Books

Dispelling The Myth Of A Classless Society In 'White Trash'

6:33pm July 07, 2016

Is America really a classless society? As part of the All Things Considered series, "The New Middle," NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to author Nancy Isenberg about her new book, White Trash which argues the notion of a classless society is a myth that hides an ugly truth about how we view the poor.

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'Unbroken Brain' Explains Why 'Tough' Treatment Doesn't Help Drug Addicts

5:24pm July 07, 2016

"We have this idea that if we are just cruel enough and mean enough ... to people with addiction, that they will suddenly wake up and stop, and that is not the case," journalist Maia Szalavitz says.

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Arts

'Underground Airlines' Is An Extraordinary Work Of Alternate History

4:17pm July 07, 2016

by Maureen Corrigan

In his new novel, Ben H. Winters imagines that the Civil War never happened and that slavery is still legal in some states. Critic Maureen Corrigan says Underground Airlines is "one suspenseful tale."

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Arts

'Underground Airlines' Presents A Scarily Realistic Alternate History

3:00pm July 07, 2016

by Bethanne Patrick

Ben H. Winters' new novel is set in a modern-day America in which almost everything seems normal — except for the fact that the Civil War never happened, and slavery is still legal in four states.

Books

'Coyote America' Honors An Animal Making North America Home For Centuries

7:50am July 07, 2016

David Greene talks to historian Dan Flores about his book, Coyote America, a biography of an iconic animal of the American West. Increasingly, the coyote has become associated with suburban life.

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'I Am No One:' Feels Like Somebody's Watching Me

7:00am July 07, 2016

by Annalisa Quinn

In Patrick Flanery's new novel, the border between mental illness and justified paranoia grows porous as average guy Jeremy begins to fear he's under surveillance. But is he? It's never quite clear.

When she was 18, British actress Louise Linton spent her gap year in Zambia. It's the subject of a controversial new memoir, In Congo's Shadow.

#LintonLies: How Zambians Are Using Social Media To Talk Back

6:36pm July 06, 2016

by Tobias Denskus

Zambians have turned to Twitter to point out factual errors and criticize the tone in a British actress's memoir about her gap year in their country.

Tracing The 'Rise Of The Judicial Right' To Warren Burger's Supreme Court

1:45pm July 06, 2016

Burger served as chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1969 until 1986. Linda Greenhouse, author of The Burger Court, says those years helped establish the court's conservative legal foundation.

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Here Comes The Sun By Nicole Dennis-Benn.

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Arts

'Here Comes The Sun' Shows A Complex, Heartbreakingly Real Jamaica

12:59pm July 06, 2016

by Michael Schaub

Nicole Dennis-Benn's assured, gorgeous debut novel follows Margot, a worker at a rich Jamaican resort, whose home life is a series of sacrifices as she struggles with family and forbidden love.

The cover of Invincible Iron Man, with art by Jeff Dekal.

Books
Arts

A Starkly Different Iron Man: Black, Female, And 15 Years Old

12:27pm July 06, 2016

by Glen Weldon

Meet Riri Williams, a teenage genius who will be stepping into the Iron Man suit following the events of Marvel Comics' latest crossover event.