Books

Carlotta Gall began reporting on Afghanistan in November 2001, just after the U.S. started bombing the country in response to the Sept. 11 attacks.

Pakistan, The Taliban And The Real 'Enemy' Of The Afghanistan War

7:42pm April 15, 2014

In a new book, New York Times correspondent Carlotta Gall offers new information about how Pakistan has helped the Taliban in Afghanistan and may have helped hide Osama bin Laden.

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Books

Empathy: How Should We Care About One Another?

7:20am April 15, 2014

Kelly McEvers talks to Leslie Jamison, author of the new essay collection, The Empathy Exams: Essays. The book takes the writer on a quest to figure out how others feel empathy.

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According to Dr. Martin Blaser, the overuse of antibiotics has contributed to killing off strains of bacteria that typically live in the gut.

Modern Medicine May Not Be Doing Your Microbiome Any Favors

8:18pm April 14, 2014

In Missing Microbes, Dr. Martin Blaser argues that the overuse of antibiotics, as well as now-common practices like C-sections, may be messing with gut microbes.

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Books
Arts

NSA Coverage Garners Pulitzers For Post And Guardian

6:42pm April 14, 2014

by Neda Ulaby

Winners of the 2014 Pulitzer Prizes were announced Monday. The Washington Post and The Guardian were among the notable winners, commended for together breaking the news of NSA surveillance programs.

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Books
Arts

Jackie Collins' Mob Princess Serves Up A Cookbook You Can't Refuse

1:52pm April 14, 2014

by NPR Staff

Collins' The Lucky Santangelo Cookbook is named for her plucky heroine, the daughter of a former gangster. It's got recipes for linguine and the author's eponymous cocktail — but no health food.

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Books
Arts

A Sheep Killer Is On The Loose In 'All the Birds, Singing'

1:26pm April 12, 2014

All The Birds, Singing is the second novel by Australian-British author Evie Wyld. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Wyld about her sinister story revolving around the life of Jake, a sheep farmer.

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Books
Arts

Poisoned Cigars And A Painful Chapter In Our History

11:54am April 12, 2014

This week saw celebrations of the anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and revelation of the ZunZuneo scandal. Paul Reyes and Ralph Eubanks recommend The Cultural Cold War and We Are Not Afraid.

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Books
Arts

After A Disaster In 'Family Life,' Relief Never Comes

8:12pm April 10, 2014

by Meg Wolitzer

Akhil Sharma took over a decade to write his novel, Family Life, a mostly autobiographical account of an immigrant family and an accident that shatters their dreams for the future.

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In her memoir Living With a Wild God, Barbara Ehrenreich describes the mystical visions she had as a teenager.

A Nonbeliever Tries To Make Sense Of The Visions She Had As A Teen

2:35pm April 08, 2014

Barbara Ehrenreich — a rationalist, atheist and scientist by training — has written a new memoir called Living With a Wild God: A Nonbeliever's Search for the Truth about Everything.

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"If Jesus had not been declared God by his followers, his followers would've remained a sect within Judaism, a small Jewish sect," says historian Bart Ehrman.

If Jesus Never Called Himself God, How Did He Become One?

6:26am April 08, 2014

In How Jesus Became God, Bart Ehrman explores how a Jewish preacher from Galilee was transformed into a deity. "Jesus himself didn't call himself God and didn't consider himself God," Ehrman says.

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