How Do You Bond With Mozart? Adopt A Starling
Naturalist and author Lyanda Lynn Haupt took her research on Mozart to a whole new level when she invited a young starling into her home.
Books
'Tender' Stories Are A Feast Of Ideas
Sofia Samatar is the creator of an award-winning fantasy world; she sticks closer to earth in her powerful first story collection, but it's not always the earth we might recognize.
'The Book Of Joan' Is A Dizzying, Dystopian Genre Mashup
Lidia Yuknavitch reimagines Joan of Arc as a freedom fighter on a blighted future earth, setting herself against the charismatic ruler of a satellite colony of nearly unrecognizably mutated humans.
From 'F-Bomb' To 'Photobomb,' How The Dictionary Keeps Up With English
For a new word to enter the dictionary, it must meet three criteria: widespread use, sustained use and meaningful use. Merriam-Webster lexicographer Kory Stamper explains the process in Word by Word.
A Potent, Uneasy Blend Of Passion And Fatalism In 'The Woman Who Had Two Navels'
No matter what's happening in this new collection of work from the late Filipino writer Nick Joaquin, it's probably already too late — but that doesn't stop his characters from struggling.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Call To Action: 'This Fight' Will Take Everybody
"Everybody's got to get out there and find the piece that they can do," the Democratic Massachusetts senator says. She talks to NPR's Audie Cornish about her new book, the middle class and activism.
'Locking Up Our Own' Details The Mass Incarceration Of Black Men
NPR's Robert Siegel talks with author James Forman, Jr., about his new book, Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America. It tells the story of how African Americans in law enforcement made the war on drugs very much their war.
'I Basically Ran On Adrenaline': A Staffer Remembers Obama's White House
Alyssa Mastromonaco worked in the West Wing for six exhilarating and exhausting years. She describes that era in her new memoir, Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?
The Line Between Love (Songs) And Horror Just Got Even Blurrier
The Police's "Every Breath You Take" was already a pretty creepy song. Now, it and many other love songs have been re-envisioned as the covers of Stephen King-style horror paperbacks.
'Shattered' Picks Through The Broken Pieces Of Hillary Clinton's Dream
A new book goes behind the scenes of Clinton's presidential bid. "There is no Big Reveal," says NPR's Ron Elving. "Instead we get a slow-building case against [her campaign's] concept and execution."