Author Interviews

Books

Amy Waldman On 'A Door In The Earth'

8:19am August 31, 2019

A young woman reads an inspiring memoir and goes off to Afghanistan to help out. But what good can she possibly do? NPR's Scott Simon talks to Amy Waldman about her new novel, A Door in the Earth.

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Edwidge Danticat: 'Whether Or Not We Belong Is Not Defined By Us'

5:29am August 30, 2019

by Steve Inskeep

Most of the characters in Edwidge Danticat's new collection are Haitian American, and Haiti is often in their hearts and on their minds. Danticat says the stories reflect her own immigrant experience.

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Laura Cumming Explores Her Mother's Brief Disappearance In 'Five Days Gone'

4:54pm August 28, 2019

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with author Laura Cumming about her new book Five Days Gone, an exploration of her mother's brief disappearance as a child and the web of secrets surrounding it.

In The Vagina Bible, gynecologist Jen Gunter dispels myths about the female body.

'Vagina Bible' Tackles Health And Politics In A Guide To Female Physiology

6:05pm August 27, 2019

by Mara Gordon

Frustrated with online marketing sites that peddle needless "health aids" and fears, gynecologist and columnist Jen Gunter aims to dispel myths about the female body and restore power to patients.

My Papi Has a Motorcycle, by Isabel Quintero and Zeke Peña

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'My Papi Has A Motorcycle' Pays Loving Tribute To A California Childhood

8:46am August 25, 2019

Author Isabel Quintero and illustrator Zeke Peña worked together on My Papi Has a Motorcycle, a homage to Quintero's childhood in California's Inland Empire, and to her hard-working father.

A Particular Kind Of Black Man cover image

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Tope Folarin Was 'A Particular Kind Of Black Man' — So He Wrote A Book About It

5:17pm August 24, 2019

by Michel Martin

The semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale from the Nigerian-American writer, his debut novel, finds a child of African immigrants growing up in Utah.

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Rion Amilcar Scott Returns To Cross River In 'The World Doesn't Require You'

4:58pm August 22, 2019

NPR's Audie Cornish talks with author Rion Amilcar Scott about his new collection of short stories entitled, The World Doesn't Require You.

A Good Provider is One Who Leaves, by Jason DeParle

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'A Good Provider' Argues Migration Can Be Salvation

5:09pm August 20, 2019

by Ari Shapiro

Jason DeParle's new book follows one Filipino family for over 30 years. He had originally intended to research slum life — but discovered that migration was what lifted the family out of the slum.

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How A Few 'Renegade' Thinkers Helped Usher In A New Era Of Anthropology

2:04pm August 20, 2019

by Dave Davies

In his new book, Gods of the Upper Air, Charles King tells the story of Franz Boas, Margaret Mead and the other 20th century anthropologists who challenged outdated notions of race, class and gender.

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Jill Heinerth says Dan's Cave on Abaco Island, Bahamas, is her "favorite cave on Earth."

Cave Diver Risks All To Explore Places 'Where Nobody Has Ever Been'

8:52pm August 19, 2019

by Dave Davies

"The big picture of survival is sometimes so hard to see, but we always know what we can do to make the next best step toward survival," says cave diver, photographer and memoirist Jill Heinerth.

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