Author Interviews

Books
Arts

In 'Missionaries,' Phil Klay Explores How 'Wars Bleed Into Each Other'

7:52am October 11, 2020

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

In a new novel, the National Book Award winner takes readers around the world — from the chaos in Iraq and Afghanistan to turmoil in rural Colombia. It is not a "nice, clean, moral story," he says.

Books

Author Heather Cabot On 'How Marijuana Went Mainstream'

6:03pm October 10, 2020

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with journalist Heather Cabot about her latest book, The New Chardonnay: The Unlikely Story of How Marijuana Went Mainstream.

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Books

In 'Fauci,' An Up Close Look At 'America's Doctor'

7:39am October 10, 2020

Scott Simon speaks with Michael Specter, a staff writer at the New Yorker, about his new biography about Dr. Anthony Fauci and his career as one America's leading scientists.

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Books
Arts

Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong'o Says Prison Formed Him As A Writer

7:39am October 10, 2020

by Scott Simon

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is a perennial favorite for the Literature Nobel. He hasn't won yet — but he does have a new book out, a novel in verse that tells the origin story of Kenya's Gĩkũyũ people.

Books
Arts

For Poet Maggie Smith, An Ending Was The Beginning Of Her New Book

4:11pm October 09, 2020

by Mary Louise Kelly

Smith says she started writing Keep Moving as her marriage was ending. It began as a series of affirmations she wrote for herself on Twitter; she found that the posts were helping other people too.

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Matt Cline, a student at Brown University, plays with a Rubik's Cube at his frat house on Oct. 2, 2007.

Books
Arts

Rubik's Cube Inventor Writes A New Book: It's Full Of Twists And Turns

6:08am October 08, 2020

by David Greene

Hungarian architect Ernő Rubik invented his fun (and frustrating) colorful cube in 1974. He tells that story, and talks about creativity, curiosity, play and puzzles, in Cubed: The Puzzle of Us All.

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Books

In New Book, Roman Mars Celebrates Little Bits Of Design That Are Left Unnoticed

4:52pm October 07, 2020

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with 99% Invisible podcast host Roman Mars about his new book, The 99% Invisible City, and the importance of noticing how the way people live shapes everyday design.

A member of the White House cleaning staff sanitizes the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room on October 5.

'It Is Reckless.' Trump Placing White House Staff At Risk Of COVID-19, Author Says

3:34pm October 07, 2020

by Christianna Silva

The White House has outlined steps it's taking to protect staff, but Kate Andersen Brower, author of The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House, says there is ample cause for concern.

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Rulaam Alam is also the author of the novels Rich and Pretty and That Kind of Mother.

Books
Arts

In 'Leave The World Behind,' 2 Families Face The Unknown Together

12:46pm October 07, 2020

by Dave Davies

Two families — one Black, one white — find themselves riding out a mysterious disaster in a luxury vacation home. Rumaan Alam's novel is about race, class, trust, bias — and how we respond to crisis.

'Undaunted': Former CIA Director On Things He's Proud Of And Things He Regrets

5:06pm October 06, 2020

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with former CIA Director John Brennan about his memoir, Undaunted.

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