'The B-Side' Sings A Sad, Sad Song
Ben Yagoda uses the battle between music licensing organizations ASCAP and BMI to sketch out a broader lament about the long fade-out of the American Songbook and the segue to modern pop music.
Books
A Cool, Painstaking Account Of A Difficult Past In 'Fatherland'
Nina Bunjevac tackles two troublesome subjects in Fatherland: Her Serbian nationalist father, and the occasionally violent, extremist history of his country — all in a controlled, icy-cool style.
'Gateway To Freedom': Heroes, Danger And Loss On The Underground Railroad
While writing his new book, historian Eric Foner relied on a recently discovered record of slaves' escapes. He says the documents paint a "revealing picture" of life on the Underground Railroad.
Three-Minute Fiction Round 10: Leave A Message After The Beep
This round of the short story contest for weekends on All Things Considered will be judged by author Mona Simpson. For Round 10, she wants original fiction with the "texture of voice."
Resurrections, Do-Overs, And Second Lives: A 2015 Poetry Preview
After the troubles of 2014, critic Craig Morgan Teicher offers up a full shelf of poetry for a brand new year — offering no solutions, but full of ambivalence and precision, balm and fire.
Exclusive First Read: Scott McCloud's 'The Sculptor'
Understanding Comics creator Scott McCloud is sometimes called the "Aristotle of comics" for his analysis of the medium. The Sculptor, a meditation on love, art and death, is his first graphic novel.
'Whipping Boy' Is Part Memoir, Part Crime Thriller
Allen Kurzweil's new book Whipping Boy starts out as the story of his obsessive 40-year search for the boy who bullied him at boarding school — but it becomes something much deeper and stranger.
Book Club: Hector Tobar Answers Your Questions About 'Deep Down Dark'
Tobar says it was a "great honor" to interview the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped underground for 69 days in 2010. They lived "one of the great adventure stories of the 21st century," he says.
Markets May Stumble Or Skyrocket, But This Economist Says Hold On Tight
It's been more than four decades since Burton Malkiel published A Random Walk Down Wall Street. Eleven editions later, Malkiel hasn't wavered in his mantra of patience and broad investing.
How A Skeptic Learned To Love Meditation
Fancy feeling happy in 2015? Dan Harris, co-anchor of ABC's Nightline, has written a book called 10% Happier. He shares with NPR's Rachel Martin the reasons that drove him to write a self-help book.