Books

Two Truths and a Lie, by Ellen McGarrahan

Books
Arts

A Botched Execution Leads To A Search For Answers In 'Two Truths And A Lie'

1:16pm February 24, 2021

by Maureen Corrigan

Ellen McGarrahan was a young reporter for The Miami Herald, when she witnessed an execution that went horribly wrong. She revisits the case of Jesse Tafero in an intense new true crime book.

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Arts

On 'The Kitchen Front,' 4 Women Cook Their Way To Victory

7:00am February 24, 2021

by Maria Godoy

In Jennifer Ryan's new novel, set in England in 1942, four women from different backgrounds compete in a cooking contest with a possibly life-changing prize: The chance to cohost a BBC cooking show.

Poet and author Lawrence Ferlinghetti, pictured above in 1960, was born on March 24, 1919.

Books
Arts

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Beat Poet And Small-Press Publisher, Dies At 101

8:05pm February 23, 2021

by Tom Vitale

In 1956, Ferlinghetti published the first edition of Allen Ginsberg's Howl. According to one critic, his greatest accomplishments were fighting censorship and starting a small-press revolution.

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What Does The 'War' Over Obamacare Reveal About Our Governing Bodies?

1:46pm February 23, 2021

by Terry Gross

In his new book, The Ten Year War, Jonathan Cohn looks at the intense debate surrounding the Affordable Care Act, the compromises of the law itself, and the ongoing fight for universal health care.

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Flight of the Diamond Smugglers: A Tale of Pigeons, Obsession, and Greed Along Coastal South Africa, by Matthew Gavin Frank

Pigeons Star In A Tale Of Mining In 'Flight Of The Diamond Smugglers'

12:25pm February 23, 2021

by Martha Anne Toll

Journalist Matthew Gavin Frank exposes the history of South Africa's nefarious diamond industry, accompanied by a tale of pigeons and their role in subversion, in crisp and poetic prose.

Red Line: The Unraveling of Syria and America's Race to Destroy the Most Dangerous Arsenal in the World, by Joby Warrick

'Red Line' Examines Syria's Use Of Chemical Weapons, And The World's Discovery Of It

10:49am February 23, 2021

by Steve Inskeep

Journalist Joby Warrick takes a detailed look at an excruciating moment for the world — the time in 2013 when the U.S. concluded that Syria's government had used chemical weapons in its civil war.

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Books
Arts

'Popular Longing' Digs Into Everything We'd Rather Leave Unsaid

5:45am February 22, 2021

by Jeevika Verma

In her third collection of poems, Natalie Shapero takes a blunt, funny look at the uncomfortable realities of life under capitalism. She says her work engages with the things people don't talk about.

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Journalist Margaret Coker Retells The Story Of The Battle Against ISIS In New Book

8:01am February 21, 2021

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with journalist Margaret Coker about her new book, The Spymaster of Baghdad. It chronicles the work of Iraqi intelligence agents against extremist groups.

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Nubia: Real One, by L.L. McKinney and Robyn Smith

Books
Arts

In 'Nubia: Real One,' Trying To Be A Hero When Society Thinks You're A Threat

7:00am February 21, 2021

by Juanita Giles

Nubia has been many things over decades of comics: Wonder Woman's sister, her rival, a guardian of the underworld. Now, L.L. McKinney and Robyn Smith have re-imagined her as a Black American teenager.

All Our Hidden Gifts, by Caroline O'Donoghue

Books
Arts

Winter Not Cold Enough? Here Are 3 YA Thrillers To Chill You

10:00am February 20, 2021

by Caitlyn Paxson

Prickly, angry girls get to the bottom of mysterious disappearances — or cause them — in these three angsty YA novels, from a retelling of "The Cask of Amontillado" to a wild and frozen dystopia.