Books

Understanding Horizontal Gene Transfer In 'The Tangled Tree'

8:19am August 11, 2018

NPR's Scott Simon asks science writer David Quammen about horizontal gene transfer and how it changes how we think about humankind's place in the world. Quammen's new book is The Tangled Tree.

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Graceful 'Court Dancer' Can't Escape Her Sorrows

7:00am August 11, 2018

by Jean Zimmerman

Kyung-Sook Shin's atmospheric, tragic novel follows a beautiful orphan whose dancing skills secure her a place at the Korean court, and later a life in Belle Époque France — but not happiness.

In her new book, Unhinged, former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman writes as a Trump world insider overjoyed at his election while airing concerns about his rhetoric, policies and mental state.

Omarosa Tells NPR She Heard Trump 'N-Word Tape,' Contradicting Her Own Tell-All Book

11:57pm August 10, 2018

by Tamara Keith

Former reality TV star and Trump aide Omarosa Manigault Newman spoke to NPR about explosive allegations in her new book, Unhinged, but part of her account changed in the interview.

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In Satirical 'Severance,' A Stricken Country Works Itself To Death

6:16pm August 10, 2018

by Ari Shapiro

When a disease wipes out most of the U.S. population, Candace Chen is the last one left at the office. Ling Ma began work on the apocalyptic novel right before she got laid off from her own job.

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David Sedaris On The Life-Altering And Mundane Pages Of His Old Diaries

1:29pm August 10, 2018

by Terry Gross

Sedaris' Theft by Finding is a collection of excerpts from those diaries. In it, he revisits major turning points, including how he met his longtime boyfriend. Originally broadcast May 31, 2017.

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'Lies My Teacher Told Me,' And How American History Can Be Used As A Weapon

10:41am August 09, 2018

by Anya Kamenetz

James Loewen's 1995 book explained how history textbooks got the story of America wrong. Now, in a new edition, Loewen champions critical thinking in the age of fake news.

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Arts

Spooky And Off-Kilter, 'Come Again' Shows Nate Powell's Virtuosity

7:35am August 09, 2018

by Etelka Lehoczky

Powell is known for his work on John Lewis' autobiography March -- but his new graphic novel goes in a different direction, digging into family secrets and supernatural horrors in an Ozarks commune.

What 1 Journalist Learned From Researching The Causes Of The Opioid Epidemic

5:59pm August 08, 2018

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with journalist Beth Macy about her new book Dopesick, after she spent the last three years digging into the causes of the opioid epidemic, from rampant overprescribing of painkillers to stigma of heroin addiction in white suburban communities.

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'American Hate' Profiles Survivors, But Also Brings Hope

11:10am August 08, 2018

by Martha Anne Toll

Amid the ugly realities of contemporary America, Arjun Singh Sethi's collection of stories affirms our courage and inspiration, opening a roadmap to reconciliation through the stories of victims.

The Marvellous Equations of the Dread, by Marcia Douglas

'Marvellous Equations' Pulses With Rhythmic Power

10:22am August 08, 2018

by Juan Vidal

Marcia Douglas's new book imagines a resurrected Bob Marley, living in a clock tower and conversing with spirits — but Douglas also honors and elevates the voices of the women in Marley's orbit.