring motif of dogs. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about his Jack Russell terrier, reading poetry to strangers, and an emotional encounter with the police.

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In 'Beartooth,' brothers embark on an illicit journey into Yellowstone National Park

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In Callan Wink's new novel Beartooth, two brothers live at the edge of Yellowstone National Park. Their father has recently died of cancer, leaving behind unpaid medical bills and taxes. Desperate to save their home, the pair ventures into the park as part of a scheme involving the illegal collection of elk antlers. The novel, Wink says, was inspired by a similar story he heard at a bar. In today's episode, Wink talks with Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd about the experience of living near Yellowstone, the impact of financial desperation on ethics, and the author's decision to write about brothers.

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Chuck Schumer's 'Antisemitism in America' warns of a resurgence in antisemitic views

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Sen. Chuck Schumer received major backlash from his party after supporting a Republican spending bill earlier this month – and some Democrats have called for him to resign from his position as minority leader. Schumer recently spoke with NPR's Scott Simon about that budget measure, prior to the ballots being cast, as part of a conversation about his new book, Antisemitism in America: A Warning. In the book, Schumer warns of an acceleration in antisemitism since 2017, a trend he says he's observed among the political right and left. In today's episode, Schumer joins Simon for a discussion that touches on the senator's criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the federal funding fight at Columbia University, and the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil.

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Allison Epstein's 'Fagin the Thief' gives a Charles Dickens character a second chance

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Author Allison Epstein says when she read Oliver Twist, she found Charles Dickens' portrayal of Fagin, the novel's central scoundrel, to be stereotypical and antisemitic. But there was also something about the character that piqued her curiosity. Now, her new novel Fagin the Thief gives that character a backstory – and a literary second chance. In today's episode, Epstein speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about her research into where someone like Fagin might've grown up, her reimagination of the character's intentions, and how she came to view Dickens as a working writer.

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A former Meta executive characterizes company leadership as "careless" in new memoir

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former Meta executive, is now barred from discussing her criticism of the company. But before Meta gained an injunction against their former employee, she spoke with NPR's Steve Inskeep about her new memoir Careless People. The book charts Wynn-Williams' path from onetime Facebook megafan to Meta critic – and characterizes Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg as "careless" leaders comfortable cooperating with authoritarian regimes. In today's episode, Wynn-Williams and Inskeep discuss Meta's negotiations with China over censorship tools, Zuckerberg's relationship to President Trump, and alleged misconduct by Wynn-Williams' former boss, Joel Kaplan.

Editor's Note: Meta is a financial supporter of NPR.

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In two noir novels, crime lurks beneath small town life in Norway and New England

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In their new noir novels, authors Joseph Finder and Jo Nesbø choose small towns as the settings for dark plotlines. First, Finder's The Oligarch's Daughter follows a man named Paul who has built a new life under a new name in New Hampshire. He's on the run from a Russian oligarch, who happens to be his father-in-law. In today's episode, Finder speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the difficulty of disappearing in today's era of surveillance technology, the difference between typical wealth and oligarch wealth, and how the Russian oligarch class' status has shifted under President Vladimir Putin. Then, one of the protagonists in Nesbø's Blood Ties is Roy, a 35-year-old mass murderer who's ready to start a family. Nesbø says his challenge was to make Roy someone readers could root for. In today's episode, the author speaks with NPR's Kelly about a piece of advice he received from Christopher Nolan, the way small towns hold secrets, and how writing lyrics prepared him to write novels.

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A new biography tells the story of a South Asian Hollywood star who passed as white

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In 1936, Merle Oberon became the first Asian woman–and person of color–to receive an Oscar nomination for best actress. She was nominated for her role in The Dark Angel and later starred in films like Wuthering Heights. But Oberon kept her mixed-race, South Asian heritage a secret, passing as white for her entire career. Mayukh Sen tells this story in Love, Queenie, the first biography of Oberon. In today's episode, Sen speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about prejudice the actress faced during her upbringing in India, the role men played in her career, and the elaborate stories she told to keep her identity a secret.

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'I'm That Girl' follows gymnast Jordan Chiles' road to the Olympics

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

In a new memoir, Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles describes moments of deep uncertainty in her storied career. For example, there was a time in her mid-teens when she considered quitting the sport. But a pivotal conversation with friend and future teammate Simone Biles encouraged her to continue. I'm That Girl details other challenges in Chiles' career, like being scrutinized for her appearance – and her hair in particular. In today's episode, the gymnast talks with NPR's Juana Summers about the difficulty of losing a bronze medal on a technicality, life as a student-athlete at UCLA, and Chiles' thoughts on the 2028 Olympics.

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The Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins was inspired by Greek myths and reality TV

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

The first book in the The Hunger Games series was published more than a decade ago, ultimately launching a hugely popular film franchise, iconic characters and a devoted fan base of readers. This week, Suzanne Collins is out with Sunrise on the Reaping, the second prequel in the series. So we're revisiting a rare interview with Collins from early in her career. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Lynn Neary about drawing inspiration from the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, the movie Spartacus, reality television and war coverage.

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A new novel from Karen Russell is a sprawling story set during the Dust Bowl

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

The Antidote opens on what seems like an ordinary Sunday in a fictional town in 1930s Nebraska. But by 3 p.m., apocalyptic clouds cover the sun and make the afternoon look like midnight. Karen Russell's latest novel is set during the Dust Bowl – a period when poor farming practices and drought led to a wave of severe and damaging dust storms. In this bleak setting, we're introduced to a cast of characters, including a woman who stores other people's memories and a photographer tasked with documenting the crisis. In today's episode, Russell speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about the inspiration behind The Antitode's core characters, including the work of photographer Gordon Parks and an image that came to Russell as she finished her first novel.

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Books by critic Kenneth Turan and actor Rupert Everett show two sides of Hollywood

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Two books set in Hollywood show different sides of the film business, from industry-shaping success to the personal frustration of rejection. First, Louis B. Mayer & Irving Thalberg: The Whole Equation is a history of the duo behind MGM Film. The nonfiction book by Kenneth Turan, a regular critic for the Los Angeles Times and NPR, follows the unlikely trajectory that led both men to the movies. In today's episode, Turan joins NPR's Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on early MGM films like Ben-Hur and Tarzan the Ape Man, antisemitism in Hollywood, and Mayer's complicated relationship with Judy Garland. Then, Simon speaks with British actor Rupert Everett, who's out with a new collection of short stories inspired by Hollywood rejection. The American No draws from film concepts and screenplays the actor pitched but never got the chance to make. In today's episode, he and Simon discuss Everett's autobiographical writing, his upbringing in a military family, and his early exposure to Julie Andrews.

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Jennifer Finney Boylan's latest memoir 'Cleavage' is a reflection on transgender life

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Jennifer Finney Boylan's 2003 memoir She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders was about her new life as a woman. Since then, Boylan has become a prominent transgender voice. Her latest memoir, Cleavage: Men, Women and the Space Between Us, picks up where her last one left off. In today's episode, Boylan speaks with NPR's Robin Young about transgender rights in today's political climate. She also talks about how there is much more to a trans person's life than their transition, and the challenge of connecting "befores" and "afters" in order to live one life.

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In 'Death Takes Me,' men are the victims of violence usually inflicted on women

Wed, 12 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

La muerte me da, a novel published in Spanish in 2007 by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cristina Rivera Garza, is now available to English readers. Death Takes Me follows a woman detective who finds herself in charge of handling a series of cases involving the killings of men – all of whom have been sexually mutilated. In today's episode, Garza speaks with NPR's A Martinez about the reality of gruesome violence against women in Mexico that inspired her book. She also talks about the power of words, and how she considers the grammar of violence in her writing.

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Alexander Vindman's 'The Folly of Realism' suggests a long-term approach to Ukraine

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

More than three years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Alexander Vindman is out with a new book on U.S.-Ukraine relations. Vindman, who was born in Ukraine, is the retired Army lieutenant colonel who testified against President Trump in the 2019 impeachment hearings. In his new book, The Folly of Realism, Vindman argues that the United States has taken an incorrect position towards Russia and Ukraine since the collapse of the Soviet Union, a period spanning six American presidential administrations. In today's episode, he joins NPR's Mary Louise Kelly for a conversation that touches on what Vindman calls the Trump administration's "Russia First" policy, the case for investing in Ukraine and Taiwan, and when the conflict in Ukraine might end.

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'Dream Count' is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's first novel in more than a decade

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie hasn't published a novel in more than a decade. After writing literary hits like Americanah and essays like the popular We Should All Be Feminists, the author says she went through a period of writer's block. But now, she's out with a new novel Dream Count that tells the stories of four interconnected women. In today's episode, Adichie speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about a phrase that lodged itself in the author's mind and ultimately served as the book's first line. They also talk about a loss that caused Adichie to question how well she knew herself and a real-life sexual assault case that inspired her to write one of the novel's central characters.

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Picture book biographies introduce children to Toni Morrison and Ruby Bridges

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Two biographical picture books introduce children to the life stories of writer Toni Morrison and civil rights activist Ruby Bridges. First, Andrea Davis Pinkney initially encountered Morrison's work as a child. But later, she became the editor of Morrison's children's books. Now, Pinkney is out with And She Was Loved, a picture book about Morrison's life. In today's episode, the author talks with Here & Now's Lisa Mullins about her decision to write the book in the form of a poem and love letter, Morrison's upbringing in the oral tradition, and how Pinkney approached her editing role. Then, Ruby Bridges tells her own story in an autobiographical picture book. In I Am Ruby Bridges, she recounts her experience as the first Black child to desegregate an all white school in 1960. In today's episode, she joins NPR's Mary Louise Kelly for a conversation about the book. They discuss what that first day of school looked like through a six-year-old's eyes – and the way white parents responded.

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'Harlem Rhapsody' is a novel about an affair at the heart of the Harlem Renaissance

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 08:00:59 +0000

A while back, Victoria Christopher Murray set out on a mission to learn about the women of the Harlem Renaissance. But in her research, she mostly found stories about men – until she came across Jessie Redmon Fauset. Fauset, whom Langston Hughes called "the midwife of the Harlem Renaissance," was a writer who eventually became literary editor at The Crisis, the NAACP's magazine. Her life serves as inspiration for Murray's new historical fiction novel Harlem Rhapsody. In today's episode, Murray speaks with NPR's Pien Huang about the historical impact of Fauset's romantic relationship with W.E.B. Du Bois and Murray's decision to include the affair in the book.

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In 'Back After This,' a podcast host tries to find love

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 08:00:59 +0000

NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour host Linda Holmes knows a thing or two about audio. She leans into this knowledge in her latest novel, in which a podcast producer, Cecily Foster, gets the opportunity to host her own show. The catch? The podcast is about her love life, and she has to embark on 20 first dates set up by an influencer. In today's episode, Holmes speaks with NPR's Asma Khalid about the tropes of romantic comedy, and what it means to love your work and your craft without tying all your passions to one job.

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'You Didn't Hear This From Me' is Kelsey McKinney's gossip bible

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Kelsey McKinney has built her career on gossip. The co-creator and former host of the popular podcast Normal Gossip has been interested in the topic since her upbringing in the Evangelical church, where she was taught that talking about others is a sin. Now, she's out with a new book, You Didn't Hear This From Me, which argues that gossip is a natural, morally-neutral social tool. In today's episode, McKinney joins NPR's Juana Summers for a conversation that touches on the author's religious upbringing, the relationship between gossip and misinformation, and reality TV as an opportunity for social learning.

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In 'Stone Yard Devotional,' a woman abandons modern life for a religious community

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 17:50:41 +0000

In Charlotte Wood's Stone Yard Devotional, an unnamed narrator renounces modern life in Sydney, retreating to a cloistered religious community in her hometown. But soon after, a series of three visitations causes the narrator to rethink the choice she's made. In today's episode, Wood speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about the novel, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2024. They discuss Wood's decision to withhold judgement of her character's actions, the biblical nature of the story's disruptions, and Australia's position at the forefront of the climate crisis.

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Two James Baldwin experts break down his early fiction and political writing

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 11:04:09 +0000

To mark the end of Black History Month, we're revisiting two conversations about James Baldwin that first aired last summer for his 100th birthday. First, NPR's Andrew Limbong speaks with McKinley Melton – associate professor of Africana Studies at Rhodes College – about Baldwin's first novel, Go Tell It On the Mountain. Melton says he sees the work as an autobiographical revisitation of the author's own childhood, filled with all that Baldwin wished he knew at 14. Then, professor and novelist Jesmyn Ward joins Limbong to discuss The Fire Next Time. The nonfiction work contains two of Baldwin's political essays, the first of which is written as a letter to Baldwin's 14-year-old nephew.

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The authors of 'Pseudoscience' explore and debunk your favorite conspiracy theories

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Strange stories are often used to fill gaps in human knowledge. But why do people love bizarre explanations for the unexplained? Dr. Lydia Kang and Nate Pedersen look to answer this in their new book, Pseudoscience: An Amusing History of Crackpot Ideas and Why We Love Them. In today's episode, Kang and Pedersen speak with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about some of the most popular conspiracies, being careful about which ones to indulge in, and the dangers of being misinformed.

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Irish poet Pádraig Ó Tuama writes and reads poetry that speaks to the human condition

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Irish poet Pádraig Ó Tuama cataloged spreadsheets of poems to help create his new anthology, 44 Poems on Being with Each Other. The collection features writing from a variety of poets as well as reflections from Ó Tuama on the nuances of the human condition. Ó Tuama is also out with his own poetry collection, Kitchen Hymns. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about poetry that reflects complex emotions and about his background in theology.

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In 'Talk to Me,' the grandson of a former Haitian president uncovers family secrets

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

In 1957, a labor leader named Daniel Fignolé was the president of Haiti for 19 days. Just two weeks after his inauguration, he was forced to sign a resignation letter as part of a U.S.-backed coup. But growing up, Rich Benjamin – Fignolé's grandson – didn't know anything about his grandfather's political career. The cultural anthropologist says his family, especially his mother, erected a "wall of silence" around him. A new memoir, Talk to Me, is Benjamin's attempt to fill in these gaps in his family history. In today's episode, the author speaks with NPR's A Martínez about Fignolé's work with labor unions, state-sanctioned silence, and the State Department documents that helped Benjamin piece together his grandfather's story.

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Mark Greaney takes on geopolitics in the latest installment of the Gray Man series

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 15:29:10 +0000

Mark Greaney is the author of the Gray Man series, a collection of espionage novels that chronicle the adventures of ex-CIA operative Court Gentry. The latest addition, Midnight Black, follows Gentry as he tries to save the woman he loves from Russian captivity. Greaney is known for conducting extensive research on the elements that make it into his writing. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Andrew Limbong about his trip to Russia several years ago, before the latest invasion into Ukraine, and how photos and videos from that trip helped him make his writing realistic.

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New books from Reid Hoffman and Bill Gates look at tech revolutions past and future

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Reid Hoffman has invested in AI for years. The LinkedIn co-founder said he used AI to vet his new book, Superagency, written with Greg Beato, which makes an optimistic case for an AI-powered future. In today's episode, Hoffman joins NPR's Steve Inskeep for a conversation about the book that touches on his decision to back Kamala Harris for president in 2024 and on his falling out with Elon Musk. Then, Bill Gates joins NPR's Scott Detrow for a conversation about his new memoir Source Code. Much of Gates' writing has focused on the future – but here he reflects on his early life, from his childhood to the birth of Microsoft. He speaks with Detrow about the death of Gates' high school best friend and the opportunity he saw in personal computing.

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In 'Idle Grounds,' a pack of children searches the woods for their missing cousin

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

When a young child goes missing at a family gathering, a pack of cousins sets out into the woods to find her. Idle Grounds follows this group of children as they search their late grandmother's property and wonder whether something sinister might lurk there. Krystelle Bamford says her new novel dips into the New England Gothic genre, inspired by the darkness that bubbles underneath the daylight of the adult world. In today's episode, Bamford speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about the author's own New England upbringing, the magic and mystery of childhood, and the potential dangers of nostalgia.

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A new memoir from Ira Madison III is more than just 'Pure Innocent Fun'

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

TV writer, culture critic and podcast host Ira Madison III was not just one of the only Black students at his high school, he was also one of the only gay kids. In his new memoir, Pure Innocent Fun, Madison writes about how cultural artifacts became more than just a source of entertainment - they became a way to feel connected to others. In today's episode, Madison speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about growing up without many queer adults to turn to, and how Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a way for young queer kids to feel seen.

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'Life Hacks for a Little Alien' follows a lonely girl's pursuit of an ancient tome

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

In Life Hacks for a Little Alien, both the narrator and protagonist are unnamed. The debut novel from Alice Franklin is written from a second-person perspective and follows a little girl who experiences the world differently. Little Alien is neurodivergent, but undiagnosed, and often finds that people don't understand her. When she encounters an ancient text written in an unknown language, she sees parallels between its indecipherability and her own experiences. In today's episode, Franklin speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about the way she plays with language in her story, her own diagnosis journey, and our collective definition of normalcy.

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A new book from Peter Beinart asks Jewish people to reimagine the Israeli state

Mon, 17 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Peter Beinart, once a defender of the Israeli state, has become one of its sharpest critics. His new book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza, was born out of Beinart's personal struggle within the Jewish community in the wake of the war. In the book, Beinart makes an urgent appeal, asking his peers to imagine a world in which Palestinians and Israeli Jews share equal rights. In today's episode, Beinart joins NPR's Leila Fadel for a discussion that touches on the intertwined relationship between Israeli and Palestinian safety and how a reimagined Israeli state could lead to a better future for all people.

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Two novels from Charmaine Wilkerson explore cultural inheritance in Black families

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Caribbean American journalist Charmaine Wilkerson began her professional life in TV news. She recalls meeting people on the worst day of their life, when their personal pain was bared to the public eye. Her debut novel, Black Cake, and her new book, Good Dirt, both begin with grief, tracing the loss of loved ones to family revelations that come after. Today's episode revisits a 2022 conversation with Wilkerson and NPR's Kelsey Snell about the role of identity and cultural inheritance in Black Cake. Wilkerson then speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about how those themes develop in Good Dirt.

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Indie-rock artist Neko Case opens up about her childhood in a new memoir

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Singer-songwriter Neko Case of The New Pornographers band has just released a memoir titled The Harder I Fight the More I Love You. While the book touches on her time with the Canadian indie-rock group, Case's memoir focuses more on her upbringing – she opens up about her complex relationship with her mother, who faked her own death when Case was young. In today's episode, Case speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about tracing her own family history, allowing room for rage, and seeing forgiveness not as an act, but an organic state of being.

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'Bronshtein in the Bronx' is a fictional account of Leon Trotsky's New York exile

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

In 1917, Lev Bronshtein – also known as Leon Trotsky – spent 10 weeks in exile in New York City. The Russian revolutionary hoped to spark a socialist revolution in the United States, but found disappointment when American workers didn't respond the way he had hoped. Trotsky's time in New York is the subject of Robert Littell's latest novel, Bronshtein in the Bronx. In today's episode, Littell talks with NPR's Scott Simon about the author's family connection to the revolutionary, his decision to name Trotsky's conscience in the book, and the violence of revolution.

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In Ali Smith's 'Gliff,' two children flee capture in an authoritarian near-future

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

In Ali Smith's Gliff, two children wake up to find that someone has painted a red line around their home. They've been marked "unverifiable" and they're at risk of being captured. The dystopian near-future in which they live is a world of government surveillance and environmental destruction – and one without libraries. In today's episode, Smith talks with NPR's Scott Simon about the authoritarian themes in her novel. They discuss what makes authoritarianism feel attractive and safe, Smith's former career as an advertising copywriter, and the connection between slogans and tribalism.

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In a new book, Chris Hayes argues that attention is our most endangered resource

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

As a cable news host, MSNBC's Chris Hayes is in the attention business. But in today's interview, he says that he often feels like he's chasing rather than directing his audience's focus. In his new book, The Sirens' Call, Hayes argues that attention has become the information age's most finite resource, with damaging consequences for our politics, lives and collective alienation. In today's episode, Hayes joins NPR's Steve Inskeep for a conversation about the difference between attention and information, President Trump as a symbol of the attention economy, and whether MSNBC is struggling to maintain its audience.

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'The Serviceberry' and 'Birding to Change the World' draw lessons from nature

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

The authors of two nonfiction books say they were moved to change the world after finding inspiration in nature. First, Robin Wall Kimmerer's book The Serviceberry explores themes including economies of abundance and reciprocity in the natural world – similar to those addressed in her hit book Braiding Sweetgrass. In today's episode, Kimmerer joins NPR's Ari Shapiro for a conversation that touches on biomimicry, little free libraries, and what nature can teach us about human economies. Then, we hear from author Trish O'Kane. She says she didn't pay much attention to nature until Hurricane Katrina destroyed her home. Shortly after, she heard the call of a red cardinal, which launched her interests in ornithology and education. Her memoir Birding to Change the World draws connections between the world of birds and the author's own political activism. In today's episode, O'Kane talks with Here & Now's Robin Young about her early forays in ornithology, finding news in our backyards, and a special program of bird-related songs based on the book.

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'The Interpreter' is a story about children who act as translators for their parents

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Cecilia, the main character in Olivia Abtahi's The Interpreter, wears an oversized green suit and tie. She's a kid, but she also works as a translator and interpreter for her immigrant parents. Whether at the DMV, the doctor's office or the mechanic, she's there to help out with cultural translation. The story, illustrated by Monica Arnaldo, is based on Abtahi's own experience growing up with an Iranian father and an Argentine mother who both spoke English, but sometimes needed support with cultural nuance. In today's episode, Abtahi speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about how translation is a full-time, adult job that can place a lot of pressure on young children. They also discuss the filial duty that first-generation kids sometimes feel and the importance of depicting the parents in the book with dignity.

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With 'Dare I Say It,' Naomi Watts aims to help menopausal women feel less alone

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

At age 36, actor Naomi Watts visited her doctor in hopes of starting a family. Instead, she was told that she was close to menopause. She says she felt panicked and alone, despite the fact that tens of millions of women experience menopause each year. In a new book, Dare I Say It, Watts tries to open what she sees as a closed conversation around aging. Her advice-based book covers her own fertility story, her experience with menopause symptoms, skincare, nutrition and more. In today's episode, Watts speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about learning to be her own advocate at the doctor's office, hormone replacement therapy, and returning to herself in this new chapter of life.

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Andy Corren's memoir 'Dirtbag Queen' expands on a viral tribute to his mother

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

In 2021, Andy Corren published an obituary for his late mother in The Fayetteville Observer. "A plus-sized Jewish lady redneck died in El Paso on Saturday," he wrote. His colorful, candid remembrance went viral on Twitter, and now Corren has expanded the tribute into a memoir. Dirtbag Queen recounts the author's experience of growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, with a single, Southern, unconventional mother of six children. In today's episode, Corren speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about the bowling alley that anchored the author's childhood, nights spent in the city's red-light district, and being raised in his mother's image.

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A new novel follows the love lives of three generations of Palestinian American women

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Betty Shamieh was the first Palestinian American playwright to have a play produced off-Broadway. She describes her debut novel, Too Soon, as a "Palestinian American Sex and the City." The novel follows three Palestinian American women across generations as they navigate love and identity. In today's episode, Shamieh speaks with NPR's Pien Huang about using comedy as a way to humanize characters who may be dehumanized in the real world, the 10 year writing process for the book, and how she didn't necessarily want to write it, but she knew she had to.

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'Final Girl Support Group' and 'Witchcraft for Wayward Girls' center women in horror

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Grady Hendrix is one of the biggest names in horror fiction today. He's published 11 horror novels and won a Bram Stoker Award for his non-fiction book on the history of horror fiction. In this episode, we revisit a 2021 conversation between Hendrix and former NPR host Audie Cornish about his book Final Girl Support Group with a discussion on society's obsession with violence and its perpetrators, rather than the victims. Then, we hear Hendrix speak with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about his latest novel, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, and some of the real life horrors faced by women in history.

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Rusty Sabich comes out of retirement in Scott Turow's thriller 'Presumed Guilty'

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

After a long career as a prosecutor, a defense attorney and a judge, 77-year-old Rusty Sabich is retired. But when a young woman named Mae Potter goes missing, Rusty comes out of retirement to defend the lead suspect – who happens to be his soon-to-be stepson. Presumed Guilty is the latest novel from Scott Turow, who's been writing about this character since he published Presumed Innocent in 1987. In today's episode, Turow joins NPR's Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on second chances, the fallibility of the legal system, and the potential impact of artificial intelligence on literature.

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'Unassimilable' makes a radical case against assimilation for the Asian diaspora

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

A new book titled Unassimilable: An Asian Diasporic Manifesto for the 21st Century by Bianca Mabute-Louie makes a radical case against assimilation for the Asian diaspora. The project was inspired by the author's upbringing in San Gabriel Valley, an ethnoburb right outside of Los Angeles, which Mabute-Louie describes as a place "where Asian immigrants go to never assimilate." In today's episode, the author joins NPR's Ailsa Chang for a conversation about what un-assimilability looks like in practice, the spike in anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Mabute-Louie's hopes for her young son.

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'Parks 2' is a book of photos and essays focused on the National Parks

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 11:32:08 +0000

Photographer Brian Kelley has been collecting National Park ephemera for years. He wanted to find a way to share the maps, brochures and memorabilia he's collected from his visits, which resulted in the 2019 project Parks. Now, Kelley is out with a sequel, Parks 2, a coffee table book that shares more of his personal archive of National Park designs. In today's episode, Kelley speaks with NPR's Sarah McCammon about what inspired him to start his collection, the history of design technology, and one of his favorite places, Olympic National Park.

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Han Kang's latest novel 'We Do Not Part' deals with hidden chapters of Korean history

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

In this interview with NPR's Scott Simon, Han Kang says the idea for her latest novel came to her in a snowy, haunting dream. The Nobel Prize-winning author's We Do Not Part is itself dreamlike. The novel follows narrator Kyungha as she tries to rescue a friend's beloved pet bird in the midst of a snowstorm that has hit South Korea's Jeju Island. As the story goes on, Kyungha is confronted with the taboo, hidden history of a 1948 massacre that took place on the island. In today's episode, Simon and Han discuss how censorship by the South Korean government contributed to the obfuscation of that violent history, as well as the author's interest in finding lightness in themes like animals and snow.

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New novels from Emma Knight and Anita Desai explore the dual identities of mothers

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Two new novels tackle themes of motherhood and family secrets. First, in Emma Knight's The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, 18-year-old Pen has just arrived as a student at the University of Edinburgh. For Pen's whole life, she's sensed that her parents were hiding something from her – and she believes the answers might lie in Scotland. In today's episode, Knight joins NPR's Mary Louise Kelly for a conversation about her debut novel. They discuss the first character that came to Knight – and her use of the octopus as a metaphor for early motherhood. Then in Rosarita, the latest novel from Anita Desai, a strange encounter at a park in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, throws the protagonist's family history into question. The story follows Bonita as she tries to untangle her mother's past. In today's episode, Desai speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about the way her character finds pieces of India in Mexico and the dual lives of women.

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'How to Change' is a behavioral economist's guide to habit formation

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 11:02:30 +0000

The beginning of a new year often represents a clean slate for people hoping to make a change. But by this point in January, many have let go of their resolutions. It can be difficult to make goals stick, especially when they require actions that aren't inherently rewarding. Katy Milkman, a behavioral economist at the University of Pennsylvania, has spent her career researching what it takes to achieve our goals. Her 2021 book How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, offers research-backed strategies to help new habits stick. In today's episode, Milkman speaks with Here & Now's Jane Clayson about some of those strategies, like combining tasks with temptation. Then, listeners share their New Year's resolution wins.

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'Amazing Grapes' was Pulitzer-winning illustrator Jules Feiffer's final book

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Jules Feiffer, illustrator of The Phantom Tollbooth, died last week at age 95. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author and cartoonist began drawing and writing for a living when he was 17. And just last year, Feiffer came out with his first graphic novel for middle grade readers. That book, Amazing Grapes, kicks off with a father's departure, which sets in motion a series of adventures across dimensions for his three children. In today's episode, we revisit a conversation between Feiffer and NPR's Scott Simon about how play became more central to the author's life as he grew older and the importance of "getting away with it."

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Betül Tunç's new cookbook shares the recipes behind her viral dough videos

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 17:02:26 +0000

Betül Tunç is the Turkish baker behind the popular Instagram account, @turkuazkitchen. With more than 10 million followers, her account features recipes and photography of sweet and savory baked goods. The account took off during the early days of the pandemic with a video of Tunç punching the air out of freshly risen dough. Her debut cookbook Turkuaz Kitchen presents those recipes and more from Tunç's childhood. In today's episode, Tunç speaks with Here & Now's Jane Clayson about baking as therapy, her interest in vintage cooking tools, and being fine with making mistakes while baking.

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Amanda Gorman's 'Girls on the Rise' makes the case that girls are stronger together

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Amanda Gorman became the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history when she performed at President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021. Her poetry often deals with topics like gender, race and politics. She continues to explore these themes in a new picture book Girls on the Rise, which is a poem illustrated by Loveis Wise. In today's episode, Gorman speaks with NPR's Eric Deggans about drawing inspiration from the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford, the importance of creating a welcoming dialogue with children, and the mantra she recites before each performance.

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In new memoir, Brooke Shields talks aging, beauty and an unwanted medical procedure

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Brooke Shields started in Hollywood at just 11-years-old, starring in films like Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon. From that young age, the actress and model was sexualized on and off screen – and decades later, she's out with a memoir that reflects on that public scrutiny. In Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed To Get Old, Shields – now 59 – writes about her experience with age-related bias in the industry. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Leila Fadel about her refusal to feel invisible as she ages, how sweetness can be a liability, and a medical procedure that was performed without her consent.

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In 'Welcome to Pawnee,' Jim O'Heir reflects on his time on 'Parks and Recreation'

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 08:00:58 +0000

Parks and Recreation changed the trajectory of actor Jim O'Heir's career. He landed a small part as Jerry Gergich on the NBC sitcom, ultimately becoming a series regular. Now, 10 years after the show wrapped, O'Heir is out with a memoir, Welcome to Pawnee. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about the moment the character clicked for him, the "Parks" family group text, and whether the series could work today.

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Kate Kennedy's 'Cello' is part memoir, part musical detective story

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

A new book from writer, BBC broadcaster and cellist Kate Kennedy tackles the stories of four cellists connected by a mutual musical obsession. Cello: A Journey Through Silence to Sound focuses on musicians like Lise Cristiani, the first female professional cello soloist, and Pál Hermann, a Jewish-Hungarian cellist captured by the Gestapo during World War II. In today's episode, Kennedy speaks with NPR's Daniel Estrin – also a cellist – about these musicians' histories and her own complicated relationship with her instrument.

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'The Rest Is Memory' is a novel inspired by photos taken at Auschwitz

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

About 10 years ago, author Lily Tuck was reading obituaries in The New York Times when she came across photos of Czesława Kwoka, a young prisoner at Auschwitz concentration camp. Tuck didn't know much about Kwoka besides her name and age, but decided to try to write about her. The result is her new novel, The Rest Is Memory, which imagines Kwoka's life at Auschwitz. In today's episode, Tuck speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about how she approaches narrating a story through Kwoka's eyes, the careful attention she pays to language, and the Polish people who lost their lives in the Holocaust.

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Mark Lilla's new book explores the psychology and consequences of willful ignorance

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Author Mark Lilla is professor of humanities at Columbia University specializing in intellectual history. His new book, Ignorance and Bliss: On Wanting Not to Know, examines the tendencies for willful ignorance in human nature and the correlations of those tendencies to education castes. In today's episode, Lilla speaks to NPR's Asma Khalid about curiosity and the role social media plays in choosing to engage with information and facts.

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'No Place to Bury the Dead', 'The Hunter' ask what lengths you'll go for others

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Two novels explore the way that violence and loss can ripple across a village, town – or even entire countries. First, in Karina Sainz Borgo's No Place to Bury the Dead, a plague that causes amnesia runs rampant across an unnamed Latin American country. One mother's flight brings her to a border-town cemetery that operates on disputed land. In today's episode, Borgo joins NPR's Elissa Nadworny for a conversation that touches on the importance of death rituals, the myth of Antigone, and a real-life cemetery that exists along the border between Venezuela and Colombia. Then, Tana French has described her novels The Searcher and its sequel, The Hunter, as her take on the American Western. The novels follow Cal Hooper, a retired Chicago police officer who moves to rural Ireland. In The Hunter, the life Cal has built in Ardnakelty is complicated by an unexpected arrival. In today's episode, French speaks with Here & Now's Chris Bentley about her interest in writing from an outsider's perspective, the tension between blood and chosen family, and the particular experience of life in a small town.

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Daylight is something to celebrate in 'The Shortest Day'

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

We've moved past the shortest day of the year – Dec. 21 – and, now, the days are getting longer. For more than 40 years, people have read and performed Susan Cooper's poem "The Shortest Day" to commemorate the winter solstice. In 2019, that poem was turned into a children's book, illustrated by Carson Ellis. In their collaboration, the two hoped to convey a story about light's triumph over darkness year after year. In today's episode, Cooper and Ellis join NPR's Scott Simon for a conversation about how the project came together, including the inspiration they took from their communication via letters – and from Pieter Brugel's paintings.

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'Small Things Like These' draws from the true story of Ireland's Magdalene Laundries

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Small Things Like These is a novella by Claire Keegan that centers around Bill Furlong, an Irish coal merchant who discovers exploitation at a local convent. The story is based on the real-life history of the Magdalene Laundries, workhouses where Irish girls and women were forced into unpaid labor. Keegan's book, originally published in 2021, was adapted to film in the fall of 2024. In today's episode, we revisit a conversation between Keegan and Here & Now's Deborah Becker. They discuss the author's interest in the novella form and why she chose to write a women-centered story with a male protagonist.

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A new book examines millennial nostalgia and the economic consequences of Y2K

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Twenty-five years into the new millennium, Y2K aesthetics and millennial nostalgia are still alive and well in Colette Shade's new book, Y2K: How the 2000s Became Everything (Essays on the Future That Never Was), where she examines the impact of the era on everything from pop culture to politics. In today's episode, Shade talks with NPR's Andrew Limbong about the economic consequences of the era and some of the 2000s cultural artifacts that are still around today.

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'A Kwanzaa Keepsake and Cookbook' is an updated exploration of Kwanzaa's traditions

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

A Kwanzaa Keepsake and Cookbook was first published in 1995, a few decades after the seven-day festival was created in 1966. Written by culinary historian and author Jessica B. Harris, the book explores the holiday's history, traditions, rituals, and food–and in 2024, Harris released an updated version of her original guide. In today's episode, she joins Here & Now's Scott Tong for a conversation about the meaning of the seven symbols and principles of Kwanzaa. They also discuss the way the cookbook's recipes reflect Harris' daily cooking style, the origins of techniques like deep frying, and the centrality of improvisation to African American culture.

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'King: A Life' and 'A Day in the Life of Abed Salama' are Pulitzer Prize winners

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Today, we revisit conversations with two 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning authors. First, King: A Life, the biography by Jonathan Eig, provides a fresh perspective on the life of one of America's most important activists. In today's episode, Eig speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about how Martin Luther King, Jr. rose to prominence at such a young age, and how he maintained his spirituality through deep scrutiny and surveillance. Then, A Day In The Life of Abed Salama is a true story that takes place in Jerusalem. In 2012, a bus collided with a semi trailer. Six Palestinian kindergarteners and a teacher burned to death. Abed Salama, who is the father of one of the children, has to navigate physical and bureaucratic barriers as he searches for his son. Author Nathan Thrall revisits the journey and the vivid people, both Palestinian and Jewish, Salama encountered. In today's episode, Thrall and Salama speak with NPR's Leila Fadel about the emotional odyssey and the book's reception after the Hamas attack on Israel in October.

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In 'All Fours,' Miranda July tackles love, sex and reinvention in middle age

Thu, 02 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

Writer and filmmaker Miranda July says the popular imagination sort of drops off once a woman gets married and has kids. Her new novel All Fours turns that on its head – it's a story about an artist in her 40s who departs from her husband and child on a road trip that takes her to some very unexpected places. In today's episode, July speaks to NPR's Brittany Luse about the interviews she conducted with women going through perimenopause and menopause for this book, and the whisper network with her friends that fueled her protagonist's deep desire for something new.

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Salman Rushdie's memoir 'Knife' recounts his attack and recovery

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 08:00:59 +0000

In 2022, the author Salman Rushdie was onstage at a public event when a man ran up and stabbed him. His new memoir, Knife, delves into that moment when Rushdie thought he was going to die — and everything that's come after, as he's healed from the attack. In today's episode, he speaks at length with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about how the miracles found in his fiction might've manifested themselves in his real life, how his wife – poet Rachel Eliza Griffiths – has helped him move forward, and how writing about that experience became a way for him to fight back.

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Kaveh Akbar's novel 'Martyr!' is a journey of identity, addiction and poetry

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Halfway through today's episode, author Kaveh Akbar tells NPR's Scott Simon that his life is a summation of "private joys amidst collective grief and private grief amidst collective joy." It's a contrast that contextualizes his emotionally dark yet deeply funny debut novel, Martyr!, about an Iranian-American poet grappling with addiction, loss, displacement and art. Akbar, who is also poetry editor at The Nation, explains why his protagonist is so obsessed with the concept of martyrdom, and how it relates to his own personal journey with sobriety.

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Percival Everett centers a new voice in 'James,' a retelling of 'Huckleberry Finn'

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Percival Everett is a prolific author – his 2001 book Erasure was recently adapted into the Oscar-winning film American Fiction. But his latest book, James, expands on a story readers around the world already know: Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. In today's episode, Everett speaks with NPR's Andrew Limbong about why he wanted to reframe the classic novel from the perspective of the enslaved titular character, why he doesn't think of his new work as a direct response to Twain, and why he doesn't buy into the controversy surrounding the original.

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BONUS: A biography and a memoir reexamine Jimmy Carter's extraordinary life

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Former president Jimmy Carter has died. He was 100 years old. In today's episode, two books examine Carter's career in the White House and beyond. First, NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with historian Kai Bird about The Outlier, a biography that argues that Carter's deregulation of several industries, his social legislation and his foreign policy made his one-term presidency exceptionally productive. Then, a conversation from the vault between NPR's Eric Westervelt and Carter himself about his memoir, A Full Life.

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'Gather Me' and 'Subculture Vulture' are memoirs told through books and subcultures

Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Memoirs from authors Glory Edim and Moshe Kasher narrate their lives through cultural objects: books and subcultures. First, Edim, the founder of the Well-Read Black Girl book club, grew up as the child of Nigerian immigrant parents searching for their way into American identity. As part of that journey, Edim found herself through reading. Her memoir, Gather Me, is a coming-of-age story told through her encounters with books. In today's episode, Edim speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about the early influence of stories such as Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, reading as an act of defiance, and a trove of letters that helped the author reconnect with her father. We then hear from comedian Moshe Kasher, whose memoir Subculture Vulture is organized around six scenes he's inhabited throughout his life. After deciding to get sober, Kasher accessed community and recovery in expected and unexpected places, from Alcoholics Anonymous to the rave scene. In today's episode, he joins NPR's Rachel Martin to discuss healing core wounds, the relationship between Burning Man and the Jewish Days of Awe, and the responsibility of being a comedian today.

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'The Hanukkah Magic of Nate Gadol' is a mythical take on the Jewish holiday

Thu, 26 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Nate Gadol is a spirit with the power to make anything last for as long as it's needed, whether oil, chocolate, or a flower. Gadol's special gift is at the center of The Hanukkah Magic of Nate Gadol, a children's book from author Arthur Levine. Growing up, Levine says, he felt that the Jewish holiday was often eclipsed by the mythology surrounding Christmas, with beloved characters like Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus. With Nate Gadol, Levine aims to introduce a mythological hero that Jewish people could call their own. In today's episode, we revisit a conversation between Levine and NPR's Scott Simon. They discuss the backstory behind Hanukkah presents and the many forms Jewish families take today.

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'General Sherman's Christmas' captures the war-time holiday in Savannah 150 years ago

Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

During the Civil War, Union Army Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and his troops arrived in Savannah, Georgia, days before Christmas in 1864. The city was their final stop on Sherman's March to the Sea, a military campaign to weaken Confederate power through the state of Georgia. Stanley Weintraub's 2009 book, General Sherman's Christmas, explores the holiday celebration in the war-torn city. In today's episode, we revisit a conversation between Weintraub and NPR's Guy Raz about Sherman's controversial reputation and how they tied twigs to the heads of mules to turn them into reindeer.

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New cookbook 'Jiggle!' aims to bring gelatin back in style

Tue, 24 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

In the '70s, gelatin was very much in vogue. Gatherings often featured a colorful, molded jello salad that contained surprising ingredients from cottage cheese to tuna. Those dishes have since fallen out of favor, but a new cookbook by Peter DiMario and Judith Choate declares that gelatin is back. Jiggle! includes modernized recipes for sweet, savory and layered dishes, such as Grandma's Ambrosia and Watermelon Margarita Bites. In today's episode, DiMario talks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about the origins of gelatin, how to achieve the perfect suspension, and the fun of updating gelatin dishes with fresh ingredients and flavors.

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'Dylan Goes Electric!' is the book behind Timothée Chalamet's new Bob Dylan biopic

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

The Newport Folk Festival is an annual music festival that's been hosted in Newport, Rhode Island, since the 1950s. Bob Dylan, who was considered folk music's then-reigning king, performed at the festival in 1965 where he made the controversial decision to play the electric guitar. This is the focus of Elijah Wald's 2015 book, Dylan Goes Electric! which has been adapted into the film A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan. In today's episode, we revisit a 2015 conversation between Wald and NPR's Arun Rath where they talk about Dylan's decision to play that guitar, electrifying the folk faithful.

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Two books, two very different takes on Christmas stories

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Two books take dramatically different approaches to the Christmas story. First, in Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret, reluctant detective Ernest Cunningham finds himself in the middle of another murder mystery. His ex-wife's partner has been killed and every suspect is a master of the art of deception. The book is the third installment of comedian Benjamin Stevenson's Ernest Cunningham mysteries series. In today's episode, Stevenson joins NPR's Ayesha Rascoe for a discussion that touches on the essential rules of the genre, the fun of writing to the holiday theme, and the commonalities between his comedy and writing practices. We then hear from Dolly Parton about her new picture book, Dolly Parton's Billy the Kid Comes Home for Christmas. She speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about her real-life French bulldog, the inspiration for her children's literacy program, and her annual Christmas traditions.

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'When Southern Women Cook' is a diverse portrait of the American South's food culture

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

A new cookbook from America's Test Kitchen pays homage to the diverse communities of women who have defined food in the American South. When Southern Women Cook includes recipes and accompanying culinary histories from women with a variety of backgrounds. Each of the book's 14 chapters opens with an essay from a historian, author or chef that goes deep on a recipe's backstory or cultural context. In today's episode, co-authors Toni Tipton-Martin and Morgan Bolling join Here & Now's Robin Young to talk about the project. They discuss the physical and cultural boundaries of the South, restoration of recipes like Aunt Jule's Pie, and permanent slaw.

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Alizah Holstein writes about the complex echelons of academia in 'My Roman History'

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

After a high school English teacher introduced Alizah Holstein to Dante's Divine Comedy, the Italian capital Rome became the first place she wanted to go. Rome's rich history was the one thing she wanted to study most. As an adult, she did spend time researching and exploring in Rome, believing that becoming a Roman historian was her destiny. But while working on her Ph.D. back in the U.S., Holstein came face to face with gender biases in academia – and she pivoted to another, wholly different path. In today's episode, Holstein speaks with NPR's Robin Young about her memoir My Roman History, the gender biases she encountered, and how Rome has continued to be a city that inspires wonder in her.

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In 'Kingdom of No Tomorrow,' a young woman joins the Black Panther Party

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

In Fabienne Josaphat's latest novel, a young woman named Nettie leaves Haiti for the United States. Set in the 1960s, Kingdom of No Tomorrow follows Nettie as she joins the Black Panther Party's free health clinics in Oakland, California, and falls in love with a party defense captain. In her research for the novel, Josaphat found deep resonances between Haiti's revolutionary history and the Black Panther movement. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about her research, the Black Panthers' Free Breakfast for School Children Program, and how her book might fit into the broader understanding of the party.

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Colson Whitehead's novel 'The Nickel Boys' comes to the big screen

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Colson Whitehead's 2019 novel The Nickel Boys follows the studious and idealistic Elwood Curtis, a Black teenager whose prized possession is a recording of speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. But when Elwood is sent to a juvenile reformatory in Florida, his worldview is challenged by the horrors he experiences there. Now, Whitehead's novel has been adapted into a film. In today's episode, we revisit a conversation between Whitehead and NPR's Scott Simon, where they discuss the real-life reform school that inspired Nickel Academy, MLK's idea of soul force, and Whitehead's strong emotional reaction to the characters in his novel.

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Two books explore phases of female life, girlhood and womanhood

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 11:02:18 +0000

Two books of essays consider the female experience through different stages of life. First, Kate Kennedy's One in a Millennial documents coming of age as a member of a highly-scrutinized generation. Her book explores the origins of millennial stereotypes and pop culture, but also focuses on the way that shared experiences of girlhood are often dismissed as frivolous. In today's episode, Kennedy joins NPR's Juana Summers for a conversation that touches on AOL Instant Messenger, college pre-games, and self-editing our own desires. We then hear from Jenny Slate about her new book Lifeform, a compilation of experimental essays that follow her life through five phases: Single, True Love, Pregnancy, Baby, and Ongoing. Slate joined Here & Now's Emiko Tamagawa at a live event in Boston, where the two discussed the confidence it takes to write down our ideas, fear and bravery in love, and Slate's perspective on childbirth and motherhood.

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In Zahid Rafiq's debut short story collection, the future of Kashmir is uncertain

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

The World With Its Mouth Open is a book of short stories from journalist-turned-author Zahid Rafiq. The collection showcases the precarious but ordinary lives of people in modern day Kashmir, a site of ongoing geopolitical conflict. In Rafiq's stories, a work crew makes a disturbing discovery at a construction site, a pregnant woman searches for fresh fish, and a shopkeeper has an unexpected encounter with a mannequin. In today's episode, Rafiq tells NPR's Eric Deggans about his interest in writing stories without knowing the ending, and his characters' ability to build a future on the foundation of a difficult past.

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Remembering Nikki Giovanni, poet and icon of the Black Arts Movement

Wed, 11 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Renowned poet and professor Nikki Giovanni died earlier this week at age 81, following a third cancer diagnosis. She was a prolific writer and leader in the Black Arts Movement, publishing poetry collections such as Black Feeling Black Talk and Those Who Ride the Night Winds. She also taught English at Virginia Tech. In today's episode, we revisit a 2013 conversation between Giovanni and NPR's Michel Martin that followed the release of Chasing Utopia, which featured a combination of essays and poetry. Giovanni and Martin discussed the poet's relationship to her late mother, the pleasure of old age, and the trauma of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting.

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Author of Wampanoag history discussed her children's book and erasure

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Colonization and the Wampanoag Story is a 2023 history book for middle school readers about the tribe's first encounters with English settlers. In the early 17th century, European contact set off years of destruction for the Wampanoag Nation, including a disease that killed an estimated two-thirds of the population. Earlier this year, the nonfiction work was recategorized as fiction at a library in Montgomery, Texas, following complaints by an anonymous cardholder. But last month, a judge ruled that the book must be returned to the library's nonfiction section. In today's episode, Linda Coombs, Wampanoag historian and author, joins Here & Now's Robin Young to speak about how the recategorization of her book fits into the history of her tribe's erasure.

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There is such a thing as too much quality time in Weike Wang's 'Rental House'

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Tensions are running high for married couple Keru and Nate, who decide to rent a house in Cape Cod, sharing it with each set of parents at different points of a month-long trip. Their vacation seems to have stoked the fires of family dysfunction, eventually pushing Keru to a breaking point. Author Weike Wang believes in putting one's characters through trial by fire, which she does quite literally in her latest novel, Rental House. In today's episode, Wang speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about sometimes-frustrating family life, coexistence, and obstacles for characters.

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2 new nonfiction books explore the impact of cultural forces in the world of music

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Two new nonfiction books explore the impact of cultural forces in the world of music. First, a number of musicians, including B.B. King, Ed Sheeran, Jewel and Tracy Chapman, began their careers as street musicians. Cary Baker's new book Down on the Corner explores the history and influence of busking through interviews with performers of all kinds. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's A Martinez about some lesser-known musical street legends, like oil drum player Bongo Joe and neo-Dixieland band Tuba Skinny. They also discuss the early historical origins of busking and the way technology has changed the practice. Then, a new book on De La Soul contextualizes the hip-hop group within the modern musical canon. In High and Rising, Marcus Moore discusses how the band created a space for Black alternative culture, appealing to fans of rap, but also of jazz and punk. In today's episode, Moore speaks with Martinez about how De La Soul's popularity has persisted, despite the group's difficult trajectory.

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Haruki Murakami's longtime editor spills the tea on working with the master

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Lexy Bloom first read Haruki Murakami in the '90s, when she picked up A Wild Sheep Chase. At that point, not much of the Japanese author's work had been published in English. But Bloom often read his stories in The New Yorker, trying to guess which of his three translators had worked on each one. Bloom, who is now a senior editor at Knopf, began to edit Murakami's English translations years later, starting with 1Q84. Now, Murakami has a new novel out, The City and Its Uncertain Walls, a revision of an earlier novella. In today's episode, Bloom joins NPR's Andrew Limbong for a discussion that touches on what it's like to collaborate with Murakami, feminist critiques of the author's female characters, and reading the author's work through a Western lens.

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In new memoir, Angela Merkel details her time as Germany's first woman chancellor

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Angela Merkel served as Chancellor of Germany through a number of global challenges: a pandemic, a migrant crisis and military aggression. But she also had to consider dilemmas that were specific to being the first and only woman to hold her position. The former chancellor reflects on this experience, her rise to power and her political record in a new memoir, Freedom. In today's episode, Merkel speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelley through a translator. They discuss going toe-to-toe with leaders like Vladimir Putin, what a second Trump term means for U.S. diplomacy, and whether Merkel sees herself as a feminist.

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A game design company has mysterious forces at play in the new YA thriller 'Darkly'

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Author Marisha Pessl has always loved puzzles and board games. She's intrigued by the feeling of forced companionship that comes from solving a puzzle together. Her new novel, Darkly, follows a teen named Arcadia and six others as they embark on an internship with the renowned game design company Darkly. Working on the mysterious island that houses the Darkly headquarters, they come across mysteries of the company and its owner. In today's episode, Pessl speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about the idea of contained chaos and how the mysteries of the past can unlock the mysteries of the present.

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In comedian Youngmi Mayer's new memoir, laughter is a lifeline

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Comedian, writer and podcast host Youngmi Mayer was raised in Korea and Saipan with a Korean mom and a white American father. Their relationship was strained at times as Mayer navigated her family's generational trauma and often took on a parental role. She pushed through these struggles, and others, through humor–and that strategy frames her new memoir, I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying. Mayer speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about her family story in today's episode. They also discuss Mayer's original pitch for the book's title, relatability in Asian American storytelling and how she became a standup comedian.

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'Pig Years' and 'What the Chicken Knows' consider the interior worlds of farm animals

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Today's books take readers into the secret lives of farm animals. The first, Pig Years, is a memoir by the writer Ellen Gaydos, who began working as a farmhand at 18 years old. In Pig Years, she writes lyrically about working with, raising and admiring pigs–all while knowing they'll one day be slaughtered. In today's episode, we revisit a conversation between Gaydos and NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben about the intimacy of working with people and animals on the farm. Next, author Sy Montgomery has written more than 34 books about creatures, including turtles and octopi. Her latest project is a book about chickens. What the Chicken Knows is an homage that relishes all we don't know about the birds. In today's episode, Montgomery speaks with Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd about chickens' surprising signs of intelligence and what to do when a rooster attacks.

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A new cookbook from food journalist Mark Bittman invites kids into the kitchen

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Cooking with young kids can be a mess, but embracing this idea is the point of Mark Bittman's new cookbook. In How to Cook Everything Kids, the journalist and author makes the case that inviting young chefs into the kitchen is the best way to get them curious about food. The book is filled with child-friendly recipes for dishes like baked ziti, pizza and blueberry muffins that make use of playful ingredients, including Corn Flakes. In today's episode, Bittman joins NPR's Ayesha Rascoe at home to cook a meal with her three kids, putting his recipes to the test. Together, they prepare two chicken dishes while Bittman shares the inspiration behind the project.

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In 'Growing Up Urkel,' actor Jaleel White reflects on a career-defining role

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 11:02:08 +0000

Steve Urkel, the nerdy, bespectacled neighbor in Family Matters, is one of '90s television's most iconic characters. Urkel's nasally voice, oversized glasses and signature catchphrases made the character nearly inescapable in pop culture – and also made a star out of Jaleel White, the actor who played him. In a new memoir, Growing Up Urkel, White reflects on how the role catapulted his career while permanently shaping the way others see him. In today's episode, he joins NPR's Ailsa Chang for a conversation that touches on the character's mass appeal, TV stereotypes about Black boys, and how playing Urkel has affected White's view of his own masculinity.

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NPR staffers pick their favorite reads of the year

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

The 2024 edition of Books We Love is here. Each year, NPR staffers and critics submit their favorite reads of the year across genres. Those selections are compiled into a reading guide, where you can sort by filters, including Book Club Ideas, The States We're In, Rather Short or Rather Long. In today's episode, NPR's Andrew Limbong and Steve Inskeep discuss some of the 350+ books chosen by staff this year, including their own picks.

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Bonnie Kistler's new thriller explores ageism from the lens of a murder

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Kate's new husband, who she reunites with 50 years after they were high school sweethearts, has just confessed that he was behind the Tylenol murders — a real, unsolved series of deaths in 1982 from poison-laced Tylenol pills in the Chicago area. When Kate tries to report him, the killer convinces everyone around her that her age, 70, is deteriorating her memory. This is the beginning of Bonnie Kistler's new thriller, Shell Games. In today's episode, Kistler speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about psychological manipulation and how the idea for the book came from a dream where she was the wife in question.

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Two nonfiction books take critical views of bankruptcy and microlending systems

Fri, 22 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Two nonfiction books question the efficacy of financial systems that are meant to help lift people out of poverty. In Unjust Debts, law professor Melissa Jacoby argues that bankruptcy in the United States exacerbates existing racial and economic inequalities. While filing for bankruptcy is supposed to offer individuals and families a fresh start, Jacoby suggests that the system often benefits corporations instead. In today's episode, she speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about the favorable treatment afforded to corporations and possible strategies of reform. Then, journalist Mara Kardas-Nelson's We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky takes a critical look at microcredit through the stories of women borrowers in Sierra Leone. Microcredit was introduced in the 1970s as an anti-poverty measure and ultimately won its creator the Nobel Peace Prize. But in today's episode, Kardas-Nelson talks with NPR's Fernandes about the way these loans have kicked off vicious cycles of debt.

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'Say Nothing' tells the story of 'The Troubles' through one woman's murder

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

In the late 1900s, Protestants and Catholics were in conflict over who should rule Northern Ireland, the British or the Irish. The time was dubbed "The Troubles." Journalist Patrick Radden Keefe's Say Nothing tells the story of this conflict through the disappearance of a woman, Jean McConville. His nonfiction book has now been adapted into an FX show by the same name. In today's episode, we revisit a 2019 conversation between Keefe and NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the conflict, McConville, and how The Troubles left a wound on Ireland's history that remains open today.

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In 'Citizen,' former President Clinton reflects on his post-White House years

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Since leaving the White House more than two decades ago, Bill Clinton has remained a leader in the Democratic Party, but has mostly focused on philanthropy and public service. He has aimed to address the HIV/AIDS crisis globally and he worked to help free two American journalists incarcerated in North Korea. Clinton's new memoir, Citizen, takes stock of these post-presidential years – but also serves as a vehicle for the former president to address past controversies. In today's episode, Clinton joins NPR's Leila Fadel for a discussion that touches on how the Democratic Party should respond to this political moment, and how writing his new book has helped him let go of the past.

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In a new version of 'The Cake Bible,' Rose Levy Beranbaum updates a culinary classic

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

When Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible was first published in 1988, it took the baking world by storm. It was the first cake book to list ingredients by weight instead of volume and also introduced the technique of reverse creaming. Now, 35 years later, Beranbaum has released a new version of The Cake Bible. The update includes altered recipes that keep pace with changes to ingredients and equipment over the past few decades, like taller cake pans and smaller egg yolks. In today's episode, Beranbaum speaks with Here & Now's Robin Young about the biggest mistakes for beginner bakers to look out for, the author's recent preference for simple design, and a chocolate cake named after Plácido Domingo.

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In the new novel 'Pony Confidential,' a crime-solving pony seeks revenge

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Pony Confidential, a new novel by author Christina Lynch, is about an unlikely detective: a crime-solving pony who sets off to find his long-lost first owner. Penny, who was just a little girl when separated from Pony, is now an adult who has been accused of murder–and Pony is ready to clear her name. The book was inspired by a combination of tales from The Odyssey and Lynch's curiosity about the inner world of her own real-life pony, Flora. In today's episode, Lynch joins NPR's Scott Simon to talk about the emotional lives of animals, the novel's subtext about the legal system, and the parallels between Pony and Penny's respective confinement.

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Two new books on Johnny Carson and Shirley MacLaine offer intimate views of celebrity

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

New books focused on Johnny Carson and Shirley MacLaine offer intimate portraits of two of television and Hollywood's biggest stars. Johnny Carson hosted The Tonight Show for 30 years, becoming an unparalleled nighttime staple and unifying force within American culture. His life is the subject of Carson the Magnificent, a new biography co-written by Bill Zehme and Mike Thomas, who took over the decades-long research project after Zehme died in 2023. In today's episode, Thomas joins NPR's Scott Simon to discuss the divisions between Carson's public and private personas. Then, Shirley MacLaine's personal photo walls feature pictures of dignitaries, starlets and leaders like the Obamas, the Dalai Lama, Dolly Parton, Stephen Hawking and others. In her new book, The Wall of Life, MacLaine uses her photo collection as a way to tell her life stories through a scrapbook format. In today's episode, she speaks with Here & Now's Robin Young about past lives, enduring friendships in Hollywood, and the balance between reality and fame.

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Brit Barron's new book is a guide on maintaining relationships in a polarized world

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

We live in a time where it can be difficult to maintain good relationships with people with opposing views. While writing her new book, Do You Still Talk to Grandma?, Brit Barron saw everyone around her struggling to hold this tension while connecting with the people they love. Her book is a guide to navigating those relationships with our loved ones – even when we disagree with them. In today's episode, she talks with NPR's Deepa Fernandes about binary thinking, the issue of social media, and our need to belong.

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With 'Mystical Lotería,' Yvette Montoya reimagines a traditional Latino party game

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 11:15:59 +0000

Author Yvette Montoya didn't grow up playing Lotería, but she discovered the classic Latino party game in college. There, she fell in love with Lotería itself, but also the vibrant art and imagery of its boards and card decks. Now, Montoya has reinvented her own version of the bingo-like game with Mystical Lotería, a game set and book that give the traditional version a spiritual twist. In today's episode, Montoya talks with NPR's A Martínez about incorporating brujería–her witchcraft practice–into Mystical Lotería. They also discuss the resurgent interest in ancestral veneration within Latino culture, the need to move beyond Western healing modalities, and Día de Los Muertos.

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A parenting book by author Kelley Coleman focuses on the care of disabled children

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Parents of disabled children are responsible for navigating a number of complex systems, from educational services and accommodation to medical care. Author Kelley Coleman, whose son has an undiagnosed genetic syndrome, says that parenting a disabled child can be hard–but hard is not bad. That's the central framework of her book, Everything No One Tells You About Parenting a Disabled Child, which came out earlier this year. In today's episode, Coleman speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about their joyful and difficult parenting moments, how to access the support needed for kids to thrive, and teaching self-advocacy.

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A shocking discovery follows an artist's death in Paula Hawkins' 'The Blue Hour'

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Author Paula Hawkins is best known for her 2015 novel The Girl on the Train. Her new book, The Blue Hour, is also a thriller, this time set on a remote but idyllic Scottish island. The novel focuses on the death of artist Vanessa Chapman, who leaves behind her diaries and a piece of art that sets off a shocking discovery. The story that follows involves secrets, lies and murder. In today's episode, Hawkins speaks with Here & Now's Deborah Becker about how the ownership and interpretation of Vanessa's legacy is disputed among the book's other characters. They also discuss the complexity of long-term female friendships, how women are treated in the public eye and the unreliability of our own narratives.

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'Tías and Primas' and 'Linguaphile' are new nonfiction books on family and language

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Two new nonfiction books blend research and memoir to explore ideas of family, language and culture. Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez's Tías and Primas draws on her experience being raised in a large Nicaraguan family, one that she describes as messier than the typical nuclear model. Her relationships with her mother, cousins, and aunts shaped her view of the world and the female archetypes that exist within Latin American culture. In today's episode, Rodríguez speaks with NPR's A Martínez about how nuance is lost in Latina stereotypes, the cultural significance of ghost encounters, and practicing critique from a place of love. Then, Julie Sedivy is a linguistics and psychology professor who started speaking five languages before first grade. Growing up in diverse linguistic environments inspired her memoir Linguaphile, which explores the relationship between language, emotion and life. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Eric Westervelt about the way linguistic divisions reflect our social reality and the surprising strengths of the aging brain.

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'Big Jim and the White Boy,' a new graphic novel, reinterprets a Mark Twain classic

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Since its publication in 1885, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been celebrated as one of the great American works of literature. But the novel has also been criticized for how Mark Twain stereotyped Black characters like Jim, the enslaved man who befriends Huck Finn. Now, author David Walker and illustrator Marcus Kwame Anderson have reimagined this story with Jim at its center. Their new graphic novel, Big Jim and the White Boy, is an action story filled with adventures, fight sequences and an acknowledgment of the danger of the world Jim operates within. In today's episode, Anderson and Walker join NPR's Scott Simon to discuss the novel, including what they did to turn Jim into a multidimensional character, their decision to keep the N-word in their retelling and whether Huck and Jim were ever really friends.

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Stanley Tucci records 12 months of eating in his food diary 'What I Ate in One Year'

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

Stanley Tucci of Searching for Italy and The Devil Wears Prada fame loves food—especially the comforting taste of home-cooked Italian cuisine. But in 2017, when Tucci was diagnosed with oral cancer, he temporarily lost his sense of taste. A year later, following treatment that included six months on a feeding tube, he became cancer-free. Since then, Tucci has thought and written a lot about death and his desire to freeze time. In today's episode, Tucci joins NPR's A Martinez to talk about what makes a great meal, how life revolves around food, and his new book What I Ate in One Year.

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In Winsome Bingham's 'The Walk,' a community bands together to head to the polls

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 10:58:57 +0000

Author Winsome Bingham was raised in a community that gathered together to vote. But as a kid, she didn't realize how important this practice was to her life. Illustrator E.B. Lewis had a different childhood experience with elections. His parents voted but would do so almost in secret. As a result, Lewis didn't become a voter until his late 20s. In their children's book, The Walk (A Stroll to the Poll), published in 2023, Bingham and Lewis hope to give kids insight into this democratic process. In the book, a child and her grandmother pick up friends and neighbors on their way to the polls, forming a civically-minded procession. In today's episode, NPR's Scott Simon introduces a conversation between the author and illustrator about how children learn by watching adults act and how voting can be a collective–rather than individual–experience.

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Bob Woodward's new book 'War' invites readers into a world of back-channel diplomacy

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 08:00:59 +0000

It's been 50 years since the publication of All the President's Men, but journalist Bob Woodward says he hasn't changed his approach to political reporting. His new book, War, aims to bring readers as close as possible to the rooms where globally consequential diplomacy takes place. War focuses on three major conflicts and has already made headlines, detailing new information about the continued relationship between former President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In today's episode, Woodward speaks with NPR's Scott Detrow about a high-stakes call between Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Russian counterparts about the potential use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, the conflict between Israel and Iran, and Woodward's observations on Vice President Harris' role in foreign diplomacy.

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'Patriot' is a posthumous memoir by the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 10:31:32 +0000

Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, died in a Siberian prison this past February–and in his diary entries, Navalny wrote that he knew he might not make it out alive. Those diaries are part of Navalny's new memoir, Patriot, published posthumously with help from his widow, Yulia Navalnaya. The book details some of Navalny's darkest moments in his fight for a more democratic Russia, but also showcases the leader's characteristic humor. In today's episode, Navalnaya joins NPR's Ari Shapiro to talk about a pivotal conversation between the couple during a prison visit, the duality of her late husband's personality as a serious politician and an ordinary family man, and taking up the mantle of the Russian opposition movement after Navalny's death.

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'American Scary' documents a cultural obsession with horror in the United States

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Horror and scary stories are part of a long American tradition that dates back to the Salem witch trials. Columbia professor and cultural historian Jeremy Dauber traces this legacy in a new book, American Scary, from the fears of early English settlers to contemporary horror media like the films of Jordan Peele. The book draws surprising connections between the way collective fears are represented in seemingly disparate literature, like in the works of authors like Frederick Douglass and Edgar Allen Poe. In today's episode, Dauber speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about how some of our most monstrous figures have changed shape over the generations while staying rooted in core fears. Dauber also argues that what scares us–whether zombies, vampires, witches or our neighbors–is representative of the deepest anxieties of our time.

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In 'Ottolenghi Comfort,' Yotam Ottolenghi takes an expansive view of comfort food

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Yotam Ottolenghi's books are a fixture on the shelves of many home cooks. In his latest cookbook, written with co-authors Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller and Tara Wigley, the Israeli-British chef and restaurateur turns his eye towards comfort food. Ottolenghi Comfort considers the rituals and recipes that produce comfort in our culinary experiences, like the simple acts of holding a bowl or making a one-pot meal. In today's episode, Ottolenghi speaks with Here & Now's Robin Young about the memories we carry with us, whether they're connected to a childhood dish or an Oasis song. They also discuss the chef's perfect equation for comfort food, which often involves cauliflower.

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Al Pacino's memoir 'Sonny Boy' is a story of adventure, starting in the South Bronx

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Al Pacino's childhood was spent in a tough neighborhood in the South Bronx. But he grew up among a crew of wild kids who often found themselves on adventures rivaling those of Huckleberry Finn. Those childhood antics proved foundational for Pacino, who details these stories and more in a new memoir, Sonny Boy. In today's episode, Pacino speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about the experiences that ignited and fed his love of acting, like a performance of Chekhov's The Seagull that changed his life. They also discuss the influence of the actor's mother and grandfather on his upbringing and whether Pacino still feels like a nonconformist at 84 years old.

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Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha bears witness to war in 'Forest of Noise'

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 21:25:49 +0000

Since the war in Gaza began, Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha says he has not lived a normal life. He lost 31 members of his extended family in an airstrike and now, he checks the list of casualties every day. Still, he has continued to write poetry. Abu Toha's new collection of poems, Forest of Noise, aims to document what he's witnessed and deliver the emotional experiences of Palestinians living in devastation and fear. In today's episode, Abu Toha speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about what the news fails to recognize about the war in Gaza and about the U.S. government's role in the conflict.

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Rebecca Yarros on literary tropes, writing through chronic illness and 'Fourth Wing'

Sat, 26 Oct 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Rebecca Yarros is the author of The Empyrean series, a wildly popular collection of "romantasy" novels. In a conversation with NPR's Emily Kwong at this year's National Book Festival, Yarros said she wanted to plot an enemies-to-lovers story when she began writing Fourth Wing, the first book in this series. In today's episode, Yarros talks about the genre tropes she tries to embrace and avoid in her writing. She also discusses working through a chronic illness, how history and politics shape her stories, and the influence of her husband's military experience on how she approaches themes of violence in her work.

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In new children's books from Trevor Noah and Travis Jonker, adventure is not far off

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

In two new children's books, characters discover worlds of adventure just outside their doorsteps. Trevor Noah's first picture book, Into the Uncut Grass, is about a young boy and his teddy bear who wander outside the boundaries of their home into unknown territory. The story, illustrated by Sabina Hahn, is about exploring the internal world of a child's imagination and bridging disagreements and differences. In today's episode, Noah speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about how children can begin to grasp the interior lives of their parents and how humor can be a way to process reality. Then, librarian and author Travis Jonker and illustrator Matthew Cordell join Rascoe for a conversation about their new book, The Ship in the Window. They said the book was inspired by a real-life model ship Jonker spotted at a neighbor's house. In the interview, Jonker and Cordell discuss other references for the book, including the work of author William Steig and the book's vintage-inspired color palette.

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A new biography portrays Queen Elizabeth II as the British public's emotional anchor

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Author and essayist Craig Brown is perhaps best known for his sketch comedy writing and satirical columns poking fun at the British government. But he's also a biographer, having written about subjects like Princess Margaret and The Beatles. Now, he's turned his attention to Queen Elizabeth II in a new biography, Q: A Voyage Around the Queen. In the book, Brown portrays the monarch as an anchor for the British public who penetrated the emotional psyche of a nation–even appearing in people's dreams. In today's episode, Brown joins NPR's Scott Simon to talk about what Queen Elizabeth II symbolized to people, what she would've done with her life had she not been royalty, and the unchanging nature of her character.

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'How Women Made Music' reexamines the history of music with women at its center

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Earlier this week, several legendary female artists–including Cher, Mary J. Blige and Big Mama Thornton–were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But despite this recognition, the history of women in popular music has always been marked by struggle. How Women Made Music, a new book from NPR Music and edited by Alison Fensterstock, centers and celebrates that radical history by compiling archival interviews, essays and images from the past 50 years. In today's episode, NPR's Ann Powers talks with NPR's Scott Detrow about the multi-platform project that inspired the book and how female artists have changed history by making revolutionary music–not just by telling their stories.

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With a new cookbook, TikTok creator Owen Han aims to perfect the art of the sandwich

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Owen Han used to work in hospitals, but his life changed in 2020 when his father died. Motivated by his late father's encouragement to pursue his passions, Han started posting food content on TikTok. He shared recipes for dishes inspired by his Italian and Chinese heritage, like his grandmother's shrimp toast. Since then, Han has become known for his creative twists on classic sandwiches–and fittingly, sandwiches are the focus of his new cookbook, 'Stacked.' In today's episode, Han joins NPR's Scott Simon to talk about his expansive definition of a sandwich and how ASMR has inspired his approach to texture.

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'The Indian Card' explores the question of Native identity in the United States

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 07:00:29 +0000

Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz is a self-proclaimed data nerd. So, when she started work on a project on Native identity, she turned to the Census data. Quickly, she noticed that the number of people in the United States who identify as Native had skyrocketed over the last decade. That data made her curious about how communities–and the federal government–have historically defined Native identity. The result of that project is a new nonfiction book, The Indian Card, which combines research and interviews to tell stories about the relationship between identity and bureaucracy. In today's episode, Lowry Schuettpelz joins NPR's Scott Detrow to talk about the historical and personal impact of federal policies like the Indian Relocation Act, blood quantum and tribal enrollment.

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Food meets family in new books from Ina Garten and Stephen Colbert

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Ina Garten and Stephen Colbert share some big commonalities. They've both had long and successful careers in television, they're friends–and they love food. Garten has built her career around her persona as the Barefoot Contessa, with recipes that find the intersection between simple and interesting. And now, she's out with a memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens. Colbert also has a food-centered book, although his project is a cookbook co-authored with his wife, Evie McGee-Colbert. In today's episode, NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Garten about growing up in a home where food was strictly fuel and about the joy of solving complex problems. Later, Shapiro talks with the Colberts about the cuisine of the South Carolina Lowcountry and how they've finally learned to play sous-chef for each other 31 years into their marriage.

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'Twenty-Four Seconds from Now' is a love story for Black boys–and everyone else, too

Thu, 17 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Earlier this month, novelist and poet Jason Reynolds received a grant from the MacArthur Foundation for his work "depicting the rich inner lives of kids of color." The latest example of that work is Twenty-Four Seconds from Now..., Reynolds' new young adult novel. The book follows a young Black couple, Neon and Aria, high school seniors who face a potential split as one of them prepares to attend college. The novel explores the couple's decisions around love and intimacy as they navigate their relationship while receiving mixed advice from parents and friends. In today's episode, Reynolds speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about how rare it is for love stories to be narrated by Black boys and the complexity of young men's interior lives, especially around topics like body image and sex.

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In 'In Praise of Mystery,' U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón looks to the stars

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

NASA's Europa Clipper took off earlier this week, headed for Jupiter's fourth-largest moon. Etched on the outside of the spacecraft is a poem by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón called "In Praise of Mystery." Now, that poem, which celebrates human curiosity, has been adapted into a picture book by the same name, illustrated by Peter Sís. In today's episode, Limón speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelley about her collaboration with Sís and how to write a poem with staying power across time and space. Finally, Limón reads her poem out loud.

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Malcolm Gladwell revisits old ideas in a new book, 'Revenge of the Tipping Point'

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

When Malcolm Gladwell released The Tipping Point in 2000, the book became a huge bestseller–and Gladwell became a star. Nearly a quarter-century later, the journalist and podcaster revisits that work. Revenge of the Tipping Point employs Gladwell's familiar methods, using storytelling to examine the spread of negative social behavior by pharmaceutical companies, bank robbers and Medicare fraudsters. In today's episode, the author sits down with NPR's Steve Inskeep to discuss why Gladwell's view of society has darkened over time and what the author thinks of his harshest critics.

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Han Kang, winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in literature, on her novel 'The Vegetarian'

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

South Korean author Han Kang is this year's recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature, making her the first Korean writer to win the award. In its citation, the Swedish Academy commended Han "for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life." Both of these themes are present in the author's 2007 novel, The Vegetarian, which tells the story of a young woman who decides to give up meat. In today's episode, we revisit a 2016 interview between Han and NPR's Linda Wertheimer, which took place around the time of The Vegetarian's publication in English. In the interview, they discussed gender politics, how women cope with trauma, and Han's "long-lasting question about human violence."

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American Library Association president Cindy Hohl on why book bans are hard to stop

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Cindy Hohl, the current president of the American Library Association, says the political temperature surrounding book bans has remained at a boiling point. Over the last year of her tenure, Hohl has witnessed librarians exit the profession due to increased stress, ridicule and public pressure to remove certain titles from their libraries–particularly those related to race and LGBTQ+ identity. Although these battles are particularly pronounced in hot spots like Florida and Texas, they're being fought in communities all over the country. In today's episode, NPR's Andrew Limbong speaks with Hohl about what librarians can and can't do to push back against this cycle of censorship and what it's like to lead through times of crisis.

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In Simone St. James' 'Murder Road,' a lakeside honeymoon turns into a murder mystery

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

In 1995, a mostly pre-digital age, it was much easier to get lost–especially on a strange road in the middle of the night. This time period is the setting for Simone St. James' thriller Murder Road, which came out earlier this year. In the book, newlyweds are en route to a lakeside cabin in Michigan when they take a wrong turn and discover a hitchhiker needing help. That chance meeting lands the young couple at the center of a series of mysterious murders. In today's episode, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with St. James about weaving the supernatural into her fiction and the appeal of true crime.

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'Building Material' is the memoir of a Park Avenue doorman

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Stephen Bruno is a doorman for a high-end building on Manhattan's Park Avenue, where he's worked for 14 years. Bruno says that while he treats every occupant like his boss, he routinely blurs professional boundaries by forming close friendships with his residents. Now, those friendships–and the many other stories from Bruno's building–form the basis of his new memoir, Building Material. In today's episode, Bruno speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about taking notes on the job, breaking the "don't get close rule," and a documentary about August Wilson that saved his writing career.

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Jules Feiffer, 'The Phantom Tollbooth' illustrator, is out with a new graphic novel

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Jules Feiffer has been drawing and writing for a living since he was 17 years old. Now 95, the illustrator behind The Phantom Tollbooth is out with his first graphic novel for middle grade readers. That book, Amazing Grapes, kicks off with a father's departure, which sets in motion a series of adventures across dimensions for his three children. A two-headed swan serves as the master of ceremonies for the story. In today's episode, Feiffer speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about how play has become more central to the author's life as he's grown older and about his writing process, which involves a lot of scribbling.

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'How to Build a Fashion Icon' is stylist Law Roach's guide to image architecture

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Stylist Law Roach grew up in Chicago watching his grandmother get ready for church. He said observing her process first exposed him to the art form of being a woman. Since then, Roach has become what he calls an "image architect," styling celebrity clients like Zendaya, Celine Dion and Anya Taylor-Joy. Roach's new book How to Build a Fashion Icon is both a memoir and a manual that adapts the stylist's fashion guidelines for a non-celebrity audience. In today's episode, Roach visits NPR West for a styling session and conversation with NPR's Ailsa Chang about reflecting power and confidence in one's external image.

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'Hope for Cynics' and 'On Freedom' ask big-picture questions about how we live

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

In today's episode, two new nonfiction books take on big themes: cynicism and freedom. In his new book, Hope for Cynics, Stanford psychology professor Jamil Zaki argues that cynicism is unhealthy not only for individuals, but also for communities and even entire nations. He speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about why Americans have grown more cynical over the last 50 years and how a close friend inspired Zaki to move towards "hopeful skepticism." Then, Yale historian Timothy Snyder joins NPR's Scott Simon from Ukraine to talk about how the American definition of freedom can be too narrow. They also discuss how Snyder's thinking on freedom has been shaped by his time in Ukraine.

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In 'We Solve Murders,' Richard Osman introduces a new detective trio

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Richard Osman is the author of the popular Thursday Murder Club book series. But despite the success of that project, Osman said he wanted to spread his wings with a fresh palette and a new cast of characters. His new novel, We Solve Murders, follows a detective trio as they try to outsmart a supervillain. In today's episode, Osman talks with NPR's Scott Simon about how he originally set out to center the story around a crime-solving duo, not trio. They also discuss Osman's interest in writing about subjects like fame, those we might underestimate, and evil people who aren't evil all the time.

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Lyndsay Rush's new book of poems, 'A Bit Much,' was written for poetry skeptics

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Lyndsay Rush was never a big fan of poetry. But after discovering the world of internet poets through Instagram, she discovered that writing poetry could be attainable–and fun. Now, Rush is out with a new collection of poems, partially drawn from her popular Instagram account, @maryoliversdrunkcousin. In today's episode, Rush speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the origins of the author's Instagram handle, Rush's reinterpretation of Mary Oliver's poem "Wild Geese," and the book's dedication to Michelle Pfeiffer.

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Ta-Nehisi Coates returns to political writing in his new book 'The Message'

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Ta-Nehisi Coates is no stranger to political writing–or controversy. But his new book, The Message, marks the author's return to nonfiction almost a decade after the publication of Between the World and Me. The new book of essays focuses on Coates' reporting in three central locations: the American South, Palestine and Africa. In today's episode, Coates speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about books bans and criticism of the author's position on the war in Gaza.

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Richard Powers' new novel 'Playground' is filled with awe for the ocean

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 07:00:59 +0000

In Richard Powers' new novel Playground, technology and the environment meet on the island of Makatea in French Polynesia. The book weaves stories together from across decades, but revolves around core themes like awe for the vastness of our oceans and the centrality of play in the story of human survival. In today's episode, Powers talks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about some of the many inspirations behind Playground, including games, a book on coral reefs gifted to him by his sister, and Silicon Valley's obsession with seasteading.

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Newbery Medalist Meg Medina and NBA star Jayson Tatum are out with children's books

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Newbery Medalist Meg Medina remembers her childhood babysitter perfectly. Medina called her Señora Mimí–and now, the author is celebrating caregivers of all kinds in her new children's book. No More Señora Mimí, illustrated by Brittany Cicchese, tells the story of a little girl whose relationship with her babysitter changes after the girl's grandmother moves in. Then, NBA champion Jayson Tatum is also out with a new kids' book. Baby Dunks-a-Lot, co-authored by Sam Apple and illustrated by Parker-Nia Gordon, is about a baby basketball star. In today's episode, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe introduces a conversation between Medina and Cicchese about illustrating culturally specific references, like Cuban crackers, and representing subtle changes in a children's story. Then, Here & Now's Scott Tong chats with Tatum about the NBA player's relationship with his son and the upcoming Celtics season.

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'What If We Get It Right?' envisions new possibilities for our climate future

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 07:00:59 +0000

It can be difficult to feel optimistic when faced with the existential threat of climate change. But a new book from marine biologist and writer Ayana Elizabeth Johnson asks us to imagine a different version of our climate future: one in which things work out. What If We Get It Right? is a collection of essays and interviews with environmental experts, farmers, advocates, architects, investors and others on what it would look like to "get it right" on climate change. In today's episode, Johnson speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about tailoring climate conversations for different audiences, moving from an extractive to a regenerative economy in this decade and the effort it will take to create a new future.

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In the new book 'Want,' Gillian Anderson collects other women's sexual fantasies

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 07:00:59 +0000

The actress Gillian Anderson plays a sex therapist on Netflix's Sex Education. Now, in her off-screen life, Anderson has taken on a similar role: gathering the sexual fantasies of women from around the world. The result, Want, is an edited collection of anonymous submissions exploring women's intimate desires and the spectrum of female sexuality. In today's episode, Anderson speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the 1970s book that inspired the project, how the changing media landscape has influenced how women think about sex and the difficulty of asking for what we really want.

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'City in Ruins' is the finale of the Danny Ryan trilogy–and of Don Winslow's career

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Novelist Don Winslow says City in Ruins is his last book. The third novel in the author's Danny Ryan trilogy completes the series, a contemporary crime epic that draws inspiration from Greek and Roman classics like The Aeneid. In today's episode, Winslow talks with NPR's Scott Simon about working on this trilogy over the course of 30 years and his kinship with the novels' protagonist. They also discuss Winslow's decision to retire, which he says is partially motivated by a desire to invest more energy into political activism.

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In 'Who's That Girl?' Eve reflects on her time in a male-dominated hip-hop industry

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 07:00:59 +0000

With songs like "Let Me Blow Ya Mind," "Satisfaction" and "Tambourine," Eve's music was a staple of early 2000s hip-hop. In her new memoir, Who's That Girl? Eve and co-author Kathy Iandoli detail the rocky path to the rapper's success. In today's episode, Eve speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about coming up in a male-dominated hip-hop industry. They discuss an early-career setback, female representation in hip-hop today and why Eve disagrees with being called a "kept woman."

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James McBride on music, writing and 'The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store'

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 07:00:59 +0000

James McBride, the literary giant and author of books like The Color of Water and Deacon King Kong, was awarded this year's Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. In a conversation with NPR's Michel Martin at the National Book Festival, he said that leaving a career in journalism allowed him to find creative fulfillment in fiction. In today's episode, McBride discusses growing up in a community that relied on laughter, keeping a notebook on him at all times, and the inspiration behind his most recent novel, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store.

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'Represent' charts the United States' long struggle for the right to vote

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Election denialism and myths of voter fraud have long been part of the history of the United States. In their new book, Represent: The Unfinished Fight for the Vote, Michael Eric Dyson and Marc Favreau trace the contentious battle for democratic representation from the American Revolution to the present day–up to the 2024 election. In today's episode, Dyson and Favreau speak with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about lesser-known heroes in the struggle for voting rights, the political impact of non-voters and the legacy of recent events like the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

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In 'Entitlement,' a young woman helps an elderly billionaire give away his fortune

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 07:00:59 +0000

In Rumaan Alam's new novel, Entitlement, Brooke, a former teacher, is given a rare opportunity. She takes a job with an 83-year-old billionaire and is tasked with helping him decide what to do with his fortune. But, as Brooke spends more time in proximity to such great wealth, the experience begins to distort her sense of priorities, ambitions and personal ethics. In today's episode, Alam speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about the stratification of wealth, whether we're living through a new Gilded Age and the effect money has on us.

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Venus Williams' new book 'Strive' is a personal guide to physical and mental health

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Tennis legend Venus Williams has a lot on her plate. There's her tennis career, of course, but also business pursuits in fashion, interior design, nail art and more. As a result, Williams says it can be difficult for her to find balance. In her new book Strive, she details eight steps she follows in pursuit of this balance between her mental, physical and emotional health. In today's episode, Williams speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about learning from an early-career loss at the U.S. Open, resting more and living with an autoimmune disease.

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Rachel Kushner's new novel 'Creation Lake' is inspired by real-life espionage

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Rachel Kushner's new novel, Creation Lake, has all the makings of a great spy thriller: a cool and unknowable secret agent, a mysterious figure who communicates only by email and a radical commune of French eco-activists. Kushner has said that some of these elements were, in fact, inspired by real-world stories of espionage and her own access to the social and political worlds of activist communes. In today's episode, Kushner speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about the murky boundaries of being an undercover agent–and a writer.

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'At War with Ourselves' and 'Broken Open' are memoirs chronicling internal conflict

Fri, 13 Sep 2024 07:00:59 +0000

New memoirs by former National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster and recovery advocate William Cope Moyers document conflicts of different kinds. In At War with Ourselves, McMaster contends with his years in the Trump administration and the political infighting he experienced at the White House. Moyers' Broken Open documents a more personal struggle with maintaining his sobriety 35 years into his recovery journey. In today's episode, McMaster talks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about the three types of people he encountered at the White House–and what U.S. foreign policy would look like under a second Trump presidency. Later, Moyers speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about what happens when sobriety is jeopardized.

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'The Museum of Failures' follows a father-to-be as he stumbles upon family secrets

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 07:00:59 +0000

The Museum of Failures follows Remy Wadia, an Indian American ad executive who left India for the United States years ago. But when Remy returns to Bombay to adopt a child, he realizes things aren't as he left them. Remy's mother is ill, and soon, he uncovers a shocking family secret. Thrity Umrigar's novel, first released last year, is now out in paperback. In today's episode, Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes speaks with Umrigar about gender roles, parenthood and the psychic toll of leaving home.

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In 'The Stories We Cannot Tell,' difficult pregnancies unite two very different women

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Over 25 years ago, author Leslie Rasmussen connected with a stranger over challenges with their fertility. That friendship inspired her 2023 novel, The Stories We Cannot Tell, which follows two very different women who contend with excruciating decisions around their pregnancies. In today's episode, Rasmussen talks with NPR's Leila Fadel about her years-long fertility struggle, the difficulty of discussing the decision to terminate a pregnancy, and the political context surrounding her novel following the fall of Roe v. Wade.

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In 'We're Alone,' Edwidge Danticat's essays extend an invitation to be together

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Edwidge Danticat is known for her novels and short stories. But her new book, We're Alone, is a collection of eight wide-ranging essays. These essays touch on intimate and historical topics: Danticat's past and present, the history of Haiti, parenting, migration and the author's connection to her literary heroes. In today's episode, Danticat speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about the complexity of nostalgia and the Haiti she remembers.

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'A Pair of Wings' draws inspiration from Bessie Coleman, the first Black woman to fly

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Carole Hopson wanted to be a pilot since childhood, but it wasn't until her mid-30s that she learned about Bessie Coleman, the first Black woman to earn her pilot's license in 1921. Coleman's story not only encouraged Hopson to pursue her own career as a commercial pilot, but it also inspired A Pair of Wings, Hopson's first novel. In today's episode, Hopson speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about Coleman's groundbreaking path and about Hopson's own experience as one of few women of color working as a pilot for a major airline. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

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'Anything's Pastable' and 'My Life in Recipes' explore viral pasta and family history

Fri, 06 Sep 2024 11:10:55 +0000

Anything's Pastable and My Life in Recipes, new cookbooks from Dan Pashman and Joan Nathan, get personal in very different ways. Pashman, the James Beard Award-winning podcaster, sets out to revolutionize our relationship with pasta, while Nathan's 12th cookbook blends recipes and memoir to trace her family history through Jewish cuisine. In today's episode, Here & Now's Robin Young talks with Pashman about food innovation, his viral pasta shape and why home cooks shouldn't sweat over homemade sauce. Then, NPR's Ari Shapiro joins Nathan at her home to discuss Jewish holidays, her family's immigration story and the perfect matzo ball soup.

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'Eruption' is a collaboration between Michael Crichton and James Patterson

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Jurassic Park creator Michael Crichton spent years working on a manuscript about a volcano on the verge of a disastrous eruption in Hawaii. After he died in 2008, his wife Sherri found his boxes and boxes of research and decided the novel needed to be finished – so she hit up James Patterson. In today's episode, she and Patterson speak with NPR's Ari Shapiro about how they got Eruption across the finish line more than a decade after her husband's death, and how they managed to pass off the pen throughout the course of the novel.

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Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson talks Supreme Court ethics, family in 'Lovely One'

Wed, 04 Sep 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson remembers her first brush with the national spotlight as "white hot." When President Biden nominated her in 2022 to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, it kicked off an intense confirmation process for Jackson, the first Black woman ever appointed to the Supreme Court. In her new book, Lovely One: A Memoir, Jackson charts her path from the segregated South to the country's highest court. In today's episode, Justice Jackson sits down with NPR's Juana Summers to discuss whether the Supreme Court should adopt a more binding ethics code, the court's ability to deliver a credible opinion on this year's election and her family life, including her daughter's autism diagnosis.

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'The Instrumentalist' is a story about music, imagination and Anna Maria della Pietà

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Harriet Constable learned a lot about the real life of Anna Maria della Pietà — that she grew up in an orphanage, that she was a star violinist and a favored student of Antonio Vivaldi. But in her new novel, The Instrumentalist, Constable also merges fact with fiction to tell the story of Anna Maria's synesthesia and musical talents. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about Anna Maria's life, the challenges and excitement of the classical music world at the time, and what we make of Vivaldi today.

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'Ruin their Crops on the Ground' tracks the history and politics of food in the U.S.

Mon, 02 Sep 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Food is a source of nourishment, joy and autonomy for a lot of people – but in her new book, Ruin their Crops on the Ground, Andrea Freeman also tracks how the U.S. government has used food policy as a form of control and oppression. In today's episode, Freeman speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about how the book's title can be traced back to an order given by George Washington to destroy the food source of Indigenous nations, and how from slavery to Got Milk? campaigns to school lunches today, there's often a bigger political agenda behind nutrition education.

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'The 15-Minute City' and 'Rethinking Rescue' reimagine existing systems

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode features two books that advocate for new approaches to big problems: urban planning, poverty, and dog rescue. First, Here & Now's Scott Tong speaks with Carlos Moreno about The 15-Minute City, his proposal for interconnected communities where schools, grocery stores and offices are all a short walk or bike ride away from each other. Then, Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd speaks with Carol Mithers about Rethinking Rescue, which profiles Lori Weise, aka the Dog Lady, and examines her belief that animal welfare and efforts to help people going through economic instability should go hand in hand.

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'How to Leave the House' follows a quest for a missing package

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Natwest, 23, is about to finally leave for university. But a package he's waiting for has gone missing and – fearing humiliation if its contents are found out – he spends 24 hours looking for it all over town. That's the premise of Nathan Newman's comic novel, How to Leave the House. In today's episode, Newman speaks with NPR's David Folkenflik about some of the odd neighborhood characters Natwest bumps into along the way, and how their own concerns and their perceptions of Natwest completely challenge the notion of who he thinks he is as the protagonist of his own story.

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In 'On the Edge,' Nate Silver analyzes professional risk-takers

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

What do hedge fund managers, poker players and the scientist behind the mRNA vaccine have in common? In his new book, On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything, Nate Silver argues that they all exist in what he calls "the River" – a community of like-minded power brokers taking quantitative risks. In today's episode, Silver speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about what differentiates "the River" from what he calls "the Village" – think journalists and professors – and how cancel culture plays a role in this societal structure.

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'Hurdles in the Dark' is a memoir about a kidnapping, juvenile detention and racing

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Elvira K. Gonzalez says there was a lot of beauty to growing up in the culturally rich border town of Laredo, Texas. But there were some challenges, too. Her new memoir, Hurdles in the Dark, chronicles some of the more difficult aspects of her adolescence — her mom was kidnapped, Gonzalez was sent to juvenile detention, and she was preyed upon by her hurdling coaches. In today's episode, the author speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about the resilience and optimism she carried through all of that, and how it's gotten her to where she is today.

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Graphic novel 'Einstein in Kafkaland' ponders how two great minds met in Prague

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

From 1911 to 1912, Albert Einstein and Franz Kafka both lived in Prague. A new graphic novel by Ken Krimstein uses both history and artistic imagination to explore how the physicist and writer ran in the same social circles and how their work might have influenced each other. In today's episode, Krimstein speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about Einstein in Kafkaland and the brilliant academic and literary scene in Prague during that time period.

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'Us, After' and 'A Haunted Girl' tackle mental health

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Warning: this episode contains mention of suicide and mental illness. If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Today's episode is about two books that focus on mental health challenges. First, Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with Rachel Zimmerman about Us, After, a memoir that details the grief and growth Zimmerman underwent when she had to pick herself and her children back up after her husband took his own life. Then, Robin speaks with dad daughter duo Ethan and Naomi Sacks about A Haunted Girl, a graphic novel that depicts a young girl's struggles with anxiety and depression through a supernatural lens.

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Gabino Iglesias' 'House of Bone and Rain' is a tale of vengeance in Puerto Rico

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Bram Stoker Award-winning author, Gabino Iglesias, knows what it's like for grief and anger to turn deadly. That's what he explores in his new novel, House of Bone and Rain, which follows six close friends who vow to avenge the murder of one of their own mothers as a hurricane approaches. In today's episode, Iglesias, who's a frequent book critic for NPR, speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about what it's like to be part of a brotherhood so deep, you consider each other to be "ride or die" friends – but why maybe there really shouldn't be any need for the latter.

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'Drawn Testimony' is a courtroom sketch artist's memoir spanning 40 years

Wed, 21 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Courtroom sketch artist Jane Rosenberg has worked on some of the biggest trials of the last 40 years, drawing the likes of Martha Stewart, Jeffrey Epstein, and most recently, Donald Trump. Her new memoir, Drawn Testimony, examines her unique role in the news cycle, where art and criminal justice collide. In today's episode, Rosenberg speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about how she got into this line of work, why mobsters are fun to draw and which high-profile defendant asked her to add more hair to his portrait.

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Rufaro Faith Mazarura's 'Let the Games Begin' is a rom-com set in the Olympic village

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

The fictional Olympics at the heart of Rufaro Faith Mazarura's novel, Let the Games Begin, kick off in Athens. And in the middle of one of the most important athletic competitions in the world, star runner Zeke and Olympic organizing committee intern Olivia are thrown together against all odds in what becomes a whirlwind romance. In today's episode, the author speaks with The Indicator's Wailin Wong about why the Olympics are such a good backdrop for a rom-com, why there was a dearth of these stories, and how the International Olympic Committee's copyright rules impacted her writing.

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'We Were Illegal' examines Texas history through multiple generations of one family

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

After she worked on a book about refugee resettlement in the U.S., writer Jessica Goudeau says she realized she knew very little about how her own family arrived in Texas. Her new book, We Were Illegal, looks at multiple generations of her family and how their lives reflected a history of racism, slavery and violence in her home state. In today's episode, Goudeau speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about how family secrets and the language we use to talk about our lineage contributes to the mythmaking of America, and why she wanted to put those difficult conversations out in the open.

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Two books revisit the cultural impacts of Tina Turner, Duke Ellington and more

Fri, 16 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode highlights two books that revisit the cultural contributions of some pretty big names. First, Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes speaks with Deborah Paredez about American Diva, which reclaims the word 'diva' to celebrate the singularity of women like Serena Williams and Celia Cruz. Then, NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Larry Tye about The Jazzmen, which traces the role that Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Count Basie played in the civil rights movement.

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Sheetal Sheth pens a children's book about Raksha Bandhan in 'Raashi's Rakhis'

Thu, 15 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

The Hindu holiday Raksha Bandhan is just around the corner – and in a new children's book called Raashi's Rakhis, actor and activist Sheetal Sheth writes about an empowered little girl, Raashi, who asks some pretty big questions about the gender roles prescribed to one of her favorite celebrations. In today's episode, Sheth speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about how she questioned her own parents as a first-generation Indian American, why she wanted to write from a place of inclusivity, and how she navigates some of the backlash she's gotten for doing so.

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In 'Bringing Ben Home,' Barbara Bradley Hagerty examines a wrongful conviction

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

In 1987, a Black 22-year-old named Ben Spencer was convicted of murdering a white man in Texas. In 2021, he was cleared of those charges and released from prison. A new book by former NPR reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty, Bringing Ben Home, dives into what went wrong within the Texas legal system for Spencer to serve so much time in prison for a crime he has always said he did not commit. In today's episode, Bradley Hagerty speaks with NPR's Ailsa Chang about her own investigation into the case and the kind of criminal justice reform she says is necessary to prevent this from happening again.

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In 'Five-Star Stranger,' a man gets hired on an app to pretend to be a girl's father

Tue, 13 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

There's an app for everything. In Kat Tang's debut novel Five-Star Stranger, there's even one that allows you to hire someone you've never met to play a role in your life, like to be best man at a wedding or pretend to be the father of a child. In today's episode, Tang speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about the titular stranger at the heart of her story, who is going around New York taking on a number of roles, and how he starts to crack as he reexamines his relationship to a woman who's hired him to pretend to be her husband – and to the girl who believes she's his daughter.

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In 'Midnight in Moscow,' a U.S. ambassador recounts his time in Russia

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

John J. Sullivan served as U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2019 to 2022. He was there during Russia's invasion of Ukraine – and he writes about that time frankly in his new memoir, Midnight in Moscow. But in today's episode, he also opens up to NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about some of the other strange, even funny moments during his service, like what it's like to sit across a table from Vladimir Putin or how difficult it is to walk into a store and buy an iPad as a diplomat in Russia.

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Nancy Pelosi opens up about how she wields 'The Art of Power'

Fri, 09 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says her new book, The Art of Power, is not a memoir. Instead, she says, it's an inside look at specific moments in American history – like the 2008 financial crisis and January 6 – and how she navigated them. In today's episode, the Speaker Emerita sits down with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly to discuss why she didn't want to run for office in the first place, how she looks back on some of the biggest decisions she's made while in power, and what role she played in President Biden's decision to step down from the 2024 race.

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M.T. Anderson's 'Nicked' follows a heist to steal the bones of Saint Nicholas

Thu, 08 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

National Book Award winner M.T. Anderson has written his first novel for adults. Nicked is set in 1087 and follows a monk and treasure hunter looking to steal the bones of Saint Nicholas – this is based on true events — in hopes it will miraculously cure a plague raging through the Italian city of Bari. In today's episode, Anderson speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about why he considers the comic novel a 'medieval noir' and what it means to believe — or not believe – in miracles.

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Juli Min's novel 'Shanghailanders' unfolds in reverse

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

At the start of Juli Min's debut novel, it's 2040 in Shanghai, and a wealthy real estate developer is parting ways with his wife and adult daughters at the airport. But as the story progresses, Shanghailanders moves back in time, slowly unraveling the dreams, decisions and mistakes of the members of this family all the way back to 2014. In today's episode, Min speaks with NPR's Ailsa Chang about why she decided to write the events of the book in this order, and how the city of Shanghai is a character all on its own.

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Cory Richards' memoir covers mountains, photography and mental health

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Cory Richards made a name for himself taking photographs across the globe for National Geographic. His new memoir, The Color of Everything, grapples with the harsh realities of high-end climbing, fame, mortality – and some of the not-so-great things he's done. In today's episode, Richards speaks with NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer about why he jokes the book is a bit of 'memoir, mountains, mea culpa' and what it means for public figures to open up about their pitfalls.

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Sarah Perry's 'Enlightenment' ponders faith, astronomy and friendship

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Sarah Perry's novel, Enlightenment, recently received a Booker Prize nomination. It follows the relationship between two friends, with a 30 year age difference, as they confront the role of the church, the outside world and the cosmos in their lives over the course of two decades. In today's episode, Perry speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about her religious upbringing, her pandemic telescope and the role it played in her writing.

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Novels by Claire Lombardo and Catherine Newman explore different stages of motherhood

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode highlights two books that deal with what it means to be a mom, a wife and a multi-faceted, complicated woman. First, NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben speaks with Claire Lombardo about her novel Same As It Ever Was, which jumps through different phases of protagonist Julia's life to understand her relationship with her son, her husband and an ex-best friend. Then, Danielle Kurtzleben asks Catherine Newman about Sandwich, which takes place during a family's summer vacation in Cape Cod and follows the main character Rocky finding her place between her adult children and her aging parents.

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'The Boiling Moat' plants a military strategy to prevent China's capture of Taiwan

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Matt Pottinger used to cover China for Reuters and The Wall Street Journal before working as a deputy national security advisor for the Trump administration. Now, he's edited a new book called The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan. In today's episode, Pottinger speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about the global fallout that could result from China annexing Taiwan and the military strategy he thinks the U.S., Australia and other countries should implement to prevent a larger conflict from breaking out.

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Jon M. Chu's memoir 'Viewfinder' traces his journey to making movies

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Before he was the director behind films like Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights and Wicked, Jon M. Chu was a teenager in Los Altos, California, playing around with a camera and working at his parents' Chinese restaurant. That's the journey behind his new memoir, Viewfinder. And in today's episode, he speaks with another kid from Los Altos – NPR's Ailsa Chang – about how his parents' attitude towards assimilation shaped his upbringing and how they ended up supporting his dreams of making movies.

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In 'Liars,' Sarah Manguso explores a marriage falling apart

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

When author Sarah Manguso was going through a divorce a few years ago, she says she put her rage into writing her novel Liars. It's about the dissolution of a marriage, and a woman reckoning with the failures of her relationship on a personal and societal level. In today's episode, Manguso tells NPR's Andrew Limbong how her protagonist's experiences differ from her own, and why different characters are to blame for the lying mentioned in the title.

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Stephen Graham Jones explores a new side of horror in 'I Was a Teenage Slasher'

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

A small Texas town in the late 1980s, two teenagers on the outside of the social scene, and a curse for revenge. That's the setup for Stephen Graham Jones' new novel, I Was a Teenage Slasher. But as he tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe, the classic slasher tale at the heart of Jones' book comes with a twist for both the reader and Jones himself as the writer.

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Riley Sager and Johanna Copeland set thrillers in suburbia

Fri, 26 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode features two page-turners full of suspense. First, NPR's Don Gonyea speaks with Todd Ritter – who publishes as Riley Sager – about Middle of the Night, a coming-of-age meets ghost story in which protagonist Ethan Marsh returns to his childhood home and is faced with the decades-old disappearance of his best friend. Then, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly asks Johanna Copeland about Our Kind of Game, and how real-life neighborhood gossip about domestic violence sparked the dark novel about power imbalances in relationships.

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Khushbu Shah's cookbook 'Amrikan' honors the Indian American diaspora

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode is packed with recipes from Khushbu Shah's new cookbook, Amrikan. But beyond that, it's also a conversation with the author and Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about how Indian cuisine has changed with new generations living in diaspora, and how that has led to the introduction of some unlikely ingredients – cream cheese, pickled jalapeños, shokupan — to shake up traditional dishes.

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A look back at Vice President Kamala Harris' memoir, 'The Truths We Hold'

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

On Sunday, President Joe Biden announced he was stepping down from his campaign for reelection this November. Soon after, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who is poised to become the new Democratic nominee by next month's convention. Today on the podcast, we revisit a 2019 interview between NPR's Rachel Martin and then Sen. Harris about her memoir, The Truths We Hold, her analysis of Donald Trump's popularity and her decision to become a prosecutor.

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Joyce Maynard follows 'Count the Ways' with 'How the Light Gets In'

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Joyce Maynard's new book, How the Light Gets In, is a sequel to her 2021 novel Count the Ways, both following a family grappling with a tragic accident, its aftermath and the expectations they have for one another. In today's episode, Maynard speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about some of the big questions behind both books – "What is a typical family? What is a good mother? Is there such a thing?" – and why she feels it's imperative for her characters to live fully in the world, which means bringing politics and current events into their stories.

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Griffin Dunne's memoir chronicles fame, art and tragedy in his Hollywood upbringing

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Actor, producer and director Griffin Dunne grew up during a fascinating time in Hollywood history. In today's episode, he tells Here & Now's Emiko Tamagawa he remembers bowing goodnight to his parents' black-tie party guests, like his aunt Joan Didion and his father's friend, Billy Wilder. His new memoir, The Friday Afternoon Club, captures his family's story in a bygone era of the entertainment industry — including his sister Dominique Dunne's death at the hands of her boyfriend in 1982, and the way that tragedy changed her parents and siblings forever.

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Two summer mysteries unravel in 'The Cliffs' and 'The God of the Woods'

Fri, 19 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode focuses on two summer reads trying to piece together some pretty big questions. First, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with J. Courtney Sullivan about The Cliffs, which follows an archivist digging through the history of a seaside Victorian house in Maine — and the generations of women who lived there — at the owner's concern that it's haunted. Then, NPR's Scott Simon asks Liz Moore about The God of the Woods, which grapples with the disappearance of a wealthy family's daughter from a summer camp in the Adirondacks in 1975.

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'We Were Once a Family' examines how the foster care system failed the Hart siblings

Thu, 18 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

In 2018, Jennifer and Sarah Hart drove off a cliff in California, killing themselves and their six adopted children. While much of the media attention focused on the two women, reporter Roxanna Asgarian set off to investigate what had happened to the children's birth families, and why they'd been removed from their care. In today's episode, Asgarian speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about her book, We Were Once a Family, and the ways the foster care and child welfare system in the United States pushed the Hart siblings into an abusive and ultimately fatal situation.

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Revisiting J.D. Vance's memoir, 'Hillbilly Elegy'

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

This week, former President Donald Trump announced that Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance will be his running mate in the 2024 election. Vance rose to prominence with his bestselling 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, which captured his upbringing in Appalachia and his family's intergenerational struggle with poverty, substance abuse and trauma. In today's episode, we revisit a conversation between Vance and NPR's Steve Inskeep about the book, in which he says there are ways politicians misunderstand white, working-class Americans.

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'Ultraviolet' follows a young boy going through puberty and first love

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Aida Salazar's new book, Ultraviolet, has a lot in common with Judy Blume's Forever, but from the point of view of an eighth grade boy; it's all about Elio Solis grappling with his changing body, his first girlfriend and his family life. In today's episode, Salazar tells Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes how watching her own son grow up inspired the events of the middle grade book, and they discuss how conversations of consent, masculinity and sex education are just as important for young men as they are for young women.

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In 'Beautiful Days,' Zach Williams ponders parenthood, reality and the uncanny

Mon, 15 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Zach Williams' collection of short stories, Beautiful Days, has earned high praise for the unsettling way it examines mundane, everyday life. In today's episode, Williams tells NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer how becoming a dad inspired the anxiety and wonder of parenthood that shows up throughout Beautiful Days, and the two get to talking about why he chose to focus on the "quickness and musicality" of short stories over writing a novel.

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Two books dive into the musical histories of The Police and Joni Mitchell

Fri, 12 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode is about two emblematic musicians who take us to very different parts of the globe, from the London punk scene to the Laurel Canyon utopia of the 1960s and 70s. First, Stewart Copeland speaks to NPR's Leila Fadel about his memoir, Stewart Copeland's Police Diaries, which chronicles his time as a drummer for the legendary band. Then, Here & Now's Robin Young is joined by NPR Music's Ann Powers, who's written a biography of Joni Mitchell's expansive career called Traveling.

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In 'Other Rivers,' Peter Hessler chronicles his return to Chinese classrooms

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Foreign correspondent Peter Hessler taught in China during the country's economic boom in the 1990s, which he wrote about in his book River Town. Now, in Other Rivers, Hessler breaks down what it was like to teach there again more than two decades later. In today's episode, he and NPR international correspondent Emily Feng talk about what changed — and what stayed the same — with a new generation of students in China and how covering the country remains a challenge for so many writers and journalists.

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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer unveils her vision for American democracy in 'True Gretch'

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has a new memoir out – it's about the people and experiences that shaped her version of leadership. Whitmer has led her state through a pandemic, natural disasters and the battle over reproductive rights, among many other issues. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about True Gretch: What I've Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between, her steadfast support for President Biden during his bid for reelection, and how she sees her future in the Democratic party.

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'Devil Is Fine' explores race, colonialism and grief through magical realism

Tue, 09 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Devil Is Fine, the new novel by John Vercher, follows an unnamed protagonist banging out a book pitch in a fugue state that mirrors what's happening in his own life: after the death of his son, a biracial writer inherits a plantation from the white side of his family, which has the remains of both his slave-owning ancestors and the people they enslaved. In today's episode, Vercher speaks with NPR's Lauren Frayer about why he felt magical realism made the story about American history and loss and racism more accessible, and how different layers of grief manifest in the story.

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'At the Edge of Empire' traces China's history through Edward Wong's family

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

The central character of New York Times correspondent Ed Wong's memoir, At the Edge of Empire, is not Wong himself — it's his father, who studied in Beijing in the 1950s and staunchly supported the Chinese Communist Revolution. Wong's book traces his father's disillusionment with Mao's government and eventual move to the U.S. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about intertwining his family's personal story with the greater history of his parents' home country, and what Americans can still stand to learn about Chinese citizens.

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Kevin Kwan explores race and identity in 'Sex and Vanity' and 'Lies and Weddings'

Fri, 05 Jul 2024 10:40:41 +0000

Today's episode features two interviews with Kevin Kwan, author of the Crazy Rich Asians series. First, former NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro spoke to the writer in 2020 about Sex and Vanity, exploring identity through the lens of a biracial character and setting a new trilogy between Europe and the U.S. Then, Here & Now's Robin Young asks Kwan about his newest novel, Lies and Weddings, and his thoughts on the fascination with wealth and power in literature.

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A new book examines Alexander Hamilton's plan for public debt

Thu, 04 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Alexander Hamilton, the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, is somewhat of a pop culture phenomenon thanks to a hit musical about his life. But a new book called The Hamilton Scheme dives into a less-known part of Hamilton's legacy — his vision for public debt. In today's interview, author and historian William Hogeland speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about why Hamilton considered higher loans to be paid by the federal government a good thing, and how that can be traced to today's relationship between China and the United States.

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In 'Do I Know You?,' a science reporter tackles her own face blindness

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

When science reporter Sadie Dingfelder mistakes a complete stranger in the supermarket for her own husband, she realizes something's up. The tests and research that follow result in a face blindness diagnosis and her new book, Do I Know You?. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about the different experiences of consciousness everyone has, and how understanding the brain's capacities opens up a whole new world of neurodiversity.

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Yangsze Choo's 'The Fox Wife' explores gender, murder and folklore in the 1900s

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Yangsze Choo says she doesn't thoroughly plan out her novels – her newest, The Fox Wife, blossomed from that core idea behind the title, of a woman who also happens to be a fox. But beyond that, it's a story about a mother avenging her child, about a murder investigation in early 20th century China, and about family curses. As the author tells NPR's Scott Simon, foxes hold a wide range of intrigue and mystery in Chinese, Korean and Japanese legends — and it's these traits that broke open a whole world of secrets for her characters.

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Kara Swisher's memoir 'Burn Book' reflects on a career covering Silicon Valley

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Journalist Kara Swisher, who's been covering the internet and the tech industry for decades, says she's not surprised when people like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk lie to her — but what she says they sometimes don't realize is how much they lie to themselves. Her new memoir, Burn Book, recounts what she's learned in conversation with some of the brightest minds in Silicon Valley. In today's episode, Swisher tells NPR's Steve Inskeep that as disillusioned as she is with how much harm the industry has caused, she's still optimistic about the future of tech and AI.

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Morgan Talty examines Native identity in 'Night of the Living Rez' and 'Fire Exit'

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode features two interviews with author Morgan Talty. First, a conversation with NPR's Melissa Block about his 2022 collection of short stories, Night of the Living Rez, and how he navigates the weight of representation for the Penobscot Nation. Then, NPR's Andrew Limbong asks Talty about his new novel, Fire Exit, which takes place in the same cinematic universe as his former book but follows a white man trying to make sense of his place within an Indigenous community.

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Carys Davies tackles communication, isolation and the Scottish Clearances in 'Clear'

Thu, 27 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

In the 1840s, a Scottish minister named John Ferguson accepts the task of traveling to a remote island to evict Ivar, the only man who lives there. When Reverend Ferguson falls off a cliff, Ivar brings him back to life — and the two find a common understanding even as they realize they don't speak the same language. That's the basis of Carys Davies' new novel, Clear. In today's episode, NPR's Scott Simon asks the author about how she discovered a real-life extinct language called Norn, and how the historic Highland Clearances of Scotland inspired the events of the book.

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In 'The Extinction of Irena Rey,' translators search for a missing author

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Eight translators from eight countries travel to a Polish forest to begin adapting famed author Irena Rey's newest book into their respective languages. But when Irena Rey disappears, a competitive, ego-fueled search unravels in the surrounding woods and within each person. In today's episode, author Jennifer Croft speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about her new novel, The Extinction of Irena Rey, and how her own experience as an International Booker Prize-winning translator sparked an interest in the drive and desires of the people tasked with "shapeshifting" a text into their own tongue.

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'Memory Piece' follows female friendships over several decades

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Memory Piece, the latest novel from National Book Award finalist Lisa Ko, kicks off in the 1980s with three teenage girls who find a deep connection to one another. Into the1990s and eventually the 2040s, the book delves into their growth as individuals and friends. In today's episode, Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes speaks with Ko about how art, gentrification and activism plays a role in each woman's life, and how memory and interdependence helps them find hope for their futures.

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'Hard by a Great Forest' is a novel about returning home decades after fleeing war

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

The story of Saba, the protagonist of Leo Vardiashvili's novel Hard by a Great Forest, is much like the author's own. A young boy flees the Soviet Republic of Georgia with his father and brother as the country is ravaged by a war. Decades later, when his father goes back to their homeland and promptly disappears, Saba must face his family's past – and immense loss – in an effort to find him. In today's episode, Vardiashvili tells NPR's Scott Simon about being separated from his own family, and the feeling of time-travel he felt when he finally made his way back to Georgia.

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'Never Enough' and 'Roctogenarians' examine the culture of success

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode is all about what it means to "make it" – and why there's no one path to success. First, Jennifer Breheny Wallace speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about her new book Never Enough, which examines "toxic achievement culture" and the high pressure young people are under in regards to grades and college admissions. Then, WBUR's Tiziana Dearing speaks with Mo Rocca about Roctogenarians, co-written with Jonathan Greenberg, which profiles people who reached their goals and biggest dreams later in life.

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'Tehrangeles' follows a family of aspiring Iranian influencers in LA

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Once upon a time, author Porochista Khakpour worked as a shop girl in the luxury stores lining Rodeo Drive. She tells NPR's Ailsa Chang how excited she would get when Iranian-American customers came in — but how poorly those interactions would pan out to be. Her new novel, Tehrangeles, explores the story of one such powerful family in LA on the cusp of getting their own reality TV show. And as Khakpour and Chang discuss, it opens a whole lot of questions about whiteness, assimilation and cultural definitions of success.

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Glynnis MacNicol's memoir brings readers to a summer of pleasure in Paris

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

After riding out the first year of the pandemic alone in her small studio apartment in New York City, Glynnis MacNicol saw an opportunity and ran with it. Once vaccines had rolled out in 2021, she booked a flight to, and apartment in, Paris – and the food, wine and sex that followed is the fuel of her new memoir, I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself. In today's episode, MacNicol speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about pursuing pleasure, fully and unapologetically.

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In 'One of Our Kind,' a Black family moves to a planned utopia

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

In the new novel One of Our Kind, Jasmyn Williams moves her family to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California. But things start to take a turn when Jasmyn realizes not everyone who lives in Liberty is the way she expected them to be. In today's episode, author Nicola Yoon speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about writing in the thriller genre, dismantling the idea that Black people are a monolith, and finding inspiration in The Stepford Wives.

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Questlove maps a cultural revolution in 'Hip-Hop is History'

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

At the height of the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef a few weeks back, Questlove took to Instagram to say, amongst other things, that "hip-hop is truly dead." In today's episode, he tells NPR's Rodney Carmichael where he was coming from – whether or not he actually believes that – and explains the musical shift, personal stories and cultural changes detailed in his new book, Hip-Hop Is History.

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'Dear Sister,' 'A Fatal Inheritance' examine difficult family histories

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 10:32:52 +0000

Today's episode highlights two books that grapple with hardships – and perseverance — within a family. First, Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with Michelle Horton about Dear Sister, a memoir chronicling how Horton's sister was arrested for killing her husband, the abuse she'd been suffering at his hands for years, and the family's fight to reduce her prison sentence. Then, NPR's Scott Simon speaks with journalist Lawrence Ingrassia about A Fatal Inheritance, which tracks generations of cancer in Ingrassia's family alongside research and developments in the medical field.

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Chelsea Devantez's memoir finds the humor in dark situations

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Comedian, TV writer and podcast host Chelsea Devantez moved around a lot as a kid. She jokes in today's episode that her mom "loved to get divorced" — but that also led to what she describes as a pretty great co-parenting situation between her mom and godmother for a while. It's one of the many stories in Devantez's new memoir, I Shouldn't Be Telling You This (But I'm Going to Anyway). She spoke to NPR's Elizabeth Blair about the book, her journey as a domestic violence survivor and the experience of being the product, in part, of a sperm donor

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Stephen King finishes a story 45 years in the making in 'You Like It Darker'

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

You Like It Darker is a new collection of short stories by Stephen King — and as the author tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly, one of those stories spent decades tucked away in a desk drawer before he gave it an ending. In today's episode,the two discuss the bigger questions of destiny and morality in that story and in much of King's work, and why the writer thought several of his best-selling novels would never see the light of day.

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The autobiography of John Swanson Jacobs offers a new look at slavery and migration

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Harriet Jacobs is one of the best-known female abolitionists and authors who wrote about their experiences of enslavement in the South. But while searching for information about Jacobs' children, literary historian Jonathan Schroeder discovered something else: The United States Governed by Six Hundred Thousand Despots, the long-lost autobiography of Jacobs' brother, John Swanson Jacobs. In today's episode, Schroeder speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about the life of the author, his escape to freedom and the blistering critique of the United States that he wrote in 1855 while living in Australia.

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'The Mango Tree' is a memoir about growing up mixed-race Filipina in south Florida

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

The Mango Tree kicks off with a phone call: Journalist Annabelle Tometich is informed her mom has been arrested for shooting a man, with a BB gun, who was trying to take mangoes from her yard. What follows is a memoir about a rich but turbulent upbringing in a half-white, half-Filipino family in Fort Myers, Florida. In today's episode, NPR's Scott Simon asks Tometich about the moment she realized the violence in her household wasn't normal, and what that mango tree represented for her immigrant mother.

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Ada Limón talks forgiveness, ghosts and fertility on 'Wild Card'

Fri, 07 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón recently edited and introduced You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, a collection of poems by writers like Joy Harjo and Jericho Brown that pays homage to landscapes across the United States. In today's episode, Limón joins NPR's Rachel Martin to play a game for the new podcast Wild Card. They discuss some pivotal moments in Limón's life marked by natural scenery, like a creek she played in growing up and a big realization she had about her fertility while swimming in the Chesapeake Bay — and go beyond that into conversations about grandparents, memory and mortality.

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'Malas' is a novel about womanhood, curses and family history in a Texas border town

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Marcela Fuentes' debut novel, Malas, is set in a small town nestled on the border between Texas and Mexico. There, two vastly different women begin to uncover decades of secrets, town gossip and broken family histories wrapped up in rodeos, Chicano politics and a hardcore punk band. In today's episode, NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento speaks with Fuentes about the complicated ideals of womanhood in Mexican-American culture and the way her protagonists struggle to live their truths.

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R.O. Kwon's novel 'Exhibit' grapples with sexual desire and Asian identity

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 10:36:07 +0000

Jin Han, the narrator of R.O. Kwon's Exhibit, is a photographer going through it – both with her work and her husband. When she meets ballerina Lidija Jung, her world is turned upside down. Exhibit becomes a story about "what you might give up for what you want most," as Kwon tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe. In today's episode, they discuss the nuances of wanting to give in to sexual desires even when they might be problematic for cultural perceptions and stereotypes of Asian women, and the way shame, religion and Korean womanhood function in both the book and Kwon's own life.

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Kathleen Hanna remembers her path to becoming the OG 'Rebel Girl'

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Before she founded the riot grrrl movement of the 1990s, Kathleen Hanna was a teenager volunteering at a rape and domestic violence shelter in Olympia, Washington. In today's episode, the Bikini Kill and Le Tigre frontwoman tells NPR's Kelly McEvers how the anger and grief she absorbed there manifested into lyrics and performances that would take the punk and music scenes by storm. That story is at the heart of Hanna's memoir, Rebel Girl, which also grapples with setting boundaries, carrying the feminist torch of a generation and lending a hand to younger bands.

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Illia Ponomarenko's memoir opens up about covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

There's a lot of tragedy that goes into watching your home erupt into a battlefield. But journalist Illia Ponomarenko says as the Russian military seized city after city in their latest invasion of Ukraine, people also came together in beautiful ways. His new memoir, I Will Show You How It Was, recounts what living – and covering – the war has been like so far. In today's episode, The Kyiv Independent co-founder speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about Ukrainians' willingness to fight for their country, what life is like in Bucha today and the unexpected way he met his girlfriend's parents.

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Two books trace the social and historical impacts of food

Fri, 31 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode is all about food – but not in the form of recipes. First, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Victor M. Valle speaks to Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about The Poetics of Fire, his new book analyzing the history of chiles in Mesoamerican and Indigenous cuisine as a lens to understand Mexican-American and Chicano culture. Then, NPR's Scott Simon asks Michelle T. King about Chop Fry Watch Learn, a part-memoir, part-reported analysis of Taiwanese chef Fu Pei-mei's life and impact on Chinese food around the world.

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Claire Messud's new novel is a sweeping tale of history, family and social change

Thu, 30 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Across seven decades, Claire Messud's novel This Strange Eventful History follows generations of a family from a colonized Algeria to far stretches of the world after the country's independence, always grappling with the idea of identity and belonging and political upheaval. In today's episode, Messud speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about how she took inspiration from her own grandparents' story, and how looking back at their past sparked a desire in her to chronicle the world she grew up in for her own kids.

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Author Kazuo Ishiguro and singer Stacey Kent collaborate on new songbook

Wed, 29 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

When Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro went on the BBC program Desert Island Discs, he spoke about how much he loves the music of jazz singer Stacey Kent. In today's episode, Ishiguro and Kent tell NPR's Juana Summers how that mention led them to meet and embark on an artistic endeavor together – a new songbook called The Summer We Crossed Europe in the Rain, featuring lyrics by Ishiguro set to music composed by Kent's partner, Jim Tomlinson.

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In 'All Fours,' Miranda July tackles love, sex and reinvention in middle age

Tue, 28 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Doris Kearns Goodwin's new book is part memoir, part history of the 1960s

Mon, 27 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

When Dick Goodwin reached his 80s, he asked his wife – historian Doris Kearns Goodwin – to finally open and sift through the hundreds of boxes he'd kept from his time as a presidential aide and speechwriter to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson and as advisor to Robert Kennedy. What resulted is An Unfinished Love Story, a new book by Kearns Goodwin with a personal lens to the history of the 1960s. In today's episode, she speaks to NPR's Steve Inskeep about what she found in her husband's archives and what she learned revisiting that time period.

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Whoopi Goldberg and Tom Selleck memoirs look back at their beginnings

Fri, 24 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode is about two massive stars: Whoopi Goldberg and Tom Selleck. First, Goldberg speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about her new memoir, Bits and Pieces, which touches on her relationship with her mother, the way she navigated beauty standards growing up, and what it means to grapple with grief over time. Then, Selleck joins NPR's Scott Simon to discuss You Never Know, his initial reluctance to take on his role in Magnum P.I. and his thoughts on being labeled a "mustachioed hunk."

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'The SalviSoul Cookbook' celebrates Salvadoran food and the matriarchs who cook it

Thu, 23 May 2024 04:43:10 +0000

Years ago, Karla Tatiana Vasquez tried to search up a recipe for one of her favorite Salvadoran dishes, Salpicón Salvadoreño. The scarce results not only disappointed Vasquez, but created a new mission: to collect and preserve the recipes of the Salvadoran diaspora along with the stories of the women who've been passing them down for generations. In today's episode, NPR's A Martinez visits Vasquez's kitchen to discuss The SalviSoul Cookbook and the relationship between food, migration and trauma.

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'The Paris Novel' revels in a good meal, a beautiful dress and a romantic city

Wed, 22 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

A plane ticket to Paris, a vintage Dior dress and a spectacular first-ever oyster — these three things upend the life of Stella, the sheltered, cautious protagonist at the heart of The Paris Novel, a coming-of-age story about losing all inhibitions in one of the world's most romantic cities. In today's episode, author Ruth Reichl speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about indulging in life's simple pleasures, writing in honor of her late editor and choosing to set her story in the Paris of the 1980s.

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In 'The White Bonus,' Tracie McMillan analyzes the monetary cost of racism

Tue, 21 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Racism is a major contributor to economic disparities in the U.S. – but in her new book, The White Bonus, writer Tracie McMillan crunches the numbers to understand just how much money white privilege can mean. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about the different families she profiled, the generations of economic policy she analyzed, and the rift created within her own family during the process of reporting this book .

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'The Alternatives' is a novel about grief, sisterhood and working women

Mon, 20 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Caoilinn Hughes' novel The Alternatives revolves around the four Flattery sisters, each with a more impressive career or degree than the last, all with a profound grief for the parents they lost at a young age. When one of the sisters purposely goes off the grid, the other three are reunited in the Irish countryside in an attempt to find her. In today's episode, NPR's Andrew Limbong asks Hughes about crafting the witty dialogue between the sisters, writing side characters that jump off the page and getting feedback from her own siblings.

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Brittney Griner's memoir recounts her detention in Russia and finally 'Coming Home'

Fri, 17 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

In 2022, WNBA star Brittney Griner was detained by Russian authorities, convicted of drug charges and given a nine-year prison sentence. Her new memoir, Coming Home, details the conditions she was held in and her eventual return to the U.S. following a swap deal. In today's episode, NPR's Juana Summers asks Griner about the mental and physical toll she's still grappling with, reuniting with her wife and trying to forgive herself for what happened.

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'Lessons for Survival' thinks about parenting through social and environmental crises

Thu, 16 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

As a parent, how do you navigate – and feel hope – raising kids through a pandemic, a climate crisis and with police brutality in the news? That's the question at the center of Emily Raboteau's new book, Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against 'The Apocalypse.' In today's episode, Raboteau tells Here & Now's Celeste Headlee what she learned about radical care, resilience and interdependence through the people she met in her community and in her travels, and how she thinks about parenting through personal and global hardships.

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Colm Tóibín's long-anticipated sequel to 'Brooklyn' is 'Long Island'

Wed, 15 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

The writer Colm Tóibín says he never meant to write a sequel to his 2009 novel Brooklyn. But an image came to him years later, of his protagonist from that book suddenly finding out her husband has had an affair that resulted in a pregnancy — and so he followed the story in Long Island. In today's episode, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Tóibín about revisiting Eilis Lacey in her 40s and upending her domestic life.

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Chanel Miller's new children's book follows lost socks in New York City

Tue, 14 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Chanel Miller's first book was a critically acclaimed memoir about her sexual assault and the following trial. But she always wanted to write and illustrate books for kids. In today's episode, Miller tells NPR's Andrew Limbong how moving to New York City and ingraining herself into her community inspired Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All, a new book about a young girl and her BFF traversing their neighborhood to return socks that were left behind at the laundromat to their owners.

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Rachel Khong's new novel explores who gets to be 'Real Americans'

Mon, 13 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Real Americans, the new novel by Rachel Khong, spans generations and decades within a family to understand the ongoing struggle to make sense of race, class and identity in the United States. Like with any family story, there are secrets and confrontations and difficult conversations, too; that desire to fill in the gaps about where we come from and how it has shaped our lineage is at the center of today's interview with Khong and NPR's Juana Summers.

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For Mother's Day, two books that tackle motherhood

Fri, 10 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

This weekend is Mother's Day, a good occasion to reflect on the art of parenting. First, comedian Glenn Boozan speaks to Celeste Headlee on Here and Now about her book There Are Moms Way Worse Than You, a joke-book that uses examples of bad parenting from the animal kingdom to soothe those who might be worried about their own child-raising skills.Then, an interview from our archives: a 1989 chat with Amy Tan on All Things Considered about her novel The Joy Luck Club, the story of four Chinese American families living in San Francisco inspired by Tan's experience as a child of immigrants.

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In 'Soil,' Camille Dungy weaves together gardening, race and motherhood

Thu, 09 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

For poet Camille Dungy, environmental justice, community interdependence and political engagement go hand in hand. She explores those relationships in her book, Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden. In it, she details how her experience trying to diversify the species growing in her yard, in a predominantly white town in Colorado, reflects larger themes of how we talk about land and race in the U.S. In today's episode, she tells NPR's Melissa Block about the journey that gardening put her on, and what it's revealed about who gets to write about the environment.

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Two mothers clash over integration in 'What's Mine & Yours'

Wed, 08 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

At the center of author Naima Coster's novel What's Mine & Yours are two struggling mothers. Jade is a Black single mother who is trying to provide a better life for her son, and Lacey May is a white mother who is trying to give her daughters the life she never had. Their stories will intertwine over decades, starting with when Lacey May opposes the integration of her daughters' school – the same school Jade is trying to get her son into. Coster told NPR's Audie Cornish that fiction gives us a window into other people's lives but that does not mean we have to condone their actions.

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Poet Ocean Vuong shares his grief in 'Time Is A Mother'

Tue, 07 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Poet Ocean Vuong's collection,Time Is A Mother, is about his grief after losing family members. Vuong told NPR's Rachel Martin that time is different now that he has lost his mother: "when I look at my life since she died in 2019, I only see two days: Today when she's not here, and the big, big yesterday when I had her."

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'The Three Mothers' who paved the way for three extraordinary men

Mon, 06 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

It's almost Mother's Day – so today, we learn about the women who raised some of history's most important men in The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped A Nation. Author Anna Malaika Tubbs told 1A's Jenn White that history is often told by and about men, but knowing these women's stories - "taking their lives from the margins and putting them in the center" - is just as important. As Tubbs notes, "If they'd never had these famous sons, they still were worthy of being seen."

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Amy Tan opens up about her birding obsession in 'The Backyard Bird Chronicles'

Thu, 02 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Author Amy Tan spends hours in her backyard, watching and drawing birds go about their business. Her new book, The Backyard Bird Chronicles, is full of essays and illustrations about her connection to these small creatures. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Leila Fadel about how an overwhelming sense of gloom from racism and political division in 2016 forced her to find a way to immerse herself in nature, and how her obsessive hobby led to a pretty high bird food budget – and mealworms in her fridge.

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Emily Henry's 'Funny Story' centers a new character in rom-com tropes

Wed, 01 May 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Two childhood best friends realize they're in love and break up with their significant others to be together – that's a classic romantic-comedy storyline. But in her new book, Funny Story, author Emily Henry wonders about some of the other forgotten cast members: what happens to the people who got dumped along the way? In today's episode, NPR's Juana Summers asks Henry about writing male characters that go to therapy, leaning into the cringey moments of falling in love and looking up to her own parents' relationship.

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'Mid-Air' is a middle grade book about fitting in, friendship and grief

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Middle school can be a rough time no matter what. But for Isaiah, the eighth grader at the heart of Alicia D. Williams' book Mid-Air, there are some added challenges: feeling like his affinity for rock music and nail polish makes him weird, grieving the loss of a close friend, and drifting further and further apart from his other best bud. In today's episode, Williams speaks with NPR's Andrew Limbong about the particular difficulties Black boys face to feel like they belong, and why — in the face of tragedy or discomfort — it can be even harder for them to connect with one another.

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'New Cold Wars' examines the relationship between the U.S., Russia and China

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Reporter David Sanger has covered five American presidents for The New York Times. But in today's episode, he tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly that there's an unpredictability to the politics of today — particularly on an international stage. His new book, New Cold Wars, analyzes how the ties between the United States, Russia and China have rapidly evolved in recent decades, and how technology, military intelligence and economic sanctions play into the conflict

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Salman Rushdie's memoir 'Knife' recounts his attack and recovery

Fri, 26 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

'Edith Holler' follows a young girl cursed – and trapped – in her father's theater

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

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Scout Bassett recalls her journey to becoming a Paralympian in 'Lucky Girl'

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Scout Bassett is a gold medalist runner – but it was a long road to get there. In her new memoir, Lucky Girl, Bassett details how when she arrived in the United States as a young girl from China, she felt like an outsider in more ways than one. She speaks with NPR's Lakshmi Singh about her earliest years living in an orphanage in Nanjing, exposing her disability when she began running track as a teenager, and preparing for the upcoming Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

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Carys Davies tackles communication, isolation and the Scottish Clearances in 'Clear'

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

In the 1840s, a Scottish minister named John Ferguson accepts the task of traveling to a remote island to evict Ivar, the only man who lives there. When Reverend Ferguson falls off a cliff, Ivar brings him back to life — and the two find a common understanding even as they realize they don't speak the same language. That's the basis of Carys Davies' new novel, Clear. In today's episode, NPR's Scott Simon asks the author about how she discovered a real-life extinct language called Norn, and how the historic Highland Clearances of Scotland inspired the events of the book.

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For Earth Day, Susan Casey dives into 'The Underworld' of the deep ocean

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Susan Casey has traveled about 17,000 feet deep into the ocean – and in her book The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean, the diver and author speaks with oceanographers, marine biologists and geologists to explain some the of the wonders that exist way beyond what we can see in the water. For our Earth Day episode, Casey speaks with NPR's A Martinez about the millions of shipwrecks that are still preserved underwater, the creatures that call the deep ocean home and the humility it takes to learn about the sea.

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Two collections of horror stories modernize the genre

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Spooky season is year-round, and so are our episodes about scary stories. First up, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Jeanette Winterson about The Night Side of the River, a collection of ghost stories that weaves in the liminal spaces — Metaverses, one might say — created through technology to coexist with the dead. Then, NPR's Juana Summers asks Desiree Evans and Saraciea Fennell about The Black Girl Survives in This One, an anthology of horror stories by Black writers that contend with the genre's relationship to race.

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'The Anxious Generation' analyzes the harmful effects of growing up online

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

While screens have become a totally normalized part of kids' development today, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that the negative effects might outweigh the benefits. His new book, The Anxious Generation, details the correlation between an increasingly online social life and rising mental health concerns amongst young people. In today's episode, NPR's Steve Inskeep asks Haidt about how boys and girls experience socialization on the Internet, and how some of these behaviors might be curbed to get kids playing offline.

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'Sociopath' is a memoir about how to live with – and treat – the social disorder

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Patric Gagne says she realized at a young age that she wasn't like other kids. Shame, guilt, empathy — feelings running rampant on the playground — evaded her. Her new book, Sociopath, is about how she came to be diagnosed with sociopathy in college and how her own studies into clinical psychology shaped her understanding of the disorder. In today's episode, Gagne speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about her lived experiences as a sociopath, and how they actually led her to working as a therapist.

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'Memory Piece' follows female friendships over several decades

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Memory Piece, the new novel from National Book Award finalist Lisa Ko, kicks off in the 1980s with three teenage girls who find a deep connection to one another. Into the1990s and eventually the 2040s, the book delves into their growth as individuals and friends. In today's episode, Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes speaks with Ko about how art, gentrification and activism plays a role in each woman's life, and how memory and interdependence helps them find hope for their futures.

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In 'We Loved It All,' Lydia Millet dives into nonfiction

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Pulitzer Prize finalist Lydia Millet is known for writing novels that are sometimes dark, yet funny peeks into communities and relationships. Her new book, We Loved It All, still follows some of those satirical undertones, but it's a nonfiction work that blends the author's real life experiences with anecdotes about the natural world. In today's episode, NPR's Leila Fadel asks Millet how what started as an encyclopedia of animals morphed into a bigger project about the nature of life, and how it changed her writing process.

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Two books offer lessons on love and acceptance for young readers

Fri, 12 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode features two books for younger readers. First, NPR's Scott Simon speaks with John Schu about Louder Than Hunger, his new semi-fictional memoir that follows a middle school boy's journey with an eating disorder. Then, NPR's Scott Detrow asks author Omar Abed and illustrator Hatem Aly — both older siblings — about The Book That Almost Rhymed, their story about a big brother finding the silver lining in his little sister's constant interruptions.

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'All The World Beside' explores a queer relationship in a 1700s Puritan community

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Garrard Conley's memoir Boy Erased chronicled his upbringing as a Baptist preacher's son and his experience being sent to conversion therapy. His new novel, All The World Beside, explores similar themes of faith, love and queer identity — but through the lens of a relationship between two men in Puritan New England. In today's episode, Conley speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about how fiction allowed him to actually provide even more autobiographical details than a memoir, and how writing this book grounded him in his relationship to Christianity.

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'Wild Kingdom' co-host Rae Wynn-Grant found nature on TV

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Rae Wynn-Grant grew up in the Bay Area of California. But even if she was in the city, she was still fascinated by nature, eventually becoming one of those on-screen nature adventurers she spent her youth watching on TV. She speaks with NPR's Ayesha Roscoe about her new memoir Wild Life, and what she learned from other Black experts in the outdoors.

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Amor Towles revisits an old protagonist in 'Table for Two'

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

In Amor Towles' story collection Table for Two, the writer revisits a character from his very first book – Rules of Civility. Towles talks to NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about checking into the Beverly Hills Hotel for research purposes, and why he avoids technology in his stories.

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Hanif Abdurraqib's new book ponders LeBron James, growing up and going home

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Hanif Abdurraqib's new book, There's Always This Year, is difficult even for the author to summarize — it's part memoir, part basketball analysis, part poetry and essay collections. In today's episode, the MacArthur Fellow and writer speaks with NPR's Scott Detrow about how growing up in Columbus, Ohio, watching LeBron James' spectacular ascent, and understanding the passage of time all led to a meditation on mortality and success.

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Two picture books use vivid colors to convey messages of joy and unity

Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode features two books that use bright, colorful illustrations to convey larger messages about acceptance and community. First, Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes speaks with author-illustrator Steve Asbell about Flap Your Hands, which celebrates how stimming is an act of self-care for autistic children. Then, NPR's Samantha Balaban gathers actress Julie Andrews, her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton and illustrator Elly MacKay to describe how shadows operate in their new fairytale, The Enchanted Symphony, about how music revives the plants – and people – in a village.

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'Grief Is for People' is Sloane Crosley's memoir about losing a close friend

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Editor's note: This episode contains a discussion of suicide.

Early in today's episode, writer Sloane Crosley tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe something that troubled her when paging through the self-help books she was gifted after a big loss. There was no chapter for how to grieve a close friend – partners, siblings, parents, sure. But while not everyone has those relationships, she says, friendships are universal. Her new memoir, Grief Is for People, chronicles how she's coped with losing one of the most important people in her life.

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'Wuhan' analyzes China's management and response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

It's been four years since the world went into lockdown mode as COVID-19 rapidly spread across the globe. But a new book by political scientist Dali Yang dives into the information about, and mitigation of, the disease in its earliest days in China. In today's episode, Yang speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about the research that went into Wuhan, the way local governments and medical officials abstained from disclosing crucial intelligence in the early days, and the strict lockdown that followed.

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'Whalefall' by Daniel Kraus is a thriller about diving, loss and new beginnings

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Jay, the 17-year-old at the heart of Daniel Kraus' novel Whalefall, has an hour of oxygen left on his tank. He's been diving in the ocean off the coast of Monterey, California trying to recover a skeleton — but his mission is complicated when he's swallowed whole by a sperm whale. In today's episode, Kraus speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about how a book that's so enmeshed in death also reveals quite a lot about life, and how he conceptualized the pacing of his chapters to emphasize Jay's race against time.

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'Climate Capitalism' projects an optimistic future for environmental policy

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Early in today's episode, Here & Now's Scott Tong poses what a lot of activists and listeners might think — that the two words titling Akshat Rathi's new book, Climate Capitalism, are at odds with one another. But Rathi says governments can play a role in shifting economic policy to prioritize both profit and environmental protections. In his book and in this interview, he explains how business leaders, students and politicians are already implementing ideas that connect the dots between the climate crisis and global markets.

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Don Paterson and Michael Ondaatje's new books meditate on poetry, time and memory

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode features interviews with two poets whose new works look back in time, either in their own lives or those of their subjects. First, Don Paterson speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about his new memoir, Toy Fights, which recounts his childhood in Scotland. The two get to talking about Paterson's self-described "descent into madness" and the reason his poems go unmentioned in the book. Then, Simon speaks with Michael Ondaatje about A Year of Last Things, and how the Booker Prize-winning writer thinks about going back and forth between fiction and poetry.

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'Hard by a Great Forest' is a novel about returning home decades after fleeing war

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Charles Spencer's memoir 'A Very Private School' opens up about boarding school abuse

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

A new memoir by historian Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer and brother of Princess Diana, details a difficult childhood marked by alleged physical and sexual abuse at Britain's Maidwell Hall in the 1970s. In today's episode, Spencer tells NPR's Scott Simon how childhood naivete – thinking his parents were all-knowing authorities who must've known about the school's cruelty when they sent him there – prevented him and others from speaking up about what was happening, and why writing A Very Private School felt like an important reclamation of his boyhood.

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'Say Hello to My Little Friend' explores manhood, 'Scarface' and Miami stereotypes

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

In 'The Exvangelicals,' Sarah McCammon analyzes loving and leaving the church

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

NPR's Sarah McCammon grew up in the white evangelical church — and though she left the tradition as an adult, she's continued to cover its ties to Trump's politics closely as a journalist. Her new book, The Exvangelicals, chronicles why so many people like herself have removed themselves from evangelicalism. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about the different breaking points she heard from other defectors — from COVID to racial justice — and why a decline in people who identify as evangelical might actually explain the group's rising political profile.

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Percival Everett centers a new voice in 'James,' a retelling of 'Huckleberry Finn'

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

'Feeding Ghosts' is a graphic memoir grappling with generational trauma

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Tessa Hulls' grandmother, Sun Yi, was a dissident journalist in Shanghai who faced intense political persecution during the Chinese Communist Revolution; she suffered severe mental distress after fleeing to Hong Kong. In today's episode, Hulls tells Here & Now's Scott Tong that her grandmother's trauma often cast a shadow over their family – one she had been running away from for years, and one she decided to finally face in her new graphic memoir, Feeding Ghosts. It's a reexamining of Hulls' matriarchal lineage, of Chinese history and of generational love and healing.

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'Headshot' follows 8 teenage girls into the boxing ring

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Eight young women are competing at the 12th Annual Women's 18 and Under Daughters of America Cup, a boxing competition at the heart of Headshot. Each girl has her reasons for fighting her way to this ring in Reno, Las Vegas — and Rita Bullwinkel's debut novel is a searing look inside the mental and physical state of her protagonists. In today's episode, the author speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about how her own childhood as a polo player informed her writing, and why she chose to follow her characters way beyond their time in the ring.

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Christine Blasey Ford tells her own story in 'One Way Back'

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Christine Blasey Ford says the time leading up to her 2018 testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee – and its aftermath – is a lot like surfing, venturing out into unknown waters. Her new memoir, One Way Back, recounts her experience coming forward with an accusation that Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her in the 1980s. In today's episode, Blasey Ford speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about why she originally wanted to avoid being in the public spotlight, but why she felt it was her civic duty to inform the country about what she'd gone through.

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'2054' is a political thriller about civil war, misinformation and AI

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

2034, the first novel by Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis, chronicled a nuclear conflict between China and the U.S. Now, their sequel 2054 takes a look at the country two decades later. The President is suddenly assassinated giving a speech, which sparks a flood of conspiracy theories, digitally-altered images and horrifying technological discoveries. In today's episode, the authors speak with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the relationship between technology and American institutions, and how destruction is sometimes an inevitable part of progress.

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In 'Collision of Power' and 'Outtakes,' journalists look back on their careers

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode features two retired journalists who've written memoirs reflecting on some of the highs and lows of a career in the industry. First, former Washington Post editor Marty Baron speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about Collision of Power, covering the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections and the state of media in today's electoral cycle. Then, former NPR producer Peter Breslow joins NPR's Ayesha Rascoe to discuss Outtakes, taking a three-month work trip camping across China and up Mount Everest and finding hope in a music school in Afghanistan.

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In 'The Extinction of Irena Rey,' translators search for a missing author

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

'The Last Ships from Hamburg' recalls the plight of Jewish refugees before WWI

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Before World War I, approximately 2 million Jewish people fled Russia and Eastern Europe for the United States. The Last Ships from Hamburg, a new book by Steven Ujifusa, recounts this time in history with a special focus on three businessmen who facilitated mass emigration: Jacob Schiff, Albert Ballin and J.P. Morgan. In today's episode, Ujifusa speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about how anti-immigrant rhetoric in the U.S. looks very similar today to how it did then, and why beyond historical record, this is a deeply personal story for him to write.

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Maurice Vellekoop's graphic memoir recounts his coming out to his religious family

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Maurice Vellekoop's new graphic memoir, I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together, is named after the song Carol Burnett would close out her show with in the '60s and '70s. But it's also a reflection of some of the author-illustrator's most cherished childhood memories, going shopping in downtown Toronto with his mom. In today's episode, Vellekoop tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe how that relationship changed as he came to terms with his sexuality — something his religious mother did not accept — and how his father ended up surprising him later in life.

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In 'Anita de Monte Laughs Last,' Xochitl Gonzalez explores marriage, art and success

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Raquel Toro, the protagonist of Xochitl Gonzalez's new novel, is working on her thesis about a minimalist sculptor when she discovers his all-but-forgotten wife, artist Anita de Monte, died after falling 33 stories from their apartment more than a decade prior. Based on the story of Cuban artist Ana Mendieta, Anita de Monte Laughs Last is an odyssey into ego, power and marriage in the art world. In today's episode, Gonzalez tells NPR's Scott Simon how fiction allowed her to expand on Mendieta's legacy, and why she didn't want to discredit the husband's own career along the way.

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Tommy Orange follows 'There, There' with 'Wandering Stars'

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Tommy Orange's debut novel, There, There, centers several Native American characters grappling with identity in the bustling city of Oakland, California. In today's episode, we revisit a profile of Orange reported by NPR's Lynn Neary in 2018. Then, Orange joins NPR's Scott Simon to discuss his new book Wandering Stars, a sequel to There, There that stretches across time to follow a survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864. Orange explains how an image he saw in a museum in Sweden introduced him to this historical narrative, and why he decided to focus on his protagonist Orvil's ancestors.

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Kara Swisher's memoir 'Burn Book' reflects on a career covering Silicon Valley

Thu, 07 Mar 2024 08:00:00 +0000

'The Rise and Fall of the EAST' chronicles China's economic history

Wed, 06 Mar 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Yasheng Huang, a professor of global economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, names four major contributors to China's economy in his new book, The Rise and Fall of the EAST: exams, autocracy, stability and technology. Huang writes that those have been the driving factors of Chinese development dating back to the Sui dynasty, and particularly during the economic boom of the past half-century. But he tells Here & Now's Scott Tong that a declining property sector, a lack of investment in people and today's political leadership is ringing alarms for the country's future.

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Lucy Sante's memoir reflects on her experience coming out as transgender in her 60s

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Lucy Sante says it was a smartphone app that ultimately pushed her to come out to herself — and the world — as trans in her mid 60s. In her new memoir, I Heard Her Call My Name, the writer and professor chronicles how using the gender swap function on FaceApp ultimately opened a brand new life to her. And she tells NPR's Don Gonyea that though there are a lot of complexities to having that kind of realization later in life, there are also a lot of positive outcomes.

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'The Achilles Trap' analyzes the relationship between the U.S. and Saddam Hussein

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Early in today's episode, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly asks Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Steve Coll why he felt the need to write The Achilles Trap about the Iraq War amidst so many ongoing world conflicts. Coll explains that he hoped enough time had passed to try to answer a lingering question: Why did Saddam Hussein allow the world to believe he harbored weapons of mass destruction when he didn't? Coll's reporting – which includes Hussein's own audio recordings – unravels decades of tension and miscommunication between the U.S. and Iraq, which ultimately cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

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Memoirs by Helen Rebanks and Crystal Wilkinson weave recipes with women's stories

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Today's episode features two books that capture how cooking, taking care of loved ones, and running a home has sustained women for generations. First, NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Helen Rebanks (who is joined by actor and comedian Nick Offerman) about The Farmer's Wife, which chronicles her life as a homemaker and farmer in England. Then, Here & Now's Celeste Headlee speaks with former Kentucky poet laureate Crystal Wilkinson about Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts, which stretches back into Wilkinson's family history to understand how Black women were the unsung heroes of Appalachia.

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'Julia' revisits George Orwell's '1984,' from a new point of view

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 12:00:00 +0000

With permission from the Orwell estate, Sandra Newman's latest novel takes place in the same world and with many of the same characters as 1984, but retold through the eyes of Winston Smith's love interest, Julia. It's a deep exploration of women's experiences under totalitarianism, and as Newman tells NPR's Scott Simon, an appreciation of the original that doubles down on some of Orwell's humor and ability to capture the psyche of fear — and unexpected comfort — under political tyranny.

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Hala Gorani's memoir 'But You Don't Look Arab' is a journey of belonging

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Journalist and former CNN anchor Hala Gorani tells NPR's Leila Fadel that she has a whole paragraph queued up to answer a seemingly simple question: Where are you from? Gorani's memoir, But You Don't Look Arab, unpacks her many roots across Istanbul, Syria, France and the U.S. — and grapples with how her identity and its impact on her work have been scrutinized for decades. In today's episode, she opens up about why she had to change her name and add a photo of herself to her passport to land a job in journalism, and why constant movement can offer an odd sort of comfort for her.

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'Ours' follows a woman in the 1830s who has the power to free enslaved people

Tue, 27 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Phillip B. Williams' debut novel, Ours, is a sweeping story that takes place in the 19th century. It takes off with a conjuror named Saint who destroys plantations and enslavers, and creates a community of freed people, Ours, that grapples with mysticism, spirituality and liberation over the course of several decades. In today's episode, Williams speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about the different interpretations and experiences of freedom in the novel, and the importance of community in the story.

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'Private Equity' analyzes the ethical and personal costs of a career in finance

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

There's a moment in Carrie Sun's memoir, Private Equity, when she remembers trying to answer a text for her high-pressure hedge fund job while running on the treadmill. It ended poorly — and Sun says, looking back, it was a good metaphor for the toll her career was taking on her life. In today's episode, Sun speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about the moral, mental and physical sacrifices we normalize for work, and why maybe that's not such a good thing.

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'Fierce Ambition' and 'The Lede' look inside the world of journalism

Fri, 23 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Today's episode focuses on two books about legendary journalists, the business of reporting and the state of the industry today. First, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Jennet Conant about Fierce Ambition, a biography of war correspondent Maggie Higgins – the first woman to win a Pulitzer for foreign correspondence, who also resented being defined by her gender. Then, NPR's Scott Simon asks The New Yorker's Calvin Trillin about The Lede, an introspection into the realities of being a reporter, the careers of Edna Buchanan and R.W. "Johnny" Apple, and so much more.

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'Thank You Please Come Again' pays homage to Southern gas station food shops

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Photojournalist Kate Medley took a road trip across 11 states in the South, documenting the culture of convenience stores and gas stations that serve hot, delicious food. Her new book, Thank You Please Come Again, captures how these establishments serve as important community meeting points across class, ethnic and racial divides. In today's episode, Medley speaks to NPR's Debbie Elliott about how communities of color are playing an important role in this Southern tradition, and how it's manifesting in dishes like cajun banh mis and jollof rice.

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In a new graphic novel, romance flourishes during the Lunar New Year

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Lunar New Year Love Story, the new graphic novel written by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by Leuyen Pham, follows a teenage girl who believes she's been stuck with a generational curse for heartbreak. But during the festivity's traditional lion dance, a chance encounter gives her hope she can rewrite her fate — if she's willing to take a chance. In today's episode, Yang and Pham speak with Here & Now's Robin Young about writing romance for young readers, and what they say are the three essential elements to a good kiss.

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'Fight Right' analyzes how to communicate and connect through relationship conflicts

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Julie Schwartz Gottman and John Gottman know their fair share about relationship troubles — they're clinical psychologists who specialize in couples' therapy, and they've been married for more than 30 years. Their new book, Fight Right, breaks down how to navigate conflict by understanding communication styles, assessing wants and needs, and looking for positivity in any approach. In today's episode, the authors offer NPR's Andee Tagle some step-by-step advice on finding connection through any argument.

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Yangsze Choo's 'The Fox Wife' explores gender, murder and folklore in the 1900s

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Novels by C.L. Miller and Tracy Sierra find suspense in spooky, old houses

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Today's episode features two thrillers that unravel in the darkened halls of historic houses. First, NPR's Scott Simon speaks with C.L. Miller about The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder, a whodunnit amongst antique collectors trapped in an English manor under very bizarre circumstances. Then, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly asks Tracy Sierra about her debut novel, Nightwatching, and how the author's own New England home inspired this terrifying tale about a mother hiding from an intruder during a blizzard.

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Kunal Purohit's book examines Hindutva pop, social media and hate speech

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Pop culture can be a powerful tool for social and political activism – but what happens when it's used to incite discrimination, or even violence? That's the question at the heart of journalist Kunal Purohit's book, H-Pop: The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop Stars. In today's episode, Purohit speaks with NPR's Diaa Hadid about how influencers, pop songs and poems are promoting Hindu nationalist values in India, and how political propaganda on social media can legitimize hate towards minority groups.

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GennaRose Nethercott's short stories expose the monstrosity of human longing

Wed, 14 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Years ago, author GennaRose Nethercott promised herself she would sit at a cafe every morning and come up with three new creatures — beasts inspired by medieval bestiaries that combined scientific record with moral folk tales. The result, Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart, is a collection of short stories that show the magical yet spooky nature of human affection. In today's episode, Nethercott speaks with NPR's Elissa Nadworny about some of the monsters she came up with, and why she cherishes writing about darkness.

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'Toxic' looks back on Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and tabloid culture in the 2000s

Tue, 13 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Author Sarah Ditum has an uncomfortable label for the late 90s and early 2000s: the upskirt decade. In her new book, Toxic, Ditum analyzes how digital cameras, the Internet and tabloid misogyny created a perfect storm to permanently alter the lives and careers of nine famous women. In today's episode, Ditum speaks with NPR's Scott Detrow about the infamous Britney Spears interview with Diane Sawyer, the growth of social media throughout that decade, and the way younger generations are now reclaiming autonomy over their public image.

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'Welcome the Wretched' argues for the separation of immigration and criminalization

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Welcome the Wretched, a new book by legal scholar César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, makes the case that the immigration and criminal legal systems in the U.S. have become way too intertwined over time – and they should be separated. In today's episode, Cuauhtémoc García Hernández walks Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes through the history of how we got to this point of criminalizing immigration. He also explains why he doesn't think immigrants should be deported for breaking the law, and how racism operates in immigration enforcement.

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'The Forgotten First' and 'Parcells: A Football Life' chronicle NFL history

Fri, 09 Feb 2024 12:00:00 +0000

It's Super Bowl weekend — so today's episode is all about football. First, a 2021 interview between NPR's A Martinez and former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson. Johnson's book The Forgotten First looks back at the racial politics of his beloved sport, and highlights four key players who desegregated the game back in the 1940s. Then, NPR's David Greene paid a visit to legendary coach Bill Parcells' home in 2015 and asked about his memoir, Parcells: A Football Life, and the coaching tree he left behind even after his retirement.

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Sarah Cooper's memoir 'Foolish' is about her immigrant family, TikTok fame and comedy

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Comedian Sarah Cooper blew up when her TikTok videos making fun of then-President Donald Trump's statements in press conferences went viral. Her new memoir, Foolish, recounts that moment in her life — but it also expands on Cooper's larger trajectory, from learning she was Black as the daughter of Jamaican immigrants to working at Google as an adult. She tells NPR's Leila Fadel just how surreal her rise in comedy has been, and why HomeGoods home decor actually dishes out some pretty wise life advice.

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'Not the End of the World' takes a solutions-based approach to climate change

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

There are lots of reasons to worry about climate change: rising temperatures, rising sea levels, devastating natural disasters. But in her new book, Not the End of the World, data scientist Hannah Ritchie says there's actually a lot of factors trending in the right direction, like declines in poverty rates and carbon emissions per capita. In today's episode, Ritchie speaks with NPR's Andrew Limbong about why it's important to reframe our thinking on the future of the planet, and how our decisions can actually make a difference.

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Ai Weiwei's graphic memoir 'Zodiac' recounts a life of art and activism

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Told through the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac, Ai Weiwei's new graphic memoir moves between the past, present and future with anecdotes from his childhood in a Chinese labor camp to his most recent moments, including flashing the middle finger in front of Trump Tower. In today's episode, Ai Weiwei speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about some of those memories, including the 81 days he spent detained by the Chinese government.

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'Find Me the Votes' investigates Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

As Donald Trump runs for office in 2024, a new book by journalists Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman details how Trump attempted to overturn the presidential election in 2020, and how Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis built a case against him. In today's episode, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Isikoff and Klaidman about Find Me the Votes, the layers of intimidation behind Trump's bid for power, and the fast-moving allegations against Willis and her counsel.

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'The Fury' and 'Radiant Heat' set whodunnits against extreme weather

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Today's episode focuses on two novels where the characters are grappling with the natural elements – and with mysterious deaths. First, NPR's Mary Louise speaks with Alex Michaelides about The Fury, a murder mystery in which a famous actress and her friends are trapped on a remote Greek island by the ferocious Mediterranean wind. Then, NPR's Scott Simon asks Sarah-Jane Collins about Radiant Heat, which follows a young woman who survives an Australian wildfire, only to emerge from her house and find a dead woman she's never met – clutching a piece of paper with her name and address.

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'Late Bloomers' is a novel about arranged marriage, divorce and dating later in life

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Dating can be difficult and confusing at any age – but especially after the end of a 36-year arranged marriage. The characters of Deepa Varadarajan's debut novel, Late Bloomers, are experiencing that second chance firsthand. Parents Suresh and Lata have just split and are learning to navigate dating online and IRL; their kids are fielding relationship troubles of their own. In today's episode, the author talks to NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer about what it means to find love later in life, and how writing fiction provided her with her own kind of fresh start.

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Kaveh Akbar's novel 'Martyr!' is a journey of identity, addiction and poetry

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

In 'The Bullet Swallower,' the wild, wild West meets magical realism

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

The titular protagonist of Elizabeth Gonzalez James' new novel, The Bullet Swallower, is rooted in a story she once heard about her great-grandfather: He was a Mexican outlaw, shot by Texas police and left for dead, who lived to tell the tale. Inspired by that family lore, James uses magical realism, spirituality and some very bad characters to paint a nuanced picture of life on the U.S. Mexico border. In today's episode, she tells NPR's Ari Shapiro why she's so committed to untangling Texas in her writing, and what she thinks her great-grandfather might think of the story she based on him.

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'Only Say Good Things' chronicles Crystal Hefner's life at the Playboy mansion

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Crystal Harris was only 21 when she entered the Playboy mansion for the first time. Within a few days, the college student moved in. She later married Hugh Hefner, and stayed by his side until his death in 2017. In her new memoir, Only Say Good Things, Hefner looks back on the paradox of sexual freedom and strict rules she lived by at the mansion. She tells NPR's Michel Martin how her perspective on love, liberation and control has changed since she left.

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'Black Sheep' and 'This Wretched Valley' use horror to question morality

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 11:52:44 +0000

It's never too early for spooky season. Today, we've got two horror books that explore relationships, cynicism and arrogance. First, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Rachel Harrison about Black Sheep, which follows a disillusioned protagonist grappling with religious fanaticism and family ties when she returns to the Satanic community she was raised in. Then, Jenny Kiefer discusses her novel This Wretched Valley, which takes inspiration from the Dyatlov Pass Incident to put an influencer and Ph.D. students at odds with nature.

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Michele Norris' 'Our Hidden Conversations' examines race and identity in the U.S.

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0000

More than a decade ago, former NPR host Michele Norris started the Race Card Project. It was a simple premise: She asked people to send in six words that summarized their thoughts on race. Now, hundreds of thousands of submissions later, Norris expands on some of those opinions and experiences in the new book, Our Hidden Conversations. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about the context behind some of the submissions — like "I wish he was a girl" — and the way feeling "invisible" has changed in recent years.

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'Soundtrack of Silence' is a touching memoir about music and hearing loss

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Matt Hay grew up with a medical condition that eventually diminished his ability to hear. But in the process of going deaf, he memorized his favorite songs, fell in love and started a family. In today's episode, Hay speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about his new memoir, Soundtrack of Silence, and how – nearly two decades later – music has been able to help him do something doctors said was impossible: partially recover his hearing.

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Efrén C. Olivares' memoir recounts family separations at the border

Tue, 23 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Efrén C. Olivares is a human rights lawyer – and he tells Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes that some of the toughest conversations he's ever had were during Trump-era family separations, when he had to tell the parents he was representing in South Texas that he wasn't sure when or where they'd see their children again. His new book, My Boy Will Die of Sorrow, is a firsthand account of the human impacts of anti-immigration policy at the border, told alongside Olivares' own experience immigrating to the U.S. from Mexico as a young teen.

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Claire Keegan's new book of stories explores tension, drama and gender dynamics

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Three short stories comprise So Late in the Day, the new book by the highly acclaimed Irish writer, Claire Keegan. All three revolve around the ways men and women relate to one another — from a failed marriage proposal to a troubling affair. In today's episode, NPR's Scott Simon asks Keegan about the way her male characters come across, and how the finite nature of time influences her protagonists' decisions.

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Adam Kinzinger, Mitt Romney and the evolution of the Republican party

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Today's episode focuses on two Republican legislators who, over time, came to feel like outsiders for sounding alarms about Trump. First, NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with former representative Adam Kinzinger about Renegade, his new memoir detailing his career and the way January 6 ultimately broke his allegiance to the Republican party. Then, journalist McKay Coppins speaks with Here & Now's Jane Clayson about his new biography of Mitt Romney, and how the former presidential candidate reflects on the conspiratorial leanings dominating today's politics.

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'The Frozen River' tells the fictionalized story of a real 18th century midwife

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Martha Ballard was a real midwife in the late 1700s who delivered more than 1,000 babies without ever losing a mother. Ballard kept a diary of her life and the town secrets she learned thanks to her profession — and she's at the center of Ariel Lawhon's new novel, The Frozen River. In today's episode, Lawhon tells NPR's Scott Simon how she stumbled upon Ballard's story while pregnant with her own child, and why it was important for her to make a 54-year-old woman the hero of her book.

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'The Golden Screen' chronicles the films that shaped the Asian American diaspora

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

The Golden Screen, the new book by Jeff Yang, offers a comprehensive guide to some of the most significant films for Asian American representation, including commentary by industry trailblazers like Daniel Dae Kim, Janet Yang and Simu Liu. In today's episode, Yang and book contributor Preeti Chhibber speak with NPR's Ailsa Chang about how Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Bollywood and kung fu movies shaped their identities growing up. They also get to talking about some of the harmful stereotypes we still see on screen today, and why maybe mediocrity isn't such a bad thing.

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'Orbital' captures one day in the life of six astronauts

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Author Samantha Harvey tells NPR's Ari Shapiro that she was fascinated by the quotes and insight of astronauts as a child. Her new novel, Orbital, turns that interest into a careful contemplation of Earth, space and humanity — it follows six people on a mission to orbit around our planet for 16 sunrises and sunsets. Harvey and Shapiro discuss the kind of poetry that emerged from imagining the daily routines of cosmonauts, so far up above, together and alone at once.

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Álvaro Enrigue's new novel reimagines Hernán Cortés' and Moctezuma's empires

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

You Dreamed of Empires sets the scene for a violent historical encounter: the war between the Spanish and Aztec empires. But in a fictionalization of Hernán Cortés' arrival in the city of Tenochtitlan in 1519, author Álvaro Enrigue challenges ideas about colonialism, revolution and influential rulers. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about finding humor and humanity in the men he writes about — sometimes laughing about, but not with, the powerful ones.

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Two historical fiction novels focus on women's lives during wars in Southeast Asia

Fri, 12 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Today's episode features two authors who've written novels centering the personal and political experiences of women during war. First, NPR's Rob Schmitz speaks with Vanessa Chan about The Storm We Made, which follows a mother in 1945 Malay grappling with how her secret work as a spy has resulted in the brutal Japanese occupation tearing her family apart. Then, NPR's Juana Summers chats with Alice McDermott about her novel Absolution, which depicts two American wives looking back on the friendship they developed living in Saigon as their husbands' "helpmeets" during the Vietnam War.

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Roxane Gay fleshes out her strong 'Opinions'

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

In the era of constant hot takes, what actually makes an opinion worthwhile? Roxane Gay tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe that it's a combination of things: credibility, backing arguments, articulation. In today's episode, Gay discusses her collection of nonfiction essays Opinions and the topics she tackles throughout — from the overuse of the word 'empathy' in today's discourse to the truly terrible experience of Father's Day shopping.

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Celine Saintclare's debut novel explores the life of a 'Sugar,Baby' in London

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

The protagonist of Celine Saintclare's Sugar, Baby is pretty disillusioned with her life: She's 21 and still at home, she has few friends and she feels like she'll never live up to her religious mother's expectations. But when she crosses paths with a London socialite, Agnes is introduced to a glamorous lifestyle bankrolled mostly by sex work and social media posts. In today's episode, NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento speaks with Saintclare about how the novel explores power dynamics, female friendships and social inequalities.

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Olympic runner Caster Semenya's memoir tackles gender stereotypes in sports

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

When she was only a teenager, South African runner Caster Semenya won gold at the 2009 World Championships. But she was soon faced with intense scrutiny over her gender and testosterone levels and forced to endure intrusive questions and tests about her eligibility to compete. In her new memoir, The Race to Be Myself, Semenya opens up about having her skill and merit challenged on a global stage and choosing self-love over it all. She speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about breaking down expectations for women athletes, and raising her own daughters with that experience in mind.

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Booker Prize winner 'Prophet Song' is a dystopian tale of Irish authoritarianism

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Early on in today's interview with author Paul Lynch, he says he was careful not to specify whether his dystopian novel Prophet Song is set in the future. Instead, the gripping tale of an Irish family sticking together through the fall of democracy focuses on the present moment and the personal relationships affected by it. In today's episode, Lynch speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about the power of fiction to break through the noise of news and social media – and the weight of his own platform after winning the Booker Prize.

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Novels by Barbara Kingsolver and Daniel Mason excavate history for new meanings

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Today's episode is all about two books that find parallels across long stretches of time. First, an interview with Barbara Kingsolver and former NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro about Kingsolver's novel Unsheltered, which finds striking similarities between an 18th century "utopian" community and 2016 America. Then, NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Daniel Mason about his novel North Woods, which follows the inhabitants of a plot of land across hundreds of years.

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'The House of Doors' is a novel about romance, secrecy and colonialism in Malaysia

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

The new novel by Tan Twan Eng, The House of Doors, is a project of historical fiction immersed in the culturally rich island of Penang in the 1920s. A once revered, now flailing British writer arrives to visit a friend and find inspiration for a new book. What he uncovers – secret affairs, a murder trial, and deeply complicated relationships – proves to be more than he expected. In today's episode, NPR's Ari Shapiro asks the author about using the real writer W. Somerset Maugham as his protagonist, and about what writing from the perspective of the Brits reveals about imperialism.

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In 'A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens,' debt takes on many meanings

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 11:36:39 +0000

Hugo Contreras, the protagonist of Raul Palma's new novel, is a babaláwo; he can cleanse evil spirits. Except he doesn't really believe in the whole thing. So when he's able to strike up a deal with a debt collector – get rid of the ghosts in his house in exchange for a clean slate – he assumes he can mostly fake it. In today's episode, Palma joins NPR's Scott Simon to discuss A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens, and how the concept of debt – not just financial, but personal, too – stirs up a lot of trauma for Hugo.

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Anne Enright's 'The Wren, The Wren' is a family story about poetry and betrayal

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Phil McDaragh is a great Irish poet; he was also a lousy husband and father, abandoning his family to pursue his writing. In Anne Enright's new novel, The Wren, The Wren, three generations of women in the McDaragh family contend with the absent patriarch's complicated legacy. Enright spoke with NPR's Scott Simon about writing fiction about a great writer, and how the poet's bad behavior in his personal life impacts the McDaragh women's own passions, years down the road.

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In 'The Fraud,' Zadie Smith takes on historical fiction and the Tichborne case

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000

In the 19th century, a butcher living in Australia claimed to be the long-lost heir of a British fortune. The Tichborne trial, which sparked much controversy and even more attention in Victorian England, is at the center of Zadie Smith's new novel, The Fraud. In today's episode, the author tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly how she became captivated by the outrageous lies the man told in court, and how the way his believers still dug their heels and supported him echoes the state of politics in the 21st century.

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In 'The World Central Kitchen Cookbook,' José Andrés collects recipes with impact

Sat, 30 Dec 2023 08:00:59 +0000

After wars, natural disasters and all kinds of emergencies, the World Central Kitchen — the organization founded by chef José Andrés — flies in to help feed people. A new cookbook now brings forth some of the recipes the nonprofit relies on to comfort and nourish those affected. In today's episode, Andrés speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about the importance of working in community with local restaurants and chefs when serving an area, prioritizing the familiar flavors and cuisine, and making delicious food an essential part of humanitarian aid.

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Books by Raghavan Iyer and CrossCultureKev celebrate curry and chai recipes

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Today's episode focuses on two books that go deep on two culinary traditions: curry and chai. First, famed chef and author Raghavan Iyer spoke with NPR's Ari Shapiro about On The Curry Trail, which traces the origins and impact of curry around the world. Iyer, who died shortly after the interview, gets candid about his career making Indian food accessible to Americans. Then, Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes speaks with Kevin Wilson — known online as CrossCultureKev — about The Way of Chai and the spiritual practice behind the delicious drink.

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In 'Big Heart Little Stove,' chef Erin French focuses on recipes and hospitality

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

For chef Erin French, a meal is about a lot more than the food on the table. Her new cookbook, Big Heart Little Stove, provides not only recipes from her family and famed Maine restaurant The Lost Kitchen, but also her philosophy for sprucing up a table setting or presenting a particular dish in a way that elevates the meaning of the entire experience. In today's episode, French speaks with Here & Now's Robin Young about the rocky road that led her to open her hit dining destination, and how the pandemic's reduced hours changed the way she runs her business.

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Mark Kurlansky's new book 'The Core of an Onion' dives deep into culinary history

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Mark Kurlansky's new book The Core of an Onion is part cookbook, part culinary history. Kurlansky gives readers dozens of facts about this rich vegetable that is able to grow in nearly every climate. In today's episode, Kurlansky gives Here and Now's Scott Tong a few onion fun facts and context about the onion's rich history.

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Marcela Valladolid's cookbook 'Familia' celebrates community and her Mexican roots

Tue, 26 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Chef and Food Network personality Marcela Valladolid combines her joy of cooking, appreciation of community, and love of Mexican cuisine in her new cookbook Familia: 125 Foolproof Mexican Recipes to Feed Your People. In today's episode, Valladolid speaks with Here and Now's Deepa Fernandes about the online cooking class she and her sister started during the pandemic. This pandemic cooking class offered a way to connect with others and a way to show appreciation of her Mexican roots, which inspired Valladolid to write Familia.

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In 'The Everlasting Meal Cookbook', chef Tamar Adler gives new life to old leftovers

Mon, 25 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

The new cookbook The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A-Z shows home chefs how to transform their forgotten leftovers into beloved meals. In today's episode, chef Tamar Adler talks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about how replenishing leftovers helps reduce food waste – and she shows her how to use an empty nut butter jar to create a delectable noodle dish.

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Nancy Silverton's cookbook 'The Cookie That Changed My Life' is an ode to perfection

Sat, 23 Dec 2023 13:49:22 +0000

The Cookie That Changed My Life is a new cookbook by world-renowned baker Nancy Silverton (written with Carolynn Carreño). Silverton is the founder of LaBrea Bakery and has been a professional baker for more than 50 years; now she's sharing some recipes of baking perfection. In today's episode, Silverton talks with Here and Now's Robin Young about how to perfect not only peanut butter cookie recipes but also pies and cakes.

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From 'Ringmaster' to 'Prom Mom,' NPR staff discuss their favorite reads of 2023

Fri, 22 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

It's the most wonderful time of the year: Books We Love season! In today's episode, Pop Culture Happy Hour host Linda Holmes and our own Andrew Limbong sit down to chat about some of the best books they read in 2023. From Ringmaster — a biography of former WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon — to Prom Mom, a thriller about teenage exes looking back on their very dangerous past, Linda and Andrew find unexpected common ground in the bigger themes behind their respective selections.

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In 'Class', Stephanie Land fulfills her dream of going to college to become a writer

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 10:59:58 +0000

In the new book Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education, author Stephanie Land juggles single parenthood and going to college. Land is the author of the Netflix miniseries hit Maid, a story where a single mother cleans homes to make ends meet. In today's episode, Land speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about this next challenge of going to college as a single parent to fulfill her dream of becoming a writer.

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'Black AF History' examines American history from the perspective of Black people

Wed, 20 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America re-tells American history from the experiences of Black people. In today's episode, political commentator and author Michael Harriot speaks with Here & Now's Celeste Headlee about how revisiting American history in the context of the Black perspective shows the country's story as one of triumph and survival.

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In 'Pete and Alice in Maine,' a marriage is tested during pandemic

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 11:27:15 +0000

When author Caitlin Shetterly saw an influx of license plates from Massachusetts and New York arrive in her home state of Maine during the pandemic, inspiration struck for her debut novel. Pete and Alice in Maine follows a couple that moves the family out of New York City during the initial COVID-19 scare — but finds the baggage from Pete's affair and Alice's questions about her purpose follow them. In today's episode, Shetterly speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about the very complicated idea of forgiveness, and how it eludes both of her characters.

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'This Is Salvaged' explores the mishaps of intimacy and communication

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Vauhini Vara started writing some of the stories in This Is Salvaged when she was still in her 20s, two decades ago. From the complicated tension between two sisters to the way one mother chooses to selectively share information with her daughter, the stories in the book focus on the way people — primarily women — can struggle to connect with one another despite their best efforts. In today's episode, Vara tells Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes how time away provided perspective on her characters, and how she uses awkward or uncomfortable situations as jumping off points for her writing.

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'The Rachel Incident' looks back on early-20s friendships, love and mistakes

Sat, 16 Dec 2023 15:46:05 +0000

The novel The Rachel Incident is rooted around a wonderful, messy friendship. Rachel and James live together, party, and get themselves into a peculiar situation with an older married couple. In today's episode, author Caroline O'Donoghue speaks with NPR's Miles Parks about how abortion and sexual repression in Irish society play a large role in Rachel's early adulthood. O'Donoghue also shares why it was important to her that the novel be told from an older Rachel's perspective, reflecting on her youth.

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Erica Jong and daughter Molly Jong-Fast reflect on 'Fear of Flying'

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

This year, the novel Fear of Flying — which broke all sorts of unwritten rules around marriage, sex, and women's bodily autonomy when first published — turned 50 years old. So for today's episode, we dug up a 1973 interview with author Erica Jong and NPR's Steven Banker where Jong speaks frankly about the constraints women felt at the time about making art, and how their husbands would be perceived as a result. Then, NPR's Sarah McCammon speaks with Jong's daughter, Molly Jong-Fast, about the legacy of Fear of Flying, second-wave feminism and the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

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Rose Previte, of Michelin star restaurant Maydān, releases her debut cookbook

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Today's episode takes us inside the kitchen of Washington, D.C. Michelin-star restaurant Maydān. There, owner Rose Previte walks NPR's Asma Khalid through several recipes in her new cookbook, Maydān, which focuses on family dishes from a diverse array of influences. Previte and Khalid get to talking about how growing up in a Lebanese-Italian home in a small Ohio town — and later traveling across Russia and the Middle East with her husband, former NPR host David Greene — shaped her understanding of breaking bread across cultures.

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Raquel Willis reflects on her journey in Black trans rights activism in new memoir

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

The Risk It Takes To Bloom is a new memoir by journalist and activist Raquel Willis. In 2014, Willis navigated post-college life as she grappled with the "dehumanization" of Blackness and the importance of transgender visibility. Willis examined how to support the Black trans community and helped organize one of the largest marches for Black trans lives in 2020. In today's episode, Willis speaks with NPR's Brittany Luse about her journey as a Black trans woman emerging into adulthood and the intersectional framework that shapes her activism.

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Jordan Peele curates a new Black horror story collection 'Out There Screaming'

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror is a collection of scary stories curated by horror filmmaker Jordan Peele. In today's episode, Peele speaks with NPR's Brittany Luse about the Black horror stories in this collection and the unique motif of eyes in this genre, including in his own 2017 film Get Out.

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Author David Wallace-Wells outlines the biggest climate change misunderstandings

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

As this year's United Nations Climate Summit wraps up, today's episode examines what people often get wrong about climate change. David Wallace-Wells' 2019 book The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming outlines three major misunderstandings: the speed, scope, and severity of climate change. Here, Wallace-Wells speaks with NPR's Rachel Martin back in 2019 about the worst-case scenario for human life in 2050 and the optimistic outcome we could expect if we take immediate action.

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'Idlewild' follows a queer, teen friendship in early 2000s New York

Sat, 09 Dec 2023 08:00:59 +0000

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, two teenagers form a tight bond at their Quaker high school in Manhattan. That's the premise for Idlewild, the debut novel by James Frankie Thomas. But while the girls share an intense common interest in gay culture and fan fiction, their friendship blows up in unexpected ways — something they must reckon with years later. In today's episode, Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes speaks with Thomas about his take on the prep school novel and discovering some giant truths about himself while trying to understand the lives of his characters.

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Novels by Sigrid Nunez and Michael Cunningham tackle the pandemic

Fri, 08 Dec 2023 11:02:14 +0000

Today's episode finds two renowned authors who found solace in writing characters navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. First, NPR's Leila Fadel spoke with Sigrid Nunez about The Vulnerables, which follows a woman, a parrot, and a Gen Z college student unexpectedly taking care of another during lockdown in New York. Then, Michael Cunningham tells NPR's Scott Simon about Day, which chronicles three days — spread out over three years — in the life of a Brooklyn family, and how isolation and companionship changes them over that time.

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Patricia Evangelista's memoir revisits the aftermath of the Philippines' war on drugs

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista traces the aftermath of the Philippines' war on drugs. After Rodrigo Duterte was elected in 2016, thousands of people were killed in extrajudicial killings. In today's episode, NPR's Juana Summers listens to journalist Evangelista reflect on her country's news coverage during this time and the importance of language in honoring humanity.

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Norman Lear's memoir recalls a life and career that shaped American television

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 21:01:32 +0000

TV writer and producer, Norman Lear, died this week. He was 101 years old. In today's episode, we revisit Lear's 2014 interview with NPR's Arun Rath about his memoir, Even This I Get to Experience. From Lear's upbringing with a father incarcerated for white collar crime to his struggle to get All In the Family on air, the two discussed some of the biggest challenges Lear overcame on the path to becoming a television visionary.

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In 'The New Naturals,' Gabriel Bump explores grief after the loss of a daughter

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

The New Naturals follows a couple's journey from grieving their infant daughter to an underground utopia. In today's episode, literature professor Gabriel Bump tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe how his own personal loss led to the emotional stream of consciousness and acceptance of societal change in the novel.

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In 'Oath and Honor,' Liz Cheney analyzes Trump's effect on the Republican party

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

When former Wyoming representative Liz Cheney criticized Donald Trump's presidency, she says she didn't know the Republican party would turn on her. But after losing her leadership role in the party and her bid for reelection, Cheney had to reassess. Her new book, Oath and Honor, opens up about the House investigation into the January 6 attack, and her colleagues' ambivalence on impeaching Trump. In today's episode, Cheney tells NPR's Leila Fadel why she thinks it's important to talk about Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election, and how it can still pose a threat to democracy in 2024.

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Nathan Thrall's book revisits a tragic bus accident in Jerusalem

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Today's episode is a true story that takes place in Jerusalem. In 2012, a bus collided with a semi trailer. Six Palestinian kindergarteners and a teacher burned to death. Abed Salama,, who is the father of one of the children, has to navigate physical and bureaucratic barriers as he searches for his son. In A Day In The Life of Abed Salama, author Nathan Thrall revisits the journey and the vivid people, both Palestinian and Jewish, Salama encountered. Thrall and Salama speak with NPR's Leila Fadel about the emotional odyssey and the book's new reception after the Hamas attack on Israel in October.

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'The Queen of Dirt Island' captures the bond between women in an Irish family

Sat, 02 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Donal Ryan's novel, The Queen of Dirt Island, centers its women characters. He tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly that making the men peripheral wasn't his goal – "it just kind of happened." In today's episode, he explains how a childhood spent listening to his grandmother, sister and neighbors in his mom's kitchen inspired the voices in the book, and why he wrote with a strict word count in mind for each chapter.

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Two National Book Awards finalists take on climate extremes

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Today's episode features interviews with two authors whose works are 2023 National Book Awards finalists — one fiction, one nonfiction. Both broach the topic of climate realities, though their books take place hundreds of years apart. First, NPR's Scott Simon chats with Hanna Pylväinen about The End of Drum-Time, which opens with a startling earthquake and centers an 1850s community of native Sámi reindeer herders in the Scandinavian Arctic. Then, Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd asks journalist John Vaillant about Fire Weather, which covers the 2016 wildfires in Fort McMurray, Canada.

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How Indian migrant workers escaped human trafficking in Mississippi

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Today's episode is a true story that reads like a novel. In 2006, author and labor organizer Saket Soni received a call from an Indian migrant worker. He was one of hundreds of men hired by Signal International to fix hurricane-ravaged oil rigs in Mississippi and asked to pay $20,000 under the impression it would go towards green card expenses. But as Soni explains in his new book, The Great Escape, that was far from the truth. He tells Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about the harsh conditions workers were forced to live in, and how they eventually marched all the way to D.C. to demand justice.

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Patricia Park's new YA novel captures the complexities of race and adolescence

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:02:33 +0000

Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim follows a Korean-Argentinian teen's journey to understanding who she is. Through the comfort of her multicultural home in Queens to the hallways of her ultra-woke, elite prep school in Manhattan, Alejandra grapples with academics, the politics of school lunch, and even a microaggression from her own teacher. As author Patricia Park tells Here & Now's Robin Young, it's a story about how quickly the world is changing – and how conversations about race are, or aren't, keeping up.

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Stephen Buoro's comic novel follows a young Nigerian man's obsession with whiteness

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa by Stephen Buoro is one of our favorite books of 2023. It focuses on a 15-year-old boy, Andy Aziza, who lives in Kontagora and uses the framework of superheroes and villains to grapple with the systemic issues in his home country of Nigeria and the African continent as a whole. In today's episode, Buoro speaks with NPR's Camila Domonoske about his protagonist's difficult feelings about his identity and country of origin, and how he balances the darkness of postcolonial violence with light-hearted, teenage issues like high school crushes.

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'Burn It Down' exposes discrimination and toxicity behind the scenes in Hollywood

Mon, 27 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

As Hollywood was warming up for a summer of labor strikes a few months ago, Vanity Fair's Maureen Ryan came out with a new book, Burn It Down, that exposed a lot of the abuses many writers, actors and crew members were coming forth about. When the book first published, Ryan spoke with NPR's Eric Deggans about how the set of Lost became a centerpiece of her research, and how her own experience speaking out about assault at the hands of a TV executive shaped her ability to report highly sensitive stories.

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'Loot' traces the love, war and art that shaped India's colonial history

Sat, 25 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

In her new novel Loot, Tania James writes of a 17-year-old woodworker who's commissioned to build a tiger automaton for the Indian ruler Tipu Sultan in the 18th century. The story is inspired by the real-life Tippoo's Tiger, one of the most famous sculptures in London's Victoria and Albert Museum. James' tale of colonization, war, love and art stretches across India and Europe – and as she tells NPR's Ari Shapiro, it continues to raise questions about historical artifacts and who should own them.

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Two graphic memoirs explore growing up as a minority in the U.S.

Fri, 24 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Today's episode features interviews with two highly accomplished artists who've written graphic memoirs about the intricacies of growing up as young men of color in the U.S. First, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Darrin Bell about The Talk, which chronicles how Black parents speak to their kids about race and policing, and how he experienced that as a son and a father. Then, NPR's Scott Simon asks Edel Rodriguez about Worm, which follows his family's journey from Cuba to Miami on the Mariel boatlift, and how it shaped his feelings towards Donald Trump.

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In 'Blackouts,' Justin Torres shines a light on silenced LGBTQ history

Thu, 23 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

The new novel and National Book Awards finalist by Justin Torres, Blackouts, blurs the line between fiction and history to bring marginalized queer narratives to life. In today's episode, Torres speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about how he was inspired by the work of lesbian archivist and researcher Jan Gay — but when he hit a dead end trying to learn more about her, he used fiction to fill in the gaps. Torres also discusses blacking out text to get rid of the pathologization of LGBTQ people in testimonials, and finding new meaning in the remaining words.

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Jonathan Eig's biography of MLK explores the activist's life and faith

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 10:57:51 +0000

King:A Life, the biography by Jonathan Eig, provides a fresh perspective into the life of one of America's most important activists. From his upbringing in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward neighborhood to his path through university and the frontlines of the Montgomery bus boycott, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s career and impact is explained through his faith and relationships. In today's episode, Eig speaks to NPR's Steve Inskeep about how Dr. King rose to prominence at such a young age, and how he maintained his spirituality through deep scrutiny and surveillance.

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In 'The Covenant of Water,' Abraham Verghese traces an Indian family's drowning curse

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 10:54:39 +0000

The Covenant of Water follows three generations of a family in the coastal state of Kerala, India, where they're haunted by a devastating event, over and over: In every generation, someone in the family drowns. In today's episode, Dr. Abraham Verghese tells NPR's Ari Shapiro about the medical themes in the novel, and how his daytime occupation as a physician and professor at Stanford University informs his writing.

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Discover your next great read with NPR's Books We Love

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 10:49:19 +0000

Back for its 11th year, Books We Love curates NPR staff and critics' favorite books of the year. You can discover your next great read or find the perfect gift for a literary loved one using our interactive guide. With more than 380 books to choose from, you can filter your search with various tags, including "Book Club Ideas," "Seriously Great Writing," and "Staff Picks." In today's episode, Andrew Limbong speaks with All Things Considered host Ari Shapiro about some of the beloved books compiled in Books We Love 2023.

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Jamie Loftus' 'Raw Dog' investigates the social and culinary history of the hot dog

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Comedian Jamie Loftus has been eating hot dogs her whole life. But in her new book, Raw Dog, she takes a road trip across the U.S. to discover how they're prepared in different parts of the country, and does a deep dive into everything from the labor conditions in meatpacking plants to the social class implications of who eats hot dogs and why. In today's episode, Loftus speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about the immigrant roots of the baseball classic, the capitalist propaganda behind the hot dog as a symbol of America, and the ethical ways to still consume them.

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Henry Winkler and Arnold Schwarzenegger's memoirs open up about the fear of failing

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Today's episode features interviews with two giants in pop culture who get very real about the pitfalls in their personal and professional lives. First, NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Henry Winkler about his new memoir, Being Henry, and how his overnight stardom as The Fonz on Happy Days was followed by a long lack of acting roles. Then, NPR's A Martinez chats with Arnold Schwarzenegger about his book Be Useful, and the men in his life who taught him the importance of helping others.

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Max Brooks teaches kids life lessons through the world of 'Minecraft'

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

The Minecraft trilogy by Max Brooks is about two humans – Guy and Summer – who get trapped in the world of the video game Minecraft and have to find their way out. In today's episode, Brooks speaks with NPR's Andrew Limbong about how Minecraft is the perfect medium through which to teach kids about conflict, survival and adapting to change. But they also get to talking about how Brooks' first book, World War Z, landed him a gig at West Point teaching military preparedness, and how he thanks his mom, actress Anne Bancroft, for teaching him the value of being prepared.

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Curtis Chin's memoir pays homage to his family's Chinese restaurant

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

There are lots of things Curtis Chin, co-founder of the Asian American Writers' Workshop, learned at his family's Chinese restaurant: how to be curious, how to be kind, how to create community. His new memoir, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant, recalls Chin's upbringing as a gay Chinese-American boy in 1980s Detroit, and how the family business served as the ultimate safe space – not just for him, but for everyone in the city. He tells NPR's Ailsa Chang about the diverse clientele that frequented the restaurant, and how it continues to shape his worldview today.

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'The Liberators' details the lives of Korean-Americans grappling with the war

Tue, 14 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

The debut novel by E.J. Koh is short in length, but extensive in time and place. The Liberators follows several generations of two Korean families, and encapsulates how different individuals reckon with the legacy of war, love and betrayal within their lineage. In today's episode, Koh speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about the importance of zooming into people's ordinary lives to understand the impact of historic geopolitical events, and why understanding her own family's history influenced how she wrote her characters.

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Barbra Streisand's memoir looks back on a groundbreaking career

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Barbra Streisand spent 15 years working to get her directorial debut, the movie Yentl, made. She writes in her new memoir, My Name is Barbra, that people in Hollywood often told her the story was "too Jewish" to appeal to a mainstream audience. In today's episode, Streisand speaks with NPR's Brittany Luse, host of the podcast It's Been a Minute, about that experience. She also talks about why she feels like her book gives her control over her legacy – and how she approached it as kind of a "director's cut" of her life.

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In 'Thicker Than Water,' Kerry Washington processes a family secret

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Kerry Washington is well-known for her roles in Scandal, Little Fires Everywhere and Django Unchained. But in her new memoir, she reveals a LOT that the public doesn't know about her – and one big thing she didn't even know about herself until fairly recently. In today's episode, Washington sits down with NPR's Juana Summers for a two-part conversation about how a secret her parents kept for decades challenged – and strengthened – her relationship with them, and how she's managed the vulnerability that comes with sharing that journey with the rest of the world.

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What it's like to write the biographies of Elon Musk and Sam Bankman-Fried

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Today's episode is a little different. NPR's David Folkenflik sits down with two writers – Walter Isaacson and Michael Lewis – to ask about their experiences writing biographies of Elon Musk and Sam Bankman-Fried, respectively, and what it means to watch the person you're profiling become a villain in the public eye in real time. They discuss the process of getting close – or keeping their distance – from their sources for Elon Musk and Going Infinite, and confront the criticisms of how they do or don't address the wrongdoings of Musk and Bankman-Fried in their books.

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In 'Let Us Descend,' Jesmyn Ward harnesses the spirituality of an enslaved woman

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

For the first few years that National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward was writing her new novel, Let Us Descend, she says she really struggled to tap into her main character. Annis is an enslaved Black woman who faces unsurmountable hardships – but she also finds deep comfort in the spirits and elements that surround her. In today's episode, Ward tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe why she needed to incorporate spirituality into the Southern hellscape Annis faces; and why as hard as it can be to read about slavery, it's also an act of memory and resistance.

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In 'A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens,' debt takes on many meanings

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Hugo Contreras, the protagonist of Raul Palma's new novel, is a babaláwo; he can cleanse evil spirits. Except he doesn't really believe in the whole thing. So when he's able to strike up a deal with a debt collector – get rid of the ghosts in his house in exchange for a clean slate – he assumes he can mostly fake it. In today's episode, Palma joins NPR's Scott Simon to discuss A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens, and how the concept of debt – not just financial, but personal, too – stirs up a lot of trauma for Hugo.

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In 'Differ We Must,' NPR's Steve Inskeep examines Abraham Lincoln's disagreements

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Abraham Lincoln's leadership is often remembered for reaching across the aisle – he tried to find compromises even in the most divisive times. But as successful as he was in saving the union, Lincoln also spent a lot of time agreeing to disagree with those around him. In his new book, Differ We Must, NPR's Steve Inskeep examines Lincoln's life through 16 such confrontations. In today's episode, Inskeep chats with NPR's Scott Simon about how Lincoln strategically positioned himself on issues like slavery, abolition and democracy – even when his own best friend opposed his stances.

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'The Coming Wave' and 'Artificial' offer different perspectives on AI

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode is all about artificial intelligence and its ever-growing role in our society. First, NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with tech entrepreneur Mustafa Suleyman about his new book, The Coming Wave, and why – as someone who's deeply involved in the world of AI – Suleyman insists it begs for regulation. Then, NPR's Chloe Veltman speaks with New Yorker cartoonist Amy Kurzweil about her new graphic memoir, Artificial: A Love Story, which recounts how the artist and her dad used her late grandfather's songs, photographs and documents to create a chatbot that resembles him.

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In 'The List,' an allegation of sexual misconduct wreaks havoc on a relationship

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 10:17:04 +0000

Ola and Michael are, by all means, a power couple. They're both high-profile journalists, engaged to be married in a month, who wake up one morning to find Michael's name on an anonymous list of predatory men in media. In today's episode, author Yomi Adegoke discusses her new novel, The List, which was inspired by a similar document published online during the #MeToo Movement. She tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe how Ola and Michael's Blackness, online anonymity, and social media complicate – and challenge – Ola's personal and political convictions.

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'The House of Doors' is a novel about romance, secrecy and colonialism in Malaysia

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 09:55:14 +0000

In 'Sparks,' Ian Johnson highlights China's 'grassroots historians'

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 09:52:49 +0000

Since being named general secretary of China's ruling Communist Party, Xi Jinping has exerted his power to control historical narratives in China. But in his new book, Sparks, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Ian Johnson profiles the people who've fought back to record – and report – the country's full history, including famines, virus outbreaks and ethnic conflicts. In today's episode, Johnson speaks with NPR's John Ruwitch about how the advancement of technologies like PDFs, digital cameras and VPNs have allowed journalists, filmmakers and artists to correct China's collective memory.

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Jhumpa Lahiri questions Italian identity in 'Roman Stories'

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Roman Stories, the new collection of short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri, captures the tensions of a rapidly-changing Rome, Italy. In today's episode, Lahiri speaks with NPR's Leila Fadel about how growing up as the daughter of immigrants in the U.S. and later moving to Italy as an adult has complicated ideas of home and belonging for her – and how ultimately, home might be of a mental state rather than a physical place.

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Books about Olympic rowers and J. Robert Oppenheimer re-examine American history

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 10:47:11 +0000

Today's episode is about two books that examine the United States' relationship with other countries during contentious moments in history. First, Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with Daniel James Brown about his book, The Boys in the Boat, which profiles the American rowing team that beat Germany during the 1936 Olympics. George Clooney's film adaptation comes out later this year. Then, NPR's Frank Stasio chats with Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin about American Prometheus, the biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer behind this summer's blockbuster.

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After three decades, John Grisham follows 'The Firm' with 'The Exchange'

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

We can't do a week about books turned into films without speaking with John Grisham. In today's episode, the author of The Pelican Brief and The Innocent Man speaks with our host Andrew Limbong about writing a follow-up to his hit The Firm after three decades. The Exchange follows lawyer Mitch McDeere's work across the globe – and on a pro bono case. Here, Grisham gets frank about how his trust in the justice system has changed, and how his views on Hollywood have, too.

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'The Color Purple' is about the bonding of women

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

The Color Purple is about the survival of Black women in a male-dominated world. Author Alice Walker said that she just wrote what happens in the real world. The book has been made into a film and a Broadway musical already – now it's being turned into a new musical film. In 1982, Walker told former NPR reporter Faith Fancher that "one of the reasons I wanted to have strong, beautiful, wonderful women loving each other is because I think that people can deal with that. [...] I think that the people who are uptight and bigoted and afraid in their own lives will have difficulty."

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Isabel Wilkerson argues that 'Caste,' not racism caused The Great Migration

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Isabel Wilkerson followed her novel about The Great Migration, The Warmth of Other Suns, with another book that looks at why it happened. Caste – recently made into a film by director Ava DuVernay – argues that caste and not racism is actually what Black people were fleeing when they left the Jim Crow South. Wilkerson told Throughline's Ramtin Arablouei and Rund Abdelfatah that the term racism is rooted in hate but caste is about "power and how those other groups manage and navigate and seek to survive in a society that's created with this ranked hierarchy."

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'Killers of the Flower Moon' traces the murders of Osage families

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

This week, we're hearing from authors whose works have been adapted to the big screen. In this 2017 interview, NPR's Steve Inskeep asks David Grann about his nonfiction book Killers of the Flower Moon, which recounts how white settlers conspired to kill members of the Osage Nation in the 1920s in order to take over their oil-rich land in Oklahoma. The story – which also involves the FBI's first major homicide investigation – is at the center of Martin Scorsese's latest film.

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Two poetry collections find beauty in unexpected places

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Poet Franny Choi knows that marginalized communities have been facing apocalypses forever. But in her new book, The World Keeps Ending and the World Goes On, she uses their survival as a way to look forward. In this episode, she tells NPR's Leila Fadel how understanding that pain and resilience can ultimately be a source of hope. Then, former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins discusses his new collection of very short poems, Musical Tables, with NPR's Scott Simon – and gets into the complexities of how sometimes saying less can offer so much more.

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'My People' is a collection of stories – spanning decades – about Black America

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Charlayne Hunter-Gault is a trailblazing journalist. The first Black reporter for The New Yorker's "Talk of the Town" section, she's spent more than a half-century reporting on the lives of Black Americans. Her newest book, My People, is a collection of pieces written throughout her career that provide a nuanced look at Black communities across the U.S. In this episode, she speaks to NPR's Michel Martin about how our country's understanding of race has changed since she first began working as a journalist, but how some things – like the bans on books by certain authors – kind of stay the same.

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In 'Cursed Bunny,' horror takes unexpected forms

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Bora Chung's collection of short stories, Cursed Bunny, jumps across different characters and genres, but there's something a little sinister in nearly all of them. In this episode, Chung speaks to NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about how bodily autonomy, social stigma and cultural norms played a big part in one particular horror story – which is actually rooted in something the author experienced in real life.

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'Fatty Fatty Boom Boom' details a lifelong relationship with food and body image

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

When Rabia Chaudry's family moved from Pakistan to the U.S., her parents fully embraced the processed foods lining the grocery store aisles. But as the author and attorney got older, she began to associate eating with shame and secrecy. Her new memoir, Fatty Fatty Boom Boom, recounts how her outlook on food changed as she understood her own mom's eating patterns. In this episode, Chaudry tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe how she eventually started healing – so much so that she reclaimed her childhood nickname for the title of her book.

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'Demon Copperhead' tackles opioids, poverty and resilience in Appalachia

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Novelist Barbara Kingsolver loves living in the Appalachian hills of southwestern Virginia. But she says she feels that the region is often misconstrued by mainstream media. Her new book, Demon Copperhead, follows a young boy grappling with the consequences of loss, addiction and poverty – but also finding ways to survive through creativity and imagination. In this episode, Kingsolver speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about the Dickensian influences in the novel, the divide between urban and rural, and the idea that "the middle of nowhere is relative."

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Novels by Barbara Kingsolver and Daniel Mason excavate history for new meanings

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Today's episode is all about two books that find parallels across long stretches of time. First, an interview with Barbara Kingsolver and former NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro about Kingsolver's novel Unsheltered, which finds striking similarities between an 18th century "utopian" community and 2016 America. Then, NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Daniel Mason about his new novel North Woods, which follows the inhabitants of a plot of land across hundreds of years.

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'Lies About Black People' analyzes and debunks harmful stereotypes

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

In today's episode, Omekongo Dibinga walks Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes through several myths featured in his new book, Lies About Black People. From how the stereotype of "the welfare queen" came to be through how an enslaved Black man taught Jack Daniel to make whiskey, Dibinga breaks down the different ways Black people have been maligned and unacknowledged for their contributions in American history. He says that as he was writing and researching, he realized it wasn't only white people who needed to relearn that history – and he explains why it's important for Black readers, too.

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'Land of Milk and Honey' paints a dystopian future for fine dining

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

After climate change has wreaked havoc on the planet – and its flora and fauna – delicious dinners are a memory of the past. But in C Pam Zhang's new novel, Land of Milk and Honey, a struggling chef looking for a job finds herself in an elite corner of the world where eating is about more than survival. In today's episode, Zhang tells NPR's Ailsa Chang how being a picky eater ultimately led her to relish in writing about food, and how desire, privilege and pleasure take on different meanings for her chef protagonist.

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'The Big Myth' breaks down pro-market, anti-government propaganda in the U.S.

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 10:21:16 +0000

The Big Myth, a new book co-written by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, details the rise of free market capitalism in the 19th century and its long-lasting impact on American democracy. In today's episode, Oreskes speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about how Little House on the Prairie, union busting, and Ronald Reagan all played a role in diminishing government regulation – and how the effects of that policy and pop culture campaign can still be seen in today's housing crisis and COVID-19 response.

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Nathan Hill's 'Wellness' examines marriage, parenthood and polyamory

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 11:29:23 +0000

Nathan Hill's novel Wellness starts with a blossoming romance between two artists in Chicago's underground scene. Twenty years later, they're married, raising a kid, and running into all sorts of conflict, within themselves and with one another. In today's episode, Hill speaks with Here & Now's Robin Young about how love and partnership changes over time, and how the start of the book – which he wrote two decades ago – felt much different when he reapproached it in his 40s.

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Susan Kuklin and Maia Kobabe's books explore gender identity throughout adolescence

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Today's episode features interviews with two authors whose books on trans and queer gender identity are facing challenges in school districts across the U.S. First, NPR's Steve Inskeep sits down with writer and photographer Susan Kuklin to discuss her book, Beyond Magenta, which features the photos and narratives of six trans and nonbinary teens around the country. Then, NPR's Rachel Martin asks Maia Kobabe about Gender Queer, the graphic memoir detailing Kobabe's own experience navigating gender and communicating that journey to friends and family.

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Art Spiegelman reissues 'Breakdowns' with new perspective on book bans

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 04:10:00 +0000

Author and cartoonist Art Spiegelman is familiar with the hysteria surrounding certain library books. In today's episode, he tells NPR's Scott Simon about how comic book burnings during his childhood in the 1950s weren't all that different from book bans taking place across the country today. Spiegelman says that though they tackled difficult subjects, he found then – and continues to find today – great emotional power in comics, such as his reissued collection Breakdowns. And he says he's felt deeply unsettled by the ongoing challenges against these kinds of books.

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'All Boys Aren't Blue' honors coming of age as a queer Black boy

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 10:13:32 +0000

Author George M. Johnson says they knew their memoir, All Boys Aren't Blue, would be challenged by school boards – but they didn't realize just how much controversy it would stir up. The memoir explores Johnson's upbringing as a queer young person of color in New Jersey and Virginia. In today's episode, they tell NPR's Leila Fadel that despite all the pushback the book has received, it's been overwhelmingly gratifying to see how much it's helped teachers, librarians, parents...and especially the students themselves.

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In 'New Kid,' a Black seventh grader navigates a new school

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 04:10:00 +0000

Jordan Banks, the protagonist of New Kid, is a seventh grade student who loves to draw and hopes to one day become a cartoonist. But the graphic novel following Jordan's arrival at a predominantly white, elite, private school has been challenged numerous times in the state of Texas by people claiming it promotes critical race theory. In today's episode, author Jerry Craft tells NPR's A Martinez how those challenges were often presented by parents who had not truly engaged with the material – and why it's crucial for him to tell coming-of-age stories for Black kids that don't involve catastrophe.

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Bans on books like 'Out of Darkness' target authors of color

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 10:45:45 +0000

Professor Ashley Hope Pérez's book Out of Darkness explores school segregation in 20th century Texas through a fictional love story between a young African-American boy and a Mexican-American girl. But the YA novel has been banned in a number of places and effectively pulled out of several school libraries. In today's episode, the author tells NPR's Rob Schmitz how sexual content is used as a scapegoat to target books addressing race, gender and other identity-based topics – and how those battles ultimately set back strides in diversifying children's literature.

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Novels by Hila Blum and William Landay unravel family mysteries

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 04:10:00 +0000

Today's episode is all about figuring out the moment things went wrong between family members – and how the fallout has long lasting effects on everyone involved. First, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with author Hilda Blum about her novel How to Love Your Daughter, and what it means for a mother and daughter's bond to be tested over time. Then, Here & Now's Tiziana Dearing asks William Landay about his new thriller, All That Is Mine I Carry With Me, in which a missing woman's children have been raised by the man police believe may have killed her.

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'Others Were Emeralds' is a coming-of-age story confronting racism in Australia

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 04:10:00 +0000

In today's episode, Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes and author Lang Leav bond over growing up in Australia, and navigating racism and anti-immigrant sentiments while also trying to find community as a young person. Leav's new novel, Others Were Emeralds, follows a Cambodian teen growing up in a small town of Asian immigrants near Sydney. While she's trying to make sense of the hostility that she faces from outsiders, she's also dealing with the everyday struggle of being a young woman.

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Sandeep Jauhar's memoir explains how Alzheimer's works – and how it affected his dad

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 04:10:00 +0000

As a physician, Sandeep Jauhar had a certain understanding of Alzheimer's. Then, when the disease was impacting his own father, more and more questions, confusion, and frustrations arose. In his new memoir, My Father's Brain, Jauhar describes how his immigrant family grappled with his father's new reality. He tells Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes how difficult and exhausting it can be to allocate the resources that it takes to care for an aging loved one, and how cultural context can play a huge role in their safety.

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Anne Enright's 'The Wren, The Wren' is a family story about poetry and betrayal

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 04:10:00 +0000

'Foreign Bodies' traces the history of pandemics and vaccine hesitancy

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 04:10:00 +0000

Historian Simon Schama's new book, Foreign Bodies:Pandemics, Vaccines, and the Health of Nations, recounts the pain and panic caused by smallpox, cholera and the Bubonic plague over the past two centuries. But he also examines how vaccines were developed for each disease – and how understanding science and our bodies brings humans closer together. In today's episode, Schama speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about how the history of mass disease and immunization is still relevant to today's global health, especially when it comes to political messaging around COVID-19.

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Two books examine the lives of Afghans in the aftermath of American withdrawal

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 04:10:00 +0000

Today's episode is all about the lives of women in Afghanistan, before and after the U.S. armed forces occupied the country. First, Here & Now's Scott Tong speaks with journalist Mitchell Zuckoff about his new book, The Secret Gate, chronicling how activist Homeira Qaderi engineered her escape out of Kabul at the very last minute. Then, Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes asks Sola Mahfouz and Malaina Kapoor about Defiant Dreams, which tells of Mahfouz's upbringing under Taliban rule.

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Why Matthew McConaughey wrote a children's book about the "paradox of living"

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 10:08:46 +0000

Matthew McConaughey has a new children's book out, full of couplets with a pretty mature message. Just Because is all about the contradictions in life – like "just because I lied doesn't mean that I'm a liar." In today's episode, the Academy Award winner speaks with NPR's A Martinez about how this idea that our actions don't necessarily define our character can be pretty complex, but it can also spark really fruitful conversations from a young age.

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'Roaming' is a graphic novel about friendship and travel

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 04:10:00 +0000

It's one thing to be friends with someone, but going on a trip together? Totally different story. A new graphic novel by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki captures that dissonance: Roaming follows two friends from high school reuniting on a trip to New York City during college. But there's a new, third pal in the mix – and pretty soon, it's clear the vibes are off. The Tamiko cousins spoke with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about how the way a person travels reveals a lot about their character, and why that experience was much different in 2009 – the year the book is set – than it is now.

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In 'Jews in the Garden,' a Holocaust survivor tries to uncover uncomfortable truths

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 04:05:00 +0000

As The Public's Radio Lynn Arditi says in today's episode, much has been written about the Polish resistance movement during World War II. But in her interview with Judy Rakowsky, author of Jews in the Garden, the two journalists discuss the culture of silence around many of the atrocities of the time period. Rakowsky's book – part memoir, part thriller – recounts how she spent decades using her investigative reporting skills to help Sam, a family member and Holocaust survivor, make sense of what really happened in the Polish village he fled as a teen.

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Héctor Tobar examines Latino identity in 'Our Migrant Souls'

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 04:10:00 +0000

When Héctor Tobar was born to Guatemalan parents in Los Angeles in the 1960s, his race was described as "caucasian" on his birth certificate. In his new book, Our Migrant Souls, the Pulitzer Prize winning reporter examines how Latino identity is constructed and defined. He speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about the ways whiteness and colorism operate in the Latino community, how class plays into that understanding, and why media depictions of Latino communities still have a long way to go.

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Lauren Groff talks captivity narratives, climate change and 'The Vaster Wilds'

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 04:10:00 +0000

Today's episode is an in-length conversation with National Book Award finalist Lauren Groff. She met up with NPR's Andrew Limbong at a library at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, where they chatted about Mary Rowlandson, the colonial woman captured and held ransom by Native Americans in the 1600s, and how she influenced Groff's new book, The Vaster Wilds. Groff also talked about how she found a new affinity for historical fiction, and why she always has "a go bag" ready.

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Alice Carrière's memoir tackles the dissonance between memory and mental health

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 10:13:12 +0000

Alice Carrière grew up in Manhattan under the care – and absence – of two extraordinarily creative parents: artist Jennifer Bartlett and actor Mathieu Carrière. But her mother's trauma, her father's transgressions, and her own dissociative disorder broke Alice's ties to her own identity and humanity. In her memoir, Everything/Nothing/Someone, she recounts some of the most difficult moments of her life – but as she tells NPR's Ailsa Chang, she also used writing, her mother's dementia and a reconciliation with her father to reclaim her own reality.

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In 'Fly,' Mitchell S. Jackson looks back over the history of fashion in the NBA

Wed, 13 Sep 2023 12:00:00 +0000

From Walt "Clyde" Frazier to Russell Westbrook, a new book by Pulitzer Prize winner Mitchell S. Jackson chronicles the relationship between style and basketball over decades. Fly: The Big Book of Basketball Fashion features photos and analysis of how the Civil Rights movement, the infamous dress code, and Instagram have all played a role in the evolution of NBA players' modes of expression. In today's episode, Jackson tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe how race and activism also intersect with the perception of the sport, and why he thinks we're seeing the most exciting tunnel walks yet.

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In 'The Fraud,' Zadie Smith takes on historical fiction and the Tichborne case

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Abdulrazak Gurnah's 'Afterlives' highlights nuances of colonization in East Africa

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 12:00:00 +0000

In Abdulrazak Gurnah's Afterlives, the characters centered in the novel offer different perspectives of ordinary people under German colonization in East Africa. In an interview with NPR's Scott Simon, the author goes into detail about how the "power and attraction of the victor" can lead to the conquered joining the conqueror and the impact it has on one's identity.

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Two books examine masculinity and mental health in immigrant families

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Today's episode is rooted in how the expectations of immigrant fathers affect their children. First, Khashayar J. Khabushani speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about his novel I Will Greet the Sun Again, which follows a young Iranian-American boy trying to make sense of his identity and sexuality under a strict, sometimes violent, dad's care. Then, Prachi Gupta tells NPR's Leila Fadel about her memoir, They Called Us Exceptional, and how the intersection of racism and patriarchy contributed to her brother's tragic death.

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'The Men Can't Be Saved' analyzes masculinity in the world of advertising

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 10:38:20 +0000

Ben Purkert's novel, The Men Can't Be Saved, follows a junior copywriter with a viral tagline for adult diapers. Is it a modern take on Mad Men? Or its very antithesis? Purkert tells NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer how his own days in the advertising industry – at the same time the TV drama starring Jon Hamm had just premiered – shaped his understanding of ego, drive and manhood in the workplace....and how maybe making partner at a firm is more about finding connection than a fancy title, though his protagonist would never admit it out loud.

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In 'The Breakaway,' Jennifer Weiner touches on love, mothers and body-shaming

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Abby Stern is very much looking forward to leading a biking trip from NYC to Niagara Falls – until her mom, an old one-night-stand, and some uneasy memories are added to the mix. In Jennifer Weiner's new novel, The Breakaway, that two-week trip becomes filled with tension: sexual, political, and familial. Weiner tells NPR's Juana Summers how different women manage their mothers' expectations, and how she learned to see "almond moms" quite differently while writing this novel.

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In 'Happiness Falls,' a father gone missing brings family tensions to the surface

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 11:22:50 +0000

Adam Parson goes on a morning hike with his son, Eugene, and the boy returns home alone. Eugene is autistic and nonverbal, so he can't explain what happened. This is how Angie Kim sets up Happiness Falls, which chronicles how the Korean-American family tries to make sense of Adam's disappearance. Kim tells NPR's Scott Simon about the complicated relationship between Eugene and his siblings, and why she wanted to emphasize that a lack of verbal communication does not equal a lack of thought and feeling.

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'This is Wildfire' offers an in-depth guide for managing today's more-frequent fires

Mon, 04 Sep 2023 12:00:00 +0000

In the face of record temperatures and dry conditions, wildfires are becoming more and more common. This is Wildfire, a new book by Nick Mott and Justin Angle, provides a historical analysis of the role flames have played in both human and natural ecosystems – and seeks to inform readers how to best protect themselves, their homes, and their communities. As the authors tell Here & Now's Scott Tong, solutions are as far-ranging as keeping gutters clean of debris and actually encouraging more controlled burns.

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Two thrillers raise questions about writing from a particular race and identity

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 04:10:33 +0000

Today's episode focuses on two thrillers that our host, Andrew Limbong, read while on parental leave. First, R.F. Kuang speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about her novel Yellowface and the complicated nuances of writing about friendship and cultural appropriation. Then, Japanese-American author Joe Ide takes a walk with Karen Grigsby Bates, formerly of NPR's Code Switch team, to explain how his upbringing in South Central L.A. informed his series I.Q. and his choice to write from the perspective of a Black protagonist.

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'Queer Career' chronicles the history of LGBTQ workers in the U.S.

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 04:10:13 +0000

In her new book, Queer Career: Sexuality and Work in Modern America, historian Margot Canaday sets out to discover the experiences of LGBTQ people in the American workplace. From the Lavender Scare that sought to remove gay and lesbian employees from government jobs, through the abuse and exploitation that outed workers often faced when they didn't get fired, Canaday's book recounts how sexuality and gender shaped the careers of countless Americans. Canaday tells NPR's Stacey Vanek Smith that despite the adversity, queer people still found meaning and community through their jobs.

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'Of White Ashes' follows a Japanese-American love story after the WWII internment

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 04:10:34 +0000

Author Kent Matsumoto's parents both lived through traumatic experiences during WWII: his mother was forced into an internment camp for Japanese-Americans in the U.S., and his father survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. In a new novel, Of White Ashes, Matsumoto and his wife and co-writer Constance Hays Matsumoto explore a romance between two Japanese-Americans based on Matsumoto's parents. They spoke with Here & Now's Celeste Headlee about choosing to fictionalize true events, and how writing together created a love story of their own.

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In 'Losing Our Religion,' Russell Moore tackles a crisis in evangelical Christianity

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 04:10:33 +0000

Russell Moore resigned from his position in the Southern Baptist Convention after finding himself at odds with other top evangelical leaders – for criticizing Donald Trump, condemning a sexual abuse scandal in the church, and calling out white nationalism within the institution. In his new book, Losing Our Religion, the Christianity Today editor-in-chief examines how the evangelical faith became inundated with politics and culture wars. He tells NPR's Scott Detrow about how despite today's polarization in Christianity, his faith has become stronger – and he sees a path to renewal.

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'Mobility' examines wealth and climate change through the eyes of a teenage girl

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 04:10:11 +0000

Elizabeth "Bunny" Glenn likes reading Cosmopolitan and watching soap operas – but the teenager is blithely aware of how power and wealth operate around her. She's the daughter of a diplomat in Azerbaijan tasked with ensuring oil pipeline access in Lydia Kiesling's new novel, Mobility. In today's episode, the author speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about how her protagonist feigns oblivion to pave her own career in the fossil fuel industry, and how her complicity in climate change makes her a complex character to write.

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Short story collections by Steven Millhauser and Jamel Brinkley focus on the uncanny

Fri, 25 Aug 2023 04:10:23 +0000

Today's episode features interviews with two authors of short story collections. First, NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with Steven Millhauser about Disruptions, and why he likes to write stories that start off in the normal world and slowly become more and more unsettling until he feels he's pushed the limits as far as he can. Then, NPR's Juana Summers asks Jamel Brinkley about Witness, and how he incorporated gentrification in New York, masculinity and Blackness into his larger themes of obsession.

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Pidgeon Pagonis' memoir 'Nobody Needs to Know' reclaims intersex identity

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 04:10:03 +0000

Pidgeon Pagonis grew up thinking they'd survived cancer as a child, and the disease was the reason their body didn't develop quite like the other girls at school. It wasn't until college that they realized they were actually born intersex, and all the surgeries, secrets and confusion came into focus. In their new memoir, Nobody Needs to Know, Pagonis reckons with how they came to understand and accept the truth about their body. They tell NPR's Leila Fadel about that journey and about how they're thinking about community and activism now that their story is out in the world.

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In 'The Apology,' a South Korean grandmother makes amends from the afterlife

Wed, 23 Aug 2023 04:10:06 +0000

There are lots of secrets that 105-year-old Hak Jeonga has carried with her throughout her life. But even after she dies, there's still one big one – generational curse included – that she must resolve. Jimin Han's new novel, The Apology, follows the family from South Korea to Chicago to right some of the wrongs that have happened over time. Han tells NPR's Eyder Peralta how she was influenced by her own family's experience of longing and separation following the Korean War, and why Korean shamanism influenced this story of immortality.

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James McBride's new murder mystery digs into Black and Jewish communities in the '30s

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 04:10:01 +0000

In James McBride's new novel – the titular shop at its heart – The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store – can be found in a neighborhood in Pottstown,Pennsylvania, where working-class Jewish immigrants and African-Americans live side by side, forming a community of protection and respect for one another. In today's episode, McBride speaks with NPR's Scott Detrow about the murder mystery that unfolds in the novel, the inspiration he took from his own grandmother, and the allure of writing about Pennsylvania.

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'War and Punishment' chronicles the history of Russian oppression of Ukraine

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 04:10:31 +0000

Journalist Mikhail Zygar says a lot of Russian historians were actually propagandists – they worked for people in power and wrote recorded events the way politicians and elites wanted. In his new book, War and Punishment, he breaks down the historical myths he says are part of the Russian psyche, one he says Putin uses to defend the invasion of Ukraine. Zygar tells NPR's Leila Fadel that he doesn't think everyone believes the propaganda, but that it's essential to uncover the truth about the Russian empire to understand how we got to today's war, and where it might go next.

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Two books reflect on the highs and lows of adolescence

Fri, 18 Aug 2023 04:10:02 +0000

Today's episode focuses on very different experiences of the teenage years. First, NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Christine Suggs about their new graphic novel, ¡Ay, Mija!, inspired by Suggs' formative trip to Mexico to understand their parents' upbringing and reconnect with their family and culture. Then, NPR's Rachel Martin sits down with psychologist Lisa Damour to discuss her new book, The Emotional Lives of Teenagers. They discuss the stresses and anxieties young people deal with – especially as a result of the pandemic – and how parents can help manage these intense feelings.

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Terrance Hayes' poems span history, fables and quarantine in 'So to Speak'

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 04:10:59 +0000

Writing is a practice – especially for MacArthur Genius Grant and National Book Award winner Terrance Hayes. His new collection of poems, So to Speak, comes out of that practice during turbulent times: COVID quarantine, the 2020 protests after the killing of George Floyd. And they reach further back, too, to the Jim Crow South and his mother's youth. In today's episode, Hayes speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about engaging with language and reimagining family members in a new light.

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'Good Fortune' reimagines 'Pride and Prejudice' in early 2000s Chinatown

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 04:10:10 +0000

In C.K. Chau's new novel, Good Fortune, Elizabeth Chen is highly wary of the Wong brothers who have swooped in to buy a New York City community center. But where Elizabeth sees a threat to her neighborhood, her mother sees an opportunity – and not just for their block. In today's episode, Chau speaks with NPR's Ailsa Chang about reframing Pride and Prejudice as an early aughts story about love and aspiration in a Cantonese American family, and how reframing certain characters as immigrants brings a whole new level to their outlook on relationships.

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'Filthy Rich Politicians' scrutinizes the wealth of elected officials

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 04:10:37 +0000

In Filthy Rich Politicians, conservative columnist Matt Lewis presents some startling figures. Senator Rick Scott: net worth of approximately $200 million. Representative Michael McCaul: $125 million. Nancy Pelosi: $46 million. In his book, Lewis takes a close look at how people get richer after they're elected to office, and what this wealth means for our political systems. He speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about how politicians amass money not just for themselves, but their families – and how Donald Trump is a prime example of that.

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Ann Patchett's new novel brings a mother and daughters together during 2020 lockdown

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 04:10:44 +0000

Lara, the protagonist of Ann Patchett's Tom Lake, finds a silver lining during the frightening first few months of the COVID pandemic: her three adult daughters return home to the family orchard in Northern Michigan. In today's episode, Patchett tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly how they bond while Lara tells them of a romance from her youth, and how looking back to the past brings up all kinds of questions about love and relationships for all the women in the family.

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Two novels depict young men understanding themselves and the danger around them

Fri, 11 Aug 2023 04:10:07 +0000

Today's episode features two novels with two very different protagonists, though their journeys might have more in common than appears at first glance. First, Stephen Buoro discusses The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa with NPR's Camila Domonoske, which follows a young Nigerian man's obsession with whiteness. Then, NPR's Scott Simon asks Max Porter about Shy, a short novel depicting a British teen's escape from his boarding school for troubled kids.

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In 'Soul Boom,' Rainn Wilson calls for a spiritual revolution

Thu, 10 Aug 2023 04:10:37 +0000

Actor Rainn Wilson says he's "always identified as being a dork and a misfit and an outsider." In fact, he says that's probably why he found so much success playing Dwight Schrute in The Office. But in real life, Wilson attributes his dorkiness to how uncool it was to be "the God guy" in the New York acting scene, causing him to shy away from it. In his new book, Soul Boom, he details the monumental role spirituality now plays in his life. He tells NPR's Rachel Martin about his journey back to his faith, and why he feels it should be a guiding force in solving the world's problems.

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In 'Miles Morales Suspended,' Spider-Man grapples with racism and saving the world

Wed, 09 Aug 2023 04:10:11 +0000

Miles Morales, the beloved protagonist of Jason Reynolds' Spider-Man novel, is back. And this time, he's dealing with in-school suspension for challenging his history teacher at an elite Brooklyn private school. But between writing poetry about his new crush and saving the world, the young, Black and Puerto Rican superhero also stumbles into some major themes about racism and censorship. Reynolds tells NPR's A Martinez how his newest novel is a response to the book bans taking place across the country – and how he wishes it didn't have to be.

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'Soil' weaves together a poet's experience of gardening, race and community

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 04:10:28 +0000

For poet Camille Dungy, environmental justice, community interdependence and political engagement go hand in hand. She explores those relationships in her new book, Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden. In it, she details how her experience trying to diversify the species growing in her yard, in a predominantly white town in Colorado, reflects larger themes of how we talk about land and race in the U.S. In today's episode, she tells NPR's Melissa Block about the journey that gardening put her on, and what it's revealed about who gets to write about the environment.

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Bangles cofounder Susanna Hoffs' first novel follows a one-hit wonder, 10 years later

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 04:10:08 +0000

The protagonist of Susanna Hoffs' debut novel, Jane Start, probably listens to Dionne Warwick to hype herself up in the morning. Start is 33 and living with her parents – her days of pop stardom, for one song, are 10 years behind her. But in This Bird Has Flown, a romantic spark reignites a second chance for her creative endeavors, too. In today's episode, Hoffs tells NPR's Andrew Limbong how her own experiences as a rockstar influenced the story, which she's now adapting into a feature film.

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Two books dive into the history of minimalist music and the origins of the saxophone

Fri, 04 Aug 2023 04:10:14 +0000

Today's episode is all about music history. First, musicologists Kerry O'Brien and William Robin tell NPR's Noah Caldwell about their new book, On Minimalism, and how the genre was born out of 1960s counterculture and went on to influence artists like The Who and Alice Coltrane. Then, Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome tell NPR's Samantha Balaban about their new picture book, The Story of the Saxophone, which chronicles the instrument's journey to becoming one of jazz's most important players.

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Madhur Jaffrey celebrates 50 years of 'An Invitation to Indian Cooking'

Thu, 03 Aug 2023 04:10:57 +0000

Today's episode comes to you straight from Madhur Jaffrey's kitchen. NPR's Michel Martin pays the celebrated chef and actor a visit in her New York home, where she discusses how she first learned to cook while studying acting in London. Jeffrey also reflects on how Indian cooking has changed since she published her first cookbook. An Invitation to Indian Cooking will be re-issued later this year to mark its 50th anniversary.

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Poet Hanif Abdurraqib reflects on the ways grief has shaped his spirituality

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 04:10:39 +0000

In his new book, A Little Devil in America, poet Hanif Abdurraqib writes about music in such a way that NPR's Rachel Martin wanted to focus a conversation about spiritual transcendence related to it. What came out, however, was a deep discussion about how losing his mother and close friends early in life created its own kind of spiritual practice for Abdurraqib. In today's episode, he explains how "grief makes a home within us" and why that might actually be a good thing.

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'Monsters' examines fandom and how we consume art by morally compromised people

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 04:10:03 +0000

In the midst of the #MeToo movement in 2017, Claire Dederer posed a difficult question in The Paris Review: "What Do We Do With the Art of Monstrous Men?" From that viral essay comes her new book, Monsters, which examines how we morally engage with – or don't – musicians, authors and actors whose work we love, when we condemn their personal actions. In today's episode, Dederer tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe how this question first arose for her around Roman Polanski movies, and how complex and personal it is to try to separate the art from the artist.

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'The Collector' follows a fictional spy's quest to track down a real stolen painting

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 04:10:24 +0000

Johannes Vermeer's 1664 masterpiece "The Concert" was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. That real - still unsolved - case is at the heart of Daniel Silva's new thriller, The Collector. Despite his initial reluctance, art restorer and former Israeli intelligence officer Gabriel Allon is enlisted to hunt down the painting, along with an unexpected collaborator. In today's episode, Silva speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about his distaste for art theft and his reasons for turning villains into protagonists.

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Two children's books show the comfort kids can find in darkness

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 04:10:58 +0000

Today's episode is all about young readers and the ways they interact with complicated emotions. First, NPR's Julie Depenbrock speaks with Jon Klassen about his new book, The Skull, inspired by a folk tale about a little girl who runs away from home. She befriends the skull and they form a close bond despite the strangeness of the situation. Then, NPR's Miles Parks talks with author Kevin Johnson and illustrator Kitt Thomas about their new book, Cape, which chronicles a young boy's first experience with grief.

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In her memoir, designer Aurora James examines representation and equality in fashion

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 04:10:20 +0000

Aurora James is the designer behind the fashion brand Brother Vellies and the 15% pledge, an initiative that encourages major retailers to stock more work by Black-owned businesses on their shelves. In her new memoir, Wildflower, she describes the complicated upbringing that led her to her current work as a creative and activist. In today's episode, she tells NPR's Michel Martin why it was so important for her to work with African artisans and the misconceptions and biases she hopes to break down in the world of high fashion.

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'Nobody's Fool' explains the science behind falling for scams – and how not to

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 04:10:07 +0000

In their new book, Nobody's Fool, psychology professor Daniel Simons and cognitive scientist Christopher Chabris make the case that people don't just fall for scams because they're gullible. The way our brains work – the way they reason and trust – can often lead us to believe a piece of misinformation or to click on a phishing scam. In today's episode, the authors explain to NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer why truth bias and familiarity can work against us, but that skepticism and fact-checking can help us fight back.

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'The Best Possible Experiences' captures immigrant experience through short stories

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 04:10:51 +0000

In today's episode, author Nishanth Injam tells NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer that when he first arrived in the U.S. from India, he wondered if he'd made a huge mistake. That tension he grappled with is now at the heart of his debut collection of short stories, The Best Possible Experiences, which chronicles the expansive ups and downs of being an immigrant, both at home and in a new place.

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'The Rachel Incident' looks back on early-20s friendships, love and mistakes

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 04:10:36 +0000

The new novel The Rachel Incident is rooted around a wonderful, messy friendship. Rachel and James live together, party, and get themselves into a peculiar situation with an older married couple. In today's episode, author Caroline O'Donoghue speaks with NPR's Miles Parks about how abortion and sexual repression in Irish society play a large role in Rachel's early adulthood. O'Donoghue also shares why it was important to her that the novel be told from an older Rachel's perspective, reflecting on her youth.

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Dennis Lehane and Jake Tapper pen new novels set in the 1970s

Fri, 21 Jul 2023 04:10:18 +0000

Today's episode takes us back in time to American society in the '70s. First, NPR's Scott Simon speaks with author Dennis Lehane about Small Mercies, his new novel about the desegregation of Boston public schools and a mother's plight to find her missing daughter during that time. Then, Simon chats with CNN anchor Jake Tapper about his book All the Demons Are Here, a family drama that involves a U.S. marine, a journalist, and their politician father making sense of post-Vietnam and post-Watergate disillusionment.

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'The Apartment' follows the residents of a Miami Beach building over decades

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 04:10:56 +0000

Ana Menéndez's novel The Apartment starts decades – maybe centuries – before the art deco building named The Helena is built in South Beach, and ends eons into the future. What takes place in apartment 2B in the in-between is where her story lives. From a Cuban concert pianist to a refugee, Menéndez dives into who lives at The Helena and how their time there shapes them. In today's episode, she tells NPR's Ari Shapiro why she wanted time to become its own character in the book, which she spent more than a decade writing.

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'When Crack Was King' chronicles the misunderstood history of the crack epidemic

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 04:10:29 +0000

In his new nonfiction book, When Crack Was King, Donovan X. Ramsey explores how the crack cocaine epidemic of the '80s and '90s shaped people, neighborhoods and entire communities, particularly for Black and low-income folks. He writes portraits of those who struggled with addiction, those who sold the drug, and those who tackled policy and decriminalization. In today's episode, Ramsey tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe why he wanted to dispel the myth of the "superpredator," and how societal views on addiction changed once people of color were no longer the face of it.

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'Ripe' tackles the dark side of Silicon Valley

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 04:10:02 +0000

Cassie, the main character of Sarah Rose Etter's novel Ripe, has hit a wall. She's burned out at her toxic Silicon Valley job, she's disillusioned by the staggering wealth and poverty that surround her at the same time, and she's struggling with depression and anxiety. In today's episode, Etter tells NPR's Juana Summers how Cassie's experience parallels some of her own time working for a start-up and why girlbossing her way out of her problems isn't an option for Cassie.

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'Temple Folk' conveys the experiences of Black Muslims through short stories

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 04:10:10 +0000

Early in today's episode, Aaliyah Bilal says she knows that a lot of people associate the Nation of Islam with hate. But in her new collection of short stories, Temple Folk, she reclaims narratives about Black Muslims and how they contemplate faith, identity and community in the U.S. She tells NPR's Scott Detrow why it was especially important for her to center women's stories and how her characters contend with some of the complexities of the movement.

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A Douglas Stuart double feature! 'Shuggie Bain' and 'Young Mungo'

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 04:10:50 +0000

Both interviews today are with author Douglas Stuart. The first is about his Booker prize-winning Shuggie Bain; a story based on his own life growing up a queer son of a single mother struggling with addiction. He told NPR's Scott Simon that he hoped people could find comfort in this story. Next, Stuart spoke to NPR's Ari Shapiro about his new book, Young Mungo. It's a story about two boys separated by faith who end up falling in love with each other. Stuart told Shapiro that when he "write[s] about heartbreak or sadness, I'm really only doing that to make the tenderness and the love shine more."

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In 'Lessons In Chemistry' a chemist is the star of...a cooking show?

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 04:10:28 +0000

Bonnie Garmus' new novel Lessons In Chemistry has been getting a lot of buzz. Elizabeth Zott is a talented chemist but because it's the 1960s she faces sexism in her quest to work as a scientist. So instead she has a cooking show that is wildly popular. Garmus told NPR's Scott Simon that the character of Elizabeth lived in her head for many years before she started writing this novel.

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How to manage a disaster in 'The Devil Never Sleeps'

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 04:10:26 +0000

Former Homeland Security official and author Juliette Kayyem has a new book out that encourages preparedness. The Devil Never Sleeps makes the case that disasters are going to happen, and gives advice on how to manage them. Kayyem told NPR's Steve Inskeep that we need to redefine our definition of success after disasters occur.

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Novel 'Four Treasures of the Sky' focuses on the horrors of the Chinese Exclusion Act

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 04:10:02 +0000

Author Jenny Tinghui Zhang is out with a new historical fiction novel, Four Treasures of The Sky. Set in the 1800s during the height of anti-Chinese sentiment, a young girl named Daiyu is kidnapped and brought to the U.S. Zhang told NPR's Ayesha Rascoe that she has seen a lot of reviews that refer to this book as 'timely' – and that she does not think that is a good thing when a book is about racism.

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Poet Ocean Vuong shares his grief in 'Time Is A Mother'

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 04:10:12 +0000

Ocean Vuong's new collection, Time Is A Mother, is about his grief after losing family members. Vuong told Morning Edition's Rachel Martin that time is different now that he has lost his mother: "when I look at my life since she died in 2019, I only see two days: Today when she's not here, and the big, big yesterday when I had her."

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Books by Vashti Harrison and Dolly Parton teach kids about self-love and courage

Fri, 07 Jul 2023 04:10:26 +0000

Today's episode is about two children's books with very big themes. First, author-illustrator Vashti Harrison speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about Big, which chronicles how words affect children – and particularly young, Black girls – as they grow older and their bodies change from baby to big kid. Then, Dolly Parton joins NPR's Melissa Block to discuss Billy the Kid Makes It Big, a story about a music-making dog (inspired by a real-life pet!) standing up to the bullies around him.

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'Brotherless Night' examines the Sri Lankan Civil War through the eyes of one family

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 04:10:48 +0000

V.V. Ganeshananthan's new novel, Brotherless Night, dives into the Sri Lankan Civil War through the story of Sashi, a 16-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a doctor. As violence unfolds around her and her family, Sashi watches her goals – and personal stakes in the conflict – shift right before her eyes. In today's episode, Ganeshananthan speaks to Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about the long-lasting impact of colonization in Sri Lanka and the importance of writing from a place of historical accuracy, even while fictionalizing her characters.

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'Wonder Drug' traces the dark history of thalidomide and the birth defects it caused

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 04:10:32 +0000

In the 1960s, FDA inspector Frances Kelsey was assigned her first drug to review: thalidomide. Her thorough investigation led her to discover that the drug had caused pregnant women to bear babies with birth defects around the world – including in the U.S., where the drug had been distributed in clinical trials. Jennifer Vanderbes' new book, Wonder Drug, looks back on that chapter of American history. In today's episode, she tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe how big and unregulated the pharmaceutical industry was at that time, and how patients suffered the consequences.

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Adrienne Brodeur's novel 'Little Monsters' uncovers family secrets in Cape Cod

Tue, 04 Jul 2023 04:10:30 +0000

Little Monsters is the story of two adult siblings, Ken and Abby Gardner, who were raised by their widowed father in Cape Cod. As their dad's 70th birthday approaches, all three members of the small family are on the precipice of great success in their respective fields – but also on the precipice of coming forward with some pretty dark secrets from their past. In today's episode, author Adrienne Brodeur tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about how this book takes inspiration from her own family, and what it means to unlearn and relearn the truths about your loved ones later in life.

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Fae Myenne Ng's memoir examines the Chinese Exclusion Act's impact on families

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 04:10:54 +0000

Orphan Bachelors, the title of Fae Myenne Ng's new memoir, is a reference to the many "grandpas" she had while growing up in San Francisco's Chinatown. These men had been forced to stay single and childless by the Chinese Exclusion Act. In her book, Ng traces the long-lasting legacy of that legislation, which even touched her own parents. She tells Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about the deep loneliness that stopped procreation for four generations, and the way Ng and other children became the bachelors' stand-in descendants nonetheless.

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Two novels explore the complexities of parent-child relationships

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 04:10:19 +0000

Today's episode is all about parents, their adult children, and the frustration and forgiveness that can come to a head in those relationships. First, author Jenny Xie speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about her new novel, Holding Pattern, in which protagonist Kathleen Cheng moves back in with her mom after dropping out of grad school and going through a breakup. Then, NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Nathan Go about Forgiving Imelda Marcos, which follows a Filipino chauffeur's call to his estranged journalist son with the scoop of a lifetime about the secret political meeting he witnessed.

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'Jeopardy!' host Ken Jennings pens a travel guide to the afterlife

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 04:10:55 +0000

Ken Jennings is well-known for winning – and hosting – Jeopardy! Now, he's got a new book out full of pop culture knowledge and research: 100 Places to See After You Die. Formatted like a travel guide, the book spans across different destinations inspired by the way philosophers, poets and even cartoons imagine heaven and hell. In today's episode, Jennings speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about what he learned from his studies into Hinduism, Greek mythology and The Simpsons, and how portrayals of death have changed in pop culture.

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Kenny Smith's memoir 'Talk of Champions' looks back at a career shaped by the NBA

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 04:10:15 +0000

Kenny "The Jet" Smith's life has largely revolved around basketball in one way or another. The basketball commentator, Inside the NBA host and two-time NBA champion is now opening up about the people and relationships behind that career in his new memoir, Talk of Champions. In today's episode, he speaks to Here & Now's Scott Tong about how social justice, his high school coach, and friendships with people like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant inspired him to write his life story.

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J. Ryan Stradal's new novel pays homage to the supper clubs of the upper Midwest

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 04:10:33 +0000

J. Ryan Stradal knows about supper club culture in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the rest of the northern midwest – he grew up in a town where those dining establishments blurred the lines between restaurant and social club, family and community. That culture is at the heart of his new novel, Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, where main character Mariel has inherited one such supper club from her grandparents. In today's episode, Stradal tells Here & Now's Robin Young about how chain diners have impacted those familiar dinner spots and how his late mother inspired much of the novel.

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Frances Haugen's memoir looks back on why she blew the whistle on Facebook

Mon, 26 Jun 2023 04:10:36 +0000

Frances Haugen came forward as the Facebook whistleblower in 2021, shortly after she exposed more than 20,000 documents proving that the company's algorithm boosted misinformation and extremism on the platform. In her new memoir, The Power of One, Haugen details how her life trajectory, from high school debate to Silicon Valley, poised her to speak up about what she saw during her time as an employee at Facebook. In today's episode, she tells Here & Now's Robin Young about losing her childhood best friend, navigating celiac disease, and prioritizing democracy and transparency over profit.

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'The Postcard' and 'Good Night, Irene' detail how WWII impacted two families

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 04:10:03 +0000

Today's episode features two novels intertwining family and wartime history. First, Anne Berest speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about The Postcard, based on the real-life holiday card her family received of relatives who'd been killed at Auschwitz years prior, and the journey that unfurled more than decade later to determine where the image came from. Then, Simon is joined by Luis Alberto Urrea, author of Good Night, Irene, who explains how his mother's real-life experience feeding and cheering on American soldiers during the war fueled his novel about the brave women on the frontlines of battle.

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In her memoir 'Wannabe,' Aisha Harris examines how '90s pop culture shaped her

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 04:10:55 +0000

As an NPR critic, Pop Culture Happy Hour host Aisha Harris helps make sense of how movies, music and TV inform our everyday lives. In her new book of essays, Wannabe, Harris applies that practice inward, reflecting on the impact Stevie Wonder and Sex and the City have had on her own upbringing. In today's episode, Harris speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about how relating her name to a certain pop song forced her to tackle some of her own discomforts with Black identity, and the challenges that come with being a Black critic reviewing work by Black creators.

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Greg Marshall's memoir 'Leg' recounts growing up with cerebral palsy

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 04:10:47 +0000

Greg Marshall grew up with parents battling health issues: cancer and ALS. Marshall had his own health scares – he struggled with his leg and mobility his whole life, which his mom and dad said was a result of tight tendons. As an adult, he found out he'd actually been diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth. His memoir, Leg:The Story of a Limb and the Boy Who Grew from It, is an intimate, funny and honest look at Marshall's journey with his body and sexuality. He tells NPR's Scott Simon why he wanted to open up about living with a disability and why he wanted his leg to be the star of the show.

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'Loot' traces the love, war and art that shaped India's colonial history

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 04:10:25 +0000

Paul McCartney's new book of photographs looks back at Beatlemania in 1964

Mon, 19 Jun 2023 04:10:39 +0000

Between 1963 and 1964, The Beatles blew up to become one of the most internationally renowned bands in history. Though images of the screaming fans and the four musicians' swooping haircuts are part of pop culture, a new book shows that time period through Paul McCartney's perspective. 1964: Eyes of the Storm features photographs the guitarist took through many of those international performances. As McCartney tells NPR's Steve Inskeep, the band's first visit to the U.S. came amidst a period of charged political change.

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Two books examine the evolution of the English language

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 04:10:49 +0000

Today's episode features interviews with two authors who are very invested in the English language. First, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Hana Videen about her new book, The Wordhord, which collects words and phrases from Old English – like Beowulf – to examine and understand life during medieval times. Then, Here & Now's Robin Young is joined by linguist Valerie Fridland to discuss Like, Literally, Dude, which makes the case for how "like" and "um" are leading the charge of modernizing our language.

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'The Talk' is a graphic memoir about the experiences of Black children and parents

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 04:10:17 +0000

When Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Darrin Bell was six years old, he had an encounter with a police officer. That event, which he kept secret for much of his life, reaffirmed "the talk" he'd just had with his mother about the way white people and systems of power can cast hostility and harm onto Black children. That conversation – the way it shaped his own childhood, schooling and adulthood – is at the heart of Bell's new graphic memoir, The Talk. He spoke with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about his own approach to discussing race and how it's led him to parent his own child.

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Inspired by P-22, 'Open Throat' follows a queer mountain lion's lonely survival in LA

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 04:10:04 +0000

When P-22 – the puma that lived in LA's Griffith Park – died in December, Angelenos mourned the loss of one of their wildest celebrities. In his new book, Open Throat, Henry Hoke pays homage to the late cat in a different way; he takes on the voice of a mountain lion living beneath the Hollywood sign, pondering community and climate change and gender identity. In today's episode, Hoke speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about what P-22 represented for Los Angeles residents, and why writing from his perspective raises so many questions about our own humanity and isolation.

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'Between Two Moons' is a coming-of-age story set during Ramadan

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 04:10:01 +0000

The summer after high school graduation is full of promise. But for twin sisters Amira and Lina, the return of their brother from prison complicates some of those teenage plans. In Aisha Abdel Gawad's new novel, Between Two Moons, the sisters' family finds it's struggling with tensions in and outside of the home during the holy month of Ramadan. In today's episode, Gawad speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about why she wanted to paint a nuanced portrait of the Muslim-American experience and how real-life NYPD surveillance of Arab communities played a role in her writing.

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'Built from the Fire' traces the impact of the Tulsa Race Massacre

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 04:10:10 +0000

Oklahoma state Rep. Regina Goodwin is a descendant of survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The racist violence, which killed hundreds of Black Tulsans and burned the city's Greenwood District – known as Black Wall Street – is the subject of journalist Victor Luckerson's new book, Built from the Fire. In today's episode, both Goodwin and Luckerson join NPR's Michel Martin to discuss how for more than a century, Greenwood residents have rebuilt their community time and time again, even in the face of urban renewal policies and gentrification practices.

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Stacey Abrams and James Comey pen novels about crime and government

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 04:10:15 +0000

Today's episode features interviews with two very high-profile officials who have written thrillers. First, voting rights activist and former Georgia state representative Stacey Abrams speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about her new thriller, Rogue Justice, which follows Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene as she uncovers how surveillance, blackmail and a murder reveal concerning truths about America's "secret court." Then, former FBI director James Comey discusses his novel Central Park West, which details how government officials and the mafia are entangled with one another.

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'Borderless' is a YA novel about a teenage migrant separated from her mother

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 04:10:23 +0000

Jennifer De Leon's new YA novel, Borderless, tells the story of a Guatemalan teenager named Maya. Though she has a rich and fulfilling life in her home country, circumstances arise that push Maya and her mother towards the U.S. border, where they're separated by immigration officials. In today's episode, De Leon speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about complicating the image of what a migrant looks like and why she wanted to write the real life zero-tolerance policy into this story.

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'Flawless' provides a deeply reported look into Korean beauty standards

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 20:38:58 +0000

Elise Hu moved to Seoul, South Korea to set up an NPR bureau and report on the geopolitical tensions of the mid-2010s. But her new book, Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital, focuses on a different, albeit inescapable, part of life there – beauty standards and the industry driving them. In today's episode, Hu speaks with NPR's Brittany Luse about the consumerism, gender politics and technological advances that drive the booming beauty culture, and explains why the rest of the world should be paying attention...for better or worse.

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In 'Dances,' a Black ballerina navigates immense pressure and expectations

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 04:10:29 +0000

In Nicole Cuffy's novel, Dances, CeCe Cordell becomes the first Black woman to be named principal dancer at a major ballet company; but this big break also comes with big expectations. In today's episode, Cuffy speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about how CeCe navigates the world of ballet's preoccupation with white bodies, how it affects her relationship with her mother and brother, and how Misty Copeland's very real accomplishments informed CeCe's story.

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Rachel Louise Snyder's memoir traces a life shaped by patriarchy and religion

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 04:10:34 +0000

Journalist Rachel Louise Snyder has covered gender-based violence around the world for a number of media outlets and in her widely-acclaimed book, No Visible Bruises. But in her new memoir, Women We Buried, Women We Burned, she examines the role it played in her own life. After the loss of her mother early in life, Snyder was raised in a strict evangelical household, where corporal punishment was the norm. In today's episode, she tells NPR's Scott Simon about how that upbringing eventually pushed her to leave home, and the kindness she discovered waiting for her on the other side.

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Two poets pen memoirs about the relationships that shaped their writing

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 04:10:15 +0000

Today's episode features interviews with two poets who revealed different sides of themselves through memoirs. First, Maggie Smith speaks with NPR's Miles Parks about You Could Make This Place Beautiful, and how virality and the dissolution of her marriage impacted her writing. Then, Kwame Alexander discusses Why Fathers Cry at Night with NPR's Michel Martin, which highlights the different kinds of love that have informed his life.

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In 'The Kingmaker,' romantic sparks fly at a pipeline protest

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 04:10:45 +0000

Kennedy Ryan's The Kingmaker portrays two seemingly opposite characters – a Yavapai-Apache activist and the heir to an oil fortune – falling in love, and dealing with the complicated fallout of their differences. In today's episode, Ryan speaks with NPR's Chloe Veltman about how she approached writing an indigenous character and community she herself is not a part of, and how powerful storytellers like Shonda Rhimes and Ava DuVernay inspire her own work.

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'Undaunted' provides a thorough history of the women who blazed trails in journalism

Wed, 31 May 2023 04:10:04 +0000

For decades, male editors told women they couldn't be reporters because of congenital inaccuracies, or because they required having a male escort to report at night. In her new book, Undaunted: How Women Changed American Journalism, Brooke Kroeger provides a historical record of reporters like Ida B. Wells, Nellie Bly, and Gloria Steinem, who went ahead and did it anyway. Kroeger spoke with NPR's Scott Simon about how these journalists changed the industry forever, and how their legacy lives on through coverage of #MeToo and modern-day issues about gender.

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In 'The Guest,' a sex worker wreaks havoc on the glitzy social scene at the Hamptons

Tue, 30 May 2023 04:10:40 +0000

Alex is 22 years old and staying with a much older, wealthy man in the Hamptons. She's the protagonist of Emma Cline's new novel, an outsider looking in at the perfectly pruned life people of a certain social status lead in these towns. In today's episode, Cline speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about how her heroine navigates the unfamiliar world she finds herself in, and how power is so unequally wielded in those spaces.

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'Break the Wheel' examines police violence and accountability

Mon, 29 May 2023 04:10:16 +0000

It's been three years since George Floyd's murder. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the former police officers who killed Floyd, but accountability and justice is not always found in state-sponsored violence against Black Americans. In his new book, Break the Wheel: Ending the Cycle of Police Violence, Ellison retraces the case. As he tells NPR's Leila Fadel, the book – and his experience – is also proof that systems can change to prevent future tragedies.

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Jerry Seinfeld and Tom Hanks reflect on personal and professional longevity

Fri, 26 May 2023 04:10:57 +0000

Today's episode features interviews with two monumental performers. First, Jerry Seinfeld chats with Here & Now's Robin Young about his new book, inspired by his Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee series, and the kinship between performers in that industry. Then, Tom Hanks speaks with NPR's A Martinez about his new novel, The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece, an ode to all the people and effort required to keep the Hollywood gears turning.

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Cassandra Jackson's memoir looks back on a how tragic accident shaped her family

Thu, 25 May 2023 04:10:54 +0000

Before author Cassandra Jackson was even born, her father's family suffered a major loss – a car accident that resulted in the deaths of five people, including Jackson's aunt and grandmother. In her new memoir, The Wreck, Jackson attempts to understand the tragedy that shaped her upbringing and dives into the grief she's carried with her for as long as she can remember. In today's episode, she tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe how struggling with infertility triggered her search for answers about her own family's legacy, and what she discovered about segregation and media coverage in the process.

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In a new anthology, Justice Roe Williams rethinks fitness to be more inclusive

Wed, 24 May 2023 04:10:19 +0000

As a certified personal trainer, Justice Roe Williams knows the benefits of exercising regularly– but as a Black trans man, he's also experienced how the gym can be far from welcoming. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Juana Summers – also a certified trainer – about the new anthology he co-edited, Deconstructing the Fitness Industrial Complex: How to Resist, Disrupt, and Reclaim What it Means to Be Fit in American Culture. Williams and Summers get to talking about how to reimagine accessibility and body positivity in the gym, and why that requires thinking outside the box.

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R.F. Kuang's 'Yellowface' tackles cultural appropriation in publishing

Tue, 23 May 2023 04:10:28 +0000

Early in the novel Yellowface, a prominent Asian-American writer, Athena Liu, dies. Her white friend, who is struggling to break through in publishing and witnesses Athena's accident, then seizes on an opportunity: to pass off Athena's words – and identity – as her own. In today's episode, real life author R.F. Kuang speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about her new book, and how it unravels the messiness of cultural appropriation, the ethics of friendship and the complexities of imperfect characters.

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A new biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. explores the activist's life and faith

Mon, 22 May 2023 04:10:16 +0000

King:A Life, the new biography by Jonathan Eig, provides a fresh perspective into the life of one of America's most important activists. From his upbringing in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward neighborhood to his path through university and the frontlines of the Montgomery bus boycott, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s career and impact is explained through his faith and relationships. In today's episode, Eig speaks to NPR's Steve Inskeep about how Dr. King rose to prominence at such a young age, and how he maintained his spirituality through deep scrutiny and surveillance.

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Two books look back on family histories and secrets

Fri, 19 May 2023 04:10:04 +0000

Today's episode is about untangling and understanding untold family stories. First, Burkhard Bilger speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about his memoir, Fatherland, which explores his grandfather's role in the Nazi party in Europe. Then, Aaron Hamburger tells NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer about his novel Hotel Cuba, inspired by his grandmother's immigration story from Russia to Cuba on her quest to get to the US.

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Lucinda Williams' memoir looks back on a career defying expectations

Thu, 18 May 2023 04:10:11 +0000

Suitcases symbolize a lot for three-time Grammy winner Lucinda Williams. She tells NPR's Juana Summers she keeps a briefcase of musical references to help with her songwriting. In her new memoir, Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You, she also writes about moving from place to place as a child – she'd lived in 12 places by age 18 – because of her father's work. In today's episode, Williams recounts a career full of ups and downs in the music industry, and speaks about how she's returning to music after suffering a stroke in 2020.

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'Late Bloomers' is a novel about arranged marriage, divorce and dating later in life

Wed, 17 May 2023 04:10:39 +0000

Dating can be difficult and confusing at any age – but especially after the end of a 36-year arranged marriage. The characters of Deepa Varadarajan's debut novel, Late Bloomers, are experiencing that second chance firsthand. Parents Suresh and Lata have just split and are learning to navigate dating online and IRL; their kids are fielding relationship troubles of their own. In today's episode, the author talks to NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer about what it means to find love later in life, and how writing fiction provided her with her own kind of fresh start.

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Matika Wilbur honors and celebrates Native American Tribal Nations in 'Project 562'

Tue, 16 May 2023 04:10:31 +0000

Matika Wilbur is from the Swinomish and Tulalip tribes in Washington state. In 2012, she left Seattle with one goal: to photograph and interview members of all 562 federally recognized Native American Tribal Nations. The result, Project 562, weaves together nuanced and detailed portraits of Indigenous cultures, both visually and narratively. Wilbur tells NPR's Melissa Block about why she wanted to break away from stereotypical representations of Native Americans, and how she thinks about an Indigenous future.

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In 'The Covenant of Water,' Abraham Verghese traces an Indian family's drowning curse

Mon, 15 May 2023 04:10:36 +0000

Two novels depict young men understanding themselves and the danger around them

Fri, 12 May 2023 04:42:36 +0000

In 'Soul Boom,' Rainn Wilson calls for a spiritual revolution

Thu, 11 May 2023 04:10:41 +0000

In 'Miles Morales Suspended,' Spider-Man grapples with racism and saving the world

Wed, 10 May 2023 04:10:36 +0000

'Soil' weaves together a poet's experience of gardening, race and community

Tue, 09 May 2023 04:10:31 +0000

Bangles cofounder Susanna Hoffs' first novel follows a one-hit wonder, 10 years later

Mon, 08 May 2023 04:10:13 +0000

'My Powerful Hair' and 'Contenders' tell stories of Indigenous heritage

Fri, 05 May 2023 04:10:48 +0000

Today's episode features two children's books about Indigenous Americans. Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes speaks with author Carole Lindstrom and illustrator Steph Littlebird about their new picture book My Powerful Hair, which tells the story of a girl who grows her hair long, something her grandmother was not allowed to do. Then, NPR's Miles Parks talks with Traci Sorell and Arigon Starr about Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series. It tells the story of Charles Bender of the A's and John Meyers of the Giants, who competed in the 1911 World Series.

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Rep. Katie Porter writes about being a working mom in Congress in 'I Swear'

Thu, 04 May 2023 04:10:26 +0000

Congresswoman and former professor Katie Porter is known for showing up to hearings with a whiteboard to explain complicated topics. She's now written a book about her life, including what it takes to be a working mom in Congress. One of several prominent Democrats running for the Senate in California, Porter talked with NPR's Juana Summers abouther new memoir I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan.

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How author Dionne Ford found healing in the story of her enslaved ancestors

Wed, 03 May 2023 04:10:48 +0000

NPR's Andrew Limbong talks with Dionne Ford about her new book, Go Back and Get It: A Memoir of Race, Inheritance, and Intergenerational Healing. In it, Ford grapples with an old family photograph showing her great-great-grandmother, Tempy Burton, who was enslaved by Colonel W.R. Stuart, her great-great grandfather.

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Musician Questlove and crime writer S.A. Cosby on their new children's book

Tue, 02 May 2023 04:10:02 +0000

In the new children's book The Rhythm of Time from crime writer S.A. Cosby and musician Questlove, time is like a song. That's what they told NPR's Ayesha Roscoe when they talked about their book, which follows a kid from Philly and his best friend as they travel back in time to see a rap group from the 90s that broke up.

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Mary Louise Kelly on her memoir 'It. Goes. So. Fast. The Year of No Do-Overs'

Mon, 01 May 2023 04:10:54 +0000

In her new memoir, All Things Considered co-host Mary Louise Kelly talks about the time she got a call from her son's school nurse while she was boarding a Black Hawk helicopter in Baghdad. Kelly joined NPR's Scott Simon to discuss this and other stories she shares in It. Goes. So. Fast. The Year of No Do-Overs – which follows Kelly as she looks at the balance of work and motherhood, intention and memory

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Two novels offer new perspectives on the women of Greek mythology

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 04:10:20 +0000

Today's episode starts with a familiar feeling – the way your heart drops when a book character that you love doesn't get the outcome you wanted for them. But the authors we hear from both took that and ran with it, writing new outcomes for the women of Greek mythology they think are misunderstood. First, Madeline Miller tells NPR's Barrie Hardymon about her novel Circe, which details the goddess' backstory. Then, Tiziana Dearing at WBUR's Radio Boston speaks with Rebecca Caprara about Spin, her re-telling of Arachne the weaver's tale.

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'Redaction' examines criminal justice via portraits, poems written from legal papers

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 04:10:07 +0000

Reginald Dwayne Betts and Titus Kaphar knew they were meant to work together when they first met. In 2019, they exhibited a project at MoMA PS1 that explored criminal justice through redacted court documents turned into poems and visual artworks. Now, that exhibit is a book called Redaction. They tell NPR's Juana Summers about how they both employ their mediums to capture the effects of incarceration, and how their collaboration focuses on joy and community even amidst deep suffering.

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'The Queen of Dirt Island' captures the bond between women in an Irish family

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 04:10:08 +0000

Donal Ryan's new novel, The Queen of Dirt Island, centers its women characters. He tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly that making the men peripheral wasn't his goal – "it just kind of happened." In today's episode, he explains how a childhood spent listening to his grandmother, sister and neighbors in his mom's kitchen inspired the voices in the book, and why he wrote with a strict word count in mind for each chapter.

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How Indian migrant workers escaped human trafficking in Mississippi

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 04:10:01 +0000

NPR's Ari Shapiro looks back on reporting, singing and touring in new memoir

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 04:10:29 +0000

Ari Shapiro's voice might be familiar to listeners for a number of reasons. He's one of the hosts of All Things Considered; he also sings and tours with the band Pink Martini, sometimes in places with languages he doesn't speak – as he tells NPR's Steve Inskeep. In today's episode, the NPR journalist talks about his new memoir, The Best Strangers in the World, and opens up about the way he brings his personal experiences to his professional and creative endeavors – from being one of the only Jewish kids in Fargo, MN to covering the Pulse nightclub shooting.

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Two nonfiction books examine grief and its impact on memory

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 04:10:24 +0000

Today's episode covers two very different stories involving personal loss and what comes after. First, author Laura Braitman tells NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer about her memoir, What Looks Like Bravery, and how her father's death earlier in life pushed her to unhealthily lean into academic and professional achievements as a coping mechanism. Then, NPR's Rachel Martin sits down with The Atlantic's Jennifer Senior. Her new book, On Grief, expands on her Pulitzer-Prize winning essay about the diary left behind by a 9/11 victim, and the conflict it created between his family and girlfriend.

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'Decent People' is a murder mystery grappling with race in the segregated South

Thu, 20 Apr 2023 04:10:43 +0000

In a small North Carolina town in 1976, three siblings are shot to death. That's the mystery at the center of De'Shawn Charles Winslow's new book, Decent People – and it's one the segregated town's white police officers aren't paying much attention to. In today's episode, Winslow tells NPR's Scott Simon about the heroine who takes it upon herself to solve the case, and why - the author feels a need to paint a nuanced portrait of even the antagonists in his books.

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Author Azar Nafisi says books can help you really live

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 04:10:56 +0000

Author Azar Nafisi has written a love letter to literature and reading in Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times. She does this in a series of letters to her late father who passed on in 2004. Nafisi says that reading can help us really live and also help us, and has helped her, survive challenging times. Nafisi told NPR's Scott Simon that literature's purpose is to let us experience new worlds: "to come out of yourself, and join the other."

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In 'Romantic Comedy,' Curtis Sittenfeld flips the gendered tropes

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 04:10:41 +0000

From Notting Hill to the real-life relationships of several SNL writers with Hollywood starlets – to even the new Barbie movie tagline ("She's everything. He's just Ken.") – there's a recurring storyline in pop culture of ordinary guys dating up, falling in love with glamorous women who are seemingly out of their league. In her new book, Romantic Comedy, Curtis Sittenfeld shakes up these gender dynamics. She tells NPR's Juana Summers why she wanted her career-focused heroine – a comedy writer – to stumble into a romance with a global pop star.

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'The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi' calls a mother and former pirate back to the sea

Mon, 17 Apr 2023 04:10:08 +0000

Amina Al-Sirafi, the protagonist of Shannon Chakraborty's new novel, commanded the Indian Ocean as one of its most notorious pirates during the 12th century. But when the story kicks off, Al-Sirafi is focused on raising her daughter, trying to live a peaceful life with her pirate days far behind her. The tale pulls Chakraborty's character back to her heyday in the waters – and as the author tells Here & Now's Kalyani Saxena, Al-Sirafi's Islamic faith plays a much bigger role this time around.

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Two novels find siblings confronting the evils around them

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 04:10:48 +0000

Today's episode is all about the complexities of sibling relationships, especially when the family is surrounded by hostile circumstances. First, NPR's Miles Parks speaks with Ari Tison about her new novel, Saints of the Household, which follows two mixed-race brothers navigating high school under their white father's abuse. Then, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe gets to talking with Rachel Eve Moulton about her book The Insatiable Volt Sisters and the way trauma gets passed down through generations.

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In 'Empireland,' Sathnam Sanghera takes a closer look at the UK's imperialist history

Thu, 13 Apr 2023 04:10:08 +0000

Sathnam Sanghera's new book, Empireland, focuses on how British imperialism shaped the trajectory of that country's history. But as he emphasizes in his opening chapter, the U.S. – much like the rest of the world – is not exempt from being a part of that story. In today's episode, Sanghera speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about how he came to understand that fraught history through his own personal experiences as a Sikh man in Britain, and why that particular empire stands out from the rest for him.

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Colleen Oakley's new roadtrip novel takes inspiration from 'Thelma and Louise'

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 04:10:14 +0000

Tanner and Louise have a 63 year age difference and pretty opposite personalities: Tanner is a former college athlete, hitting what she thinks is rock bottom after dropping out. Louise is the eccentric elderly lady she gets hired to take care of. But in Colleen Oakley's new novel, The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise, the two women forge an unlikely friendship when Louise's past forces them to hit the road. As the author tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly, the story is equal parts inspired by Thelma and Louise and by her own friendship with her grandmother.

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In 'A Living Remedy,' Nicole Chung reflects on anger, grief and failed systems

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 04:10:25 +0000

Nicole Chung's first memoir, All You Can Ever Know, recounts her story growing up adopted – a young Asian American woman in a predominantly white town in Oregon — and her journey to retrace her roots. Her new memoir, A Living Remedy, takes a closer look at Chung's adoptive parents and their financial struggles throughout her life, up until they both died within a year of each other. As she tells NPR's Steve Inskeep, her grief coalesced with a deep resentment for the social systems she felt should've taken better care of her family.

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Lizzie Stark traces the history and cultural impact of the 'Egg'

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 04:10:28 +0000

The egg can be found anywhere from a breakfast plate to an Easter basket to a science museum. As author Lizzie Stark details in her new book, Egg: A Dozen Ovatures, the egg is not just an intrinsic part of many culinary traditions – it's also a cultural and artistic symbol across a variety of cultures. And as she tells Here & Now's Jane Clayson, yes – it did come before the chicken.

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Two books trace enslaved people's journey to freedom in the 19th century

Fri, 07 Apr 2023 04:10:18 +0000

Today's episode features two books examining the sacrifices made by enslaved people in the U.S. First, NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with author Ilyan Woo about Master, Slave, Husband, Wife. It's a true story about a young couple that poses as an elderly white man and his slave in order to escape the South. Then, author Kai Thomas tells NPR's Ari Shapiro about how his novel, In the Upper Country, takes a closer look at the relationship between Black and indigenous people – and how free Black communities in Canada became a safe haven during the American Civil War.

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In 'The Survivalists,' doomsday prepping becomes a way to regain control

Thu, 06 Apr 2023 04:10:53 +0000

Comedy writer Kashana Cauley grew up watching the film Conspiracy Theory, starring Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts, with her parents. She says that's likely her earliest entryway into a world she explores in her debut novel, The Survivalists – it follows a millennial lawyer falling in with a community of doomsday preppers. In this episode, Cauley tells NPR's Juana Summers about the control people might feel preparing for an impending apocalypse, and how that experience is ultimately shaped by our understanding of race in the U.S.

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'Demon Copperhead' tackles opioids, poverty and resilience in Appalachia

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 04:10:35 +0000

Novelist Barbara Kingsolver loves living in the Appalachian hills of southwestern Virginia. But she says she feels that the region is often misconstrued by mainstream media. Her new book, Demon Copperhead, follows a young boy grappling with the consequences of loss, addiction and poverty – but also finding ways to survive through creativity and imagination. In this episode, Kingsolver speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about the Dickensian influences in the novel, the divide between urban and rural, and the idea that "the middle of nowhere is relative."

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In 'Bad Cree,' a horror mystery unfolds in the aftermath of loss and colonialism

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 04:10:10 +0000

Jessica Johns' thriller, Bad Cree, opens with a startling image: a severed crow's head in someone's hand. In today's episode, Johns tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe she hoped that image would set the tone for the winding mystery within her new novel. It follows a young Cree woman who returns to a home and culture she left behind in hopes of helping her cope with grief. Much of Mackenzie's story involves her dreams, and Johns explains why she felt it was so important to honor that world – especially after a professor told her otherwise.

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'Meredith, Alone' explores mental health, isolation and friendship

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 04:10:55 +0000

The titular protagonist of Meredith, Alone has not left her home in three years. In today's episode, author Claire Alexander tells NPR's Scott Simon about the character's self-imposed isolation, and how trauma from earlier in life can leave long-lasting impacts on a person's mental health. And yet Meredith's trauma doesn't define her – so Alexander explains why she wanted to write a story that provided a full scope of what it means to overcome mental and emotional wounds.

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'Hello Beautiful' and 'Pineapple Street' examine the closeness between sisters

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 04:10:22 +0000

Today's episode is all about family. First, Ann Napolitano speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about her new novel, Hello Beautiful, and the intergenerational trauma that can surface even when everything seems perfect on the outside. Then, Simon asks Jenny Jackson about her funny yet thought-provoking debut, Pineapple Street, which follows three women from a well-off Brooklyn family taking stock of their own privilege.

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Patricia Park's new YA novel captures the complexities of race and adolescence

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 04:10:16 +0000

Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim follows a Korean-Argentinian teen's journey to understanding who she is. Through the comfort of her multicultural home in Queens to the hallways of her ultra-woke, elite prep school in Manhattan, Alejandra grapples with academics, the politics of school lunch, and even a microaggression from her own teacher. As author Patricia Park tells Here & Now's Robin Young, it's a story about how quickly the world is changing – and how conversations about race are or aren't keeping up.

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'I Am Debra Lee: A Memoir' recounts triumphs and challenges as the former CEO of BET

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 04:10:36 +0000

Debra Lee is one of the most influential women in the entertainment industry. But as the former CEO of Black Entertainment Television reveals in her new book, I Am Debra Lee:A Memoir, there are both personal and professional obstacles to navigating corporate leadership – especially as a Black woman. Lee opens up to Here & Now's Celeste Headlee about the behind-the-scenes reality of her career, from her friendship with Aretha Franklin to the way she coped with workplace harassment.

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Fandom acts as an antidote for loneliness in 'Y/N'

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 04:00:04 +0000

The title of Esther Yi's novel Y/N refers to an abbreviation for "your name" as it appears in a type of fan fiction where readers put themselves into a story. It's a way to inhabit another life, which is exactly what Yi's central character wants — but can never have. That tension drives the novel, as it explores loneliness, fandom, and K-Pop. Yi tells NPR's Ailsa Chang how it all fits together.

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'Poverty, By America' argues America profits by keeping people poor

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 04:00:37 +0000

Why does poverty persist in one of the world's wealthiest countries? Because it's profitable, argues sociologist Matthew Desmond, in Poverty, By America. He tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe why wealthier Americans benefit from forces that keep their fellow citizens from growing richer — forces like predatory financial services, stagnant wages, and rising housing costs.

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Two books warn about the privacy implications of AI and neurotechnology

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 04:10:00 +0000

Today's episode is all about tech. First, Paul Scharre of the Center for a New American Security speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about his new book, Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, and the ways autocratic governments can rely on AI for repressive surveillance tactics. Then, Duke University professor Nita Farahany and NPR's Ailsa Chang discuss a potential nightmare: employers' ability to track worker's brains for productivity. Farahany's new book, The Battle for Your Brain, tracks advancements in neurotechnology and advocates for cognitive liberty.

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'That's hot': Paris Hilton is ready to tell her own story

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 04:10:26 +0000

Paris Hilton is ubiquitous with early 2000s pop culture: She graced the cover of magazines, her own reality TV show and even Billboard charts. But the heiress now says she was playing a character – one she built to hide from the trauma she endured earlier in her life. In Paris: The Memoir, Hilton finally takes control of her own narrative. She spoke to NPR's Juana Summers about what made her want to start breaking down the walls between her public persona and her private life, and how paparazzi and influencer culture has changed during her time in the spotlight.

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Dina Nayeri wants you to question 'Who Gets Believed'

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 04:10:34 +0000

Author Dina Nayeri was young when she found out that there's a stark difference between credibility and belief – and it's a disconnect at the center of her new book, Who Gets Believed?: When the Truth Isn't Enough. Nayeri's family came to the U.S. as refugees from Iran in 1979. As she tells NPR's Juana Summers, that asylum process showed her how subjective belief can be – and she explains why, for her, the meaning of believing continued to shift, through faith and vulnerability, even as she was writing the book.

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In 'Dust Child,' the impacts of the Vietnam War are felt decades later

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 04:10:00 +0000

Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai's new novel, Dust Child, takes a closer look at the often-fraught relationships between Vietnamese women and American soldiers during the war. In today's episode, the author tells NPR's Scott Simon how she was always fascinated by the stories of the forgotten children from those relationships – often left behind, abandoned, and raised with a deep resentment for their mixed roots. The novel follows both the perspective of that generation – trying to find a better future – and that of the servicemembers being forced, decades later, to confront their past decisions.

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A new biography of first lady Edith Wilson examines her political influence

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 04:10:20 +0000

Edith Wilson dated and then married Woodrow Wilson while he served as president of the United States in 1915. In her new biography, Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson, author Rebecca Boggs Roberts – daughter of the late NPR founding mother Cokie Roberts – explores Wilson's influential role in her husband's administration. But as Roberts tells NPR's Steve Inskeep, at a time when women didn't yet have the right to vote, Wilson often hid her political contributions from the spotlight.

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From the Astros to Colin Kaepernick, two books revisit monumental sports stories

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 04:10:44 +0000

Today's episode is all about sports. First, The Athletic reporter Evan Drellich speaks with NPR's A Martinez about his investigation into the Astros' 2017 World Series win and subsequent cheating scandal, which is closely examined in Drellich's new book, Winning Fixes Everything. Then, NPR's Juana Summers sits down with former NFL player Colin Kaepernick to discuss his new graphic memoir, Change the Game, which revisits how growing up idolizing Black football players led Kaepernick to pick that sport over his promising future in baseball.

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'Your Driver is Waiting' takes a modern spin on 'Taxi Driver'

Thu, 16 Mar 2023 04:10:40 +0000

Who would Travis Bickle– the protagonist of the 1976 film Taxi Driver – be today? That question sparked the new novel by Priya Guns, Your Driver Is Waiting. It follows Damani, a queer Tamil ride-share driver who is struggling to pay her bills while people on the street around her protest for cause after cause that she can't seem to keep track of. Then she meets Jolene, who is the epitome of the privilege Damani does not have. As Guns tells NPR's Scott Simon, it's a relationship that forces her protagonist to reckon with her own preconceptions of wealth and whiteness.

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Sparked by the pandemic, Katherine May searches for 'Enchantment' in nature

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 04:10:30 +0000

Katherine May, like so many other people, found herself submerged in anxiety and restlessness during COVID-19 lockdowns. But as cities reopened, she looked for new ways to immerse herself in the awe of the natural world around her. That journey is at the center of her new book, Enchantment. And as she tells NPR's Rachel Martin, her relationship with her faith, prayer and her definition of God played a big role.

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In 'What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez,' a family struggles with a child's disappearance

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 04:10:09 +0000

Ruthy Ramirez, the 13-year-old middle child of a Puerto Rican family in Staten Island, vanished without a trace. But more than a decade later, as the family still feels the weight of her absence, one of her sisters spots a woman who she thinks might be her sister on a reality TV show. In her new novel, What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez, author Claire Jimenez explores the way loss, violence and spectacle impacts the women in the Ramirez family. And as she tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe, there's a big divide in the way reality tv treats white women and women of color.

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Margaret Atwood ponders aging, fantasy and George Orwell in 'Old Babes in the Wood'

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 04:10:41 +0000

Margaret Atwood has been writing for a long time – and as she tells NPR's Leila Fadel, the world looks very different today than it did when she started. Her new collection of short stories, Old Babes in the Wood, provides different approaches to the passing of time. There's a couple that's facing the realities of aging; there's a conversation with George Orwell, who Atwood says drastically changed her life; and there's even a parallel reality to the author's 1985 dystopian novel, The Handmaid's Tale, where men are the ones being controlled.

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Two memoirs tell life-altering stories through illustrations

Fri, 10 Mar 2023 05:10:56 +0000

Today's episode focuses on two pretty different graphic memoirs. First, artist Kendra Neely – who survived the 2015 shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon – speaks to NPR's Juana Summers about processing the trauma and grief following that day's events in her new memoir, Numb to This. Through illustrations, Neely captures the oversaturation she still feels every time news of a shooting breaks. Then, NPR's Eyder Peralta asks Dan Santat about his memoir First Time for Everything, which recounts his coming-of-age trip across Europe with his eighth grade class.

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'A Stone Is Most Precious Where It Belongs' is a memoir of the Uyghur experience

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 05:10:47 +0000

Describing home for journalist Gulchehra Hoja is complicated. She's from western China, in the Xinjiang province. But as she tells NPR's Steve Inskeep, she considers the Uyghur region –which was formerly free – her native country. Her new memoir, A Stone Is Most Precious Where It Belongs, navigates the difficult and often painful reality of growing up proud of her heritage but under a Chinese nationalist mindset – and doing work that she says eventually led to her family's arrest.

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'All the Beauty in the World' is a museum guard's view on healing through art

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 05:10:12 +0000

Patrick Bringley worked in events planning at The New Yorker – until his older brother got diagnosed with cancer and passed away. That loss led to a reimagining of priorities for Bringley, who decided to seek solace in one of the most beautiful places he could think of: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. His new memoir, All the Beauty in the World, retraces his journey to becoming a museum guard and finding refuge in the works of art he saw each day. And as he tells NPR's Scott Simon, he also encountered a lot of joy in watching the people who visited.

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Beth Moore says misogyny pushed her to leave the Southern Baptist Convention

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 05:10:48 +0000

Beth Moore was raised in the Southern Baptist Convention. As an adult, she went on to become an evangelist, teaching Bible studies to women in arenas around the world. But as she recounts in her new memoir, All My Knotted-Up Life, she grew up feeling a deep shame – and surviving sexual abuse at home – that reached a breaking point with the surfacing of the Donald Trump "Access Hollywood" tape and the investigation into the SBC. As Moore tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe, those events led her to eventually leave her denomination.

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In 'Dyscalculia,' Camonghne Felix reckons with heartbreak as a form of trauma

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 05:10:50 +0000

The critically acclaimed poet Camonghne Felix says that people going through breakups are not often treated with the same grace or generosity as those who've experienced self-harm or sexual assault. But in her new memoir, Dyscalculia, she explores the ways romantic pain and loss requires its own kind of grief – and the amount of honesty that it requires to truly heal from heartbreak. In today's episode, she tells NPR's Juana Summers about how she yearned for a book, written by a Black woman, that immersed itself in that process – and so she ended up having to write her own story.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders and Malcolm Harris take a closer look at wealth and capitalism

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 05:10:27 +0000

Today's episode features interviews with two people who've given a lot of thought to capitalism's role in modern society. First, Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about his new book, It's OK to be Angry About Capitalism, and how he views the way politicians appeal to the working class – oftentimes, he says, without addressing the root of the problems they're facing. Then, NPR's Michel Martin talks to author Malcolm Harris about his new book, Palo Alto, which details the origins of the California city, the birth of Silicon Valley and the power that's concentrated in the industries that are based there.

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In 'My Selma,' Willie Mae Brown recalls growing up during the Civil Rights Movement

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 05:10:52 +0000

Willie Mae Brown was a little girl in Selma, Alabama in the 1960s. In her new YA book, My Selma, she recalls growing up during the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the South. As she tells Here & Now's Robin Young, those core childhood memories include going to church to see Martin Luther King, Jr. speak – which moved Brown's mother to tears as she held the author – and her siblings getting arrested for trying to accompany teachers who were planning to register to vote. But, she says, there was also a lot of joy and community as a child on the frontlines of justice.

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In 'The Darker the Night,' a murder in Glasgow unravels a political investigation

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 05:10:03 +0000

Early on in The Darker the Night, the debut thriller from NPR producer Martin Patience, an investigative reporter links a murder in Glasgow to a significant political figure: the first minister of the Scottish government. As Patience tells NPR's Scott Simon, the story that ensues draws larger questions about journalists and their sources – particularly within governments and police departments – and how the erosion of local media outlets has impacted the way they're trusted by the communities they serve.

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Jean D'Amérique's novel 'A Sun to Be Sewn' grapples with violence in Haiti

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 05:10:17 +0000

Jean D'Amérique says he grew up in a neighborhood where "it was easier to find a gun than a book." But as he tells NPR's Ari Shapiro, falling in love with reading and writing changed the course of his life. His new novel, A Sun to Be Sewn, follows a young protagonist growing up in rough circumstances in Port au Prince: her father's a gang leader, her mother's a sex worker. But she's finding her way through poetry – and as the author explains, the medium can carry a lot of political power for people on the margins.

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Bozoma Saint John opens up about trauma, grief and healing in 'The Urgent Life'

Mon, 27 Feb 2023 05:10:48 +0000

Bozoma Saint John says that the loss of her first daughter, who was born prematurely because of preeclampsia, left deep scars in her relationship with her husband. It contributed to their separation later on – but it also led to a lot of reflection after Saint John's husband's cancer diagnosis brought them back together before he died. These are some of the challenges the former Netflix and Pepsi executive explores in her new memoir, The Urgent Life. As Saint John tells NPR's Asma Khalid, there's a lot more shame associated with marriage and motherhood – especially for Black women – than is often talked about. But there's also a lot of resilience in finding a path forward.

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Two children's books examine the meaning of home

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 05:10:46 +0000

Today's episode features two children's books that touch on the topic of home in one way or another. First, musician Rhiannon Giddens speaks with NPR's Ailsa Chang about turning the song she wrote during the 2020 racial protests, "Build A House," into a children's book that dives into the complexities of slavery and civil rights in the U.S. Monica Mikai illustrated the book. Then, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe asks Grace Lin and Kate Messner about Once Upon a Book, which follows a little girl's journey as she loses herself in literature.

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From cowboy boots to polyamory, 'Wanting' explores what it means for women to desire

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 05:10:22 +0000

Margot Kahn and Kelly McMasters know that wanting is a very particular feeling. What women desire is constantly changing, of course: time, money, sex, new shoes. But as the editors of a new collection of essays, aptly titled Wanting, tell NPR's Ailsa Chang, they were more interested in exploring the process of yearning for something – and the rules we construct around that longing – than the objects that we ultimately do or do not get.

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'Up With The Sun' traces actor Dick Kallman's short-lived career – up to his murder

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 05:10:15 +0000

Up With The Sun is the newest historical novel from acclaimed author Thomas Mallon – with a real-life actor at its center. Dick Kallman's career rose and then fizzled out throughout the 1950s and '60s. By the time he and his life partner were murdered in 1980, he was no longer performing. But as the author tells NPR's Scott Simon, Up With The Sun – and Kallman's life, which intersected with stars like Lucille Ball and Dyan Cannon – serves as a window into the world of Broadway, primetime TV, and gay romance across decades.

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'Call and Response' is an ode to the women and girls of Botswana

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 05:10:54 +0000

Gothataone Moeng says she knows the characters in her collection of short stories, Call and Response. They bear similarities to her sisters, cousins, and aunties – but they're their own reflections of life, love, shame, expectations and joy in Gaborone and Serowe, Botswana. In today's episode, Moeng talks to NPR's Scott Simon about some of the different lessons her protagonists are learning, and how spending time back home in her village after a long time away reopened doors to a rhythm of life she'd almost forgotten about.

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Greta Thunberg hopes 'The Climate Book' is a launching pad for environmental activism

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 05:10:10 +0000

Greta Thunberg has become a household name – but she doesn't want the attention on her to become a distraction from the severity of the climate crisis. In today's episode, Thunberg speaks with NPR's Ailsa Chang about how she hopes a new collection of essays written by her and more than 100 scientists and journalists – The Climate Book, can become a jumping off point to better understand environmental challenges. She explains why it's crucial for countries like the U.S. to step up and take accountability for their reliance on the fossil fuel industry, and why politicians have a responsibility to underline the relationship between climate and social justice.

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'How Far The Light Reaches' dives into the deep sea for lessons on community and care

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 05:10:29 +0000

The deep sea – and the creatures that occupy it – can often feel like a scary and intimidating unknown. But in Sabrina Imbler's new book, How Far The Light Reaches, the author finds a lot of common ground with marine life ranging from the common goldfish to the Bobbitt worm. In today's episode, Imbler speaks with Greta Johnsen, host of WBEZ's Nerdette podcast, about writing a memoir that weaves biology and personal anecdotes into a greater understanding of gender, family and coming of age.

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'The End of Drum-Time' captures a complicated love story in an Arctic community

Thu, 16 Feb 2023 05:10:43 +0000

Hanna Pylväinen's new novel, The End of Drum-Time, opens with the ground quite literally shaking beneath a Lutheran congregation. It sets the tone for a novel wrapped up in understanding how faith, nature and human connection work alongside – and sometimes against – one another in an 1850s community of native Sámi reindeer herders in the Scandinavian Arctic. In today's episode, Pylväinen speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about the nuances of writing in an omniscient voice and the power of lived experience for understanding a faraway place and culture.

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'The House of Eve' explores Black motherhood and associated stigma in the 1950s

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 05:10:17 +0000

In the 1950s, pregnancy and adoption were topics often clouded in shame, secrecy – or both. That's certainly true for Eleanor and Ruby, the two protagonists of Sadeqa Johnson's new novel, The House of Eve. As the two young Black women try to maneuver the misogynoir in the society around them, they're also confronted with the complicated realities of becoming a mother. In today's episode, Johnson tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe how those circumstances bring the characters together, and why she felt it was important to pay special attention to Black women's experiences during that time in history.

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'The Ransomware Hunting Team' tracks the rise of cybercrime and the fight to solve it

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 05:10:21 +0000

Here & Now's Scott Tong describes ransomware as "a high-tech version of kidnapping." It's when a computer or tech system is hacked and money is demanded in order to get it back. In their new book, The Ransomware Hunting Team, ProPublica journalists Renee Dudley and Daniel Golden chronicle how ransomware has grown from individual attacks to large-scale operations against major corporations, universities and hospitals. But as they vividly explain to Tong, there's also a band of coding vigilantes who are helping ransomware victims regain access ... without paying up.

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'What Napoleon Could Not Do' occupies the space between African and American identity

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 05:10:36 +0000

There are three central characters in DK Nnuro's new novel, What Napoleon Could Not Do. Belinda and Jacob are Ghanaian siblings who aspire to move to America and be accepted into the opportunities offered there. On the contrary, Wilder – Belinda's American husband, a Black Texan – has a completely different view of his home country and its treatment towards people like him. In today's episode, Nnuro tells NPR's Scott Simon about how he hoped to capture the tension between African and American identity, and why he thinks there should be more of an ellipsis than a dash between the two.

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Two YA novels create well-rounded portraits of Black characters coming of age

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 05:10:45 +0000

Today's episode covers two YA novels centered around Black youth and the portrayals they receive – or don't – in coming-of-age literature. First, NPR's Andrew Limbong speaks with Talia Hibbert about her new romantic comedy, Highly Suspicious And Unfairly Cute, which follows an unapologetically nerdy heroine reconciling with the ex-best friend jock that ditched her. Then, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe gets to talking with author Nick Brooks about his new mystery, Promise Boys, which revolves around how a group of Black students are blamed for the murder of their prestigious school's principal.

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In 'The World And All That It Holds,' two soldiers fall in love during World War I

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 05:10:31 +0000

The World And All That It Holds starts off in Sarajevo, in 1914, when shots ring out and World War I begins. It changes the course of protagonist Rafael Pinto's life, as he goes on to travel across time and conflict to find a twin flame in another Bosnian soldier named Osman. In today's episode, author Aleksandar Hemon paints a poetic backdrop for his striking new novel. He tells NPR's Scott Simon about the concept of macaronic language, a bilingual mix of ways to communicate, and how Pinto and his partner build their own unique dialect to express their love for one another.

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In 'And Finally,' a neurosurgeon comes to terms with his own cancer diagnosis

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 05:10:04 +0000

Early on in today's episode, NPR's Scott Simon asks Dr. Henry Marsh a question – how could a medical professional miss the signs that they themselves are ill? Marsh, the neurosurgeon behind the new book, And Finally, answers quite simply. He tells Simon that it's common for doctors to feel consciously detached from what it's like to be on the other side of the examination table and, on a more subconscious level, to be in denial about their own ailments. That's what happened to him with his advanced prostate cancer diagnosis – and he explains it's not easy to go from surgeon to patient.

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NBA dreams come true in 'The Sense of Wonder.' But at what cost?

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 05:10:51 +0000

Won Lee, the protagonist of the novel The Sense of Wonder, is the only Asian American player in the NBA. But as was true for real-life basketball star Jeremy Lin, things can get very ugly – and very racist – very quickly. In today's episode, author Matthew Salesses explains to NPR's Leila Fadel how he tried to balance his main character's "happy to be here" energy with the need to push back and stand up for himself. He also tells Fadel about his deep love for Korean dramas, and how that passion found a home in the novel, too.

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Through short stories, 'The Faraway World' encompasses the Latin American diaspora

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 05:10:38 +0000

Patricia Engel's new collection of short stories, The Faraway World, reaches into the lives of imaginary characters scattered throughout Latin America. There's a family that's left reeling after a very important member disappears; there's an immigrant woman grappling with societal expectations of what her body and career should look like. In today's episode, Engel talks with NPR's Leila Fadel about some of the overarching themes that tie the ten stories together – and how the title came from a family photograph she found from when her own grandfather took a leap into the unknown.

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Two novels take a closer look at class and gender in Indian society

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 05:10:52 +0000

Today's episode features two books that examine wealth – or lack thereof – and gender in India. First, Deepti Kapoor chats with NPR's Scott Simon about her novel, Age of Vice, and the way it portrays indulgence in New Delhi society through a protagonist who is an "oppressed everyman." Then, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly asks Parini Shroff about The Bandit Queens, which follows a jewelry maker who refuses to set the record straight on the village rumor that she murdered her husband – and finds unexpected laughs in her dark quest to help other women get rid of their partners, too.

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In 'Beaverland,' Leila Philip credits the beaver with building America

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 05:10:53 +0000

Journalist Leila Philip first became interested in beavers when she saw a group of rodents building a pond near her house. Her fascination with what they were doing led her to research and report her new book, Beaverland, which takes a closer look at the animals' impact on North America, from the earliest transatlantic beaver fur trade to today's river restoration efforts. Philip spoke with NPR's Michel Martin about how learning their long history on our continent can highlight beavers' ongoing economic and environmental contributions, especially when it comes to water conservation.

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'Shubeik Lubeik' imagines a world where you can buy and sell wishes

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 05:10:56 +0000

In Arabic, the rhyme Shubeik Lubeik means "your wish is my command." So it's an apt title for a new graphic novel by Deena Mohamed, which explores a world in which wishes are commodified and classified for consumption. Cheap wishes are packaged and sold in cans, while expensive wishes belong in bottles. In today's episode, Mohamed explains to NPR's Ayesha Rascoe how this system is meant to illustrate the ways wealth already works in our society, and how difficult it can be to decide what wishes are worth hoping for.

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In 'The Survivalists,' doomsday prepping becomes a way to regain control

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 05:10:28 +0000

'Sorry, Sorry, Sorry' believes in the power of a good apology

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 05:10:46 +0000

Saying sorry can be really difficult sometimes – it requires a certain amount of accountability, reflection and empathy. But that's precisely why it can go so far in a familial, romantic or professional relationship. In their new book, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Marjorie Ingall and Susan McCarthy break down six essential steps to a good apology – and explain why it's more important to think about the impact of our words than the intent behind them. They tell NPR's Mary Louise Kelly that while focusing on regret centers our own feelings, saying sorry actually puts the other person first.

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Two books trace enslaved people's journey to freedom in the 19th century

Fri, 27 Jan 2023 05:10:09 +0000

In 'Bad Cree,' a horror mystery unfolds in the aftermath of loss and colonialism

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 05:10:38 +0000

'Life on Delay' chronicles what it means to live with – and accept – a stutter

Wed, 25 Jan 2023 05:10:33 +0000

In 2019, John Hendrickson wrote a piece for The Atlantic about then-presidential candidate Joe Biden's life with a stutter. Hendrickson himself stutters – and in his new reported memoir, Life on Delay, he takes a closer look at his relationship with talking out loud. In this episode, Hendrickson tells NPR's Scott Simon about the physical discomfort that he and others experience when stuttering and how, beyond that, there are layers of mental work to be done to remember it's still worth it to keep speaking up.

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'Decent People' is a murder mystery grappling with race in the segregated South

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 05:10:40 +0000

In a small North Carolina town in 1976, three siblings are shot to death. That's the mystery at the center of De'Shawn Charles Winslow's new book, Decent People – and it's one the segregated town's white police officers aren't paying much attention to. In today's episode, Winslow tells NPR's Scott Simon about the heroine who takes it upon herself to solve the case, and why the author feels a need to paint a nuanced portrait of even the antagonists in his books.

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'You Just Need to Lose Weight' aims to change your thinking about being 'fat'

Mon, 23 Jan 2023 05:10:32 +0000

Author and podcast host Aubrey Gordon brings up an important reminder early in today's episode: In the United States, the average size is plus-sized. And yet there's an overwhelmingly negative connotation attached to both the word "fat" and to fat bodies. Gordon explores those societal taboos – as well as some of the misinformation surrounding them – in her new book, You Just Need to Lose Weight. She tells NPR's Juana Summers that there's a lot of power in reframing concerns about body image, especially when it comes to addressing judgments we may hold against ourselves.

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Susan Kuklin and Maia Kobabe's books explore gender identity throughout adolescence

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 05:10:15 +0000

Art Spiegelman reissues 'Breakdowns' with new perspective on book bans

Thu, 19 Jan 2023 05:10:01 +0000

'All Boys Aren't Blue' honors coming of age as a queer Black boy

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 05:10:39 +0000

In 'New Kid,' a Black seventh grader navigates a new school

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 05:10:31 +0000

Bans on books like 'Out of Darkness' target authors of color

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 05:10:09 +0000

Steve Martin, Harry Bliss and Nick Hornby take different approaches to working hard

Fri, 13 Jan 2023 05:10:12 +0000

Today's episode is all about professional longevity. First, actor Steve Martin and New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss sit down with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly to explain their new comic memoir, Number One Is Walking, focused on anecdotes from Martin's life in Hollywood. Then, NPR's Elissa Nadworny asks author Nick Hornby about his new book, Dickens and Prince, which finds similarities in how the literary and musical figures both managed to pump out an impressive amount of material throughout their careers.

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In 'Winterland,' a Soviet Union gymnast navigates a grueling responsibility

Thu, 12 Jan 2023 05:10:15 +0000

Anya is only 8 years old, but she's already got the weight of a nation on her shoulders. The protagonist of Winterland lives in an isolated Arctic town, where she's immersed in the world of 1970s Soviet gymnastics. In today's episode, author Rae Meadows tells NPR's David Folkenflik about her long-lasting fascination with that era of competitive sports, and how it shapes her main character's journey into womanhood.

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In 'Song of Silver, Flame Like Night,' Chinese mythology teaches lessons about power

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 05:10:08 +0000

Amélie Wen Zhao's fantasy novel, Song of Silver, Flame Like Night, is rooted in the Chinese genres of xianxia and wuxia. It follows a young girl uncovering the secrets of her tumultuous kingdom with the help of a magician. In today's episode, the author talks to Here & Now's Kalyani Saxena about how her imperfect characters make difficult choices in their search for power. Zhao draws clear comparisons between the themes of anti-imperialism and history depicted in the book to real world battles being fought today, including anti-Asian racism.

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'Meredith, Alone' explores mental health, isolation and friendship

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 05:10:36 +0000

A new biography of Janet Yellen offers a personal look at the trailblazing economist

Mon, 09 Jan 2023 05:10:20 +0000

Janet Yellen's career has shattered several glass ceilings; she was the first female head of the Federal Reserve, and she's now the first woman serving as Secretary of Treasury. In this episode, author and journalist Jon Hilsenrath discusses his new biography of her, Yellen, and how her upbringing and marriage reveal a lot about her professional path. Hilsenrath explains to Here & Now's Scott Tong that the love story of Yellen and her husband actually offers insight into the delicate line between democracy and capitalism, and how in a time of economic upheaval, policymakers are bound to make mistakes.

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Authors Peng Shepard and Anne Tyler show that family is...complicated

Fri, 06 Jan 2023 05:10:58 +0000

Today's first interview is with author Peng Shepard on her new mystery. A father and daughter, both cartographers, haven't spoken in seven years. But when the father is found dead, his daughter must use their shared skill to solve the mystery of his death. Shepard told NPR's Elissa Nadworny that obsession can be a stand-in for the person lost. Next, Anne Tyler on her new book which follows a family in Baltimore across several generations. Tyler told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly that she likes to write about families because they sort of have to love each other even when they annoy each other.

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Inspired by a true story, 'Nightcrawling' deals with sex work – and sexual abuse

Thu, 05 Jan 2023 05:10:02 +0000

Inspired by a true story from Oakland, California, Leila Mottley's first novel follows a young Black girl who is sexually abused by a group of police officers. Kiara is a 17-year-old girl who comes from a fractured, poor family, and the novel follows her story as she attempts to survive and thrive navigating so much with so little protection. In an interview with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe, Mottley talked about the rich internal world she created for her main character, adding nuance to the storylines of poor characters, and the media coverage of the case that inspired her book.

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'Less is Lost' is the sequel to Andrew Greer's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel 'Less'

Wed, 04 Jan 2023 05:10:46 +0000

In this episode, Here & Now's Robin Young talks with author Andrew Sean Greer about his new novel Less is Lost, the sequel to his Pulitzer Prize-winning Less. This time, Greer's protagonist Arthur Less takes a tour of America in a van, and in the process learns about what it means to be an author today. Less is disappointed by how things are going, but doesn't realize how good things actually are for him. Greer says that he almost didn't write a second book, but by satirizing the literary crowd, he saw the importance of critiquing himself.

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A futuristic novel about the powerful escaping to space echoes today's world

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 05:10:54 +0000

Author Tochi Onyebuchi says that a majority of space stories he's come across favor those in power. Rich white people get to escape in spaceships, whereas less affluent Black and brown people are left behind on an increasingly inhabitable Earth. His new science-fiction novel Goliath gets at this power imbalance, and the author spoke to Juana Summers about how it tells us so much about racial and economic disparities right now.

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Romance, terror, and the supernatural in Isabel Cañas' debut novel 'The Hacienda'

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 05:10:15 +0000

In the aftermath of the Mexican war for independence, a new bride finds herself alone in a haunted house surrounded by people who don't believe her. It's the plot of Isabel Cañas' debut novel The Hacienda, where she blends romance, terror, and the supernatural to tell a story highly embedded with Mexican culture. In an interview with Weekend Edition Sunday, Cañas told Ayesha Rascoe about the themes she wanted to explore in her novel – colonialism, social status, the syncretism of Catholicism and indigenous practices – and her own fear of darkness.

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Two novels chronicle the mysterious disappearances of young women

Fri, 30 Dec 2022 05:10:23 +0000

Today's episode centers around two books that explore the rippling consequences of violence against women. First, author Johanne Lykke Holm sits down with NPR's Scott Simon to discuss her new novel, Strega, which follows a group of teenage girls sent to work at an odd hotel – it's a place focused more on reinforcing gendered roles and behavior than welcoming guests. Then, NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Crime Junkie host Ashley Flowers about her fiction debut, All Good People Here, which tracks the eerie cases of missing young women in a small Indiana town.

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'My People' is a collection of stories – spanning decades – about Black America

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 05:10:47 +0000

'The Myth of Normal' explores why depression and illness rates are rising in the U.S.

Wed, 28 Dec 2022 05:10:42 +0000

The United States is seeing some concerning trends when it comes to school shootings, deaths by suicide, overdoses and other unhealthy behaviors; they're on the rise. Physician Gabor Maté says that's not so much a coincidence as a consequence of a toxic culture in our country. His new book, The Myth of Normal, dispels the idea that these are unavoidable, unrelated statistics. In this episode, he speaks to Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd about capitalism's role in this morbid, new "normal," and where society can look for opportunities to start healing.

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'Demon Copperhead' tackles opioids, poverty and resilience in Appalachia

Tue, 27 Dec 2022 05:10:34 +0000

'Our Book of Awesome' celebrates the small joys that can actually make us happier

Mon, 26 Dec 2022 05:10:12 +0000

Bestselling author Neil Pasricha knows what it's like to feel down. Fifteen years ago, he was going through a difficult period in his life – so he started a blog to write down the ordinary, everyday things that brought him happiness: unsubscribing from annoying emails, finding the right tupperware lid on the first try, wearing warm undies out of the dryer. That positivity is the driving force behind Our Book of Awesome. In today's episode, he explains to Here & Now's Jane Clayson how those seemingly insignificant moments can add up to actually change our outlook on life.

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Two cookbooks for baking the sweetest holiday treats

Fri, 23 Dec 2022 05:10:48 +0000

Today's episode is all about dessert. Not just any dessert – chef-certified, tested and recommended baked goods that are sure to be the star of any holiday table. First, Here & Now's Robin Young tests out some of Molly Gilbert's recipes, from a rice krispie treat variation to a tres leches, and asks why Gilbert chose the sheet pan to be the protagonist of her cookbook. Then, Rose Levy Beranbaum of The Cake Bible fame joins Young to indulge in her newest book: The Cookie Bible.

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Olympic diver Tom Daley explains his love for knitting in 'Made With Love'

Thu, 22 Dec 2022 05:10:32 +0000

How do professional athletes unwind? For Olympic gold medalist Tom Daley, the answer is simple: with a needle and some yarn. In today's episode, he speaks to NPR's Elissa Nadworny about why he picked up knitting and crocheting, and how it's become a sort of meditative practice for him. His new book, Made With Love, dives into his passion for the craft, and offers readers tips and patterns to create anything from a scarf to a dog hat.

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In 'Grocery Shopping With My Mother,' a son becomes a caretaker

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 05:10:38 +0000

Author Kevin Powell grew up without much physical affection. He says the first time someone tried to hug him was in college; it felt like a foreign concept to him. In his new book of poetry, Grocery Shopping With My Mother, Powell examines his relationship with the single mother who raised him – the one he now cares for in her older age. He tells NPR's Scott Simon that writing becomes a way to heal and forgive, even if it means confronting a whole lot of hurt.

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In 'Cursed Bunny,' horror takes unexpected forms

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 05:10:06 +0000

'The Future Is Analog' makes the case for logging off

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 05:10:02 +0000

The pandemic accelerated the digitization of our lives. Work, school, dating, even worship – we learned to access and navigate all of it through our screens. But is that actually a good thing? In his new book, The Future Is Analog, writer David Sax argues that there's a lot we miss out on when we over-rely on our devices in our everyday lives. He tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe that maybe by being a little more intentional, we can find a better balance between innovation and actual connection.

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Patti Smith's photography and Kevin Nealon's caricatures offer a new perspective

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 05:10:18 +0000

Patti Smith and Kevin Nealon are both stars for very different reasons; one is a punk legend, the other a standup comedian and SNL alum. But they have something important in common – they both find inspiration in creating visual projects. In today's episode, NPR's Juana Summers speaks with Smith about her new photography collection, A Book of Days, and what she describes as the "sacred atmosphere of the polaroid." Then, Here & Now's Celeste Headlee sits down with Nealon to discuss his book of celebrity caricatures, I Exaggerate, and what it takes to perfectly capture a beloved character.

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'We Deserve Monuments' highlights a queer, Black love story amidst a family mystery

Thu, 15 Dec 2022 05:10:43 +0000

In Jas Hammonds' YA novel, We Deserve Monuments, high school senior Avery is faced with moving from Washington, D.C. to her mom's small hometown in Georgia to be closer to Mama Letty, her aging grandma. But as she grapples with her new surroundings and with a dark, family secret, she also falls in love with the girl next door. In this episode, Hammonds talks to NPR's Juana Summers about the themes of family and identity in their debut book – and why they kind of think of it as "Gilmore Girls, but make it Black and gay."

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'The Black Family's Guide to College Admissions' traces the path to higher education

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 05:10:41 +0000

Timothy Fields and Shereem Herndon-Brown are college admissions experts, so they know how confusing and overwhelming the higher education system can be. That's especially true for Black students, which is why their new book offers a guide for how to think about application timelines, exposure to schools, and financial aid opportunities. In this episode, they explain to Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd why there are specific challenges pertaining to Black students, and why it's important for everyone – parents, guidance counselors, high schoolers – to be better informed about the process.

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'The Light Pirate' depicts a dystopian Florida amidst climate catastrophes

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:10:44 +0000

Climate displacement is already a reality. In Lily Brooks-Dalton's new novel The Light Pirate, which takes place in a near future, a family chooses to stay in a Florida town hit by a severe hurricane. As the state collapses, the people who live there must forge their own path forward. In today's episode, Brooks-Dalton speaks with NPR's Sarah McCammon about the compromises made between nature and civilization, and how the decision to rebuild weighs on those left behind.

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'Three Girls From Bronzeville' is a memoir about identity, opportunity and solidarity

Mon, 12 Dec 2022 05:10:06 +0000

Journalist Dawn Turner grew up in Chicago's historic Bronzeville neighborhood in the '70s. Her memoir chronicles the dreams shared between her younger sister, her best friend and herself – and the disparities that Black girls experience in the quest for their own American Dream. In today's episode, Turner opens up to Here & Now's Celeste Headlee about where her path diverged from those of her friend and sister, and how transcendence looks different for everyone.

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NPR recommends our favorite books of 2022, including Jennette McCurdy's memoir

Fri, 09 Dec 2022 05:10:12 +0000

It's the most wonderful time of the year – NPR's annual Books We Love! On today's episode, our host Andrew Limbong sits down with All Things Considered host Juana Summers to discuss some of the titles on this year's roundup, which includes more than 400 recommendations. Then, Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with the author of one of the most popular books on the list: Jennette McCurdy. She opens up about her memoir, I'm Glad My Mom Died, which reckons with her childhood as a Nickelodeon star in an abusive household.

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'All This Could Be Different' grapples with the beautiful chaos of post-college life

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 05:10:49 +0000

Sarah Thankam Mathews' debut novel takes place after the 2009 recession. The lead character, Sneha, just graduated college. Alone in the U.S. after her parents' unfair deportation back to India, she builds community through the friendships and lesbian relationships of her early 20s. In this episode, Mathews explains to Here & Now's Robin Young how her own experience with mutual aid work led her to write about seeking support and solidarity, and why she wanted to break out of the stereotypical narratives around Indian-American identity.

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In 'So Help Me God,' Mike Pence considers how his faith shapes his politics

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 05:10:33 +0000

Former Vice President Mike Pence says he's been demeaned and misunderstood for his evangelical Christian values. In his new book, So Help Me God, he dives into how his religious views impact his personal life and his political ambitions, and why he feels he's experienced judgment as a result of both. In this episode, NPR's Steve Inskeep asks Pence about how the religious freedom legislation he championed can be seen as discriminatory towards LGBTQ communities, and how hostility and intolerance can be felt from different perspectives.

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In 'They're Going to Love You,' a dancer's secret unravels lessons about forgiveness

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 05:10:18 +0000

Author and former dancer Meg Howrey knows about the world of ballet. It's at the center of her new novel, They're Going to Love You, which finds an adult choreographer reflecting on her childhood relationship with her estranged father and her father's partner. In this episode, Howrey talks to NPR's Scott Simon about becoming a writer and honing in on the power that ambition, forgiveness and the passing of time can hold.

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'How to Stand Up to a Dictator' dissects how disinformation can kill democracies

Mon, 05 Dec 2022 05:10:51 +0000

Journalist and Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa thinks the world is facing a sort of World War III – especially as it relates to information. Her new book, How to Stand Up to a Dictator, details the relationship between trust, truth and democracy, and how social media's pull to inflammatory falsehoods can threaten that delicate balance. In this episode, she tells NPR's Scott Simon how the Philippines have become "a testing ground for attacks against America," and how investigative reporting on the matter is worth the risks it poses.

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Exploring immigration through a common experience: feeling like an outsider

Fri, 02 Dec 2022 05:10:53 +0000

There is a common hurdle for many first generation immigrants: feeling out of place. Whether that's in school, speaking a different language, or living through parents' expectations. Today: two books about overcoming those feelings of inadequacy. First, Simu Liu, Marvel's first Asian superhero, discusses his memoir We Were Dreamers, where he talks about his complicated relationship with his parents and what he calls his "immigrant superhero origin story." Then, Cuban-American author Margarita Engle explores what it's like to be an outsider as a bilingual speaker and the creative freedom she found in writing Spanish without italics in her book.

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In 'Lessons In Chemistry' a chemist is the star of...a cooking show?

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 05:10:17 +0000

Bonnie Garmus' new novel Lessons In Chemistry has been getting a lot of buzz. Elizabeth Zott is a talented chemist but because it's the 1960s, she faces sexism in her quest to work as a scientist. So instead she has a cooking show that is wildly popular. Garmus told NPR's Scott Simon that the character of Elizabeth lived in her head for many years before she started writing this novel.

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Poet Warsan Shire hopes you can make the voices in your head your friends

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 05:10:50 +0000

Somali British poet Warsan Shire has had many projects, including running a popular Tumblr page and collaborating with Beyoncé. Now, she is out with a new collection of poems called Bless The Daughter Raised By A Voice In Her Head. That title is an ode to how she was raised, having to take on a lot of responsibility from a young age. But Shire told NPR's Sarah McCammon that it's also an ode to the children who are able to turn those voices into their friends instead of struggling with them as she has.

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'Booth' looks at the family life of President Lincoln's notorious assassin

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 05:10:02 +0000

Author Karen Joy Fowler thinks John Wilkes Booth craved attention – and that he's gotten his fair share of it. So her new novel, Booth, instead focuses on his family. Their history might surprise you, given how John turned out. His grandfather was a part of the Underground Railroad. Fowler told NPR's Scott Simon that because of all we know about Booth's family, the path that John took is one of life's great mysteries. And, no, she hasn't solved it.

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Author NoViolet Bulawayo's novel 'Glory' draws inspiration from the Orwellian

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 05:10:43 +0000

Author NoViolet Bulawayo's new novel Glory is quite openly based on Orwell's Animal Farm and the 2017 coup in Zimbabwe that ousted then president Robert Mugabe. Horses rule the country, dogs are the military, cows, goats, sheep, and pigs are the everyday people. The government that has been in control of the country Jidada for 40 years has fallen to rebellion. But, as these things go, it quickly turns sour. Bulawayo told NPR's Scott Simon that "it is simply an issue of the leadership kind of forgetting [...] why the people they – that fought to serve – made the sacrifice that they did."

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Two poetry collections find beauty in unexpected places

Fri, 25 Nov 2022 05:10:57 +0000

Poet Franny Choi knows that marginalized communities have been facing apocalypses forever. But in her new book, The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On, she uses their survival as a way to look forward. In this episode, she tells NPR's Leila Fadel how understanding that pain and resilience can ultimately be a source of hope. Then, former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins discusses his new collection of very short poems, Musical Tables, with NPR's Scott Simon – and gets into the complexities of how sometimes saying less can offer so much more.

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In 'Sweet Land of Liberty,' pie recipes show how American values transform over time

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 05:10:44 +0000

A lot of holiday tables will undoubtedly feature some kind of pie this year. But for food writer Rossi Anastopoulo, pies aren't just a baked dish – they're a throughline of how American society and values have changed over time. In this episode, Anastopoulo shares some notable pie recipes with NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer, and breaks down what they each represent about race, gender and economic opportunity in this country.

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Sci-fi elements help a family's story before and after warfare

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 05:10:46 +0000

Displacement, identity and the aftermath of warfare are themes running through today's episode on The Haunting of Hajji Hotak. Author Jamil Jan Kochai talks with Ari Shapiro about why he used elements of science fiction like video games and magical realism to tell a largely autobiographical story of his family's life in Afghanistan before and after the Soviet invasion.

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'Control' chronicles the dark history of eugenics and its ongoing impact

Tue, 22 Nov 2022 05:10:45 +0000

Adam Rutherford is a geneticist and author who just wrote a new book about the history of eugenics, and he tells NPR's Rebecca Ramirez that the political ideology is not just a relic of the past, but very much still relevant today. In this episode, Rutherford explains how anti-immigrant fear in the 19th century spurred popularity for an unscientific practice that was eventually embraced by Nazis – and has a complicated relationship with today's reproductive rights movement.

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In 'The Book of Jose,' Fat Joe remembers his rise in hip-hop

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 05:10:17 +0000

Fat Joe's career spans three decades – but before he was performing on stages around the world, he was a little kid getting bullied in the Bronx. His new memoir, The Book of Jose, goes back to his childhood in New York and his early days rapping in the Diggin' in the Crates Crew. In this episode, he opens up to NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about why he's committed to his community and how becoming a "big boy, financially" might mean putting a pause on new music.

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Two books cover the Russia-Ukraine war from opposite perspectives

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 05:10:16 +0000

In this episode, two nonfiction books explore the Russian invasion of Ukraine from two completely different experiences. First, 12-year-old Yeva Skalietska from Kharkiv reads one of her diary entries from the early days of the war to Here and Now's Deepa Fernandes. Then, former White House Russia expert Andrew Weiss speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about his new graphic novel biography of Vladimir Putin (illustrated by Brian "Box" Brown) – and why the Russian leader built a nefarious political image for himself that may not be entirely factual.

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'Gods of Soccer' celebrates 100 of the world's best players

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 05:10:06 +0000

Men in Blazers' Roger Bennett knows football – or soccer, as Americans call it. His new book, Gods of Soccer, lists 100 players who've made their mark on the sport one way or another. He tells Mary Louise Kelly about how he managed to compile that list, and why the book delves into the origin stories and cultural impact of a wide range of players – not just the Ronaldo and Messi household names, but the lesser-known figures who are iconic in their own right.

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Michelle Obama talks marriage, motherhood and 'going high' in 'The Light We Carry'

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 05:10:04 +0000

Michelle Obama wants young people to know "going high" isn't about being complacent – it's about being strategic while pushing for change. In this episode, the former first lady sits down with NPR's Juana Summers to discuss her new book, The Light We Carry, and the toolkit she relies on to navigate the realities of partnership, parenthood and privilege.

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'Now Is Not the Time to Panic' captures a summer of teenage friendship and creativity

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 05:10:45 +0000

Now Is Not the Time to Panic is a novel, but the relationship at its core comes from best-selling author Kevin Wilson's own young adulthood. Two teens find each other, in a summer of boredom, and start making art together – but their collaboration spirals to unlikely places. In this episode, Wilson tells NPR's Scott Simon about the real-life friendship that sparked the story, and what those memories mean many years later.

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'Fatty Fatty Boom Boom' details a lifelong relationship with food and body image

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 05:10:33 +0000

Two writers on building new careers and self-fulfillment through food

Fri, 11 Nov 2022 05:10:44 +0000

In this episode, two cookbook authors recount their relationship with food and how it's led them to unlikely places. First, actor and TikTok sensation Tabitha Brown tells NPR's Michel Martin about going vegan and connecting with an online audience through plant-based recipes. Then, restaurant owner Kardea Brown talks to Here & Now's Celeste Headlee about connecting with her family's roots in the kitchen and honoring the Gullah Geechee people's traditions.

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In 'Small Game,' a survival-challenge reality show takes a dark turn

Thu, 10 Nov 2022 05:10:07 +0000

Blair Braverman knows the great outdoors. So it makes sense that the American adventurer and "Naked And Afraid" contestant's first novel, Small Game, takes place in the wilderness. She tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about some of her own fears while competing in the Discovery Channel series – and how they manifested themselves in her first foray into fiction.

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In 'Somewhere Sisters,' twins adopted by different families reunite

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 05:10:06 +0000

Isabella and Ha are twin sisters, but they grew up oceans apart. Isabella was adopted by a white American couple in Illinois, while Ha was raised by her maternal aunt in Vietnam. In this episode, journalist Erika Hayasaki discusses her reporting of over five years, which follows how the girls came back together and built a relationship.

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Bono writes about the faith and ecstasy of U2's music in 'Surrender'

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 05:10:22 +0000

Bono probably needs no introduction at this point. In this episode, the U2 frontman, philanthropist and now author sits down with NPR's Rachel Martin to talk about his new memoir, Surrender. He explains how his connection to a higher spiritual power works with rock-and-roll across U2's discography, and why he's reached a point in his life where he just wants to "shut up and listen."

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'If I Survive You' navigates family and identity in the Jamaican diaspora

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 05:10:58 +0000

Jonathan Escoffery's debut collection of short stories follows the American-born son of Jamaican immigrants finding his place in the world and within his own family. Inspired by some of his own life experiences, If I Survive You questions what it means to belong, how culture is shared across generations, and why people migrate in the first place. Escoffery tells Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes that he wanted to disrupt the American savior complex, and instead acknowledge U.S. imperialism's role in pushing people out of their homes.

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Two books examine how we listen to music and why it resonates with us

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 04:10:02 +0000

The two books in today's episode explore how we construct meaning from the music we listen to. First, record producer Susan Rogers talks to WBUR's Robin Young about her book, This Is What It Sounds Like, which breaks down the science behind what draws different types of listeners to particular songs. Then, author Francesca Royster traces the relationship between Black identity and country music in her book, Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions. She tells NPR's Juana Summers that as a queer Black woman, listening to country can feel a lot like coming out.

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In 'The Last Chairlift,' John Irving revisits familiar themes with a new perspective

Thu, 03 Nov 2022 04:10:19 +0000

In this episode, NPR's Scott Simon pays best-selling author John Irving a visit in his Toronto home. Across from Irving's family photographs and slanted writing station, they discuss the writer's expansive career, the prevalence of gender and sexual politics in his novels and the newfound personal connection he can make with his characters.

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'The Persuaders' finds power in bridging the political divide

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 04:10:32 +0000

The U.S. is highly polarized – and author Anand Giridharadas thinks writing off people with different opinions is only going to make things worse. In this episode, he tells NPR's Steve Inskeep about some of the activists and leaders he talked to for his new book, The Persuaders, and how their mission to actually listen and engage with the other side of the political aisle could actually save democracy.

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In 'Signal Fires,' a tragic accident stretches across time, memory and family secrets

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 04:10:05 +0000

Author Dani Shapiro spent 15 years working on Signal Fires, a novel about how a single accident changes the course of one family's life. In this episode, she tells NPR's Scott Simon how her own trajectory to completing the book upended what she thought she knew about herself and her upbringing.

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'And There Was Light' traces Abraham Lincoln's views on slavery and religion

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 04:10:42 +0000

Abraham Lincoln made history in 1863 when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, effectively freeing enslaved people across the U.S. But he expected it to cost him reelection. In his new book, And There Was Light, Pulitzer prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham dives into how Lincoln's moral vision allowed him to stand his ground, even in the face of great criticism. Meacham tells NPR's Steve Inskeep that Lincoln's views on God and morality can teach us a thing or two in today's political climate.

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Two thrillers unfold in the shadows of Appalachia

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 04:10:07 +0000

In this episode, we share two interviews on novels that explore how horror can be found within – and beyond – the laws of nature. First, Megan Miranda takes NPR's Elissa Nadworny into the North Carolina woods to set the scene for her book, The Last to Vanish, about disappearing hikers. Then, Stephen King and his son Owen tell Mary Louise Kelly about the supernatural rage that overcomes the women in their novel, Sleeping Beauties.

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'Fen, Bog & Swamp' explains why the wetlands matter and why they're disappearing

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 04:10:11 +0000

Pulitzer Prize winning-author Annie Proulx tells Leila Fadel that she learns by writing. So when she wanted to better understand the wetlands – and how they're being affected by the climate crisis – she dove into nonfiction. Her new book, Fen, Bog & Swamp, does not concern itself with how the natural world serves humans, but rather how it serves itself.

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'When We Were Sisters' details the pain and perseverance of orphanhood

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 04:10:44 +0000

Poet and filmmaker Fatimah Asghar lost their parents at a young age. But they tell Scott Simon that they didn't grow up with a lot of stories that accurately captured the experience of being an orphan. In their debut novel, When We Were Sisters, Asghar describes life on the margins for three Muslim-American siblings left to raise one another.

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In 'Dying of Politeness,' Geena Davis says Susan Sarandon taught her to speak up

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 04:10:02 +0000

Geena Davis is no stranger to the spotlight. But in her new memoir, Dying of Politeness, the Academy Award-winning actor remembers growing up full of insecurities and self-criticisms. She tells Rachel Martin that acting gave her the "ability to be somebody else" – and over time, she gained her confidence by watching none other than her Thelma and Louise co-star, Susan Sarandon, walk through the world with her head held high.

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'Black Women Will Save the World' honors those on the frontlines of democracy

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 04:10:15 +0000

April Ryan and Ayesha Rascoe both know what it's like to cover the White House as Black women. In this episode, the two journalists discuss the importance of taking up space and looking out for one another in that environment, including throughout the Trump presidency. Ryan's new book, Black Women Will Save the World, combines memoir, reporting and analysis to highlight the strength of trailblazers like Stacey Abrams, LaTosha Brown and herself – but she also opens up about the personal cost of always having to be resilient.

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Two books highlight the role of food in creating the comfort of home

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 04:10:57 +0000

In this episode, we share two interviews on books that look at the ways in which food and family go hand in hand. First, NPR's Scott Simon talks to singer Linda Ronstadt about her memoir Feels Like Home, in which she writes about living by the Mexican-American border and how food brought her closer to those around her. Then, Scott Simon visits French chef Jaques Pepin at his house to talk about his book Art of the Chicken. Pepin tells Simon that cooking a good meal at home helps him hold on to the memory of his late wife. Both books feature recipes close to the writers' hearts.

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'Mika in Real Life' focuses on identity and the diversity of parental bonds

Thu, 20 Oct 2022 04:10:01 +0000

Young adult author Emiko Jean is out with her first book for adults – Mika in Real Life. In this episode, we hear Jean in conversation with WBUR's Celeste Headlee about the book, in which a teen girl – Penny – tries to connect with her birth mother Mika. Jean says that just as Penny and Mika struggle to figure out who they are, much of the book mirrors the author's own identity struggle as a Japanese-American woman.

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'Less is Lost' is the sequel to Andrew Greer's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel 'Less'

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 04:10:49 +0000

In this episode, WBUR's Robin Young talks with author Andrew Sean Greer about his new novel Less is Lost, the sequel to his Pulitzer Prize-winning Less. This time, Greer's protagonist Arthur Less takes a tour of America in a van, and in the process learns about what it means to be an author today. Less is disappointed by how things are going, but doesn't realize how good things actually are for him. Greer says that he almost didn't write a second book, but by satirizing the literary crowd, he saw the importance of critiquing himself.

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Constance Wu writes about her trauma and ensuing judgment in memoir 'Making a Scene'

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 04:10:41 +0000

In her memoir Making a Scene, actress Constance Wu writes about the sexual harassment and abuse she faced on her breakout show Fresh off the Boat, and why she hesitated to speak out at first. She tells WBUR's Scott Tong that "trauma and feelings don't go away simply because you will them to." And when she finally spoke up about that trauma on social media, she received a wave of online hate. A warning that this episode – and the book – includes descriptions of assault and a suicide attempt.

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Celeste Ng's 'Our Missing Hearts' explores a new dystopia through a teenager's eyes

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 04:10:30 +0000

Celeste Ng's new novel Our Missing Hearts is set in a dystopian America, where children are taken away from their parents. The story is told from the perspective of a 12-year-old boy who goes in search of his missing mother. In an interview with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe, Ng says she wanted to look at how people rationalize their faith in institutions, and how willing they are to look away from something that's wrong.

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Two novels by Namwali Serpell explore borders and the mixed-race family

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 04:10:34 +0000

In this episode, we hear two interviews with author Namwali Serpell. Her two novels look at some variation on what it means to be part of a mixed-race family. First, NPR's Scott Simon talks to Serpell about her 2019 debut The Old Drift in which the author considers how immigrants that came to Zambia gave the country a new identity through unity and love. Then, Serpell and NPR's Juana Summers discuss her second novel The Furrows, which looks at grief – and how it doesn't necessarily get easier with time.

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In 'You Gotta Be You,' Brandon Kyle Goodman says we should embrace who we are

Thu, 13 Oct 2022 04:10:27 +0000

This conversation between NPR's Ailsa Chang and actor Brandon Kyle Goodman looks at authentic relationships and the performance of queerness. Goodman is Black, non-binary, and grew up in a religious household. Among humorous stories of love – and self-love – their new book You Gotta Be You: How to Embrace This Messy Life and Step Into Who You Really Are touches on dating, white privilege, and dating those with white privilege. Goodman's origin story helps readers understand what it means to fully love oneself.

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'WARHOLCAPOTE' is a window into the relationship between two great, tortured minds

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 04:10:24 +0000

Rob Roth's new play in book form, WARHOLCAPOTE, is what he calls a "non-fiction invention," created from found tapes of conversations between artist Andy Warhol and writer Truman Capote. In a conversation with Scott Simon, Roth sheds light on the two men's loneliness, their recognition of both talent and pain in each other, and how they turned the way they fathomed the world into art.

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Gay sons of immigrants talk about the weight they carry in 'Brown and Gay in LA'

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 04:10:34 +0000

In Brown and Gay in LA, author Anthony Christian Ocampo interviews more than 60 gay sons of immigrant families about the fears that come with living as gay men. He discusses with A Martinez the complex relationships they have with their parents — the respect they have for their parents as immigrants, but also the pain they carry from coming out to them.

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'Waging a Good War' explains civil rights movement in military strategy terms

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 04:10:02 +0000

Distinguished war correspondent Thomas Ricks analyzes how civil rights movement protesters used military principles and strategies in his new book, Waging a Good War. He explains to Steve Inskeep how although unarmed and non-violent, the discipline, training, and willingness to sacrifice everything allowed the protesters to achieve success and employ tactics rivaling those of the U.S. military.

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Two writers on friendships and how they shape us

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 04:10:19 +0000

In this episode, NPR's Scott Simon interviews two writers whose books about friendship reckon with how people, and what we experience with them, make us who we are. First, Hua Hsu talks about his memoir Stay True which focuses on one of his formative college friendships, and how that friendship was cut tragically short. Then, we hear from Kamala Shamsie about her novel Best of Friends. It follows the push and pull of a friendship between two girls from when they were teenagers in Karachi to when they're older and working in London.

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Dick Ebersol's autobiography 'From Saturday Night to Sunday Night' spans his career

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 04:10:11 +0000

Dick Ebersol was a major player in the world of American entertainment until his retirement over a decade ago. He co-created Saturday Night Live, and created Sunday Night Football, which was once the most watched television program in America. In this episode, we get a glimpse of Ebersol's 40-year career as he talks with NPR hosts Ari Shapiro and Juana Summers about his new autobiography From Saturday Night to Sunday Night. We also hear from Ebersol how he coped with some of the worst, tragic moments in his life.

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'What If? 2' is Randall Munroe's second round of answers to absurd questions

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 04:10:32 +0000

Randall Munroe's first book of scientific answers to the absurd questions people have was so popular that he wrote another one. In What If? 2, the author and cartoonist answers confusing and often unusual questions submitted by adults – and children – using science and humor. He spoke to NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about why it's important to lean into this confusion, and how that actually makes way for curiosity.

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'The Door of No Return' is a story for children about slavery

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 04:10:11 +0000

Kwame Alexander's new novel aimed at teens, The Door of No Return, focuses on the history of slavery. It follows a boy growing up in Ghana in 1860, and it aims to help readers understand the wholeness of the lives and experiences of Africans before they walked through that "door of no return" – and were shipped to the Americas. In an interview with NPR's Rachel Martin, Alexander talks about how he used poetry to make the heavy subject palatable for children.

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Hilary Mantel's 'Wolf Hall' examines the reign of King Henry VIII through his advisor

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 04:10:21 +0000

In 2009, Hilary Mantel won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction for her novel Wolf Hall. Mantel died in September, and in this episode we hear former NPR host Liane Hansen's interview with Mantel just after she won the prize. In the novel, Mantel examines the reign of England's King Henry VIII through the life and relationships of his trusted advisor Thomas Cromwell – and the author says it's important not only to look at what happened in the past, but also to consider how it felt.

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Two authors on writing unlikable characters and the power of storytelling

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 04:10:47 +0000

The two books in today's episode point up how authors write and empathize with characters that aren't exactly likable. First we hear from Anthony Doerr who spoke to NPR correspondent Arun Rath about his Pulitzer-Prize winning novel All The Light We Cannot See. Doer talks about how we can better understand the moral choices people make by tuning into untold stories. Then, Scott Simon of NPR's Weekend Edition interviews author Yiyun Li about her new novel The Book of Goose. It's a story of two ruthless French girls who write a book that alters their lives.

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A futuristic novel about the powerful escaping to space echoes today's world

Thu, 29 Sep 2022 04:10:10 +0000

Author Tochi Onyebuchi says that a majority of space stories he's come across favor those in power. Rich and white people get to escape in spaceships, whereas less affluent Black and brown people are left behind on an increasingly inhabitable Earth. His new science-fiction novel Goliath gets at this power imbalance, and the author spoke to Juana Summers about how it tells us so much about racial and economic disparities right now.

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A family grows and changes in graphic memoir 'It Won't Always Be Like This'

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 04:10:09 +0000

In her new graphic memoir, It Won't Always Be Like This, NPR Editor Malaka Gharib revisits the summers she spent in Cairo, Egypt and how they shaped who she is today. She writes about her relationship with her dad and her step-mom, and how that relationship strengthened over the years even as the distance between them grew. The author, her dad, and her step-mom all spoke with NPR's Leila Fadel.

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'The Marriage Portrait' is a renaissance story of marriage, survival, and murder

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 04:10:51 +0000

The Marriage Portrait is Maggie O' Farrell's fictional interpretation of Lucrezia de Cosimo de Medici, who fights to survive her forced marriage with her abhorrent husband, Duke Alfonso II. In an interview with Mary Louise Kelly, O'Farrell discusses themes of loss of control and explains her philosophy in how she portrays these historical figures.

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'The Divider' looks at Trump's years in office through the eyes of his aides

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 04:10:01 +0000

When former President Donald Trump was in office, a number of his aides said they wanted to quit out of concern for the country's political and military future. Some did quit, some didn't. Political reporters Susan Glasser and Peter Baker conducted 300 interviews for their new book The Divider – two of those with the former President himself. They spoke to Ayesha Rascoe about Trump's White House tenure – and what it means for the American presidency at large.

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Two YA books spark conversation about race and racial justice activism in youth

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 04:10:11 +0000

Today, YA adult novels – both of which have faced bans from schools and libraries – focus on conversations with kids regarding race and police brutality. First, Angie Thomas talks about The Hate You Give, in which an unarmed black teenager is killed by a police officer. Thomas reflects on victims of racial injustice in this discussion. Then, we hear from Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely about All American Boys, in which a white teen witnesses his black friend be brutalized by a cop. The two authors discuss in an interview with Karen Grigsby Bates the importance of being proactive in racial justice.

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'Daughter of Auschwitz' tells the harrowing story of a child Holocaust survivor

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 04:10:54 +0000

Tova Friedman says she's telling her story of having survived the Holocaust in her memoir, Daughter of Auschwitz, to honor the victims' memories. In a profound conversation with Scott Simon, she recalls her childhood – from her tiny apartment in the Jewish ghetto to the crematorium in the concentration camp – and grapples with how such atrocities could have even happened.

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'The Unfolding' examines values of old, wealthy Republicans after Obama's election

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 04:10:59 +0000

The Unfolding examines the socio-political upheaval in the U.S. following the election of President Barack Obama – as seen through the lens of a wealthy, influential Republican power broker. Author A.M. Homes talks with Ari Shapiro about how she writes characters who she thinks wouldn't normally tell their stories – and also discusses the political evolution of America.

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Ruby Bridges recounts civil rights history through kid's eyes in new children's book

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 04:10:05 +0000

In her new children's book, I Am Ruby Bridges, civil rights activist Ruby Bridges tells the story of how she was the first black child to desegregate an all-white elementary school – through the eyes of her 6-year-old self. She shares in a conversation with Mary Louise Kelly stories of the racism she endured and how her loneliness at school may resonate with kids today.

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Zelenskyy aide gives insight on war in Ukraine in 'The Fight for Our Lives'

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 04:10:00 +0000

Iuliia Mendel, press secretary to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, offers a peek behind the curtain in her new memoir, The Fight of Our Lives: My Time with Zelenskyy, Ukraine's Battle for Democracy and What it Means for the World. In an interview with Mary Louise Kelly, Mendel talks about Vladimir Putin – and the resilience of Ukraine.

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Two authors explore ideals and stresses of Latino culture and immigration

Fri, 16 Sep 2022 04:10:48 +0000

The two books featured in this episode are stories examining the difficulties and stressors of being Latino in America. First is I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, which is about a 15-year-old girl who has a contentious relationship with her immigrant parents. Author Erika L. Sánchez explains in conversation with Latino USA's Maria Hinojosa her goal to challenge ideas of Latina perfection. Then we hear from David Bowles, author of They Call Her Fregona, who discusses with Scott Simon the cracks in the Latino community and immigration in pursuit of a better life.

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Ken Starr gives an inside look on Clinton investigation in his memoir, 'Contempt'

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 04:10:47 +0000

Ken Starr's 2018 memoir, Contempt, gives an inside look into his investigation of the Clinton administration that led to President Clinton's impeachment. In an interview from back when the book was published, Starr, who died this week, discusses in a conversation with Steve Inskeep his perspective on the president and the law, which at times may seem to conflict with his later stance on President Donald Trump.

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'She's Nice Though' tackles the burdens of being nice

Wed, 14 Sep 2022 04:10:02 +0000

Mia Mercado's essay collection She's Nice Though: Essays on Being Bad at Being Good examines the reasons why one would want to be viewed as "nice." She explores why one would want to be liked, what we try to accomplish by being nice, and how constraining being agreeable can be. NPR's Ailsa Chang discusses this with Mercado, as well as how this plays into gender and dating.

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'Dinners with Ruth' shows how friendship can flourish despite clashing careers

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 04:10:53 +0000

In Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships, NPR's own Nina Totenberg documents her friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and how it would sometimes be at odds with their professional duties. Totenberg talks with Steve Inskeep about their respect for each other's obligations as a journalist and a Supreme Court judge, and how they lifted each other up in a time when women were even more undervalued.

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'Nickel and Dimed' is a window into the lives of low-wage workers

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 04:10:28 +0000

In Nickel and Dimed, author Barbara Ehrenreich lives the life of a low-wage worker and explores how unsustainable poverty is, as well as how easy it can be for one to get stuck in a vicious cycle. In this conversation with John Ydstie from 2001, Ehrenreich, who died earlier this month, discusses the symptoms of a profit-driven society and the issues that echo those today.

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Two authors write about the importance of mental health and accessing feelings

Fri, 09 Sep 2022 04:10:41 +0000

The two books featured in this episode focus on accessing feelings and mental health. First is a book of essays by spoken word artist, Bassey Ikpi. Ikpi tells Scott Simon that her book I'm Telling the Truth but I'm Lying chronicles the hard work it took to make a real life for herself after facing abuse at home. Then we hear from neurologist and physician Anna DeForest on her novel that questions a lot about existence and the inequities of the medical system. A History of Present Illness is DeForest's first novel, and she explains to Ayesha Roscoe why mental health is at the heart of her story.

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Gaia Vince details how migration will help billions survive in new book

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:10:03 +0000

The main argument Gaia Vince makes in her book Nomad Century is that in order for three to five billion people on Earth to survive, it will require a planned and deliberate migration of the kind humanity has never before undertaken. NPR's Scott Simon discusses this possibility with Vince as she explains how human kind has hampered the success of migration through "artificial bordering of nation states," and as she talks of the need to "rethink how we decide where someone is allowed to live" in order to have a chance of survival in a warming climate with extreme temperatures.

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'Touch' is a love story with elements of mystery, time, and loneliness

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 04:10:34 +0000

Olaf Olafsson's new novel Touch is a combination of mystery, memories lost, and love. It puts the idea of "the one that got away" front and center and explores how loneliness can be felt in many different ways. In an interview with Mary Louise Kelly, Olafsson shares why the pandemic was the perfect time to write this story.

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'Path Lit by Lightning' showcases Jim Thorpe's resilience until the end of his life

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 04:10:16 +0000

In the book Path Lit by Lightning, author David Maraniss does more than just write Jim Thorpe's life story. He delves into what caused misconceptions and false narratives about the great athlete, examines how exploitation of Native Americans by the U.S. government helped shape Thorpe's resilience, and offers a different perspective on the last few years of Thorpe's life as something admirable. In conversation with NPR's Don Gonyea, Maraniss explains these details and why they matter.

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'The Mamas' views parenting through the lenses of race, class, and gentrification

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 04:10:58 +0000

When it comes to raising children, says Helena Andrews-Dyer, there are complicated dynamics connected to race and class – which she writes about in her book The Mamas. In an interview with Rachel Martin, Dyer details the trials and tribulations of being a first-time parent, attending social events with other moms and all the pressure put on her internally and externally to make sure her child turns out alright. But it's her experience as a Black mom among a sea of white mothers that pushed her to reimagine her parenting "through a larger lens of race, and class, and gentrification."

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Magical realism and identity explored in Salman Rushdie's books

Fri, 02 Sep 2022 04:10:31 +0000

This episode features two different books by one author: Salman Rushdie. And while the two stories differ, recurrent themes of magical realism and the supernatural accompany them both. First, Rushdie, in a discussion of his book The Golden House, tells Ari Shapiro how escaping your past can lead to disillusionment And then, in an interview with Scott Simon about the fantasy elements in Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights, he says that to combine magic and realism, you need the ability to think and to dream.

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In 'Electable,' Ali Vitali explores the glass ceiling for women in politics

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 04:10:32 +0000

In Electable: Why America Hasn't Put a Woman in the White House... Yet, author Ali Vitali explores why the glass ceiling separating women from the highest office is still intact. Vitali and Juana Summers talk about why it wasn't possible to elect a woman in 2020 – and the importance of female representation in politics for America's future.

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Emma Donoghue revisits isolation and faith (with many birds) in new book 'Haven'

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 04:10:42 +0000

Author Emma Donoghue "seem to enjoy the stimulus of going to an entirely new place." That's precisely what she does in her new book 'Haven'; it's about three Irish monks in the middle ages who choose to live a life of isolation on a rocky island. In an interview with Ari Shapiro, Donoghue explains why she has recurrent themes of isolation and faith in her stories.

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'The Stolen Year' details how politics and pandemic magnified inequality in education

Tue, 30 Aug 2022 04:10:27 +0000

Author Anya Kamenetzwas covering education for NPR when the pandemic started spreading in the U.S. She says she saw how political affiliation, divisions and distrust prevented leaders from putting kids first. Kamenetz sits down with Steve Inskeep to discuss her new book, The Stolen Year, and how the pandemic "magnified the inequality" that already existed among school children.

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Abdulrazak Gurnah's 'Afterlives' highlights nuances of colonization in East Africa

Mon, 29 Aug 2022 16:10:09 +0000

In Abdulrazak Gurnah's Afterlives, the characters centered in the novel offer different perspectives of ordinary people under German colonization in East Africa. In an interview with NPR's Scott Simon, the author goes into detail about how the "power and attraction of the victor" can lead to the conquered joining the conqueror and the impact it has on one's identity

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Paula Hawkins and Amanda Jayatissa highlight class inequality via mystery

Fri, 26 Aug 2022 04:10:18 +0000

The two books in this episode are thrillers that center class as the theme of the narrative. First up is A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins that the author says, in an interview with Mary Louise Kelly, is a crime-murder-mystery in a setting where "the powerful and the powerless" are right next to each other. Next is You're Invited, authored by Amanda Jayatissa, about a wedding invite gone wrong – but, as Jayatissa shared with Ayesha Roscoe, is actually a backdrop to highlight Sri Lanka's present inequalities.

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Sidik Fofana addresses how complicated gentrification is in debut story collection

Thu, 25 Aug 2022 04:10:34 +0000

Sidik Fofana's short story collection can be best described as "addressing the notion that gentrification is complicated." Those were Fofana's words to NPR's Daniel Estrin as they talked about his debut book, Stories from the Tenants Downstairs. Fofana, who's also a public school teacher, uses the emotions he's felt growing up and situations of other people he's known, to ask: "How would I feel if this happened to me?" He writes them down in his collection as distinct voices and characters struggling to get by in a fictional high rise building in Harlem.

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Ellen Jovin travels across the U.S. in search of grammar questions and answers

Wed, 24 Aug 2022 04:10:03 +0000

The author of Rebel With a Clause traveled to more than 40 states to document how grammar is used in relationships, work conversations and everyday life. In this episode, Ellen Jovin shares her discoveries and what she's learned along the way with Scott Simon.

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'The Scent of Burnt Flowers' uses fiction to explore a real, historical event

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 04:10:37 +0000

Blitz Bazawule directed the first Ghanaian original film to be released on Netflix, co-directed Beyonce's visual album 'Black is King', directed the upcoming film musical version of 'The Color Purple' and, now, has published his first novel – The Scent of Burnt Flowers. In this interview, he talks with Michel Martin about how and why he wrote this novel, which meshes real historical events with the supernatural.

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Author weaves family history with fiction in debut novel

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 04:10:06 +0000

In Belinda Huijuan Tang's debut novel, A Map For the Missing, readers can find parallels between Tang's personal history and her fiction. The book touches on family mystery, personal identity and connections between the end of China's Cultural Revolution in the 1970s up through the1990s. While talking with NPR's Ari Shapiro, Tang shares why she chose this moment in Chinese history for her novel.

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Mohsin Hamid and Alora Young detail the impact of colorism in their stories

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 04:10:49 +0000

The two books featured in this episode illustrate the impact of colorism in society. First up is The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid. In conversation with Scott Simon, Hamid talks about his personal experience after 9/11 and how that helped shape the narrative of this novel. Next is Walking Gentry Home by Alora Young, which chronicles her family's history through nine generations of mothers in her life. Young shares with Leila Fadel about how her stories touch on her skin complexion "as a product of uninvited attention" from people who enslaved her family.

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Romance novelist pokes fun at genre while writing it, in 'Thank You for Listening'

Thu, 18 Aug 2022 04:10:37 +0000

Author and audiobook narrator Julia Whelan says narrating her own second book, Thank You for Listening, was "so meta, that it just spins off its axis." It's about a former on-camera actress who suffered a tragic event that ended her on-camera career. She's found work in narrating audiobooks and while she loves it, it isn't the same as being in front of the camera. Whelan chats with Mary Louise Kelly about how this latest novel pokes fun at romance while honoring it, and the different voices she has had to use to represent the "voice" of the book.

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In new memoir, Sen. Tim Scott details the second chances he's gotten

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 04:10:09 +0000

In an interview with NPR's Juana Summers, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina talks about the second chances he's been given by his mother and his constituents, which he also details in his new memoir America: A Redemption Story. Scott reflects on his struggles with self image growing up, the doubts he had as a young Black man in high school, and what he wished President Trump would have done during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

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A daughter helps her mom finish her book 'Properties of Thirst'

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 04:10:44 +0000

Marianne Wiggins had started to write her latest book Properties of Thirst when she had a stroke in 2016. So her daughter Lara Porzak, helped her finish it. Porzak described the experience as "hard, very difficult, but beautiful." Talking to Scott Simon, both authors share how their time in the hospital and the uncertainty of the future helped complete a story about new beginnings.

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Criminal justice reform and resilience are central in Albert Woodfox's 'Solitary'

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 04:10:12 +0000

In an interview with the author of Solitary, the issue of criminal justice reform is central. Alfred Woodfox, who served 43 years in prison – most in solitary confinement, for a crime he says he didn't commit – died in August. He told NPR's Scott Simon that after his release, he struggled with claustrophobia because of the decades he spent in prison. This is an encore episode from February 2022.

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Nikole Hannah Jones and Adam Rubin work to make kids' books more approachable

Fri, 12 Aug 2022 04:10:42 +0000

Today's interviews center on children's books with wildly different topics, but they both aim to make reading more accessible for kids. Nikole Hannah Jones, working with Renee Watson, turned the 1619 Project into a picture book called Born On The Water. They told NPR their goal was "to say to young people - to young Black Americans, you belong here." Next, Adam Rubin has on his collection of short stories that are all different but share the same title: The Ice Cream Machine. Rubin told NPR's Rachel Martin that there are so many ways to tell a story. This is an encore episode from March 2022.

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'South To America' shows how southern history shaped our nation

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 04:10:07 +0000

Author Imani Perry is a child of the South. In her newest book South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation, she gives the reader a look at the South's complicated history, interwoven with her own personal anecdotes. Even though the South has a difficult history, Perry contends, it provides important context for America today. Perry told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly that in order to write this book she had to stop romanticizing the place she calls home – and, instead, look at it starkly. This is an encore episode from January 2022.

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Chinese American culture, murder mystery, and Dostoyevsky in 'The Family Chao'

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 04:10:29 +0000

Patriarch Leo Chao is murdered at his restaurant at the beginning of Lan Samantha Chang's new novel The Family Chao. Eventually family secrets and bitterness reveal themselves — much like a Dostoyevsky novel, from whom Chao took a lot of inspiration. But NPR's Scott Simon points out that even though this novel is about a murder, it's quite funny. Chang told Simon that she just enjoyed writing it so much that humor became a natural part of it. This is an encore episode from February 2022.

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Devon Price on self-acceptance and expression for people with autism

Tue, 09 Aug 2022 04:10:33 +0000

For people with autism, navigating a neurotypical world can be exhausting. Many deploy strategies to fit in with others, a tactic often referred to as masking. Social psychologist Devon Price spoke to Eric Garcia, author of Unmasking Autism, on Life Kit about the freedom that comes from unmasking. Price says neurodivergent people can find greater self-acceptance by getting in touch with the person they were before they started trying to fit in. Price and Garcia, who both have autism, talk about how unmasking means progress for disability justice. This is an encore episode from May 2022.

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Failure motivates Olympic medalist Lindsey Vonn

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 04:10:20 +0000

The 2022 Winter Olympics are right around the corner, so to prepare we are bringing you a conversation with skier Lindsey Vonn. Her new memoir, Rise, looks at her road to becoming a ski champion and Olympic medalist. Spoiler alert: it was not all sunshine and roses. Vonn told NPR's A Martinez that she's lucky she is wired in a way that makes negativity a driving force because she has seen the pressure and stress of being an Olympic athlete derail other people's careers.

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Family pets and complicated emotions in two children's books

Fri, 05 Aug 2022 04:15:57 +0000

Today, two children's books that touch on a little bit of everything: from pets and illustrations to managing complicated emotions. First, Ian Falconer talks about his new book Two Dogs, a story inspired by his sister's dachshunds. In an interview with Ailsa Chang on All Things Considered, Falconer spoke about the deeper message – or lack thereof – of his work. Then, we hear from Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC about his new book, Darryl's Dream, inspired by his personal story. In an interview with Here and Now's Peter O'Dowd, McDaniels spoke about using books to teach kids about adult feelings.

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Journalist Alan Henry's new book is an invitation to get Seen, Heard, and Paid

Thu, 04 Aug 2022 04:15:58 +0000

The workplace can be a tricky - even fraught - place to navigate for anyone, but for those who come from marginalized backgrounds, it can be even tougher. How can you most effectively advocate for yourself? How can you make sure your work is being seen? Alan Henry's new book, Seen, Heard, and Paid, is an invitation to do just that. In an interview with Ana Sale on It's Been a Minute, the journalist and Wired editor gives practical advice for feeling empowered at work, taking control of your own schedule, and ultimately making work work for you, too.

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Candice Millard explores the complicated legacy of exploration in 'River of Gods'

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 04:15:11 +0000

The quest to find the headwaters of the Nile River was the mid-19th century's equivalent to the space race. In her new nonfiction book, River of God, Candice Millard follows the story of two bitter rivals on an adventure into uncharted places to claim that prize for England. In an interview with Scott Simon on Weekend Edition Saturday, Millard spoke about the complicated legacy of the Nile's exploration and the arrogance behind "discovering" a land that has been populated for millions of years. And don't say we didn't warn you about the part where a beetle gets in someone's ear...

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In 'Freewater' Amina Luqman-Dawson uses YA fiction to dive deep into Black history

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 04:15:52 +0000

Today, the Great Dismal Swamp is a National Wildlife Refuge stretching between Virginia and North Carolina. But from the late 1600s to the Civil War, indigenous peoples and slaves sought refuge from persecution in the sprawling forested wetland. In her novel for young adults, titled Freewater, author Amina Luqman-Dawson imagines a world inside the swamp's colonies, filled with freedom, love, and change. In an interview with Here and Now's Celeste Headlee, Luqman-Dawson talks about her decision to stay away from writing a non-fiction book and the power of historical fiction for teens and kids.

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'The Inheritors' explores the lasting effects of Apartheid in South Africa

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 04:15:50 +0000

It's been 28 years since Apartheid ended in South Africa, but the country's people are still wrestling with the aftermath of segregationist policies. In her book, The Inheritors, journalist Eve Fairbanks shows – through the stories of three people – how decades of institutionalized racism etched themselves into the country's psyche. In an interview with Ayesha Rascoe on Weekend Edition Saturday, Fairbanks said she wanted to help people understand South Africa and its history in a more complex and nuanced way.

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Baseball at the center of personal narratives in two new memoirs

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 04:10:27 +0000

This episode features baseball diaries with Scott Simon. First up, CC Sabathia details his personal struggles with alcoholism and fame in his memoir Til The End. And then, a conversation with Ron Shelton about the story and legacy of the classic film Bull Durham in his new memoir, The Church of Baseball.

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Life's hardships lead to the trek of a lifetime in 'Soundings'

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 04:10:43 +0000

Doreen Cunningham felt worn down by financial limitations as a single parent trying to, as she says, make life work. She tells Scott Simon that society's unfair treatment toward single-parent households led her to escape to follow the gray whale migration with her 2-year-old son, which she documents in her memoir Soundings.

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Sci-fi elements help a family's story before and after warfare

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 04:10:04 +0000

Displacement, identity and the aftermath of warfare are themes running through today's episode on 'The Haunting of Hajji Hotak.' Author Jamil Jan Kochai talks with Ari Shapiro about why he used elements of science fiction like video games and magical realism to tell a largely autobiographical story of his family's life in Afghanistan before and after the Soviet invasion.

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'X' portrays dystopian reality among the marginalized where they are exported

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 04:10:15 +0000

The setting for today's book could be an "alternate version of right now," according to author Davey Davis. They spoke with Anna Sale in an interview for It's Been a Minute about how their book 'X' looks into a dystopian reality where sex workers, immigrants and trans people are exported out of the U.S. And the book tells the story of what life is like for those in hiding.

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'Why Didn't You Tell Me?' explores a false origin story for the price of assimilation

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 04:10:30 +0000

Today's book evaluates the price of assimilation when representation, identity and belonging are erased. In Why Didn't You Tell Me?, author Carmen Rita Wong recounts how she discovered her origin story was all but true. She talks with Ailsa Chang about navigating her life after that discovery – and the impact of colonialism.

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Two books show life as seen through the eyes of the animal kingdom

Fri, 22 Jul 2022 04:10:37 +0000

Today's episode features two books that reach deep into the animal world. First, E.O. Wilson sits down with Robert Seigel to discuss how the narrative of war is used in his story featuring ants, called Anthill. Then writer Ed Yong talks with Ayesha Roscoe about trying to show the experience of life through a different perspective – animals – in An Immense World.

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The history of control over women and their bodies is central in 'The Foundling'

Thu, 21 Jul 2022 04:10:12 +0000

Today's fictional book is set in very non-fictional circumstances. Novelist Ann Leary was trying to learn about her grandmother's history as an orphan and found that she worked at a eugenics asylum in Pennsylvania in the early 1900s. This became the basis of her story in the book 'The Foundling' which explores the state of women's rights, the relationship between it and eugenics, and a commentary over the long history of control over women's bodies.

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Blurred family history gets questioned in Joseph Han's debut novel, 'Nuclear Family'

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 04:10:25 +0000

Today's Book of the Day spans across two places: Hawaii and the Korean Peninsula. The story, though, goes beyond the two realities. In Joseph Han's debut novel Nuclear Family, a Korean family goes through hurdles when one of them is haunted by a long lost family member, crosses a dangerous border, and questions the blurred history of their past. Han shares with B.A. Parker how his own background and upbringing helped tell the story of this book.

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'The Pallbearers Club' shows how dangerous nostalgia can be

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 04:10:41 +0000

Today's Book of the Day is a little bit of everything: punk rock music, high school dynamics, some horror tropes, and pointing out the dangers of nostalgia. Author Paul Tremblay discusses with Shannon Bond why that is, and explains the influence his own high school experience and Stephen King brought to his book The Pallbearers Club.

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Mark Leibovich details the price of blind loyalty under Donald Trump in new book

Mon, 18 Jul 2022 04:10:29 +0000

As the House's committee hearings on Jan. 6 continue, today's episode offers some context from The Atlantic reporter Mark Leibovich, who has a new book out this month titled Thank You For Your Servitude: Donald Trump's Washington and the Price of Submission. He sits down with Juana Summers to talk about the price of blind loyalty under the Trump administration, and how that affected the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

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Two Indigenous authors on the legacy of a shared, painful history

Fri, 15 Jul 2022 04:15:00 +0000

Today, two books from indigenous authors who make a similar, wry argument: it's a miracle there are any Indigenous people in the Americas alive at all. First, Stephen Graham Jones talks about his horror novel The Only Good Indians, a reworking of an old, hostile phrase attributed to Theodore Roosevelt; plus the literary reasons why he chose to make it a horror story. Then, author Lisa Bird-Wilson talks about how her personal experience influenced her new book, Probably Ruby, a novel that follows the legacy of forced Indigenous adoption and residential schools in Canada.

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'Covered in Night' compares colonial and Indigenous approaches to justice

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 04:10:33 +0000

In this episode, we're going back in time to 1722 to examine the different approaches to justice between Native Americans and Pennsylvania colonists in the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America by historian Nicole Eustace. In an interview with Here & Now's Scott Tong, Eustace discusses how reparative justice has deep roots in American history.

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In 'Poet Warrior', Joy Harjo uses poetry to deal with pain and heal

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 04:10:06 +0000

In celebration of the new U.S. poet laureate this year, Ada Limón, today's episode revisits another poet laureate's conversation with Michel Martin about how poetry has been used to deal with pain and healing. Joy Harjo, who has been the U.S. poet laureate since 2019 says she has always been drawn to healing ever since she was little. She even studied pre-med in college. But it wasn't until Harjo heard Native poets that she realized "this is a powerful tool of understanding and affirmation." She shares her poetry and story in the book, Poet Warrior.

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In 'Fresh Banana Leaves' an indigenous approach to fighting climate change

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 04:10:46 +0000

According to Jessica Hernandez, "as long as we protect nature, nature will protect us." Hernandez, from the Maya Ch'ortí and Zapotec nations, is a University of Washington postdoctoral fellow. In her new book, Fresh Banana Leaves, she makes a plea for the climate conversation to include indigenous expertise, and highlights practices she believes should be more widespread. In an interview with Celeste Headlee on Here and Now, Hernandez said that, if we want to be successful in the fight against climate change, we need to listen to those who have spiritual connections to Mother Earth.

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Morgan Talty uses humor to tell the story of an indigenous tribe's struggles

Mon, 11 Jul 2022 04:10:15 +0000

Nailing the balance between humor and heavy, dark topics is a difficult feat. Night of the Living Rez by author Morgan Talty meets the mark. His collection of interconnected short stories tell the story of a Native American woman and her son who return to their reservation island in Maine. The two start living with a volatile alcoholic and the stories chronicle what that life looks like as the son grows up. Debut author Talty sat down with Melissa Block on Weekend Edition Saturday to talk about his work.

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Two nonfiction books reminiscent of a bygone era in Hollywood

Fri, 08 Jul 2022 04:10:45 +0000

Today we have two nonfiction books that touch on a bygone era of Hollywood some refer to as its "Golden Age." First, George Stevens, Jr., talks to Scott Simon about his book My Place in the Sun, a memoir about growing up as the son of a movie director, learning the family's craft, and striving for his dad's respect. Then, author Mark Rozzo speaks to Ailsa Chang about the untold story of Brooke Hayward and Dennis Hopper's relationship, the focus of his new book: Everyone Thought We Were Crazy.

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Werner Herzog's 'The Twilight World' is inspired by a WWII Japanese holdout officer

Thu, 07 Jul 2022 04:10:50 +0000

Hiroo Onoda was a Japanese intelligence officer during World War II, stationed on a small island in the Philippines. When the Japanese army evacuated, Onoda stayed and fought for 29 more years, living in the jungle and resisting all attempts to convince him the war was over. Renowned filmmaker Werner Herzog tells a fictionalized account of this story in his first novel, The Twilight World. In an interview on All Things Considered, Herzog told Ari Shapiro that he's always been a writer and that this book is finally putting into words a story he had in him for two decades.

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'Under the Skin' shows how COVID exposed racial disparities in healthcare

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 04:15:14 +0000

Life expectancy in the U.S. has always been different for people of color. And since the pandemic, that gap has widened. In her new book, Under the Skin, journalist Linda Villarosa uncovers the hidden toll of racism in America and how racial disparities impact all aspects of healthcare. In an interview with Karen Grisby Bates on the podcast Code Switch, Villarosa talks about the biases that lead to worse care for communities of color and how medical students are pushing against them.

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'The Tomorrow Game' is Sudhir Venkatesh's chronicle of violence in South Side Chicago

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 04:15:54 +0000

In Sudhir Venkatesh's The Tomorrow Game, two teenagers on Chicago's South Side face each other in a story that conveys the pressures and motivations boys face when buying guns. Venkatesh, a professor of sociology and African American studies at Columbia University, tells a true story (with names changed to protect privacy). In an interview with Weekend Edition Saturday, Venkatesh tells Susan Davis about the systemic and cultural challenges that kids face in poor neighborhoods, and says that if we want to solve the problem of gun violence, we must include them in the conversation.

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'The Last Resort' unveils the environmental toll of beachside destinations

Mon, 04 Jul 2022 04:15:30 +0000

Beach resorts are a favorite when it comes to travel destinations. But behind the infinity pools and the all-inclusive deals, these massive resorts are taking a toll on the environment and on local communities, says Sarah Stodola, author of The Last Resort. On one hand, they've proven to raise the standard of living for local communities, help create jobs and grow the economy. On the other hand, these communities have lost big parts of their culture and autonomy, and the impact they have on the environment is hard to miss. What is the tipping point in the growth and development of a place?

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Danielle Evans and Brit Bennett on the lies we tell ourselves

Fri, 01 Jul 2022 04:15:15 +0000

Today, two takes on stories we tell to make ourselves feel better and the consequences of believing them. First, author Danielle Evans' short story collection, The Office of Historical Corrections. The title story is about a fictional agency that fact checks in real time but, as she told former NPR host Noel King, it's less powerful than you might think. Then, the story of a Black woman's decision to pass as white and the decades-long fallout of that choice, in The Vanishing Half. Author Brit Bennett told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly that the point of the story isn't to moralize.

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A lifetime of secrets unfold in 'Black Cake'

Thu, 30 Jun 2022 04:32:04 +0000

Author Charmaine Wilkerson's new novel, Black Cake, is all about identity; who we are and how we fit into this world. Estranged siblings, Benny and Byron are left a recording by their late mother after she dies. The recording is full of secrets about their family that force Benny and Byron to reevaluate everything about their lives. Wilkerson told NPR's Kelsey Snell that even though Benny and Byron didn't know everything about their mother, she is still their mother who loved them very much, and that's also a part of their identity.

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What does 'The Family Chao' have in common with Dostoyevsky? Murder and more.

Wed, 29 Jun 2022 04:10:21 +0000

Patriarch Leo Chao is murdered at his restaurant at the beginning of Lan Samantha Chang's new novel The Family Chao. Eventually family secrets and bitterness reveal themselves — much like a Dostoyevsky novel, from whom Chao took a lot of inspiration. But NPR's Scott Simon points out that even though this novel is about a murder, it's quite funny. Chang told Simon that she just enjoyed writing it so much that humor became part of it.

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Hanya Yanagihara grapples with pandemics in 'To Paradise'

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 04:10:11 +0000

Author of the wildly popular and, at times, controversial A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara, is out with a new novel. To Paradise is an epic – in three parts – sprawling over 700 pages and 200 years about a make-believe New York City. Yanagihara was mostly through writing her story, which features pandemics prominently, when COVID-19 first hit in early 2020. But Yanagihara told NPR's Scott Simon that she was able to keep her story and her fears about the pandemic in reality separate.

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In 'All Adults Here,' family is messy

Mon, 27 Jun 2022 04:10:02 +0000

Author Emma Straub has written a book about family dynamics and the mess and love that comes with them in All Adults Here. It's no secret that families are complicated. Straub argues a lot of our familial relationships are watching each other grow up and whether or not you allow those you love to grow and change. She told NPR's Scott Simon though that even the bits that aren't perfect are worth loving.

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Tap dancing Twizzlers, cockroach warriors, and fairy tales! Oh my!

Fri, 24 Jun 2022 04:15:11 +0000

Two collections of short stories, both alike in playfulness in our fair podcast. The first is with Gwen Kirby whose debut collection of short stories is called, hilariously, Shit Cassandra Saw. It ranges from radioactive cockroaches to tapdancing Twizzlers. Kirby told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly that writing this book was a cathartic experience. The second interview is with Helen Oyeyemi about her collection of short stories, What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours. The stories are fairy tales, though not traditional ones. Oyeyemi told NPR's Steve Inskeep that she likes fairy tales because they endure.

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Finding simplicity and radical acceptance through animal sexuality

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 04:10:10 +0000

A non-fiction science book about animal sexuality could read like a dry textbook, but Eliot Schrefer wanted his book to be accessible. Queer Ducks uses interviews with scientists, illustrations, and stories to help teenagers learn more about sexuality in the animal kingdom. In an interview with Sacha Pfeiffer, Schrefer said he didn't want his book to argue for human behavior based on that of animals, but rather to make the point that humans are not alone in their LGBTQ identities. And, according to Schrefer, there is a lot of simplicity and radical acceptance to be found in nature.

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A new book shows how the South – and its history – shapes our nation

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 04:10:32 +0000

Frye Gaillard and Cynthia Tucker are old enough to remember Jim Crow in the South. But they recognize the part of the country they grew up in for both its flaws and its significant role in the history of the country. In their new book, The Southernization of America, Tucker and Gaillard make an argument about how the South shapes the nation's political and cultural landscape – for good and bad. In an interview with Debbie Elliott on Weekend Edition Saturday, they discuss the South's problematic contradictions and pushback now by some against learning about them.

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In Séamas O'Reilly's memoir, a tribute to a widowed father raising 11 kids in Ireland

Tue, 21 Jun 2022 04:10:12 +0000

As a little boy grieving his mother, Séamas O'Reilly couldn't entirely grasp the monumental task it was for his father to have to raise 11 children all on his own. In his new memoir, Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?, he uses humor to get through all the sad, tragic parts of his childhood and to help celebrate the joy and love of his unusually large family. In an interview with Scott Simon on Weekend Edition Saturday, O'Reilly spoke about how his memoir is ultimately a tribute to his father who, despite the circumstances, was always a source of delight.

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Nicole A. Taylor's cookbook puts a spin on traditional African American food

Mon, 20 Jun 2022 04:10:59 +0000

Junteenth was celebrated across the country this weekend and is observed nationally Monday. In a new, Juneteenth-inspired cookbook, Nicole A. Taylor puts a summery spin on traditional African American food: making cocktails with sweet potatoes, fresh salads with collard greens and tons of ice cream. Although many people argue against commemorating the holiday with barbecues and other celebrations, Taylor spoke to Here and Now's Scott Tong about the juxtaposition of sorrow and sadness and how Black Americans have always had to make space for both.

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Two books on fatherhood to help celebrate Sunday

Fri, 17 Jun 2022 04:10:46 +0000

Father's Day is this Sunday, giving us a good opportunity to reflect not only the art of fatherhood but also on the struggles that come after dads leave us. First, Helen McDonald talks to Robin Young on Here and Now about grieving her father's death by training a hawk – and finding her path again after grief. Then, Keggie Carew discusses her memoir Dadland, which talks about her relationship with her father, his fascinating stories from his time as a spy, and his struggle with dementia. In a way, these two nostalgic interviews are an invitation to give fathers their due, especially when they're still around.

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A reflection on ambition and success in 'Tracy Flick Can't Win'

Thu, 16 Jun 2022 04:15:33 +0000

You've probably seen it: Reese Witherspoon playing ambitious, throat-cutting Tracy Flick in the 1999 movie Election. It's the film adaptation of Tom Perrotta's novel of the same name. Now, Perrotta has written a sequel called Tracy Flick Can't Win. In it, we meet Tracy Flick in middle age and just a tad bit away from accomplishing her high school dreams of becoming president of the United States. In an interview with All Things Considered, Perrotta told Sascha Pfiffer that he wanted to revisit this character's story to reflect on ambition, success, and the softening that happens in middle age.

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In Keri Blakinger's memoir, the path from high-achieving teenager to prison to writer

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 04:10:23 +0000

Keri Blakinger says there are no rules behind bars. In 2010, she was arrested on a drug charge and spent two years in prison. And although that statement might sound counterintuitive, Blakinger says that inside the prison, no one is watching when it matters. In her memoir Corrections in Ink, she writes about her path from high-achieving teenager to incarcerated woman to reporter and writer. In an interview with Ailsa Chang on All Things Considered, she says reporting on the prison system has been meaningful because she gets to amplify the stories of those who are just where she used to be.

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Inspired by a true story, 'Nightcrawling' deals with sex work – and sexual abuse

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 04:10:00 +0000

Inspired by a true story from Oakland, California, Leila Mottley's first novel follows a young Black girl who is sexually abused by a group of police officers. Kiara is a 17-year-old girl who comes from a fractured, poor family, and the novel follows her story as she attempts to survive and thrive navigating so much with so little protection. In an interview with Ayesha Roscoe on Weekend Edition Sunday, Mottley talked about the rich internal world she created for her main character, adding nuance to the storylines of poor characters, and the media coverage of the case that inspired her book.

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Four strangers, a murder, and a cozy winter library in Sulari Gentill's new novel

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 04:10:23 +0000

Four strangers sitting in the reading room of the Boston Public Library suddenly hear a woman's piercing scream. When the body is found, the four characters quickly become friends as they work to solve the mystery. It's the plot of Sulari Gentill's new novel The Woman in the Library, a thriller set in the cold winter months of Boston, Massachusetts. In an interview on All Things Considered, Gentill told Elissa Nadworny that the idea of strangers bonding during scary events came from her own life experience during the bushfires of Australia.

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Exploring immigration through a common experience: feeling like an outsider

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 04:10:08 +0000

There is a common hurdle for many first generation immigrants: feeling out of place. Whether that's in school, speaking a different language, or living through parents' expectations. Today: two books about overcoming those feelings of inadequacy. First, Simu Liu, Marvel's first Asian superhero, discusses his memoir We Were Dreamers, where he talks about his complicated relationship with his parents and what he calls his "immigrant superhero origin story." Then, Cuban-American author Margarita Engle explores what it's like to be an outsider as a bilingual speaker and the creative freedom she found in writing Spanish without italics in her book.

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Dan Chaon imagines a dystopian, dark future for America in 'Sleepwalk'

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 04:10:10 +0000

Author Dan Chaon wanted to find a way to write about current times – instability, fear, political division – by creating an alternate version of America. Set in the future, his new book Sleepwalk is a dark and shadowy dystopia "one more pandemic away." Through the story, however, his eccentric main character discovers a longing for kingship and connection that was partly inspired by Chaon's experience as an adoptee meeting his biological father. In an interview on Weekend Edition Saturday, Chaon told Scott Simon that novels are like black holes: Everything you see in the world gets sucked into it.

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Book recommendations for 50+ states and beyond!

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 04:15:47 +0000

We have something a little different today. Often when we travel to new places, we look for books about the areas we'll be exploring. Whether via travel books, poetry, or fiction, reading about new places can help us understand them in all of their complexities. As summer kicks off and many start traveling, we asked experts in every state – and also D.C. and Puerto Rico – to tell us the books they think best represent where they live. From research anthologies to poetry collections and novels, their suggestions can help us explore and understand pretty much every corner of this country.

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The aftermath of Brown vs The Board of Education in 'Jim Crow's Pink Slip'

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 04:10:05 +0000

Leslie Fenwick is a nationally-known education policy and leadership studies scholar at Howard University. In her new book, Jim Crow's Pink Slip: The Untold Story of Black Principal and Teacher Leadership, Fenwick argues that the landmark Brown Versus the Board of Education decision ending legal segregation in American schools also resulted in the mass firing, or demotion, of Black principals and teachers. Fenwick told Michel Martin on All Things Considered that we're still living with the repercussions today, but that by acknowledging that we can help efforts to diversify the educational system.

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In 'Big Feelings:' Advice on how to be okay... when things are not okay

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 04:10:32 +0000

The last couple of years have been tough for everyone, and dealing with the plethora of emotions they have brought on can be complicated for many adults. In their new book, Big Feelings: How to Be Okay When Things Are Not Okay, Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy explore seven emotions that they found particularly difficult to overcome: uncertainty, comparison, anger, burnout, perfectionism, despair, and regret. In an interview with Juana Summers on It's Been a Minute, the authors talk about how they don't intend the book to be self-help, but rather an invitation for people to learn how to give themselves some grace.

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A multifaceted view of trauma in two Indian novels

Fri, 03 Jun 2022 04:15:32 +0000

Trauma isn't finite. It doesn't happen only to one person – and its effects on people and communities don't always end. Today, two books that explore the different sides of generational trauma: First, Anjali Enjeti talks about The Parted Earth, a novel that traces the impact of India's partition across several generations and explores how understanding our families' pasts can help us understand ourselves. Then, Naheed Phiroze Patel discusses her novel Mirror Made of Rain, a personal, empathetic view on mothers who society has deemed 'failures.'

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Grady Hendrix reimagines the horror movie sequel in 'Final Girl Support Group'

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 04:10:57 +0000

Grady Hendrix loves horror movies, especially those old 80s slashers. And his new book is a tribute to that "final girl" at the end of so many of them: The one who doesn't necessarily survive by being smarter or stronger, but simply makes it to the end alive by not giving up. NPR's Audie Cornish interviewed him about his novel Final Girl Support Group, which is about exactly what it sounds like, a support group for women who survived psycho murderers — except it seems like someone's starting to hunt them down – again. As Hendrix says, what's the scariest thing for a "Final Girl?" A sequel.

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Jhumpa Lahiri on translating herself and others

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 04:10:11 +0000

Jhumpa Lahiri is best known for her fictional stories about immigration; novels that usually explore themes that arise from living in between two worlds. In her new book of essays, Translating Myself and Others, Lahiri writes about the ways in which she herself has lived between worlds, and the other kind of writing she does: translation. In an interview with All Things Considered, Lahiri spoke to Mary Louise Kelly about how her relationship to language changed with translation and how it ultimately made her a better writer.

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A quest for knowledge in Elif Batuman's sequel to 'The Idiot'

Tue, 31 May 2022 04:10:16 +0000

For teenagers, every life question can feel existential. It was like that for Elif Batuman, who found meaning through literature and creative writing. Her new book Either/Or – the sequel to The Idiot – explores the life of an adolescent as she looks for answers to her questions in books. In an interview on Morning Edition, Batuman told Rachel Martin about living an aesthetic life, experiencing a sexual awakening through books, and how she sees herself in the protagonist.

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In honor of Memorial Day: 'When Books Went to War'

Mon, 30 May 2022 04:10:42 +0000

During World War II, as American publishers sought ways to support the troops abroad, they began printing small, pocket-sized books that soldiers could fit anywhere. In When Books Went to War, Molly Guptill Manning tells the story of these little printed editions and how they served as a way of entertainment for soldiers looking for an escape from war. In an interview with Morning Edition, Guptill Manning told Renee Montagne about how reading helped soldiers feel like they were home.

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Two celebrity memoirs take us behind the scenes to talk health, relationships, fame

Fri, 27 May 2022 04:15:27 +0000

Contrary to how it might feel when we're just seeing them through screens, celebrities, too, deal with very common human problems: disease, mental health concerns, complicated relationships. Today, we bring you two celebrity memoirs that show journeys in the spotlight and the human side of fame. First, Selma Blair talks about her memoir Mean Baby, in which she recounts her battles with addiction, multiple sclerosis, and more. Then, Jennifer Lewis talks about becoming The Mother of Black Hollywood – also the title of her book – and how performing ultimately masked her bipolar disorder.

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Anne Heltzel questions 'cult of motherhood' in a new horror novel 'Just Like Mother'

Thu, 26 May 2022 04:15:34 +0000

In a frightening new horror novel, a young woman reunites with her cousin after escaping from a motherhood cult. In Just Like Mother, Anne Heltzel explores many different perspectives on motherhood, from unquestioning desire to ambivalence and fear. In an interview on Weekend Edition Sunday, Heltzel told Ayesha Roscoe about how she was able to 'spread her wings in the horror genre,' and that she hopes the novel will convey a need for questioning an experience often forced onto women.

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New George Floyd biography paints a picture of being a Black man in America

Wed, 25 May 2022 04:15:04 +0000

Most people know George Floyd through how he died, not how he lived. His Name is George Floyd, a new biography by journalists Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa, is trying to change that. Through his diary, interviews with family and friends, and research, Samuels and Olorunnipa paint a picture of who Floyd was as a man, without shying away from his imperfections. In an interview on All Things Considered, the two journalists told Adrian Florido that they hope readers understand the institutional hardships and barriers behind Floyd's story.

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The debate on reforming the Supreme Court in Eric Holder's 'Our Unfinished March'

Tue, 24 May 2022 04:15:00 +0000

The leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion on Roe v. Wade earlier this month has reignited debates about the power and reach of the highest court in the country. In his new book, Our Unfinished March, former Attorney General Eric Holder argues in favor of reforms, such as term limits and streamlining appointments, that he says would protect minorities. In an interview with Michel Martin on All Things Considered, Holder talks about how citizens can also take part by being active and engaged in politics locally.

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Traveling in time with Emma Straub in her new novel 'This Time Tomorrow'

Mon, 23 May 2022 04:15:12 +0000

If you could go back in time to when you were 16 years old, what would you change? This question is at the heart of Emma Straub's new novel, This Time Tomorrow, a story about a father-daughter relationship that gives readers a more intimate and personal exploration of time travel. In an interview with All Things Considered, Straub told Mary Louise Kelly that she wrote the novel in 2020 as a way to escape from feeling trapped in quarantine and that, in many ways,the story turned out to be autobiographical.

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Understanding China's brutal treatment of Uyghur Muslims through two nonfiction books

Fri, 20 May 2022 04:15:05 +0000

It's estimated that more than 1 million Uyghur Muslims have been detained in camps in China, where they may be subjected to forced labor, sexual violence, torture, and religious restrictions. Today, we explore two nonfiction books that help understand the crisis. First, Geoffrey Cain speaks to Scott Tong on Here and Now about his book The Perfect Police State, an overview of the surveillance technology China is employing to monitor Uyghurs. Then, Nury Turkel speaks to Ayesha Roscoe on Weekend Edition Sunday about his book No Escape, an investigation into these torture camps and the life of Uyghur refugees.

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Authentic Mexican recipes abound Ricky Martínez's cookbook 'Mi Cocina'

Thu, 19 May 2022 04:15:26 +0000

Just like every person has a story, every recipe has a memory. For famous chef Rick Martínez, those memories often come from his time in Mexico, where he traveled through the country's 32 states stepping into kitchens, houses, and markets learning from locals how to make true, authentic Mexican food. For Morning Edition, Martinez invited Rachel Martin into his kitchen, where they cooked Salsa de Chipotle and Chile de Árbol together as they spoke about reclaiming identity and heritage through food.

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An unexpected, endearing friendship in 'Remarkably Bright Creatures'

Wed, 18 May 2022 04:15:29 +0000

Can humans and sea creatures communicate? In Shelby Van Pelt's first novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures, they sure can –and they do. The story centers around an octopus in captivity and his relationship to Tova, a grieving 70-year-old woman who cleans the aquarium at night. In an interview with All Things Considered, Van Pelt told Adrian Florido that the idea came to her while thinking about the frustration animals must feel in captivity and the thoughts that might be running through their heads. But it's not only a story about freedom (or lack thereof), it's also a story about heartache, loss, and unexpected friendship.

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A new Bonnie and Clyde-type adventure in 'Teenager' by Bud Smith

Tue, 17 May 2022 04:10:18 +0000

Two teenagers in love, in a whole lot of trouble, and on a road trip across the country. It's the plot of Bud Smith's novel Teenager, a Bonnie and Clyde-type story that blends romance, crime, and adventure to explore the complexities of adolescent love and juvenile crime. In an interview with Scott Simon on Weekend Edition, Smith said he wanted readers to not only get to know the characters profoundly, but also feel relief from seeing how a partner can help us get through any kind of adversity.

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Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on the ethical dilemmas of working for Trump

Mon, 16 May 2022 11:45:18 +0000

As secretary of defense for President Trump, Mark Esper was privy to a lot of the inner workings of the administration. In his new book, A Sacred Oath, he brings readers into the room with him, showing how certain controversial decisions were being made and how some others were prevented. In an interview with All Things Considered, Esper told Michel Martin about the ethical dilemmas of working for Trump and the reasons why he stayed: to serve his country, avoid what he calls 'bad things from happening,' and improve the military from the inside out.

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Two nonfiction books... that just won Pulitzer Prizes!

Fri, 13 May 2022 04:39:36 +0000

The Pulitzer Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the country for writers... and last year's winners were just announced this week. So today, we're looking back at two nonfiction authors whose books won the accolade. First, journalist Andrea Elliot speaks to Jane Clyson on Here and Now about her book Invisible Child, the story of how a young child's life was directed by homelessness. Then, Tufts University professor Erin Kelly speaks to Debbie Elliott about the autobiography she helped the late artist Winfred Rembert write – a story about civil rights, injustice, and coping through art.

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The illusion and power of money in Hernan Diaz's 'Trust'

Thu, 12 May 2022 04:10:27 +0000

Money is all things... or it can become all things, says Hernan Diaz, author of Trust. In his new book, readers are presented with narratives on wealth, reality, and a woman set on separating fact from fiction. In an interview on Weekend Edition Saturday, Diaz told Scott Simon that he thought a lot about money in the writing of this book, particularly about its power to warp and test reality. And although he wanted this story to be about money and class, he also wrote a book that gives women agency in narratives they've often been erased from.

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Romance, terror, and the supernatural in Isabel Cañas' debut novel 'The Hacienda'

Wed, 11 May 2022 04:10:07 +0000

In the aftermath of the Mexican war for independence, a new bride finds herself alone in a haunted house surrounded by people who don't believe her. It's the plot of Isabel Cañas' debut novel The Hacienda, where she blends romance, terror, and the supernatural to tell a story highly embedded with Mexican culture. In an interview with Weekend Edition Sunday, Cañas told Ayesha Rascoe about the themes she wanted to explore in her novel – colonialism, social status, the syncretism of Catholicism and indigenous practices – and her own fear of darkness.

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The paradox of fame in Minnie Driver's new memoir

Tue, 10 May 2022 04:10:23 +0000

Minnie Driver's experience with fame has been what she calls "surreal." She's faced the paradox of fame: she wants to be seen, but not that much. In her new memoir Managing Expectations, the British-American actress opens up about the complicated relationships in her life, her childhood, her unexpected path to acting, and her experience as a single mother. In an interview with All Things Considered, Driver told Ailsa Chang that writing this book was an interesting inner-exploration and that it helped her understand many aspects of her own life – and her mother's.

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In 'The Family Roe:' the human side of the landmark abortion case 'Roe v. Wade'

Mon, 09 May 2022 04:10:52 +0000

Despite the attention that Roe v. Wade has gotten throughout the years, there are still many details about the case that are obscure to the public. For one, the landmark case that legalized most abortions for women did not in fact end with an abortion. The baby, often referred to as Baby Roe, is Shelly Lynn Thornton, now a grown woman whose story is at the center of Joshua Prager's book The Family Roe. In an interview with All Things Considered, Prager told Michel Martin that through the family's story, he hoped to humanize the debate and help others see abortion "not through politics, but people."

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For Mother's Day, two books that tackle motherhood

Fri, 06 May 2022 04:15:52 +0000

This weekend is Mother's Day, a good occasion to reflect on the art of parenting. First, comedian Glenn Boozan speaks to Celeste Headlee on Here and Now about her book There Are Moms Way Worse Than You, a joke-book that uses examples of bad parenting from the animal kingdom to soothe those who might be worried about their own child-raising skills. Then, an interview from our archives: a 1989 chat with Amy Tan on All Things Considered about her novel The Joy Luck Club, the story of four Chinese American families living in San Francisco inspired by Tan's experience as a child of immigrants.

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Dolen Perkins-Valdez's historical novel fictionalizes involuntary sterilizations

Thu, 05 May 2022 04:10:18 +0000

Dolen Perkins-Valdez says she's attracted to what she calls "silences in the archives," or – holes in our recollection in history, particularly those in African American history. In her new historical novel Take My Hand, she tackles forced sterilizations inspired by the 1973 case of the Relf sisters. On Weekend Edition Sunday, Perkins-Valdez told Ayesha Roscoe about her decision to tell this story from a nurse's perspective, the double-edged sword of birth control for Black women, and her goals on writing from real life.

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Colson Whitehead Finally Gets To Flex His Comedy Muscle

Wed, 04 May 2022 04:10:49 +0000

After writing his Pulitzer Prize-winning books The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, author Colson Whitehead needed a change of pace. So for his next novel, Harlem Shuffle, he decided to tackle topics near and dear to his heart: heists and New York real estate. In today's episode, Morning Edition host Noel King talks to Whitehead about his book's protagonist, a furniture retailer named Ray Carney, and what draws him to a double life of crime.

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Devon Price on the freedom of "unmasking" for people with autism

Tue, 03 May 2022 04:10:14 +0000

For people with autism, simply existing in a neurotypical world can be exhausting. Many learn early on to employ certain strategies to fit in with others, a tactic often referred to as masking. Social psychologist Devon Price, author of Unmasking Autism, spoke to Eric Garcia on Life Kit about the freedom that comes from doing the opposite: unmasking. Price says neurodivergent people can find greater self-acceptance by getting in touch with the person they were before they started trying to fit in. Price and Garcia, who both have autism, talk about how unmasking means progress for disability justice.

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Danica Roem reclaims her own story in her memoir 'Burn the Page'

Mon, 02 May 2022 04:10:46 +0000

In 2017, Danica Roem became the first openly transgender woman in office when she was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. In her new memoir, Burn the Page, she writes about the experiences that got her to that moment, the women who inspired her, and the ways in which she reclaimed her own narrative. In an interview on All Things Considered, Roem told Juana Summers that she wrote about things other politicians might try to bury to take control of her own narrative. She says her motto "be vulnerable enough to be visible" has empowered and liberated her in her career.

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Two memoirs that celebrate the influence of Black female artists

Fri, 29 Apr 2022 04:15:04 +0000

Who made you the person you are? Today, we bring you two interviews from Black female authors who explore the impact that musicians, writers, and actresses had on their own artistic careers. First, Margo Jefferson, Pulitzer prize culture critic and celebrated memoirist, speaks to Ari Shapiro on All Things Considered about mixing memoir and criticism in her book to show both power and vulnerability. Then, Danyel Smith talks to Juana Summers on It's Been a Minute, about the history of Black women in music and how she hopes to give them the respect they deserve.

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A retelling of the Book of Genesis with God as a woman in 'Let There Be Light'

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 04:10:05 +0000

New Yorker magazine cartoonist Liana Fink grew up in a Jewish household; she went to synagogue, attended Hebrew day school, and observed Shabbat. But noticing a drift between her religious practice and her interest in its traditional stories put her on a path to reclaim her faith on her own terms. The result is 'Let There Be Light,' a graphic novel that retells the Book of Genesis starring a woman as God. In an interview on Weekend Edition Sunday, Fink told Scott Simon that reimagining God as a woman through her characteristic humorous style has helped her reconnect with her faith and religion.

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'How to Be a Woman Online' tackles online harassment against women

Wed, 27 Apr 2022 04:10:29 +0000

According to Nina Jankowicz, a fellow at the Wilson Center known for her research on online disinformation, women face a disproportionate amount of attacks online. These range from physical insults to threats of violence, and they're forcing women – especially younger ones – to censor themselves out of fear of physical or emotional retribution. In her new book, How to Be a Woman Online, she offers practical advice for those who, lacking institutional help, have to address these matters solely on their own.

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A queer, Afrofuturistic world in 'The Memory Librarian'

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 04:10:07 +0000

Janelle Monáe's Afrofuturistic pop album 'Dirty Computer' was nominated for a Grammy in 2019. Now, Monáe brings the sci-fi world into literature through her latest collection of short stories The Memory Librarian. In an interview with Ayesha Rascoe on Weekend Edition Sunday, Monáe spoke about the nightmare that sparked this idea and how it prompted her to reclaim her full identity as a Black, queer woman. In a radical approach to love and community, Monáe hopes to help people feel free to be themselves, especially those whose stories are often marginalized or erased.

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Mortality, politics, and the power of poetry in Colm Tóibín's 'Vinegar Hill'

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 04:10:03 +0000

After more than a dozen novels and collections of short stories, Irish writer ColmTóibín recently published his first book of poetry. His new collection, Vinegar Hill, examines a wide range of subjects: from mortality, religion, and the current political climate, to the power of poetry in life's most important moments. To celebrate Poetry Month, Tóibín read some of his poems to Scott Simon on Weekend Edition Saturday, and said that he wanted to write without the usual adornments of poetry. In a way, he hopes the simplicity of his writing will have more expression and power.

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For Earth Day, two books rethink how we talk about environmental crises

Fri, 22 Apr 2022 04:10:18 +0000

Today is Earth Day, a good occasion as any to reflect on the emergencies the planet currently faces. First, Harriet A. Washington, author of A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind, talks to NPR's Sarah McCammon about the long-term damage environmental issues can have on brain development—particularly for people of color. Next, the author David Wallace-Wells talks to NPR's Rachel Martin about his book The Uninhabitable Earth, which is a lot more hopeful than the title might suggest. He runs through the worst-case scenarios climate change could wreak, and why every effort we make against further global warming matters.

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Humor, horror and social commentary blend in Percival Everett's detective novel

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 04:10:54 +0000

Percival Everett's page-turning new detective novel is at once gruesome and screamingly funny. A racial allegory rooted in southern history, the book features two big-city special detectives with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation who are sent to investigate a small town crime. The murders are hideous in detail, the language is rough, there are racial epithets of all kinds, and somehow the politically incendiary humor is real. Everett talks with NPR's Scott Simon about how — and why — he blended these styles.

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How Delia Ephron let herself fall back in love after heartbreak

Wed, 20 Apr 2022 04:10:38 +0000

Nobody does love and heartbreak like an Ephron. And Delia Ephron knows a lot about it. Her new memoir is Left on Tenth, and it details the trauma of loss and the incredible hopefulness of falling in love. And as she tells NPR's Scott Simon in this Weekend Edition interview, in the end, love is all that really matters.

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Reinventing the epic with 'The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois'

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 04:10:03 +0000

When you think of an epic, what comes to mind? The Iliad, the Odyssey, maybe Beowulf? Well, author Honorée Fanonne Jeffers points out that epics are almost always about white men. She told former Morning Edition host Noel King that she didn't want to tell that story because that story has already been told...many times. So, Jeffers set out to write a different kind of epic about heroic Black women in The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois.

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Virtual memories live in 'The Candy House'

Mon, 18 Apr 2022 04:10:11 +0000

It's already pretty hard to tell what's really real when it comes to social media. But Jennifer Egan takes it one step further in her latest novel The Candy House where people can upload their actual memories, and let other people live in theirs. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Visit from the Goon Squad talked with NPR's Leila Fadel on Morning Edition about what it means to be "authentic."

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A Douglas Stuart double feature! 'Shuggie Bain' and 'Young Mungo'

Fri, 15 Apr 2022 04:10:55 +0000

Both interviews today are with author Douglas Stuart. The first about his Booker prize-winning Shuggie Bain; a story based on his own life growing up a queer son of a single mother struggling with addiction. He told NPR's Scott Simon that he hoped people could find comfort in this story. Next, Stuart spoke to NPR's Ari Shapiro about his new book, Young Mungo. It's a story about two boys separated by faith who end up falling in love with each other. Stuart told Shapiro that when he "write[s] about heartbreak or sadness, I'm really only doing that to make the tenderness and the love shine more."

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In 'Lessons in Chemistry,' a chemist is the star of ... a cooking show?

Thu, 14 Apr 2022 04:10:38 +0000

How to manage a disaster in 'The Devil Never Sleeps'

Wed, 13 Apr 2022 04:10:25 +0000

Novel 'Four Treasures of the Sky' focuses on the horrors of the Chinese Exclusion Act

Tue, 12 Apr 2022 04:10:02 +0000

Author Jenny Tinghui Zhang is out with a new historical fiction novel, Four Treasures In The Sky. Set in the 1800s during the height of anti-Chinese sentiment, a young girl named Daiyu is kidnapped and brought to the U.S. Zhang told NPR's Ayesha Rascoe that she has seen a lot of reviews that refer to this book as 'timely' – and that she does not think that is a good thing when a book is about racism.

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Poet Ocean Vuong shares his grief in 'Time Is A Mother'

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 04:10:52 +0000

April is National Poetry Month, so to celebrate we are bringing you a conversation with poet Ocean Vuong. His new collection, Time Is A Mother, is about his grief after losing family members. Vuong told Morning Edition's Rachel Martin that time is different now that he has lost his mother: "when I look at my life since she died in 2019, I only see two days: Today when she's not here, and the big, big yesterday when I had her."

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Maud Newton and Jhumpa Lahiri interrogate one's place in the world

Fri, 08 Apr 2022 04:10:07 +0000

Writer Maud Newton could not ignore her family's white supremacist history, so she decided to reconcile with it in her new book Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation. She told NPR's Ari Shapiro that she felt a responsibility to deal with her family's past. Next, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri's book Whereabouts is about a sense of place – even though we are never told where exactly the book takes place. Lahiri told NPR's Mary Louis Kelly that we can be too fixated on who we are and where we are from, so not naming where this novel is set was freeing.

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Viet Thanh Nguyen follows Pulitzer winning 'The Sympathizer' with 'The Committed'

Thu, 07 Apr 2022 04:10:09 +0000

Viet Thanh Nguyen's novel The Committed follows the same unnamed character we met in his Pulitzer-winning thriller, The Sympathizer. The character is now in Paris; having become disillusioned with the revolution he was a part of when we last saw him, he hasn't given up on the idea entirely. Nguyen told NPR's Scott Simon the book is also about colonization: He "wanted it to be set in a Paris that was not the tourist Paris or the romantic Paris. [It's] a novel about French ideas and French Revolution and French colonialism, but it's also a crime thriller set in these immigrant neighborhoods."

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'The Vortex' investigates how climate catastrophes can have unexpected consequences

Wed, 06 Apr 2022 04:10:15 +0000

In 1970, a cyclone tore through Pakistan and the political lines that existed, leading to genocide and very nearly a nuclear war in the country. Author Scott Carney was curious about this catastrophe but also how these extreme weather events, which are only becoming more common, have political consequences. Carney told NPR's Steve Inskeep that we will almost certainly face similar problems in the future, so we should be wary of today's unstable political systems.

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'Booth' looks at the family life of President Lincoln's notorious assassin

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 04:10:57 +0000

Author Karen Joy Fowler thinks John Wilkes Booth craved attention – and that gotten his fair share of it. So her new novel, Booth, instead focuses on his family. Their history might surprise you, given how John turned out. His grandfather was a part of the Underground Railroad. Fowler told NPR's Scott Simon that because of all we know about Booth's family, the path that John took is one of life's great mysteries. And, no, she hasn't solved it.

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A new picture book seeks to answer the question 'what is school for?'

Mon, 04 Apr 2022 04:10:51 +0000

Writer John Schu and illustrator Veronica Miller Jamison are out with a new picture book that asks the question what exactly is school...for? Test prep? Socialization? This Is A School makes the case that it's a place for community and trying new things. Schu and Miller Jamison told NPR's Ailsa Chang that their own elementary school experiences were not like the ones in their book, but they hope kids today get to have diverse experiences.

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Authors Peng Shepherd and Anne Tyler show that family is...complicated

Fri, 01 Apr 2022 04:15:24 +0000

Today's first interview is with author Peng Shepherd on her new mystery. A father and daughter, both cartographers, haven't spoken in seven years. But when the father is found dead his daughter must use their shared skill to solve the mystery of his death. Shepherd told NPR's Elissa Nadworny that obsession can be a stand-in for the person lost. Next, Anne Tyler on her new book which follows a family in Baltimore across several generations. Tyler told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly that she likes to write about families because they sort of have to love each other even when they annoy each other.

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'The Last Suspicious Holdout' looks at how humans keep on believing

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 04:15:37 +0000

Author Ladee Hubbard's new collection of short stories, The Last Suspicious Holdout, all take place in a nameless, majority Black suburb in the 90s and early 2000s. The stories all connect and intertwine with each other over time; telling the story of this community. Hubbard told NPR's Juana Summers that she was "interested in people that keep going, that survive hardships and find a way to keep believing and working towards things getting better" and those transformations were emblematic of the community as a whole.

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'The Beauty of Dusk' and life's calamitous challenges

Wed, 30 Mar 2022 04:15:16 +0000

Journalist Frank Bruni had lots of professional success: he was a White House correspondent, food critic, and opinion columnist. But then in 2017 he suffered a rare type of stroke that left him unable to see correctly. His new memoir, The Beauty of Dusk: On Vision Lost and Found, focuses on many people who, like Bruni, have had challenges or setbacks in their lives that they have had to adjust to. Bruni told NPR's Ari Shapiro that asking people about their pain "ends up being rewarding and enriching for everybody involved."

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Solving systemic racism and buying sensible cardigans with comic Phoebe Robinson

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 04:15:10 +0000

Comic Phoebe Robinson told NPR's Rachel Martin that she doesn't wake up every day thinking "time to dismantle systemic racism!" But since she has a platform, she might as well use it to bring about some positive change. She also told Martin that her dream life involves buying sensible cardigans, getting day drunk with Kathy Lee and Hoda, and a loving marriage with Robert DeNiro. Robinson's book You Can't Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain goes into the racism she experiences and why she would like to date either Michael Fassbender or Michael B. Jordan (sorry Mr. DeNiro).

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We look at Hollywood legend Rita Moreno's career after the Oscars

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 04:15:54 +0000

The 94th Academy Awards were last night. To celebrate we're taking a trip down memory lane with one of Hollywood's greatest icons, Rita Moreno. Back in 2013 she sat down with NPR's Rachel Martin to discuss her life and career, including her win for best supporting actress in 1962. She told Martin that her acceptance speech was so short because she wanted to get off stage so she could cry.

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Karen Dawisha and Marie Yovanovitch provide a deeper look at Russia's war in Ukraine

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 04:10:55 +0000

It's been nearly a month since Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine, so we are taking another look at how we got here. First, an interview from 2014 with the late political scientist Karen Dawisha on how Putin and his cronies became so fabulously wealthy. She told NPR's Arun Rath that leveling economic sanctions would have been effective because Putin expected military action instead. Second, we have a new memoir from Marie Yovanovitch who was ousted as ambassador to Ukraine by President Trump and played a key role in his impeachment. She told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly it was a painful experience.

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A meet-cute followed by real life: 'Party of Two' is about love in the real world

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 04:10:33 +0000

Romance writer Jasmine Guillory writes beautiful love stories – but that doesn't mean they aren't based in reality. Her novel Party of Two from the summer of 2020 is about a Black woman and a white man who have a meet-cute and start a casual long distance relationship. But race does have an impact on their connection because of the different ways the world has impacted them. Guillory told former NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro that real life couples have these conversations so her characters should too.

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'Checkout 19' explores the magic of escaping with a good book

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 04:10:26 +0000

The nameless narrator in author Claire-Louise Bennett's new novel, Checkout 19, absolutely loves books. Their mere presence puts her at ease. But her lifelong love of reading is, in part, because she feels let down by the people around her. Bennett told NPR's Scott Simon that loving to read is amazing, but there's a danger in always living other's experiences before having some of your own.

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'Peach Blossom Spring' interrogates the meaning of home

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 04:10:59 +0000

Can you belong to more than one home? Author Melissa Fu sets out to answer that question in her debut novel Peach Blossom Spring. The story of the Peach Blossom Spring was first told by a poet over one thousand years ago: A fisherman stumbles upon a paradise of peach trees and has to decide whether to abandon his old life and stay in this beautiful place or go back home. That is the same predicament that Fu's main character Renshu faces. Fu told NPR's Ailsa Chang that it's hard to live in two cultures but she wouldn't have it any other way.

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Author Azar Nafisi says books can help you really live

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 04:10:05 +0000

Lights, camera, method acting!

Fri, 18 Mar 2022 04:10:43 +0000

Our books today give the reader a peek into showbiz. Sarah Polley was a child actor but that led to her being put into many dangerous situations, which she details in her new memoir, Run Toward The Danger. She told NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer that she's not sure kids should be acting in a professional environment at all. Next, Isaac Butler deep dives into method acting in his new book The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act. Butler told NPR's Scott Simon that method acting can create some beautiful performances but it's not an excuse to be terrible.

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Two mothers clash over integration in 'What's Mine & Yours'

Thu, 17 Mar 2022 04:10:36 +0000

At the center of author Naima Coster's novel What's Mine & Yours are two struggling mothers. Jade is a Black single mother who is trying to provide a better life for her son, and Lacey May is a white mother who is trying to give her daughters the life she never had. Their stories will intertwine over decades, starting with when Lacey May opposes the integration of her daughters' school – the same school Jade is trying to get her son into. Coster told NPR's Audie Cornish that fiction gives us a window into other people's lives but that does not mean we have to condone their actions.

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Poet Warsan Shire hopes you can make the voices in your head your friends

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 04:10:41 +0000

Somali British poet Warsan Shire has had many projects, including running a popular Tumblr page and collaborating with Beyoncé. Now, she is out with a new collection of poems called Bless The Daughter Raised By A Voice In Her Head. That title is an ode to how she was raised, having to take on a lot of responsibility from a young age. But Shire told NPR's Sarah McCammon that it's also an ode to the children who are able to turn those voices into their friends instead of struggling with them as she has.

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Author NoViolet Bulawayo's novel 'Glory' draws inspiration from the Orwellian

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 04:10:53 +0000

Former Attorney General William Barr says he was just doing his job

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 04:10:05 +0000

The former attorney general under former President Trump, William Barr, is out with a new memoir called One Damn Thing After Another. In it, he agrees with President Trump on many things: modern day culture wars and that the progressives are dividing the country. But Barr also gives his own version of the events of the Trump White House and disagrees with the former president about the "stolen election." Barr told NPR's Steve Inskeep "after the election, [Trump] didn't seem to listen to anybody except a group of sycophants who were telling him what he wanted to hear."

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Nikole Hannah Jones and Adam Rubin aim to make children's books more accessible

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 05:15:24 +0000

Our interviews today are both children's books and even though they are about wildly different topics, they both aim to make reading more accessible for kids. Nikole Hannah Jones, with the help of Renee Watson, has turned the 1619 Project into a picture book called Born On The Water. They told NPR their goal was "to say to young people - to young Black Americans, you belong here." Next, Adam Rubin has written a collection of short stories that are all different but have the same title: The Ice Cream Machine. Rubin told NPR's Rachel Martin that there are so many ways to tell a story.

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Author Bernardine Evaristo confides in the reader in new memoir, 'Manifesto'

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 05:15:20 +0000

Author Bernardine Evaristo wrote the Booker prize winning novel Girl, Woman, Other. But before she did, like way before, she was incredibly unsure of herself or how she - as someone with a Black father and white mother - fit into her mostly white town. Even still, Evaristo always knew she had something important to say. She lays out those early struggles and how she overcame them in her new memoir, Manifesto: On Never Giving Up. Evaristo told NPR's Michel Martin that she has always been a private person but sharing so many of her secrets for the reader was very liberating.

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Author Tessa Hadley writes a juicy tale of the bourgeois in 'Free Love'

Wed, 09 Mar 2022 05:15:59 +0000

Author Tess Hadley's new novel opens with an affair, but that's not really what the book is about. Free Love is set in the 1960s just outside of London and it starts with a wealthy woman in her 40s, Phyllis, sharing a secret kiss with a much younger man who is not her husband (gasp). The kiss has unintended consequences and Phyllis has to figure out what she really wants out of life. Hadley told NPR's Elissa Nadworny that being part of the bourgeois is not something she's familiar with, but she loves to write about it because she doesn't think that world exists anymore.

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We travel to Iceland with its first lady on International Women's Day

Tue, 08 Mar 2022 05:15:31 +0000

There is an Icelandic word, sprakkar, that means outstanding women - and those women are at the heart of the book Secrets Of The Sprakkar: Iceland's Extraordinary Women And How They Are Changing The World. Iceland's first lady and author, Eliza Reid, interviewed women from all walks of life to find out what makes being a woman in Iceland so great. Reid told NPR's Leila Fadel that not everyone knows Iceland has topped the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Equality Index for the past 12 years, so she set out to change that.

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The people caught in the middle of war in 'A Constellation Of Vital Phenomena'

Mon, 07 Mar 2022 05:15:42 +0000

Back in 2013 author Anthony Marra wrote a book that is every bit as timely today. A Constellation Of Vital Phenomena takes place in Chechnya, a place very familiar with warring with Russia, in 2004. It's a story about the people - everyday, ordinary people - war and its aftermath impacts. Marra told NPR's Jacki Lyden that he wrote "a novel about people who are trying to transcend the hardships of their circumstances by saving others."

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Gulbahar Haitiwaji and Desmond Shum get personal about the reach of China's power

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 05:15:33 +0000

Today we look at the power of the Chinese government. The first book, How I Survived A Chinese Reeducation Camp, is by Gulbahar Haitiwaji, a Uyghur woman who spent years in a detention camp. It's a stark account of human rights atrocities. Haitiwaji told NPR's Scott Simon she feels lucky because millions of people are still suffering. Next is an interview with Chinese businessman Desmond Shum about his book Red Roulette. It's the story of his wife's disappearance and then reappearance. Shum told NPR's Steve Inskeep that when she resurfaced he felt like he was "negotiating with her kidnapper."

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'Black Cloud Rising' novelizes the leader of an all-Black brigade in the Civil War

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 05:15:17 +0000

Novelist David Wright Falade learned about the life of Richard Etheridge in the 90s and has been enthralled by him ever since. Born into slavery in North Carolina, he became a sergeant of an all-Black brigade when the Civil War broke out. Black Cloud Rising is a fictionalized version of these events; Etheridge goes back down to North Carolina to free enslaved people and fight guerillas. Falade told NPR's Scott Simon that it was really important for him to try to get to know the human behind the extraordinary acts.

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Putin's use of Nazi rhetoric is not new according to historian Timothy Snyder

Wed, 02 Mar 2022 05:15:45 +0000

Russian President Vladimir Putin has framed his recent invasion of Ukraine as a "de-nazification" of the country. This is not a new move by Putin. In fact, he used this same rhetoric to attack the Ukranian protesters during the 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. Back in 2014 historian Timothy Snyder talked to NPR's Robert Siegel about fascism in Ukraine and the rise of Stalinism in Russia. He told Siegel that calling Ukranians Nazis is both a way to confuse the European Union - because they know Nazis were bad - and a way to garner pro-Russian sentiment.

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A lifetime of secrets unfold in 'Black Cake'

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 05:15:44 +0000

'The Splendid and the Vile' dives deep into Winston Churchill's year during the blitz

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 05:15:00 +0000

The Russian invasion into Ukraine is a world-altering event that has people fearful. Historically, few leaders have navigated their country through these things like Winston Churchill, the subject of Erik Larson's book The Splendid and the Vile. It focuses on the year when Churchill became prime minister of the UK just before the German blitz. Larson told NPR's Steve Inskeep that he was incredibly popular because even though he was realistic about the toll it would take on the country, "he never indicated even an ounce of doubt as to what the ultimate victory was going to be."

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'The Black Agenda' and 'Solitary' tackle criminal justice reform

Fri, 25 Feb 2022 05:15:21 +0000

In interviews with the authors of The Black Agenda and Solitary, the issue of criminal justice reform is central. First, writer Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman talks about an essay collection from Black writers that tackles issues the U.S. faces today – that stem from racism and racist policies. She told NPR's Leila Fadel the book is arguing for the humanity of Black people. The second interview is with Alfred Woodfox, who served 43 years in prison – most of those in solitary confinement — for a crime he says he didn't commit. Woodfox told NPR's Scott Simon he struggles with claustrophobia even now.

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'Girl, Woman, Other' celebrates Black British women

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 05:12:29 +0000

Bernardine Evaristo didn't think there were enough books being published about Black British women, so she wrote one herself. Girl, Woman, Other looks at the lives of many different British women, mostly Black women, from 19 to 93 years old. Some of their stories intertwine while others stay separate. Evaristo told NPR's Scott Simon that she wanted "to show the heterogeneity of who we are in this society, and to explore us as fully realized, complex, driven, flawed individuals whose stories are as worthy of telling as anyone else's."

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'Anthem' considers the world we are passing down to the next generation

Wed, 23 Feb 2022 05:15:16 +0000

Noah Hawley is a world builder. He created the TV shows Fargo and Legion, so he is no stranger to getting an audience immersed in his worlds. His new novel Anthem is no different. But it doesn't take that much imagination, despite the fantasy creatures: This world is remarkably similar to ours. Hawley was interested in looking at the state of the world that is getting passed down to future generations. Hawley told NPR's Ayesha Rascoe his goal was to write "a fantasy novel about our real world or a realistic novel about the fantasy world that we're living in." Mission accomplished.

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'Moon Witch, Spider King' takes us back into Marlon James' fantastical world

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 05:15:23 +0000

Author Marlon James is following up Black Leopard, Red Wolf with a new fantasy novel Moon Witch, Spider King. It tells the same story as Black Leopard, Red Wolf but this time it's from the perspective of the character Sogolon as she hunts for a missing child. James is inviting the reader to question his narratives by telling the story twice but from different points of view. He told NPR's Michel Martin that the novels are non-linear in the tradition of African folklore.

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Writer Arthur Brooks says strivers can end up unhappier later in life

Mon, 21 Feb 2022 05:15:23 +0000

Social science writer Arthur Brooks has figured out how you, yes you, can be happy later in life. He details it all in his new book, From Strength to Strength, but the gist of it is...maybe relax a little. Brooks argues that for people who work too hard to have it all it can be very upsetting when that part of their life is over. The good news is you can start working on your future happiness now. Brooks told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly you have to do the work when you're younger: You can't "leave your happiness up to chance."

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Two authors tell stories of the weird and wild in the classical music world

Fri, 18 Feb 2022 05:10:04 +0000

Both interviews today will transport you into the exciting world of classical music. No, really! The first is with Brendan Slocumb, whose new book, The Violin Conspiracy, is a mystery surrounding a musician trying to recover his stolen violin. It's also about how hard it is to be a Black classical musician, Slocumb told NPR's Asma Khalid. The second is Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman's conversation with NPR's Scott Simon. Hindman's memoir Sounds Like Titanic follows her experience touring with an orchestra that wasn't really performing for the audience.

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Author Maeve Higgins humorously reflects on her immigrant experience

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 05:10:30 +0000

Author Maeve Higgins starts her new book, Tell Everyone on This Train I Love Them, by saying she hopes the pandemic doesn't impart any lessons. This kind of dark humor persists throughout Higgins' book, which is a reflection on America and its many flaws. But, as an immigrant, she can see this country in a way others cannot — with a fresh pair of perhaps more forgiving eyes. Higgins told NPR's Tamara Keith that because she loves this country she wants it to be the best it can be.

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What does 'The Family Chao' have in common with Dostoyevsky? Murder and more.

Wed, 16 Feb 2022 05:10:41 +0000

Patriarch Leo Chao is murdered at his restaurant at the beginning of Lan Samantha Chang's new novel The Family Chao. Eventually family secrets and bitterness reveal themselves — much like a Dostoyevsky novel, from whom Chao took a lot of inspiration. But NPR's Scott Simon points out that even though this novel is about a murder, it's quite funny. Chang told Simon that she just enjoyed writing it so much that humor became part of it.

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Author Tara Westover says we need to consider how people have been 'Educated'

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 05:10:48 +0000

Author Tara Westover grew up in an extreme survivalist family in Idaho. She and her siblings had no formal education, but she taught herself algebra, aced the entrance exam for BYU and got in. It was the start of her way out from under an often abusive family situation. Westover wrote about her experiences and what it was like for her to totally change her worldview in her memoir, Educated. Westover told Here & Now's Robin Young that she thinks we need to stop judging people for their incorrect opinions if they don't have access to education.

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Happy Valentine's Day! We get sappy with 'Evvie Drake Starts Over'

Mon, 14 Feb 2022 05:10:35 +0000

In honor of Valentine's Day, we are revisiting a conversation with our very own romance expert, Linda Holmes. Her novel Evvie Drake Starts Over is about a woman who is getting ready to leave her husband when she gets a surprising call – he is dead. She finds herself alone until former major league pitcher Dean Tenney, who can't throw a baseball anymore, hides from the media stress in her guest bedroom. Hijinks ensue. Linda Holmes told NPR's Scott Simon that they both had to figure out a new path in life unexpectedly; something most of us can relate to.

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Isabel Wilkerson argues that 'Caste' not racism caused The Great Migration

Fri, 11 Feb 2022 05:10:24 +0000

As part of Black History Month, Book of the Day brings you an interview with author Isabel Wilkerson. She followed her book about The Great Migration, The Warmth of Other Suns, with another that looks at why it happened. Caste argues that caste and not racism is actually what Black people were fleeing when they left the Jim Crow South. Wilkerson told Throughline's Ramtin Arablouei and Rund Abdelfatah that the term racism is rooted in hate but caste is about "power and how those other groups manage and navigate and seek to survive in a society that's created with this ranked hierarchy."

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Octavia Butler imagines a world without racism

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 05:10:44 +0000

During Black History month, Book of the Day is bringing you some interviews from the archives, including this one with author Octavia Butler. Butler wrote many sci-fi classics, like the Parable series and Kindred, so she's accustomed to imagining different worlds. NPR's Scott Simon asked her back in 2001 to imagine a world without racism. Butler believed that in racism's place we would have to have absolute empathy. But she told Simon that this would most certainly present its own challenges – and we would probably just find something else to fight about.

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Alex Haley nearly lost it all writing 'Roots'

Wed, 09 Feb 2022 05:10:54 +0000

To recognize Black History Month, Book of the Day is digging into the archives to bring you some important interviews. In 1977, author Alex Haley told NPR he didn't want to put the main character of Roots, Kunta Kinte, on a slave ship. To prepare for writing that portion of the novel, Haley flew to Africa and caught a voyage home on a cargo ship — sneaking down into the hold after dinner. In the mornings, he would write notes about what he thought Kunta's experience would have been like. He told NPR's Marty Griffen that the experience weighed him down so much it nearly cost him his life.

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'The Color Purple' is about the bonding of women

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 05:10:17 +0000

As part of Black History Month, we are running interviews from our archives. The Color Purple is about the survival of Black women in a male-dominated world. Author Alice Walker said that she just wrote what happens in the real world. At its core, this is a story of women loving and helping other women. Walker told NPR's Faith Fancher that "one of the reasons I wanted to have strong, beautiful, wonderful women loving each other is because I think that people can deal with that. [...] I think that the people who are uptight and bigoted and afraid in their own lives will have difficulty."

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Book banning is seen in historical context in 'Burn This Book'

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 05:10:10 +0000

For the first full week of Black History Month, we dove into our archives to bring you some older interviews by Black authors. The first is an interview from 2009 with writer Toni Morrison about a collection she edited from authors facing censorship called Burn This Book. This conversation is especially relevant today with many important books under scrutiny – and being pulled from library shelves and school curriculums. Morrison, whose books have also been banned in some places as recently as this year, told NPR's Liane Hansen that in some countries censorship can be far more serious.

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Writers Lizzie Damilola Blackburn and Edmund White want to talk about sex

Fri, 04 Feb 2022 05:10:31 +0000

The first interview today is with debut novelist Lizzie Damilola Blackburn about her book, Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? The protagonist Yinka is constantly being hounded by her family to get married. But Damilola Blackburn tells NPR's Sarah McCammon that learning to love oneself first can be important. The second interview is with award-winning writer Edmund White who is out with a new book about sex. A Previous Life follows a couple – they are writing to each other about their romantic pasts. White told NPR's Scott Simon that though the book might offend some, he has always written this way.

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How did humans get here? Historian Yuval Noah Harari is thrilled to tell you

Thu, 03 Feb 2022 05:10:25 +0000

Historian Yuval Noah Harari wrote a book back in 2015 that looked at the entirety of human history; from hunter-gatherers to space exploration. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind packs all of this into a mere 400 pages. Harari noted to NPR's Arun Rath that humans have done a great job cultivating power – but where we tend to fall short is translating that power into happiness.

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'South To America' makes the case that southern history shaped our nation

Wed, 02 Feb 2022 05:10:16 +0000

Author Imani Perry is a child of the South. In her newest book South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation, she gives the reader a look at the South's complicated history, interwoven with her own personal anecdotes. Even though the South has a difficult history, Perry contends, it provides important context for America today. Perry told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly that in order to write this book she had to stop romanticizing the place she calls home – and, instead, look at it starkly.

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Enslaved people imagine freedom and beyond in 'Yonder'

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 05:10:50 +0000

Author Jabari Asim is out with a new novel called Yonder. The story follows a group of enslaved men and women who are forced to work on a plantation by day but dream together about freedom – and what's beyond the world they know – at night. Asim told NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer that he always writes with his ancestors looking over his shoulder: "I feel like I have a responsibility to honor that legacy of labor and sacrifice by doing the best I can and to take what it is that I do very seriously."

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Struggling with burnout? Author Jonathan Malesic might be able to help

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 05:10:43 +0000

After getting his Ph.D., writer Jonathan Malesic struck out in this search for an academic job, so he took a position as a parking attendant across the street from his alma mater. He's had a myriad of jobs since then but Malesic told NPR's Michel Martin that he's never been happier because he was able to maintain such a stark work-life balance. Malesic's new book, The End of Burnout: Why Work Drains Us and How to Build Better Lives, is about how to maintain that balance in any job. And he reminds us that even your dream job is still just a job.

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Tap dancing Twizzlers, cockroach warriors, and fairy tales! Oh my!

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 05:10:28 +0000

Former California prosecutor details how she helped take down sex trafficking site

Thu, 27 Jan 2022 05:10:47 +0000

Maggy Krell is a former California prosecutor who was on the team that took down the infamous sex trafficking site Blackpage back in 2018. Now, she's out with a new book about how they were able to get the website shuttered – and the challenges the team on the case now faces going forward. Reflecting on her time as a prosecutor, Krell told Morning Edition's Rachel Martin that this is the case she's proud of: "This was a case that shifted the national narrative and certainly sent a message to survivors that this shouldn't be normalized, that their experiences matter."

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Country star Merle Haggard is larger than life in 'The Hag'

Wed, 26 Jan 2022 05:10:00 +0000

Author Marc Eliot has written a new biography of country music icon, Merle Haggard. The Hag details Haggard's quite extraordinary life; from breaking into a restaurant (that turned out to be open) and subsequent jail time to his many broken marriages and everything in between. Haggard turned his past failures into songs, writing and singing about his inner turmoil. Eliot told NPR's Steve Inskeep that he thinks the Hag deserves a little more respect: "I think if he were played on the same radio stations that, say, play Frank Sinatra ... he'd be just as accepted. I think he was that good."

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Hanya Yanagihara grapples with pandemics in 'To Paradise'

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 05:10:00 +0000

What motivates you? For Olympic medalist Lindsey Vonn, it's failure.

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 05:10:00 +0000

Ghosts and the sea take lead roles in Violet Kupersmith and Edwidge Dantica's novels

Fri, 21 Jan 2022 05:10:39 +0000

The first interview today, Build Your House Around My Body, is by debut novelist Violet Kupersmith and it's about a young Vietnamese woman who disappears; ghosts are involved. She told NPR's Ari Shapiro that she was "attracted to the ghost as a way of getting revenge." The second novel is also about a young woman's disappearance, this time in Haiti. Award winning author Edwidge Danticat's Claire of The Sea Light involves the sea instead of ghosts, though. Danticat told NPR's Rachel Martin that the sea is very important in Haitian Creole.

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'Twilight of Democracy' chronicles the rise of authoritarianism

Thu, 20 Jan 2022 05:10:22 +0000

Today marks one year since Joe Biden was sworn in as president. It's no secret that politics have become — well...messy in the U.S. — so we thought today would be a good opportunity to take a deep dive into democracy. How much staying power does it have, and why has it started to crumble in countries around the world? Author Anne Applebaum looks at how the world has changed over the past 20 years in her book, Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure Of Authoritarianism. She told NPR's Steve Inskeep in 2020 that authoritarianism isn't outside the realm of possibility for the U.S.

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'The Engagement' looks at the complicated history of marriage equality

Wed, 19 Jan 2022 05:10:00 +0000

Journalist and author Sasha Issenberg has written a book about the history of marriage equality in America. The Engagement details how messy and complicated this fight was at times. Issenberg told NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben that within the LGBT community, there were, and are, many different policy concerns that didn't always gel. Marriage ended up being a top priority for some but not everyone agreed it should be.

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In 'Of Women And Salt,' women weave the future out of scraps

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 05:10:00 +0000

"We are force." This line is originally from a Victor Hugo letter to Cuban independence fighters, but it's also found throughout Gabriela Garcia's novel, Of Women And Salt. The book, new in paperback, is about generations of Cuban and Salvadoran women navigating patriarchal societies. She told NPR's Sarah McCammon that she was especially inspired by this phrase because she "was thinking about all of the multitudes within women - how they're more than just immigrants or mothers or any of these other labels that are sort of imposed on them."

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'The Three Mothers' who paved the way for three extraordinary men

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 05:10:03 +0000

This Martin Luther King Jr. day we focus on the woman who raised Dr. King, his mother, Alberta. His mother and those of two of his contemporaries take center stage in Anna Malaika Tubbs' book, The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped A Nation. Tubbs told 1A's Jenn White that history is often told by and about men, but knowing these women's stories - "taking their lives from the margins and putting them in the center" - is just as important. As Tubbs notes, "If they'd never had these famous sons, they still were worthy of being seen."

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Looking for some pandemic-era writing? We have spooky and we have sweet.

Fri, 14 Jan 2022 05:10:50 +0000

Our first interview today is about a novel that, believe it or not, was actually written before the coronavirus pandemic even started. The End of October, written by Lawrence Wright, is about...a pandemic. But Wright told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly he wishes he hadn't gotten so much of it right. The second interview is with two friends, Marilyn Hacker and Karthika Nair, who were separated by the pandemic. So to connect with each other, they wrote a book of poetry called A Different Distance. They told former NPR host Noel King that the collaboration actually strengthened their friendship.

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Anger and grief after Hurricane Maria in 'Velorio'

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 05:10:00 +0000

Author Xavier Navarro Aquino's new novel, Velorio, takes place in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. This is not a tale of strength and resilience, however. It's about processing grief and being angry at the hand you've been dealt. Aquino told NPR's Eyder Peralta that there is a stereotype about Puerto Ricans being joyful no matter the circumstances but he wanted to show the complete picture, which involved a lot of pain.

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Get the most out of that noggin with 'Supercharge Your Brain'

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 05:10:00 +0000

Author James Goodwin has written about brain trauma, which, as you can guess, is something you want to avoid at all costs. His new book, Supercharge Your Brain: How to Maintain a Healthy Brain Throughout Your Life, looks at both the effects of brain damage and how you can boost your brain's health. He told Morning Edition's A Martinez that keeping your brain in good working condition is easier than you might think.

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Language is power in 'Beasts of a Little Land'

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 05:10:00 +0000

Juhea Kim's debut novel, Beasts of a Little Land, is about Korea's decades-long fight for independence and the lives it impacted. Kim wanted the novel to focus on people who often get overlooked, which is why one of the main characters in the novel is a courtesan, or a sex worker. Kim told NPR's Elissa Nadworny that "these characters show how we can live in a meaningful way, even when the world is falling apart, even when the sky is falling down."

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The Late Archbishop Desmond Tutu never lost his faith in humanity

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 05:10:00 +0000

Archbishop Desmond Tutu passed away at the age of 90 at the end of 2021. We look back at his legacy by revisiting his 2010 book Made For Goodness. Even after decades of fighting apartheid and seeing the cruelty people were capable of, he still believed that humans were mostly good at their core. Tutu told NPR's Renee Montagne that he was constantly bowled over by people's willingness to forgive.

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Tricia Elam Walker, Ekua Holmes, and Clint Smith take us across the country

Fri, 07 Jan 2022 05:10:00 +0000

Today's interviews are about transporting you to different places. The first is with cousins Tricia Elam Walker and Ekua Holmes who wrote a children's book, Dream Street, about the neighborhood where they grew up in Roxbury, Mass. They told NPR's Scott Simon and producer Samantha Balaban that the characters in the book were inspired by people in their lives. Our next interview is with writer Clint Smith, who traveled to different locations across the country for his book on slavery, How the Word is Passed. He told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly he wanted to talk about places that still exist because slavery wasn't that long ago.

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Actress Sharon Gless on life's ups and downs in 'Apparently There Were Complaints'

Thu, 06 Jan 2022 05:10:00 +0000

Actress Sharon Gless, who starred in the 80s cop procedural, Cagney and Lacey, is out with a new memoir: Apparently There Were Complaints. The book looks back at her life and career, both the good and the not-so-great moments, like her struggles with alcoholism while filming the show. Gless told NPR's Rachel Martin that she is very strong despite it all: "I have good stuff in here. And I can survive it all."

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President Trump's final acts of 'Betrayal'

Wed, 05 Jan 2022 05:14:00 +0000

Almost a year ago today, supporters of President Trump attacked the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the election. ABC White House correspondent Jonathan Karl has chronicled the final days of the Trump administration and the events leading up to the January 6th insurrection in his new book, Betrayal. Karl told NPR's Steve Inskeep that he believed in the end Trump was laying the groundwork to be un-checkable.

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Remembering bell hooks and 'All About Love'

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 05:10:30 +0000

Author and social activist bell hooks died a couple of weeks ago, so we at Book Of The Day thought it would be nice to revisit one of our favorite interviews of hers. In 2000, she discussed her book All About Love: New Visions with NPR's Cheryl Corely. They talked about how most people misunderstand love and the many forms it can take and how transformative and powerful real love can be in all spheres of life.

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Lower your expectations and succeed with 'Tiny Habits'

Mon, 03 Jan 2022 05:10:00 +0000

Every time the new year rolls around, many of us start trying to "better ourselves." Maybe you decide to read more or clean out your entire house only to find yourself falling short. Author BJ Fogg wrote a book about how not to do that called Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. Fogg told Life Kit's Maria Godoy that everyone should try and lower their expectations. It's actually much easier to accomplish goals you set for yourself if they are much, much smaller. Say, instead of cleaning out your whole house, start with one room.

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NPR's Wisdom From The Top: 'Machiavelli For Women'

Sun, 02 Jan 2022 05:10:11 +0000

Planet Money's Stacey Vanek Smith has reported on business and the economy for over 15 years now. She told NPR's Guy Raz that over that time, she's seen the same barriers blocking advancement for women in the workplace again and again. Recently, she's started to recognize that a lot of tools to move past those barriers can be found in the work of Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli. Vanek Smith lays out these solutions in her new book, Machiavelli for Women: Defend Your Worth, Grow Your Ambition, and Win the Workplace.

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Alexi Pappas and Glennon Doyle want you to know it's ok to not be ok

Fri, 31 Dec 2021 05:10:22 +0000

Both our interviews today deal with the pressures we put on ourselves. First, Olympic runner Alexi Pappas on her memoir, Bravey. On the outside, Pappas was living what looked like a great life; she was breaking Greek Olympic records and her movie got a distribution deal. But, she told NPR's Ari Shapiro, she was still deeply sad. Next, an interview from early in the pandemic when women were disproportionately feeling the burden of our new reality. Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed, told former NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro that "every woman on earth needs to lower her expectations for herself."

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Healing through poetry in 'Light For The World To See'

Thu, 30 Dec 2021 05:10:00 +0000

Poet and author Kwame Alexander was feeling the weight of being Black in America last summer and didn't know how to make sense of his feelings. So, he made sense of them through his book of poetry, Light For The World To See: A Thousand Words On Race And Hope. It's three poems on three historic events: the murder of George Floyd, Colin Kaepernick's protests, and Barack Obama being elected president. Alexander told NPR's Rachel Martin he wrote this as a call for Black people to remember their humanity.

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'Hamnet' gives life to Shakespeare's little-known son

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 05:10:26 +0000

William Shakespeare had a son, Hamnet, who likely inspired one of his most famous plays and who died when he was 11 years old. Novelist Maggie O'Farrell was disappointed that more people weren't familiar with him, so she set out to fix that with her book, Hamnet. O'Farrell wanted to reimagine Hamnet's life, his death, and William Shakespeare's family life. But, she told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly, she had a much harder time writing this book than she thought she would.

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'Dwyane' uses photographs to wrap up an illustrious career

Tue, 28 Dec 2021 05:10:09 +0000

Dwyane Wade's new memoir is not a traditional one. He wanted to show the reader a lot of his cherished memories instead of just writing about them. His new photographic memoir, Dwyane, visually wraps up his basketball career with a series of pictures from his time at Marquette to his 16 years with the Miami Heat. Wade talked to Here & Now's Tonya Mosely about when he knew it was time to step away from the game he loves.

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In 'All Adults Here,' family is messy

Mon, 27 Dec 2021 05:10:58 +0000

Author Emma Straub has written a book about family dynamics and the mess and love that comes with them in All Adults Here. It's no secret that families are complicated. Straub argues a lot of our familial relationships are watching each other grow up and whether or not you allow those you love to grow and change. She told NPR's Scott Simon though that even the bits that aren't perfect are worth loving.

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Snuggle up for the holidays with two NPR favorites

Fri, 24 Dec 2021 05:10:52 +0000

It's the holiday season so we at Book Of The Day wanted to bring you two of our holiday favorites. The first is David Sedaris' Santaland Diaries, which first aired on Morning Edition in 1992 and has been an annual NPR tradition ever since. It's a hilarious recounting of his time as a department store elf named Crumpet. The second is some of our staff here at NPR reading the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, which you might know as The Night Before Christmas. Happy holidays "...and to all a good night!"

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'Agatha Of Little Neon' falls out of love with the church

Thu, 23 Dec 2021 05:10:18 +0000

In the novel Agatha Of Little Neon, a young woman, Agatha, is in need of direction after she loses her mother and finds it in the church. When Agatha and her fellow nuns are reassigned to a half-way house, they start to look inward and reevaluate their own lives. Author Claire Luchette told NPR's Scott Simon that this is a book about finding yourself, but also finding out about the darker side of the church: "My goal in writing this book was not to write a loss-of-faith story but almost a falling-out-of-love story."

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A defense - and celebration - of all things 'Tacky'

Wed, 22 Dec 2021 05:10:00 +0000

Do you love what some people would consider 'low-brow culture?' Things like The Cheesecake Factory or the band Creed. Well then do we have the book for you! Author Rax King has written a collection of essays that are kind of like love letters to the things that give her pleasure, including but not limited to The Jersey Shore, in Tacky. She told NPR's Sam Sanders she thinks a lot about who gets to be tacky and the value of art and entertainment that might fall into the category.

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Keeping yourself afloat in 'Between Two Kingdoms'

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 05:10:00 +0000

When author Suleika Jaouad was first diagnosed with leukemia, she felt isolated and like she didn't have control over anything. She told Life Kit host Beck Harlan that creative practices, namely journaling, helped her regain a narrative control of her own life. Jaouad details that struggle and her coping mechanisms in her book, Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of Life Interrupted.

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Reinventing the epic with 'The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois'

Mon, 20 Dec 2021 05:10:00 +0000

When you think of an epic, what comes to mind? The Iliad, The Odyssey, maybe Beowulf? Well author Honoree Fanonne Jeffers points out that epics are almost always about white men. She told former Morning Edition host Noel King that she didn't want to tell that story because that story has already been told...many times. So, Jeffers set out to write a different kind of epic about heroic Black women in The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois.

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NPR's Throughline: The Postal Service

Sat, 18 Dec 2021 05:10:44 +0000

The US Postal Service has played a key role in much of American history - from the Declaration of Independence to more recent mail-in voting. It was conceived of by the founders as the way to create a united, informed and effective American democracy. But today, the postal service's future is in danger. Winifred Gallagher spoke to NPR's Rund Abdelfatah about how the postal service created the United States and the case for investing in this pivotal institution.

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Danielle Evans and Brit Bennett on the lies we tell ourselves

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 05:10:24 +0000

'Empire of Pain' explores the family behind Purdue Pharma

Thu, 16 Dec 2021 05:10:00 +0000

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the most recent public institution to announce that they are taking the Sackler name off of seven of their spaces due to their involvement with the opioid crisis. Author Patrick Radden Keefe wrote a book profiling the Sackler family called Empire of Pain: The Secret History Of The Sackler Dynasty that was one of the biggest of the year. It profiles the family that founded Purdue Pharma and their promotion of the drug Oxycontin.

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'Wish You Were Here' ... Stranded with me in the Galapagos Islands

Wed, 15 Dec 2021 05:10:56 +0000

Have you ever wanted to get stranded on a beautiful island? Maybe at the end of a vacation when you think you never want to leave. Well, that's what happens to the protagonist in Jodi Picoult's new novel, Wish You Were Here. It's a little less glamorous than what you might be picturing. It's March of 2020 and the coronavirus pandemic traps Diana O'Toole in the Galapagos Islands with very little wifi or cell service. Picoult told NPR's Scott Simon that this extreme isolation forced her main character to reevaluate how she really wanted to live her life.

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Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan on the highs and lows of success

Tue, 14 Dec 2021 05:15:00 +0000

Legendary rapper and integral member of the Wu-Tang Clan, Raekwon, is out with a new memoir called From Staircase to Stage. Born Corey Woods in Staten Island, Raekwon takes a look back at hating school, watching his neighborhood decline during the crack-cocaine epidemic, and then finding success with the Wu-Tang Clan. Raekwon told NPR's Steve Inskeep that success came with both big highs and deep lows.

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A tech giant does its best Big Brother impersonation in 'The Every'

Mon, 13 Dec 2021 05:15:00 +0000

Author Dave Eggars has written a new book, The Every, satirizing technology and it's ever-expanding hold on us. While publishing and distributing the book, which also happens to be about a tech giant overextending its reach, he tried to keep it out of the hands of one of today's tech giants. It proved to be a difficult task, Eggars told NPR's Audie Cornish, "...[it's] like taking not just the back roads but taking the dirt roads off the back roads off the highway."

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'Design To Live' is a testament to the human spirit

Thu, 09 Dec 2021 05:10:54 +0000

From creating vertical gardens to breeding pigeons, the people living in the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan manage to "carve out a life worth living." Artist and architectural historian Azra Aksamija co-edited a book that looks at the ingenuity found within that camp called, Design To Live: Everyday Inventions From A Refugee Camp. Aksamija told NPR's Scott Simon that even though camps are supposed to be a temporary solution, lots of families end up staying for years at a time, so they find ways to make themselves at home in a place that's not meant to be hospitable.

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'A Snake Falls To Earth' tackles real life issues in a fantastical world

Wed, 08 Dec 2021 05:10:00 +0000

Author Darcie Little Badger has her protagonists, Nina and a cottonmouth snake named Oli, tackle big, real world problems in her new Young Adult novel, A Snake Falls To Earth. She told NPR's Leila Fadel that young people are feeling climate anxiety acutely, so it was important to her to make it a part of this story, even though it takes place in a fantastical world. She does have a PhD in oceanography and a bachelors in geo-science, so understands the stakes really well. But, she doesn't want her readers to walk away feeling hopeless.

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Robert Jones Jr. and Laird Hunt talk tragedies and overlooked histories

Tue, 07 Dec 2021 20:04:12 +0000

Not all history is learned - or taught - in school. In today's first interview, Robert Jones Jr. tells NPR's Scott Simon that he wanted to be 'a witness to [those] testimonies that have not made it into the official record.' His novel, The Prophets, is about enslaved Black queer people in America. The second interview is about the seemingly mundane day-to-day that makes up a person's history in Zorrie. Author Laird Hunt told NPR's Scott Simon that just because someone's story seems unremarkable doesn't mean it isn't rich.

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Surviving high school in 'Huda F Are You?'

Tue, 07 Dec 2021 05:10:00 +0000

Author Huda Fahmy brings us a fictionalized look back on her teenage years in her new graphic novel. The cleverly titled Huda F Are You? is about a girl growing up in Dearborn, Michigan trying to figure out, well, who she really is. Fahmy told NPR's Scott Simon that her own journey of self discovery often left her feeling like a fraud

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Chancellor Angela Merkel's last dance

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 05:10:00 +0000

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is stepping down after 16 years. Author and former NPR correspondent Kati Marton has written a new biography of Merkel titled, appropriately, The Chancellor. Marton told NPR's Sarah McCammon that Merkel's upbringing in East Germany before the wall fell prepared her for a future as a politician. But it also created some blind spots in her governing; allowing the far right movement, centered in former East Germany, to gain a foothold in the German Parliament.

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Louise Erdrich and Kevin Brockmeier are not writing campfire ghost stories

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 05:10:14 +0000

There are all different kinds of ghost stories and types of ghosts. Maybe the ghost is a malicious spirit out for revenge, or a marshmallow man parade float come to life, or maybe it's truly a friendly ghost — Casper, here to be pals. In today's first featured interview, Here & Now's Robin Young talks with Louise Erdrich about her novel The Sentence which is set in a haunted bookstore in Minneapolis. Then NPR's Ailsa Chang interviews Kevin Brockmeier about his book of short spooky stories The Ghost Variations.

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NPR's Short Wave: 'An Outsider's Guide to Humans'

Thu, 02 Dec 2021 05:10:41 +0000

Camilla Pang talks with NPR's Short Wave host Emily Kwong about her award-winning memoir, An Outsider's Guide to Humans: What Science Taught Me About What We Do And Who We Are. Diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at age 8, the scientist and writer pairs her favorite scientific principles with human behavior and navigating daily life.

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'All That She Carried' weaves together generations of Black women

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 05:10:41 +0000

All That She Carried is the history of a single bag. Historian and author Tiya Miles used what few historical records she could find to tell the stories of three generations of Black women with ties to that sack dating back to 1850. Miles' journey started because of a simple message embroidered on the bag by one of its owners, Ruth Middleton. She told Here & Now's Scott Tong that people have emotional reactions to seeing the sack, because it means the families survived to pass it down to future generations.

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'Chouette' is part owl part human baby. Fine. But how to raise her?

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 05:15:19 +0000

Claire Oshetsky's new novel Chouette is... pretty strange, but also kind of wonderful? Oshetsky says the story is a parable about motherhood, in which a woman gives birth to an owl baby. The mother finds this strange not because the baby is an owl, but because she only had intercourse with the owl parent in a dream, and that owl was a woman. Still with us? Good. Oshetsky talked with NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben about how her own daughter consulted on writing the book, and what she learned from raising an autistic child.

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'Black Food' is more than just recipes, it's the stories behind them

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 05:15:00 +0000

Cookbook author and chef Bryant Terry edited and curated the new book, Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes From Across The African Diaspora. His goal was to preserve Black American recipes and their complex stories, but he uses more than just food to tell those stories. The book is also full of essays, art and music. Terry told Here And Now's Scott Tong that the cookbook is a "communal shrine to the shared culinary histories of the African Diaspora."

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Celebrating NPR's Petra Mayer with three literary things she loved

Fri, 26 Nov 2021 05:15:44 +0000

Our beloved friend and colleague Petra Mayer died suddenly a few weeks ago. This episode is for her. First, a conversation with NPR's Scott Simon and Sir Andrew Motion on The Folio Book of War Poetry, edited by Motion. Among her many nerdy interests, Petra was a self avowed "WWI poetry dork." The poetry is dark and moving, conveying universal feelings around loss. Then, a few quintessentially "Petra" pieces that capture her work and who she was. A conversation with romance author Beverly Jenkins and Petra talking about one of her favorite comfort reads, The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison.

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Tommy Orange is here to hold the door open for future Indigenous writers

Thu, 25 Nov 2021 05:15:06 +0000

This Thanksgiving, we're bringing you an author whose narrative likely runs counter to what you learned in school. Tommy Orange's novel, There There, is a brutal, remarkable, and necessary Native history. It's also a story of the shameful way America still treats its Native people. Orange was not comfortable with his new rising fame back in 2018. But he told NPR's Lynn Neary it was important to him to pave the way, spotlight and all, for young Indigenous writers.

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'Calvin' shows how transgender kids can express who they really are

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 05:15:00 +0000

Authors JR and Vanessa Ford read the one book they could find about transgender kids to their child but skipped over the word 'transgender.' When they finally used the word, their child felt empowered by finding the right language to describe themselves. So the Fords set out to help more families with their children's book, Calvin. JR and Vanessa Ford told NPR's Audie Cornish that they are still learning as they go.

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'The Island of Missing Trees' uses, well, trees to chronicle generational trauma

Tue, 23 Nov 2021 05:15:00 +0000

Author Elif Shafak struggled at first with how to write her new book, The Island of Missing Trees. The story she wanted to tell is about a family from Cyprus, a Mediterranean island that was the center of a conflict in the 1970s, but she didn't want the story to be about tribalism or nationalism. Which is why, Shafak told NPR's Steve Inskeep, much of the story is told from the perspective of a fig tree

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'Out of Office' considers 'why' companies want to bring back remote employees

Mon, 22 Nov 2021 05:15:00 +0000

The working world looks a lot different today than it did nearly two years ago, when the coronavirus pandemic sent many office staff to work from home indefinitely. Writers Anne Helen Peterson and Charlie Warzel take a look at what work, and our relationship to it, will look like going forward in their new book, Out of Office. NPR's Rachel Martin spoke with Peterson about why so many companies want their employees back in person. And, spoiler alert: it's not about productivity.

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Murder! Space! James Bond! Chris Hadfield and Anthony Horowitz talk thrillers

Fri, 19 Nov 2021 05:10:39 +0000

This Friday, we're featuring two thrillers. First, astronaut Chris Hadfield talked with former NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro about his novel The Apollo Murders, which is set in the 70's around, you guessed it, the Apollo missions. It's got Soviet spies and secret space stations with machine guns mounted to the top. What more could a book need? Then a 2015 interview with NPR's Robert Siegel and author Anthony Horowitz about his James Bond novel Trigger Mortis, and what it's like giving a classic a 21st century twist.

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'Misfire' takes an inside look at the corruption at the heart of the NRA

Thu, 18 Nov 2021 05:10:58 +0000

The National Rifle Association is being sued. The nonprofit at the heart of the gun lobby is accused of diverting money from its charitable mission. NPR investigative journalist Tim Mak has been following the paper trail, much of it tracing back to Wayne LaPierre, longtime leader of the NRA. NPR's Steve Inskeep talked with Mak about his new book, Misfire, detailing congressional investigations, and what the New York state attorney general has identified as tens of millions of dollars of corrupt spending on private jets and six figure suits.

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'Beautiful Country' looks back on a young Chinese girl's undocumented childhood

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 05:15:00 +0000

Living as an undocumented immigrant means living in the shadows, says Qian Julie Wang. Her memoir Beautiful Country tells the story of her family's life in New York after fleeing China in 1994. Her mother worked menial jobs in terrible conditions. Her father struggled with his status as a man in a country that equated being Asian with weakness. They couldn't even seek out regular medical care for fear of being deported. Wang joins NPR's Scott Simon in today's episode to talk about how those experiences shaped and shamed her, even as she became a Yale Law graduate and successful attorney.

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SJ Sindu makes and unmakes a god in her new novel 'Blue Skinned Gods'

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 05:15:00 +0000

Questioning religion can be a pretty common identity crisis. But what if your faith is based on... yourself? When Kalki is born with blue skin and black blood, he is believed to be the reincarnation of Vishnu. But when he fails to heal a girl brought to him in distress, he questions his divinity, which means questioning everything. In today's episode, SJ Sindu talks to NPR's Scott Simon about how her novel Blue Skinned Gods was an attempt to better understand her own family's urge to believe.

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'Hail Mary' sets the record straight on the history of the women's football league

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 05:15:00 +0000

You're probably at least a little familiar with the WNBA, and even if you never actually seen A League of Their Own, everyone knows there's no crying in baseball. But did you know there was a whole professional women's football league in the 1960's? NPR's A Martinez spoke with Britni de la Cretaz about their book Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women's Football League, which they co-authored with fellow sports writer Lyndsey D'Arcangelo. And, disappointingly, but perhaps unsurprisingly, de la Cretaz says it was homophobia and sexism that undermined the league's success.

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'Dear Memory' and 'Cokie' both look toward the future while remembering the dead

Fri, 12 Nov 2021 05:15:04 +0000

In today's double episode, both books center people who have died. And they aren't just tributes to those who've passed, but to the people who remember them. First, Steven Roberts remembers his late wife, journalist Cokie Roberts, with NPR's Steve Inskeep. His book Cokie is full of interviews with her friends, family, and colleagues. Then, poet Victoria Chang talks about past and future generations of her family and what she wants to pass on to her own daughters in her book Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence, and Grief with NPR's Rachel Martin.

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Amitav Ghosh turned to legends to write a story large enough for climate change

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 05:15:54 +0000

Trying to decrease your carbon footprint can be complicated. You use metal straws, recycle your paper, and bring your own grocery bags to the store, but everything you buy is part of a supply chain that's simply way out of your control. That lack of control is central to Amitav Ghosh's retelling of an ancient Bengali myth of a nature goddess setting calamity after calamity on a merchant who's only concerned with money. In today's interview, Ghosh tells NPR's Ari Shapiro that writing his 2019 novel Gun Island based on old legends allowed for a full response to the scope of climate change.

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Grady Hendrix reimagines the horror movie sequel in 'Final Girl Support Group'

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 05:15:00 +0000

Grady Hendrix LOVES horror movies, especially those old 80's slashers. And his new book is a tribute to that "final girl" at the end of so many of them. The one who doesn't necessarily survive by being smarter or stronger, but simply makes it to the end alive by not giving up. NPR's Audie Cornish interviewed him about his novel Final Girl Support Group, which is about exactly what it sounds like, a support group for women who survived psycho murderers — except it seems like someone's starting to hunt them down... again. As Hendrix says, what's the scariest thing for a "Final Girl?" A sequel.

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Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks to a future living with COVID in 'World War C'

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 05:15:00 +0000

We've all heard talk about "the new normal," whatever that even is. CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has his own ideas, and despite the harsh realities of nearly two years living through a pandemic — quarantines, hospital staffing shortages, massive loss of life — he remains optimistic. In his new book World War C, he says, COVID is something we'll likely live with... forever. But that doesn't mean it has to control our lives. He sat down with NPR's Rachel Martin to talk about it in today's episode.

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Lucy Barton and her ex, William, are at the heart of Elizabeth Strout's new book

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 05:15:00 +0000

In Elizabeth Strout's new book, a familiar character - Lucy Barton - returns when ex-husband William asks for her help unraveling a recently discovered secret, one that forces him to reevaluate what he knew about his family. Even though it's been decades since they split, the two embark on a trip to uncover the truth. Because, whether you like it or not, sometimes your ex is the only person who really knows you. In today's episode, Strout joins Here and Now's Robin Young to talk about the complexities of the ties that bind us.

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Tiphanie Yanique and Dawnie Walton on music, monsters, and family baggage

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 04:15:03 +0000

There was a time when the kind of music you listened to could fully define the kind of lifestyle you led, says Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revival of Opal and Nev. It's less restricting now, but your taste in music can still say quite a bit about who you are. In her book and in Tiphanie Yanique's novel Monster in the Middle, music plays at the center of its characters' stories, as they wrestle with figuring out who they are in their relationships, with significant others and their families. NPR's Scott Simon talks with each author about it in today's episode.

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Nick Offerman ponders nature's patterns and chaos in Central Park

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 04:15:41 +0000

Parks and Rec actor Nick Offerman is famous for playing an outdoorsman on TV, but it turns out he actually is one in real life, too — albeit considerably less gruff than his character Ron Swanson. NPR's Scott Simon met up with him in the wilds of Central Park to discuss Offerman's new book Where the Deer and the Antelope Play. A testament to the pastoral takes a philosophical look at the vast wilderness of America and how open lands affect our approach to recreation, conservation, farming, and more.

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In a powerful memoir, poet Joy Harjo talks about finding her voice and using it

Wed, 03 Nov 2021 04:10:00 +0000

Poet Laureate Joy Harjo says she loved poetry as a kid, but didn't feel like it belonged to her. "It wasn't until I heard Native poets," she tells NPR's Michel Martin, "that I realized that, wow, this is a powerful tool of understanding and affirmation. And I don't know, I just started writing." Harjo had been studying medicine, she says, and she knew her people needed doctors — but what about poets? Her new memoir Poet Warrior is a chronicle of pain and injustice, of growing up poor with an abusive stepfather — but also of poetry and discovery, of taking that pain and using it to make art.

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Poet Melissa Lozada-Oliva dreams of Selena

Tue, 02 Nov 2021 04:10:00 +0000

The Queen of Tejano music is having a moment in pop culture once again, even 26 years after her murder. Selena Quintanilla's face not only adorns T-shirts and hoodies, but she's also the subject of a Netflix series, a podcast and a new novel by poet Melissa Lozada-Oliva. It's called Dreaming of You, and imagines what would have happened if Selena hadn't been killed when she was 23. Lozada-Oliva tells us about the story, which is written in verse, and the pop star's impact on her life since she was a child.

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Jane Goodall doesn't want you to give up on the planet

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 04:10:00 +0000

Amidst all the bad news (like, really bad news), it can be hard to hold on to hope — especially with the looming threat of climate change. But renowned scientist and chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall says that, despite the dire state of the world, it's too early to give up on our planet. Her new book with co-author Douglas Abrams is all about the state of our planet and how to save it from looming catastrophe for future generations.

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Zakiya Dalila Harris and Oliver Jeffers talk about different kinds of hauntings

Fri, 29 Oct 2021 04:05:34 +0000

It's almost Halloween, which means that we're in peak spooky season. So for today's episode, we bring you two books with two very different kinds of frights: a haunted house and...office politics. That's right: In The Other Black Girl, writer Zakiya Dalila Harris captures the all-too-real horror of being the only Black woman in her office. When another Black woman is hired, the tension gets dialed up even higher. And in There's A Ghost In This House, the author-illustrator Oliver Jeffers uses old photographs to create creepy illustrations that will give both children and adults goosebumps.

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How Drew Magary rediscovered himself after 'The Night the Lights Went Out'

Thu, 28 Oct 2021 04:10:42 +0000

The humor writer Drew Magary was at a karaoke bar when his life changed in a flash: He collapsed and cracked his skull. By most accounts, the resulting traumatic brain injury should have been fatal, but he survived. As he recounts in his book The Night the Lights Went Out, recovering from that injury has been tough. Among other things, he permanently lost some of his senses. As Magary tells NPR's Lulu Garcia Navarro, recovery has required him to figure out who he is now, post injury — a challenge that makes for a good story, he says.

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Why Hillary Clinton wanted to write a political thriller about her greatest nightmare

Wed, 27 Oct 2021 04:10:00 +0000

The bestselling author Louise Penny is a prolific writer of mysteries and thrillers — but for her latest book, she decided to bring a partner into the fold, a novice to the world of mystery-writing: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Their book, State of Terror, brings readers into a world in which a president picks a former rival to be his secretary of state (sound familiar?) — and she must then contend with what Clinton calls one of her greatest fears: nuclear-armed terrorists. In this interview, Penny and Clinton discuss the messages they hope readers take away from the book.

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In 'The Matter of Black Lives,' generations of Black thinkers probe American racism

Tue, 26 Oct 2021 04:10:00 +0000

Back in June 2020, during a summer of protests for racial justice, the New Yorker republished 'Letter from a Region in my Mind," a seminal James Baldwin essay calling out the ignorance of liberal white Americans. In the following months, writer Jelani Cobb put together a collection of essays from the magazine that fit a similar theme: Black writers, including Toni Morrison and Ta-Nehisi Coates, who wrote pieces for the New Yorker about race and racism that still ring true today. In this interview, Cobb reflects on the essays and what it took for those Black writers to break into the magazine.

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The zoo that history nearly forgot in 'When Two Feathers Fell From The Sky'

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 04:10:00 +0000

If you visited South Nashville today, you might not suspect that, over a century ago, it was home to a zoo and amusement park called the Glendale Zoo. Among other attractions, the zoo had a popular attraction called "horse diving," in which a performer rode a horse off a tall platform into a body of water. In her book, When Two Feathers Fell From The Sky, Verble imagines the life of a young Cherokee girl named Two Feathers, who horse dives for a living at the zoo in the year 1926 — set against the background of the Jim Crow South and widespread mistreatment of Native Americans.

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Food is a gateway to the new and familiar in 'Crying in H Mart' and 'Gastro Obscura'

Fri, 22 Oct 2021 04:15:48 +0000

Our relationship to food goes far beyond its nutritional value. What we eat can help us tap into something deeper, whether it brings up treasured memories or allows us to escape our own lives for just a few bites. That duality is captured by two different books in today's episode; while Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner explores how cooking Korean food helped the author grieve her mom's death, Gastro Obscura by Cecily Wong and Dylan Thuras takes readers to each continent to learn about its cuisine. In interviews with NPR's Ari Shapiro, Zauner and Wong talk about how food shapes our worlds.

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Karl Ove Knausgaard didn't mean to write a 666-page book

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 04:15:26 +0000

The Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard gained an international reputation thanks to his breakout autobiographical series My Struggle -- but he actually made his literary debut in the world of fiction. Now, he's returned to that world with his novel The Morning Star, a dark tale of the uncanny events that unfold after a new star appears in the sky. Unlike his previous series, the book features multiple perspectives and otherworldly incidents that seem ripped from the pages of the Bible. But as the author explains to NPR's Leila Fadel, those acts of God happen alongside the mundanity of everyday life, in true Knausgaardian fashion.

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Stephanie Grisham is — yes, really — taking our questions now

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 04:10:00 +0000

Former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham famously held no press briefings during her time in the White House — but now, she's ready to talk. Her memoir, I'll Take Your Questions Now, is the latest tell-all from a former Trump staffer — and Tamara Keith, from NPR's Politics Podcast, hit her with some tough questions about whether the book is simply an image rehab project. "Too many books have been out there to help one person's reputation so they can be rehabilitated ... or to try to rewrite history," Grisham says. "I just want to tell my story and have people take what they want from it."

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How Colin Powell Wanted The World To Remember Him

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 04:15:00 +0000

When Colin Powell died on October 18 at the age of 84 from COVID-19 complications, he left behind a long, decorated career in Washington and the U.S. Army. He spent much of his life in the military, eventually rising to the rank of four-star general, and went on to become the first Black Secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs. But, as he discussed in a 2012 interview with NPR's Robert Siegel about his memoir It Worked For Me, Powell's reputation was tarnished when he used faulty evidence to push for the Iraq War: "I'll never leave it behind."

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Amor Towles' new book is about a road trip that takes more than a few U-turns

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 04:10:00 +0000

Amor Towles' new book is quite the joyride — The Lincoln Highway follows four kids in a 1948 Studebaker who set out along the real-life Lincoln Highway, the first highway to cross the country. Two of them are trying to head for San Francisco to find their mother — the other two want to go the other way, looking for a promised inheritance. Needless to say, things don't go as planned. Towles talked to NPR's Scott Simon about the book — and also about the way the world moves so much faster now than it did in the 1950s, and how that affects the stories kids hear and see and create.

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In song and poetry, 'Nina' and 'Just Us' offer ways to start a conversation on race

Fri, 15 Oct 2021 04:10:30 +0000

After the protests last year, we heard the phrase "racial reckoning" a lot, as some groups of people struggled to catch up with what's just been reality for many others. This week we've got two books that might help you reckon with that reckoning, in two different ways: Traci Todd and illustrator Christian Robinson's bright and powerful picture book biography Nina: A Story of Nina Simone and poet Claudia Rankine's Just Us: An American Conversation, in which she puts together poetry, essays and images to bring readers into an uncomfortable but necessary conversation about race.

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Fiona Hill's new Trump-era memoir is less about Trump than it is about us

Thu, 14 Oct 2021 04:10:19 +0000

In her memoir, Fiona Hill extends her riveting testimony from Donald Trump's first impeachment trial. And while she might not dish as much dirt as other Trump-era memoirists, the former senior National Security official writes movingly about Trump and about polarization and other threats to American democracy. She points to Russian history to suggest that distrust in government and political systems can lead to collapse. And while she describes Trump as the symptom of that division and distrust, she also says he put a spotlight on what needs fixing.

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Humor, horror and social commentary blend in Percival Everett's detective novel

Wed, 13 Oct 2021 04:10:00 +0000

Percival Everett's page-turning new detective novel The Trees is at once gruesome and screamingly funny. A racial allegory rooted in southern history, the book features two big-city special detectives with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation who are sent to investigate a small-town crime. The murders are hideous in detail, the language is rough, there are racial epithets of all kinds, and somehow the politically incendiary humor is real. Everett talks with NPR's Scott Simon about how — and why — he blended these styles.

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What Maggie Nelson Means When She Talks About Freedom

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 04:10:20 +0000

Since her childhood in 1970s San Francisco, critic and poet Maggie Nelson has been mulling the concept of freedom — particularly how we define, practice and experience it. She sat down with NPR's Ari Shapiro to talk about four areas in life — art, sex, addiction and climate change — and how we talk about freedom in regard to our collective wellbeing and individual rights.

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Myriam J.A. Chancy's historical novel about a Haitian earthquake hits on human truths

Mon, 11 Oct 2021 04:10:27 +0000

Back in August, Myriam J.A. Chancy was preparing for the release of her novel What Storm, What Thunder when the news broke: a magnitude 7.2 earthquake had hit Haiti. It was a "chilling and bittersweet" moment, she says; her soon-to-be-published book revolved around the 2010 earthquake that devastated the country, and its aftermath. In this episode, she talks to NPR's Scott Simon about the eerie similarities between the two quakes, how her characters speak to how international relief efforts have historically failed Haiti, and what the world can learn from the country's rebuilding efforts.

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The Realities Of Abortion Politics In 'Family Roe: An American Story' & 'Red Clocks'

Fri, 08 Oct 2021 04:10:07 +0000

Authors Joshua Prager and Leni Zumas each explore the real world implications of abortion politics, through fiction and non-fiction. First, in a conversation with Michel Martin, Prager talks through his book The Family Roe: An American Story, centered on the woman who was the baby at the center of the landmark Roe v. Wade trial. Then Leni Zumas and Scott Simon discuss Zumas' novel Red Clocks, set in a time where fetal personhood legislation has outlawed not only abortion, but also in-vitro fertilization.

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Hearing Voices From 'The Book of Form and Emptiness'

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 04:10:12 +0000

If these walls could talk... what might they say to the chairs? In Ruth Ozeki's novel The Book of Form and Emptiness, 13-year-old Benny Oh starts hearing things talk to him after the loss of his father. As he navigates his grief, it's his conversations with books that guide him through.

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The trailblazing Black football players that history books forgot

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 04:30:21 +0000

You've likely heard the names of Ruby Bridges, Jackie Robinson and Thurgood Marshall — the first African Americans to desegregate public schools, baseball and the Supreme Court. But do you know the names of Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Marion Motley or Bill Willis? Unless you're a football fan, you likely haven't. And that's what Keyshawn Johnson is trying to rectify in his book The Forgotten First, the story of the men who helped break the NFL's color barrier. NPR's A Martinez sat down with Johnson to discuss those four men, and the legacy they left behind.

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'Cloud Cuckoo Land' by Anthony Doerr

Tue, 05 Oct 2021 04:30:52 +0000

Following the success of his previous novel All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr's latest book is an ambitious epic about the power and immortality of stories. He discusses it all with NPR's Scott Simon here. If you're in the market for a novel written by someone who genuinely loves books, this is the pick for you.

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From silence to cacophony, here's how your brain makes sense of the world

Mon, 04 Oct 2021 04:30:00 +0000

It can be hard enough to answer the question, "what kind of music do you like?" But how about "why do you like it?" That's one of the many questions about the human brain and sound that neuroscientist Nina Kraus set out to answer in her book Of Sound Mind. In this interview with NPR's Ari Shapiro, she breaks down the science behind what our brains do when they process sound, and how it differs for each of us.

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What A Detective Novel And A Memoir Both Have To Say About Black American Life

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 04:10:31 +0000

At first glance, journalist Dawn Turner's book Three Girls from Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood and detective novelist Walter Mosley's Down The River Unto The Sea don't have a ton in common. The former takes place in Chicago and focuses on the tough childhoods of Turner, her sister and her best friend; the latter takes readers to the streets of New York, where a cop-turned-private eye investigates police corruption. But in today's episode, each author talks to Michel Martin about how both their stories illustrate systems that treat Black Americans unfairly, and what that says about justice in the U.S.

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To Understand Humanity, You Have To Understand Water

Thu, 30 Sep 2021 04:10:06 +0000

For decades, the author and scientist Giulio Boccaletti has studied the substance that's come to define life as we know it: water. And in his book Water: A Biography, he traces the history of how humanity, regardless of continent or creed, has shaped entire civilizations around a resource that's both fickle and essential for life on earth. In this episode, All Things Considered host Ari Shapiro talks to Boccaletti about our long, complicated history with water, and why understanding the past is crucial to the fight with climate change.

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Colson Whitehead Finally Gets To Flex His Comedy Muscle

Wed, 29 Sep 2021 04:10:23 +0000

After writing his Pulitzer Prize-winning books The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, author Colson Whitehead needed a change of pace. So for his next novel, Harlem Shuffle, he decided to tackle topics near and dear to his heart: heists and New York real estate. In today's episode, Morning Edition host Noel King talks to Whitehead about his book's protagonist, a furniture retailer named Ray Carney, and what draws him to a double life of crime.

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NPR's Book of the Day: Hand-picked Great Reads, Everyday From NPR.

Fri, 24 Sep 2021 17:56:33 +0000

Want to find a good read? Or just keep up with the books everyone's talking about? NPR's Book of the Day gives you today's very best storytelling in a snackable, searchable, pocket-sized podcast. Whether you're looking to engage with the ideas and issues of our times – or temporarily escape from them – we have an author who will speak to you, all genres, moods and writing styles included. Today's great books in 15 minutes or less.

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