Books

Aisha Abdel Gawad's debut novel is a 'love letter' to Arab Americans

4:41pm June 06, 2023

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with novelist Aisha Abdel Gawad about her new novel Between Two Moons. It's a coming of age story about teenage twins in Brooklyn and takes place during one month of Ramadan.

Demonstrators rally in support of abortion rights at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 15.

Books
Arts

How the SCOTUS 'Supermajority' is shaping policy on everything from abortion to guns

1:34pm June 06, 2023

by Dave Davies

Constitutional lawyer Michael Waldman says there's a growing divide between the electorate and the Court: "the country is moving in one direction ... the Court is moving fast in another direction."

Queue Listen Now

Books

'The Last Action Heroes,' by Nick de Semlyen, focuses on 8 action stars

5:06am June 06, 2023

NPR's A Martinez speaks to film journalist Nick de Semlyen about the actors who dominated action films in the '80s and '90s — including: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.

Lesbian Love Story: A Memoir in Archives by Amelia Possanza

Books
Arts

'Lesbian Love Story' unearths a century of queer romance

5:00am June 06, 2023

by Julie Depenbrock

Amelia Possanza's debut book Lesbian Love Story: A Memoir in Archives chronicles the lives of queer couples throughout the 20th century.

Lessons for living a happy life, according to science

4:58pm June 05, 2023

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Dr. Robert Waldinger, one of the authors of The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study on Happiness.

Queue Listen Now

'The Red Hotel' tells the story of Western journalists who were largely confined to Moscow's Metropol Hotel as they attempted to cover the Soviet side of World War II.

'The Red Hotel': Trying to cover World War II from a 'gilded cage' in Moscow

4:58pm June 05, 2023

by Greg Myre

When Russia's Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, he clamped down on the media. In his new book, author Alan Philps sees parallels to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin who confined reporters in World War II.

Books
Arts

'The Late Americans' is not just a campus novel

7:54am June 05, 2023

by Thúy Đinh

Brandon Taylor deftly explores the idea of youth's possibilities and the constraints of time, space, class and wealth disparities through the intersecting lives university students and townspeople.

Books

Darrin Bell's graphic memoir 'The Talk' references a shared experience among Black parents

7:49am June 04, 2023

by Ayesha Rascoe

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial Darrin Bell about his graphic memoir, "The Talk." The title refers to talks about racism Black parents often give their kids.

Books

Luis Alberto Urrea on his new novel 'Good Night, Irene

7:59am June 03, 2023

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon talks with Luis Alberto Urrea about his new novel, "Good Night, Irene." It's based on his own mother's experiences working for the Red Cross in Europe during World War II.

Books

Henry Hoke on 'Open Throat', his novel inspired by Los Angeles's mountain lion P-22

7:59am June 03, 2023

by Scott Simon

Henry Hoke's new novel "Open Throat" follows the perspective of a hungry mountain lion. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Hoke, who was inspired by the real life story of the cat "P-22" in Los Angeles.