Author Interviews

James Mattis spent four decades in the Marines. He served as a commander in Afghanistan shortly after the al-Qaida attacks in 2001.

Jim Mattis: 'Nations With Allies Thrive, Nations Without Allies Wither'

12:11pm September 02, 2019

In an interview with NPR, former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis stresses the importance of allies and he also criticizes shifting U.S. policy aims during the wars of the past 18 years.

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Books
Arts

Voices Of The Past: Questions For Poet Renato Rosaldo

12:00pm September 01, 2019

by Stefanie Fernández

As a kid in Tucson in the 1950s, anthropologist and poet Renato Rosaldo ran with a crew called the Chasers. 50 years later, he interviewed them at a reunion and created prose poems in their voices.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has written a children's book called Just Ask! inspired by her desire to help kids embrace diversity. "If you don't know why someone's doing something, just ask them," she says. "Don't assume the worst in people."

'Just Ask!' Says Sonia Sotomayor. She Knows What It's Like To Feel Different

8:38am September 01, 2019

by Samantha Balaban

We're all different and that's good, says the U.S. Supreme Court justice. Her new children's book about embracing diversity portrays kids of all abilities working together to create a gorgeous garden.

Books

Book: 'The Plateau'

6:12pm August 31, 2019

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with anthropologist Maggie Paxson about her latest book The Plateau.

Books

Art Heists Recounted In 'Stealing The Show'

8:19am August 31, 2019

NPR's Scott Simon talks to John Barelli, who ran security at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, about his new book, Stealing the Show: A History of Art and Crime in Six Thefts.

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.

Books
Arts

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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Books

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

Books
Arts

'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.