Author Interviews

Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

'Jesus And John Wayne' Explores Christian Manhood — And How Belief Can Bolster Trump

7:03pm June 23, 2020

by Steve Inskeep

Author Kristin Kobes Du Mez says: "It seemed like evangelicals had betrayed their values. But if you look at this longer history of evangelical masculinity and militarism ... this wasn't a betrayal."

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Author Susan Burton struggled with disordered eating for decades. "Hunger was something that I believed protected me and gave me power," she says.

From 'Empty' To 'Satisfied': Author Traces A Hunger That Food Can't Fix

4:19pm June 23, 2020

by Terry Gross

For Susan Burton, decades of disordered eating was about power. "As long as I was bingeing, I didn't have to think. I didn't have to think about any loss or pain or wanting or yearning."

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Books

How To Spot Sacred Practices In Everyday Life

3:58pm June 23, 2020

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with author Casper ter Kuile about his new book, The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities Into Soulful Practices.

Dr. Julie Holland, author of the new book, Good Chemistry, says that when patients taking antidepressants have stopped experiencing relief, psychedelic drugs might be used in conjunction with talk therapy to help some work through past traumas.

Psychiatrist Explores Possible Benefits Of Treating PTSD With Ecstasy Or Cannabis

3:57pm June 22, 2020

by Terry Gross

Dr. Julie Holland thinks psychedelic drugs can be used in psychiatry to make treatment more efficient and effective. "This is sort of a new paradigm," she says, "a revolutionary way to treat trauma."

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Books
Arts

For This 'Party Of Two', Distance Isn't The Only Bump On The Road

7:58am June 21, 2020

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Jasmine Guillory's latest starts with a meet-cute; L.A. lawyer Olivia Monroe runs into U.S. Senator Max Powell in a hotel bar. But they're divided by more than distance: Olivia is black, Max is white.

Books
Arts

In 'Love,' Roddy Doyle Mines The Past — Over Many, Many Pints

8:09am June 20, 2020

by Scott Simon

In Doyle's new novel, two old friends meet at a Dublin pub for a night of reconnecting and hard drinking. Joe has a burning secret; Davy has a concealed sorrow.

Books
Arts

A Mother Reflects On Privilege, Adoption And Parenting 'Without Perfection'

2:13pm June 18, 2020

by Terry Gross

Blogger Kristen Howerton talks about how raising two white biological daughters and two black adopted sons helped her understand white privilege. Her new memoir is Rage Against the Minivan.

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A server wears a protective face mask while attending to customers amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Bethesda, Md., on June 12.

Amid Confusion About Reopening, An Expert Explains How To Assess COVID-19 Risk

9:42pm June 17, 2020

by Terry Gross

Epidemiologist Michael Osterholm warns that the threat from the pandemic is ongoing. "We will all know somebody — we will all love somebody — who will die from this disease," he says.

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Books
Arts

'From Here to Equality' Author Makes A Case, And A Plan, For Reparations

5:58pm June 17, 2020

by Noel King

In a new book, economist William Darity Jr. argues that monetary payments are owed directly to the descendants of enslaved people, to help reverse more than two centuries of disenfranchisement.

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Demonstrators on both sides of the abortion debate rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 19, 2018.

Study Examines The Lasting Effects Of Having — Or Being Denied — An Abortion

2:43pm June 16, 2020

by Terry Gross

In The Turnaway Study, Diana Greene Foster shares research conducted over 10 years with about 1,000 women who had or were denied abortions, tracking impacts on mental, physical and economic health.

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