Author Interviews

Books

Estranged siblings learn the secrets and truth of their late mother in 'Black Cake'

9:25am February 13, 2022

by Kelsey Snell

In the new novel "Black Cake," an elderly mother makes a recording for her children. After her death, they learn her carefully kept secrets. Kelsey Snell talks with author Charmaine Wilkerson.

Health workers share information about tuberculosis with residents of aslum neighborhoods in New Delhi. India has the greatest number of TB cases in the world.

Before COVID, TB was the world's worst pathogen. It's still a 'monster' killer

7:01am February 13, 2022

by Susan Brink

It was under control. And then it wasn't. In her new book Phantom Plague: How Tuberculosis Shaped History, VIdya Krishnan shows how "we repeat the same disease-spreading mistakes over and over."

Books
Arts

'Maus' author Art Spiegelman shares the story behind his Pulitzer-winning work

11:20am February 12, 2022

by Terry Gross

Spiegelman's graphic novel, which was recently banned by a school district in Tennessee, tells the story of how his Jewish parents survived the Holocaust in Poland. Originally broadcast in 1987.

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Books

The novel 'Chilean Poet' touches on and pulls apart the numerous varietals of love

8:13am February 12, 2022

by Scott Simon

Scott Simon talks with Alejandro Zambra about his new novel, "Chilean Poet," which follows the lives and loves of two would-be poets in Santiago.

Where Wonder Grows, written by Xelena González and illustrated by Adriana M. Garcia

Books
Arts

Grandma's garden of magical rocks is 'Where Wonder Grows'

8:13am February 12, 2022

by Samantha Balaban

A grandmother brings her granddaughters to her special garden, where they learn about their connection to nature and tell stories about magical rocks, seashells, crystals and meteorites.

Rom-coms have been a go-to for Hollywood for years, but they have definitely evolved recently.

Books

Rom-com movies have evolved. But they still need these 3 simple elements

5:00am February 12, 2022

We're diving into the wonderful world of rom-coms — tackling everything from what the definition should be, why they were great (and sometimes not so great), and what a modern one looks like.

Books
Arts

Remembering activist Todd Gitlin, who helped lead the '60s antiwar movement

1:26pm February 11, 2022

by Terry Gross

Gitlin was part of the tumultuous student protest movement of the 1960s, and continued his commitment to social change through teaching and writing. He died on Feb. 5. Originally broadcast in 1987.

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Whitney Houston's legacy lives on 10 years after her death

4:44pm February 10, 2022

NPR's Adrian Florido talks with music critic Gerrick Kennedy, who has spent a lot of time researching and thinking about Whitney Houston's lasting legacy, about his book: Didn't We Almost Have it All.

Method actor Robert De Niro won the Oscar in 1981 for his performance as a retired boxer in Raging Bull.

Books
Arts

How the Method transformed film — and made acting more human

12:15pm February 09, 2022

by Terry Gross

Method acting is more than mining personal experiences to play a character — or physically transforming for a role. Author Isaac Butler traces the history of the technique in The Method.

Books

Iceland's first lady on the 'Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland's Extraordinary Women'

5:25am February 09, 2022

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Eliza Reed, the first lady of Iceland, about her new book and why her country is a great place to be a woman.