Books

Priest Responds To Gang Members' 'Lethal Absence Of Hope' With Jobs, And Love

2:28pm November 13, 2017

Homeboy Industries founder Father Greg Boyle has spent 30 years working in LA with gang members and young people transitioning out of prison. His new book is Barking to the Choir.

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Arts

A Book On 'Bunk' For Our Post-Truth Times

10:17am November 13, 2017

by Michel Martin

Poet and critic Kevin Young attempts to make sense of a worsening surge in hoaxes — from plagiarism to fake news — in a new deeply researched history.

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What does it mean when we say "Huh?" or "Um" in conversation? Barbara J. King explores a new book looking at the topic, How We Talk.

Um, Uh, Huh? Are These Words Clues To Understanding Human Language?

9:59am November 13, 2017

by Barbara J. King

Tiny filler words in human rapid-fire conversation hold the key to understanding how language is unique, according to a new book. But anthropologist Barbara J. King raises some questions.

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Arts

Author Explores A Dark History Through A Magical Story In 'Rise Of The Jumbies'

6:05pm November 12, 2017

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to Tracey Baptiste about her new novel. Drawing on myths of her native Trinidad and Tobago, Baptiste tackles the history of the slave trade for young readers.

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Economics in Wonderland, by Robert B. Reich

Robert Reich Shows Off His Cartooning Skills in 'Economics in Wonderland'

7:00am November 12, 2017

by Etelka Lehoczky

"Economic concepts don't readily lend themselves to cartoons," says the former Secretary of Labor, a talented cartoonist who's put a lot of thought into drawing abstract ideas like tax expenditures.

Books
Arts

Paul Hollywood Recounts His 'Baker's Life,' From Ginger Biscuits To Fancy Cakes

5:56pm November 11, 2017

by Scott Simon

Paul Hollywood shot to fame as the gimlet-eyed judge on the Great British Bake-Off. His new book is a memoir in recipes, beginning with childhood favorites and ending with special-occasion bakes.

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Helping Refugees Is The Test Of Our Times, David Miliband Says

8:07am November 11, 2017

NPR's Scott Simon talks to David Miliband, head of the International Rescue Committee, about his new book, Rescue: Refugees and the Political Crisis of Our Time.

A supermoon appears above Antwerp, Belgium, on Sept. 28, 2015. Andy Weir's second novel takes place on the first human colony on the moon.

Books
Arts

In New Novel, 'Martian' Author Andy Weir Builds A Colony On The Moon

7:51am November 11, 2017

by Scott Simon

Artemis imagines the first moon settlement as a mining town and tourist trap. "I had a lot of fun doing the world building," Weir says.

Humanity has always wondered what's on the far shore — even if our guesses sometimes miss the mark.

Terra Incognita: 'The Planet Factory' And 'The Undiscovered Islands'

7:00am November 11, 2017

by Genevieve Valentine

Two new books about unreal islands and yet-to-be-real planets have much to tell us about what human beings want to know when we look around at the world — life is uncertain, and our fears need maps.

'The Annotated African American Folktales,' By Henry Louis Gates and Maria Tatar

Books
Arts

'Annotated African American Folktales' Reclaims Stories Passed Down From Slavery

2:29am November 11, 2017

by Robert Siegel

The new anthology, edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Maria Tatar, aims to make century-old stories — of flying Africans, quizzical animals and even Uncle Remus — available to new generations.

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