Author Interviews

Books

Caleb Carr's new book is a memoir about life spent with his beloved rescue cat

7:53am April 13, 2024

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon talks with Caleb Carr, author of the best-selling novel, "The Alienist." Carr has written a memoir, reflecting on his life through the companionship of his scrappy rescue cat, Masha.

Books
Arts

A look back at how Godzilla and King Kong first roared onto screen

1:23pm April 12, 2024

by Terry Gross

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is out. We listen back to archival interviews with film historian Rudy Behlmer about the original 1933 King Kong and with Steve Ryfle about the original 1954 Godzilla.

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An American hauls in a HA-19 Japanese submarine following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Submarine warfare would prove crucial during WWII.

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Arts

Seizures, broken spines and vomiting: Scientific testing that helped facilitate D-Day

2:35pm April 10, 2024

by Terry Gross

Biomedical engineer Rachel Lance says British scientists submitted themselves to experiments that would be considered wildly unethical today in an effort to shore up the war effort.

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How Indonesia's revolution paved the way for decolonization worldwide

4:55pm April 09, 2024

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with David Van Reybrouck about Revolusi, his new book about how Indonesia gained independence and paved the way for the global decolonization movement.

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Amanda Montell hosts the podcast Sounds Like a Cult. She's also the author of Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism.

Books
Arts

'Magical Overthinking' author says information overload can stoke irrational thoughts

1:38pm April 09, 2024

by Tonya Mosley

Author and podcast host Amanda Montell says our brains are overloaded with a constant stream of information that stokes our innate tendency to believe conspiracy theories and mysticism.

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What women can do — and should do — to protect their health

5:09am April 09, 2024

NPR's Michel Martin talks about how women can get the health care they need with Dr. Sharon Malone, author of the new book, Grown Woman Talk: Your Guide to Getting and Staying Healthy.

Chilean author Isabel Allende poses for a photograph in Madrid on June 5, 2017.

Books
Arts

Isabel Allende tells a story of impossible love in 'Lovers at the Museum'

6:00am April 08, 2024

by Marcela Davison Aviles

We spoke with the prolific, 81-year-old author about her new short story — a powerful allegory of the human condition and the mystery of love — and also AI and what's she's working on now.

Books

Annabelle Tometich on her memoir 'The Mango Tree'

8:34am April 06, 2024

by Scott Simon

NPR Scott Simon talks with journalist Annabelle Tometich about her book, "The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit Florida, and Felony."

Books

As General Electric completes a series of spinoffs, a look back at its historic past

8:34am April 06, 2024

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with writer William Cohan, author of "Power Failure," on the history of General Electric, once one of America's largest companies. It finished a series of spin-offs this week.

Books
Arts

'The Wide Wide Sea' revisits Capt. James Cook's fateful final voyage

1:39pm April 03, 2024

by Dave Davies

"A lot of things started going wrong from the very beginning," historian Hampton Sides says of Cook's last voyage, which ended in the British explorer's violent death on the island of Hawaii in 1779.

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