Author Interviews

Books
Arts

'Startup Wife' Satirizes Tech Culture And Boardroom Sexism — From Experience

12:21pm July 12, 2021

by Terry Gross

Tahmima Anam's new novel is about a married couple who found a tech startup. The platform's success turns the husband into a messiah figure — even though it was his wife who designed it.

Books

The Novel, 'The Vixen,' Explores The Moral Ambiguity Of 1950s America

6:07am July 12, 2021

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer talks to Francine Prose about her latest book, The Vixen, which is loosely based on Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, suspected spies for Russia who were executed in 1953.

Books
Arts

Author Rae Nudson On Beauty Culture

5:23pm July 11, 2021

NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben speaks with Rae Nudson about her new book All Made Up: The Power and Pitfalls of Beauty Culture, From Cleopatra to Kim Kardashian.

Books

Graphic Novel 'Seek You' Illustrates The Loneliness Of Modern Life, Pre-Pandemic

9:36am July 11, 2021

Kristen Radke's second graphic memoir explores isolation and the craving for human connection. Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with her about "Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness."

Books

In New Novel, A Woman Goes "Wayward" In A Mid-Life Crisis Sparked By 2016's Election

9:38am July 10, 2021

Scott Simon speaks with author Dana Spiotta about her latest novel, "Wayward."

Sports
Books

All-Star Baseball Player CC Sabathia Shares His Best — And Lowest — Moments In Memoir

8:14am July 10, 2021

Scott Simon speaks to author and baseball pitcher CC Sabathia about his new memoir, "Til the End."

How An Anti-Vice Crusader Sabotaged The Early Birth Control Movement

5:44pm July 07, 2021

by Terry Gross

The Comstock Act, which passed in 1873, virtually outlawed contraception. In The Man Who Hated Women, author Amy Sohn writes about the man behind the law — and the women prosecuted under it.

Queue Listen Now

Books

A Tale Of Identities Colliding From A Writer Who's Held 5 Passports

4:41pm July 07, 2021

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Turkish writer Zülfü Livaneli about his novel Disquiet, newly translated into English. It unfolds in a border town caught between its ancient past and tumultuous present.

Books
Arts

Poet Tess Taylor Tells Us What She's Reading This Summer

5:01pm July 06, 2021

Poet and playwright Tess Taylor breaks down her diverse summer reading list, which includes a biography of Edgar Allen Poe, a poetry collection — and even a book about the act of reading.

T.J. Newman drew on her experiences as a flight attendant while writing the thriller Falling.

Books
Arts

Fasten Your Seat Belts: Flight Attendant-Turned-Novelist Shares Stories From The Sky

4:45pm July 06, 2021

by Dave Davies

During her 10 years as a flight attendant, T.J. Newman became an expert in guessing drink orders and calming unruly passengers. She drew on those experiences to write the hijack thriller Falling.

Queue Listen Now