Books

Alex Wagner is a contributor to CBS News and The Atlantic Magazine.

Books
Arts

A Journalist Seeks Out Her Roots, But Finds Few Answers In The Soil

2:40pm April 30, 2018

by Terry Gross

Alex Wagner says the birth of her son made her want to learn more about her heritage. "I wanted to tell my son a story that was true," she says. Wagner chronicles her journey in Futureface.

Former Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., served in Congress from 2001-2017. He is pictured here in 2014.

A Bill To Make Every American Bear Arms, In The Novel 'Big Guns'

5:52pm April 29, 2018

by Michel Martin

Steve Israel's new satire imagines a world where the gun lobby holds enough sway to pass such legislation through Congress. As a former Democratic congressman, he knows the subject intimately.

Books
Arts

In 'Emergency Contact,' Finding A Safe Space In Texts

3:42pm April 29, 2018

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Mary H.K. Choi's new novel follows Sam and Penny, both awkward and deeply damaged people, who forge a connection first through text messages and then in real life.

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A Long Fight For Justice For Contractors In 'The Girl From Kathmandu'

8:10am April 29, 2018

Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with author and journalist Cam Simpson about his new book, The Girl from Kathmandu, about the life of contract employees from poor countries working for the U.S. in Iraq.

Books
Arts

In 'The Red Caddy,' A Nearly-Lost Portrait Of A Complicated Friend

7:00am April 28, 2018

by Michael Schaub

Some time in the 1990s, author Charles Bowden wrote a memoir of his friendship with prickly but legendary environmentalist Edward Abbey. And then it sat, neglected, on his computer — until now.

Ann Morgan: What Can You Learn From Reading The World?

9:29am April 27, 2018

by NPR/TED Staff

In 2012, Ann Morgan set out to read a book from nearly 200 different countries around the world. She describes how that experience challenged her limits and tested her assumptions.

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Capitalism's Comeback: Making America Great Again?

4:55pm April 26, 2018

Former fast food CEO Andrew Pudzer says the Trump administration is good for capitalism. And capitalism is good for all.

ARCHER -- Pictured: H. Jon BenjaminCR: Ray Mickshaw/FXX

Books

H. Jon Benjamin On How To Fail Your Way To Success

4:55pm April 26, 2018

The voice of "Archer" and "Bob's Burgers" has a new memoir ... all about failure.

Jake Tapper is CNN's chief Washington correspondent and the host of The Lead and State of the Union. His novel, The Hellfire Club, is set in 1954 Washington, D.C.

CNN's Jake Tapper On McCarthyism, Trump And The 'Jar Jar Binks Principle'

2:04pm April 26, 2018

by Terry Gross

Tapper's new novel, The Hellfire Club, takes place in 1954 during Sen. Joseph McCarthy's Communist "witch hunt" — a time he describes as "very resonant" with the current political climate.

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Kevin Young's 2012 essay collection The Grey Album: On The Blackness Of Blackness was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Books
Arts

Filtering American History Through A 'Brown' Lens

11:00am April 26, 2018

by Karen Grigsby Bates

Kevin Young's new book of poetry, Brown, is colored by memories from his family and childhood, U.S. history and black culture.