Books

Books
Arts

In 'Our Strangers,' life's less exciting aspects are deemed fascinating

9:21am October 03, 2023

by Heller McAlpin

Lydia Davis' focus has shifted largely from issues of parenting and domestic relationships to aspects of aging — but the results are as penetrating as anything she's written.

Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker (left to right), the writers and directors of "Airplane!"

Books
Arts

Looks like we picked the wrong week to quit quoting 'Airplane!'

11:36am October 02, 2023

A new book about the 1980's film "Airplane!" from David Zucker, Jim Abrahams & Jerry Zucker, the writing and directing team responsible for one of the most transformative film comedies in history.

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Books

Yomi Adegoke on her novel 'The List'

8:18am October 01, 2023

by Ayesha Rascoe

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with author Yomi Adegoke abouther new novel, The List.

Books

NPR's Steve Inskeep on his new book 'Differ We Must'

9:16am September 30, 2023

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with fellow NPR host Steve Inskeep about his new book, "Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America."

Books

"Jeopardy!" champion Amy Schneider on her new memoir and what it takes to win

7:57am September 30, 2023

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon asks "Jeopardy!" champion Amy Schneider about her new memoir, "In the Form of a Question."

'Sparks' author Ian Johnson on Chinese 'challenging the party's monopoly on history'

3:30pm September 29, 2023

by John Ruwitch

Xi Jinping and China's ruling Communist Party have displayed a dogged obsession with controlling the historical narrative. But there's a group of underground historians fighting back.

Books
Arts

Revisiting the 'Fresh Air' interview with poet Allen Ginsberg

1:47pm September 29, 2023

by Terry Gross

A new tribute album offers musical interpretations of Ginsberg's poems. The poet and countercultural activist spoke to Terry Gross in 1994 about his poem "Howl," which was inspired by his mother.

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Books

New book examines the making of the 1980 comedy movie classic 'Airplane!'

6:51am September 29, 2023

NPR's A Martinez talks to David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker, the trio who wrote and directed Airplane!, about their new book Surely You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane!

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Books by Japanese scholar Chizuko Ueno at a bookstore in Beijing, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. "Misogyny" and "Starting from the Limit" are at the center.

As China censors homegrown feminism, a feminist scholar from Japan is a bestseller

1:38am September 29, 2023

by The Associated Press

A 75-year-old Japanese feminist scholar who's not married and does not have children is an unlikely celebrity on China's tightly censored internet.

Books

BET cofounder Sheila Johnson writes her Cinderella story was really a nightmare

5:16am September 28, 2023

NPR's Michel Martin talks to Sheila Johnson, the first Black female billionaire, about her account of surviving an emotionally abusive marriage. Johnson's new memoir is Walk Through Fire.