Author Interviews

Gary Shteyngart's previous books include Super Sad True Love Story, Little Failure and Lake Success.

Books
Arts

How Gary Shteyngart's pandemic pod inspired a novel about friendship

1:56pm November 02, 2021

by Dave Davies

Our Country Friends is about the trysts and betrayals that occur within a group of friends during the pandemic. It's an exaggerated version of Shteyngart's own COVID experience.

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For years, All in the Family was the most popular show on television. It debuted in 1971. Carroll O'Connor, left, played Archie Bunker. Jean Stapleton played his wife, Edith Bunker.

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Arts

'All in the Family' is 50 years old. A new book looks at how it changed TV

12:43pm November 02, 2021

All in the Family creator Norman Lear, along with writer Jim Colucci, talked with NPR about Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton and their roles on the groundbreaking TV show.

Books

'Misfire' takes a hard look at nepotism, fraud and corruption in the NRA

5:04am November 02, 2021

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with NPR's Tim Mak about his book on the National Rifle Association: Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA.

Steven Roberts holds a copy of his book Cokie: A Life Well Lived at his home in Bethesda, Md. The process of writing that book, he says, has helped him feel like he gets to spend more time with his wife.

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Arts

A new book captures Cokie Roberts and her 'Life Well Lived'

2:16pm November 01, 2021

by Reena Advani

At the 2019 funeral for longtime NPR journalist Cokie Roberts, her husband, Steven, told personal stories about their life together. There were still more to tell, so he dove into writing about them.

Books

'Planet of Clay' describes the brutal toll of the Syrian civil war on a young girl

9:27am October 31, 2021

Samar Yazbek's new novel, "Planet of Clay," outlines the brutal toll of the Syrian civil war as told by a young girl. Yazbek talks with Asma Khalid about the inspiration for the book.

Pinkie Promises, written by Senator Elizabeth Warren and illustrated by Charlene Chua

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Arts

You can do it: Elizabeth Warren makes a pinkie promise to girls

9:16am October 30, 2021

by Samantha Balaban

Polly is tired of being told "that's not what girls do." Then she meets a woman running for President, who makes a pinkie promise with her to always remember that girls can do anything.

Author Jeff Chu on completing the book Rachel Held Evans started before she died

5:55pm October 29, 2021

NPR's Sarah McCammon speaks with author Jeff Chu about completing Wholehearted Faith, a book started by his friend, Rachel Held Evans, before she passed away in 2019.

Books

After the credits roll, what happens to the Final Girl?

4:36pm October 28, 2021

NPR's Audie Cornish talks with author Grady Hendrix about his horror novel, Final Girl Support Group, ahead of Halloween.

Supporters of President Trump protest outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump's strategy to overturn the 2020 election didn't work. Next time it might

2:11pm October 28, 2021

by Terry Gross

Robert Costa's book Peril, which he co-wrote with Bob Woodward, goes inside Trump's war room on the eve of the Jan. 6 insurrection. Costa says the 2024 election could trigger a constitutional crisis.

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Books

David Copperfield's new book opens a window into the world of magic

6:26am October 28, 2021

NPR's A Martínez speaks with illusionist David Copperfield about his book: History of Magic. It includes photos of magic artifacts and stories of the magicians who used them.