Author Interviews

Books
Arts

In 'Caul Baby,' A Rare Gift Becomes A Double-Edged Sword

4:42pm April 06, 2021

by Ari Shapiro

In Morgan Jerkins' novel, a family of Black women has a gift; they're born with a caul, a layer over their skin that protects them from harm. They can share and sell the caul — which brings trouble.

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Books
Arts

Poet Hanif Abdurraqib On The Intersection Of Black Excellence, Joy And Pain

1:58pm April 06, 2021

by Arun Venugopal

What do Soul Train and Whitney Houston tell us about race in America? In his book, A Little Devil in America, the culture critic traces the history of Black performance through moments in pop culture.

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Haruki Murakami's new story collection is First Person Singular.

Books
Arts

Haruki Murakami: 'I've Had All Sorts Of Strange Experiences In My Life'

9:28am April 06, 2021

by Petra Mayer

Murakami's new story collection, First Person Singular, touches some of his favorite subjects — jazz, baseball, classical music — but also highlights some of the unexplained oddities of life.

Sonora Jha, author of How to Raise a Feminist Son.

Books
Arts

Memoir Offers Advice On 'How To Raise A Feminist Son'

5:15am April 06, 2021

by Rachel Martin

A feminist son, says author Sonora Jha, means "a boy who believes in the full humanity of women and girls around him." It also means recognizing that as they grow older, they can be led by women.

"Queer people love country music," singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile says. "... We just don't think that it's going to open its doors to us. And when it does, it's wildly satisfying."

Singer Brandi Carlile Talks Ambition, Avoidance And Finally Finding Her Place

4:08pm April 05, 2021

by Terry Gross

The six-time Grammy winner got her start as a kid, singing backup for an Elvis impersonator. Her new memoir, Broken Horses, is about her early life and the family she's built.

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Hunter Biden, at the time serving as board chairman of World Food Program USA, with then-Vice President Joe Biden in 2016. Hunter Biden says his addictions worsened after his brother Beau's death in 2015.

Through Decades Of Addiction, Hunter Biden Says His Family Never Gave Up On Him

9:58am April 05, 2021

Hunter Biden's new memoir is a story of his years of alcohol and drug addiction. He tells NPR that the one constant was the love of his family: "Their light was never not seeking me out."

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From I Sang You Down from the Stars, by Tasha Spillett-Sumner and Michaela Goade.

Books
Arts

Old Ways Cradle A New Life In 'I Sang You Down From The Stars'

7:58am April 04, 2021

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Caldecott Medal-winning artist Michaela Goade's Tlingit heritage her illustrations for I Sang You Down From the Stars, about a woman following Indigenous customs as she prepares for motherhood.

Books
Arts

Ilona Bannister's Debut Novel Depicts The Struggles Of New Motherhood

7:58am April 04, 2021

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to author Ilona Bannister about her debut novel, When I Ran Away.

Rickie Lee Jones Debuts Memoir Named After One Of Her Best-Known Songs

8:15pm April 03, 2021

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to musician Rickie Lee Jones about her new memoir, Last Chance Texaco: Chronicles of an American Troubadour.

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Books
Arts

Remembering Larry McMurtry, A Writer Who Helped Define The American West

1:30pm April 02, 2021

by Terry Gross

Best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Lonesome Dove, McMurtry wrote more than 30 books and screenplays, many set in the West. He died on March 25. Originally broadcast in 1995.

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