Author Interviews

Everything Sad is Untrue, by Daniel Nayeri

Books
Arts

'Everything Sad Is Untrue' Is Funny And Sad And (Mostly) True

4:37pm September 02, 2020

by Ailsa Chang

In his new novel Daniel Nayeri fictionalizes his own experience of arriving in Oklahoma as an eight-year-old Iranian refugee and dealing with the difficulties of leaving his home and father behind.

Donald Trump v. The United States: Inside the Struggle to Stop a President by Michael S. Schmidt

'People Around The President Are Trying To Stop Him,' 'Times' Journalist Says

4:14pm September 02, 2020

by Terry Gross

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Schmidt says it's unusual for advisers to be so focused on preventing a president from breaking the law. His new book is Donald Trump v. The United States.

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Books

'Having And Being Had': A Book That Answers Your Questions On Capitalism

4:43pm September 01, 2020

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer talks with author Eula Biss about her new book. Having and Being Had attempts to answer questions on capitalism: What is it? Is it inevitable? And how do we live outside it?

Books
Arts

'The Quiet Americans' Examines Tragic Miscalculations In The CIA's Formative Years

2:44pm September 01, 2020

by Dave Davies

In a new book, author Scott Anderson chronicles the formative years of America's spy agency by focusing on four soldiers who became intelligence agents after World War II.

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'NYT' Reporter Discusses Economic Influence In 2020 Election

5:33pm August 30, 2020

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with New York Times economics reporter Jim Tankersley about the role the economy is playing in the 2020 election and his new book, The Riches of This Land.

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In his new book, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., outlines the history of the Second Amendment and why gun violence is as bad as it is today. Above, Murphy listens during during a Senate hearing on June 30, 2020.

Chris Murphy Says He Still Sees Hope For Progress Around Gun Laws And Racial Justice

12:11pm August 30, 2020

by Suzanne Nuyen

In his new book, the Connecticut Democrat outlines the history of the Second Amendment and gun violence. While solutions are big and comprehensive, Murphy says the U.S. is poised to turn a corner.

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Books

Chef Alvin Cailan On Comfort Food, His Heritage And His New Book, 'Amboy'

7:57am August 30, 2020

NPR's Debbie Elliot speaks with Eggslut restaurant franchise founder Alvin Cailan about his new cookbook-cum-memoir Amboy, which features his favorite Filipino comfort food.

Punching the Air, by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

Books
Arts

'Punching The Air' Tells A Story Of Hope Behind Bars

7:57am August 29, 2020

by Scott Simon

Author Ibi Zoboi and activist Yusef Salaam, one of the Central Park Five, turn his childhood pain into poetry in this new novel in verse, about a Black teenager convicted of a crime he didn't commit.

Books
Arts

A Scientist Feels The Pull Of Faith In 'Transcendent Kingdom'

7:57am August 29, 2020

by Scott Simon

Yaa Gyasi's new novel follows a young woman working on a neuroscience PhD who hopes that figuring out the pathways of addiction and depression in mice will help her work through her own feelings.

A flag drapes across looted shelves in a hardware store during widespread unrest following the death of George Floyd on May 31, 2020 in Philadelphia, Penn.

Books

One Author's Argument 'In Defense Of Looting'

1:30pm August 27, 2020

by Natalie Escobar

In her new book, writer Vicky Osterweil argues that looting is a powerful tool to bring about real, lasting change in society.