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Sloane Crosley mourns her best friend in 'Grief Is for People'

5:00am February 28, 2024

by Heller McAlpin

Russell Perreault hired Crosley when she was 25 and the two became very close. He died by suicide in 2019. Her first full-length book of nonfiction is a noteworthy addition to the literature of grief.

The idea that sentences can end with a preposition has become a point of contention in the replies to a tongue-in-cheek social media post from dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster.

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Books

Merriam-Webster says you can end a sentence with a preposition. The internet goes off

7:53pm February 27, 2024

by Emma Bowman

The dictionary publisher's guidance on the practice has people riled up. Grammarians say the made-up rule is one big waste of time. Not everyone is ready to let it go.

Iraq War failures can be boiled down to miscommunications, according to this author

4:28pm February 27, 2024

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with journalist and author Steve Coll about his new book, The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, The CIA, and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq.

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Arts

Tommy Orange's 'Wandering Stars' is a powerful follow up to 'There There'

5:00am February 27, 2024

by Heller McAlpin

An eloquent indictment of the effects of the massacre, dislocation and forced assimilation of Native Americans, it is also a heartfelt paean to the importance of family and of ancestors' stories.

Cognitive neuroscientist Charan Ranganath says the human brain isn't programmed to remember everything. Rather, it's designed to "carry what we need and to deploy it rapidly when we need it."

When is forgetting normal — and when is it worrisome? A neuroscientist weighs in

2:25pm February 26, 2024

by Terry Gross

Charan Ranganath recently wrote an op-ed about President Biden's memory gaffes. He says forgetting is a normal part of aging. His new book is Why We Remember.

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Cocktails with George and Martha: Movies, Marriage, and the Making of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, by Philip Gefter

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Arts

Dishy-yet-earnest, 'Cocktails' revisits the making of 'Virginia Woolf'

2:25pm February 26, 2024

by John Powers

Philip Gefter's Cocktails with George and Martha traces the evolution of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? — from Broadway sensation, to Oscar-winning film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

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Books

'Burn Book' chronicles a journalist's career covering Silicon Valley titans

12:26pm February 26, 2024

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Kara Swisher about her tell-all book on the titans of the tech industry. It's called Burn Book: A Tech Love Story.

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Books

Sloane Crosley on her memoir 'Grief is for People', mourning and magical thinking

8:22am February 25, 2024

by Ayesha Rascoe

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks with Sloane Crosley about her memoir, "Grief is for People," which recounts mourning for her mentor and close friend after his death by suicide.

Books

Tommy Orange on his new novel 'Wandering Stars'

8:41am February 24, 2024

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon asks Tommy Orange about his new novel, "Wandering Stars." It is a sequel to his first, "There There," which was a Pulitzer finalist.

Books

The Hugo Awards scandal has shaken the sci-fi community

5:09am February 23, 2024

by Andrew Limbong

Hugo Awards celebrate the best in science fiction literature. Leaked emails suggest organizers of last year's show in China tampered with votes and excluded potential nominees for political reasons.