Author Interviews

Books
Arts

It's The Public Radio Romance! Questions For Rachel Solomon, Author Of 'The Ex Talk'

10:00am February 02, 2021

by Petra Mayer

We here at NPR have a proprietary interest in the new novel from former KUOW producer Rachel Lynn Solomon: It's a sparky enemies-to-lovers romance set at a public radio station.

Books

Michelle Duster Reflects On Life Of Great Grandmother Ida B. Wells In New Biography

4:28pm February 01, 2021

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Michelle Duster about her new biography of her great grandmother, Ida B. Wells, Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells.

Ben Harper And Mom Ellen Reflect On A Lifetime Immersed In A Folk Music 'Wonderland'

1:30pm February 01, 2021

by Terry Gross

Ellen and Ben Harper both grew up in the Folk Music Center in Claremont Calif., which Ellen's parents founded in 1958. They join Fresh Air to discuss Ellen's new memoir, Always a Song.

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Books

'Land Of Big Numbers,' Short Story Collection From Te-Ping Chen

5:58am February 01, 2021

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Te-Ping Chen about her short story collection: Land of Big Numbers. It features people in China trying to live their lives in the shadow of an overpowering state.

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"Young people often have this desire to try to make their life interesting," says actor, author and director Ethan Hawke. "Life is so interesting all by itself. You do not have to try to goose life." He's pictured above in Paris on Nov. 25, 2019.

Books
Arts

Actor And Author Ethan Hawke: Writing 'Forces You To Think Through Things'

8:00am January 31, 2021

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Hawke's latest novel is called A Bright Ray of Darkness. It's about a famous young actor in a crumbling marriage who immerses himself in a Broadway production of Shakespeare's Henry IV.

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Books

Amelia Pang's Book Explores The Human Cost Of Our Cheap Goods

10:30am January 30, 2021

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with journalist Amelia Pang about her new book Made In China.

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Books

Cherie Jones' Debut Novel Sees Characters In Paradise Put Through Hell

7:54am January 30, 2021

NPR's Scott Simon speak with author Cherie Jones about her new novel, HOW THE ONE-ARMED SISTER SWEEPS HER HOUSE.

Journalist Jon Fasman says local police departments are increasingly using powerful surveillance tools — with little oversight.

Surveillance And Local Police: How Technology Is Evolving Faster Than Regulation

8:30am January 28, 2021

by Dave Davies

Journalist Jon Fasman says local police are frequently able to access very powerful surveillance tools with little oversight. He writes about the threat to privacy in We See It All.

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Vera Gissing, shown above at age 6, was one of 669 children from Prague whom Nicholas Winton helped save in the lead-up to World War II.

Books
Arts

He Saved 669 Children From Nazis — A New Book Tells His Story To Kids

6:04pm January 27, 2021

by Elizabeth Blair

In Nicky & Vera, Peter Sís chronicles the work of Nicholas Winton, who helped hundreds of kids escape Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939.

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Books

Janice Nimura On Telling The Story Of The First Women Medical Doctors

4:18pm January 27, 2021

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Janice Nimura about her new book, The Doctors Blackwell, which tells the story of two of the first women medical doctors, sisters Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell.