Books

The SciFri Book Club Visits "Gorillas in the Mist"

1:03pm February 22, 2013

The book club regulars visit Gorillas in the Mist, Dian Fossey's memoir of her years studying mountain gorillas in a remote African rainforest. Gorilla expert Annette Lanjouw joins the club to give an update on how this endangered subspecies of gorilla is faring.

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Books
Arts

Karen Russell's 'Vampires' Deserve The Raves

2:39pm February 21, 2013

by Maureen Corrigan

The author of Swamplandia! has a new collection of short stories called Vampires in the Lemon Grove. Critic Maureen Corrigan says the stories are daring and devastating, and with them Russell establishes herself as one of the great American writers of our young century.

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Dr. Sam Parnia researches the experiences of cardiac arrest patients who are brought back to life.

'Erasing Death' Explores The Science Of Resuscitation

2:39pm February 21, 2013

Dr. Sam Parnia researches the experiences of cardiac arrest patients in the time between when their hearts stop and when they are brought back to life. Parnia thinks of these experiences as actual-death experiences as opposed to near-death experiences.

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Author Katherine Bouton Opens Up About Going Deaf

7:14am February 21, 2013

After going deaf at the age of 30, writer Katherine Bouton's entire life changed. In her new book, "Shouting Won't Help," Bouton shares how she came to terms with hearing loss, and why more attention needs to be paid to a condition that affects nearly 50 million Americans.

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Books
Arts

'The Dinner' Offers Food For Thought

6:11pm February 20, 2013

by Rosecrans Baldwin

The novel by Herman Koch is structured around a five-course meal shared by two couples. But it's not all fun and food. What's really going on at this meal is much more gruesome. Reviewer Rosecrans Baldwin says the novel offers a fresh, modern take on basic moral questions.

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Jake Tapper's new book, The Outpost, tells the story of one of America's deadliest battles during the war in Afghanistan.

Jake Tapper: 'The Outpost' That Never Should Have Been

3:10pm February 20, 2013

In a new book, the CNN anchor tells the story of Combat Outpost Keating. The ill-fated American military base was in a remote Afghan valley, and on Oct. 3, 2009, it became the site of one of the deadliest attacks against U.S. troops in the history of the war in Afghanistan.

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Books
Arts

Today's Bullied Teens Subject To 'Sticks And Stones' Online, Too

1:27pm February 19, 2013

In her new book, Slate senior editor Emily Bazelon explores teen bullying, what it is and what it isn't, and how the rise of the Internet and social media make the experience more challenging. "It really can make bullying feel like it's 24/7," she says.

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"Many of us spend more than half our waking hours at work," writes Buettner. So he recommends you find the right job, limit your workweek to 40 hours, take vacations and go to happy hour for some satisfying socializing.

Books
Arts

How To 'Thrive': Short Commutes, More Happy Hours

1:03pm February 18, 2013

by NPR Staff

Dan Buettner visited some of the happiest populations on Earth to figure out what makes them tick. After five years of study, he argues the real keys to happiness lie not in wealth or beauty, but in fundamental changes to the way we live. Buettner lays out his findings in his book Thrive.

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Books
Arts

'Immortal' Cells Of Henrietta Lacks Live On In Labs

1:03pm February 18, 2013

by NPR Staff

It was one of the most revolutionary tools of biomedical research: the immortal HeLa cell line. But few people know the cells belonged to a poor Southern tobacco farmer named Henrietta Lacks. Rebecca Skloot spent years researching Lacks and tells her story in The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks.

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Herman Koch is a Dutch writer and actor. The Dinner is his sixth novel; it originally came out in Dutch in 2009, and has since been published in 25 countries.

Books
Arts

'The Dinner' Asks: What Will You Do To Protect Your Family?

6:42am February 18, 2013

by NPR Staff

Herman Koch's new novel The Dinner asks the uncomfortable question: How far will you go to protect your family? Two couples gather for dinner to discuss their teenaged sons, who've most likely committed a terrible crime. Will they report it? Or will they cover it up to keep their sons safe?

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