Author Interviews

Roman Dial and his son, Cody Roman, regularly took adventure trips together. "I kind of hoped that he would be an outdoors partner for me for life," Dial says of his son.

Books
Arts

A Father Recounts His Search For The Son Who Vanished In Costa Rican Wilderness

2:09pm March 03, 2020

by Dave Davies

Roman Dial hoped his son would be his outdoor partner for life. But that dream ended when his son disappeared in a Central American wilderness. Dial's new book is The Adventurer's Son.

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Cover detail of The Second Chance Club, by Jason Hardy

Books
Arts

Former Parole Officer Reflects On His Time Supervising 'The Second Chance Club'

2:37pm March 02, 2020

by Dave Davies

As a parole officer in New Orleans, Jason Hardy was responsible for 220 individuals — four times the recommended caseload. He says the parole and probation system fails the most vulnerable.

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Books

Erik Larson's Latest Book Focuses On Winston Churchill During The Blitz

6:18am March 02, 2020

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Erik Larson about his latest book: The Splendid and the Vile. Larson's past books have often focused on less famous characters at the edge of history.

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Books

'Manhattan Is A Lenape Word,' And Other Poems Looking At Native Americans' Struggles

11:47am March 01, 2020

NPR's Leila Fadel talks with author and poet Natalie Diaz about her new book, Postcolonial Love Poems.

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Books
Arts

Louise Erdrich's Grandfather Inspired Her New 'Night Watchman'

8:21am February 29, 2020

by Scott Simon

Erdrich's new novel, set in the 1950s, follows a Native American tribe fighting for their rights as the U.S. Congress prepares to terminate their nation-to-nation treaties and land ownership rights.

James McBride is also the author of The Color of Water and won the National Book Award for Fiction for The Good Lord Bird. He's shown above in Paris on Sept. 23, 2015.

Books
Arts

James McBride's Advice For New Writers: 'A Simple Story Is The Best Story'

8:21am February 29, 2020

by Scott Simon

The National Book Award-winning author has a new novel called Deacon King Kong. It's set in a Brooklyn housing project in 1969. "Time and place is really crucial to good storytelling," he says.

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The Conestoga stand and face their final moments.

Books
Arts

How A Graphic Novel Resurrected A Forgotten Chapter In American History

1:21pm February 26, 2020

by Jess Kung

In Ghost River: The Fall and Rise of the Conestoga, Native artists retell the events of a brutal massacre in pre-Revolutionary Pennsylvania and bring a painful history to life on the page.

Books
Arts

'Inside Story' Sheds Light On Facebook's Effort To Connect The World

2:12pm February 25, 2020

by Dave Davies

How can one company be so wildly successful — and so thoroughly distrusted? Tech writer Steven Levy reflects on Facebook's enigmatic leader and its drive for expansion in his new book.

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'Supreme Inequality' Argues That America's Top Court Has Become Right-Wing

1:50pm February 24, 2020

by Terry Gross

In a new book, lawyer/journalist Adam Cohen makes the case that the Supreme Court has been "a right-wing court for 50 years," siding with corporations and the wealthy — and against the poor.

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Jessica Simpson Talks Of Alcohol Abuse, Finding Herself Again In Memoir 'Open Book'

7:35am February 23, 2020

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

"There's never been a moment in my life that I've been more honest with myself," the pop singer tells NPR. "I finally feel free of everything that I was holding secret and holding to myself."