Author Interviews

Personality differences fueled the creativity of The Police, drummer Copeland says

5:13am October 26, 2023

Throughout his time as drummer for The Police, Stewart Copeland kept copious notes. He finally has publishing them, and talks to NPR's Leila Fadel about his book: Stewart Copeland's Police Diaries.

Werner Herzog describes his dramatic narration in films as a "stylized voice." At home with his wife, he says, "I am a mild-mannered, fluffy husband."

Books
Arts

Werner Herzog says it's not good to circle 'your own navel' but writes a memoir anyway

3:21pm October 25, 2023

by Terry Gross

Herzog reflects on the curiosity that's fueled his career in the new memoir, Every Man for Himself and God Against All. Just don't expect a deep confessional: "I never liked too deep introspection."

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Books
Arts

'Charlie Chaplin vs. America' explores the accusations that sent a star into exile

1:38pm October 24, 2023

by Terry Gross

Author Scott Eyman explains how Chaplin was smeared in the press, scandalized for his affairs with young women, condemned for his alleged communist ties and banned from returning to the U.S.

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'The House of Doors' by Tan Twan Eng explores frustrated love on a diverse island

6:13pm October 23, 2023

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with author Tan Twan Eng about his latest book, The House of Doors, a decade shifting novel delving into tragedy, cultural dissonance and memory loss.

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Mitt Romney biographer offers a startling account of dysfunction in the Senate

2:05pm October 23, 2023

by Dave Davies

Atlantic writer McKay Coppins spent countless hours with the Utah senator and shares Romney's take on what Republican leaders privately think about Donald Trump. Coppins' book is Romney: A Reckoning.

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Almost half of all babies born in the U.S. in 2019 were born to unmarried mothers, a dramatic increase since 1960, when only 5% of births were to unmarried mothers.

Why children of married parents do better, but America is moving the other way

9:54am October 22, 2023

by Pallavi Gogoi

Almost half of all babies born in the U.S. are born to unmarried mothers. That's not good for children, says progressive economist Melissa Kearney in her new book, The Two-Parent Privilege.

Books

Two-time National Book Award-winning author Jesmyn Ward on her novel 'Let Us Descend'

8:06am October 22, 2023

by Ayesha Rascoe

"Let Us Descend" tells the story of a young enslaved woman before the Civil War. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks with author Jesmyn Ward about the new book, which she modeled after Dante's "Inferno."

Books

'Julia' is a retelling of George Orwell's 1984 through a different perspective

11:49am October 21, 2023

by Scott Simon

Big Brother is watching her: NPR's Scott Simon talks with Sandra Newman about her novel, "Julia." It's a retelling of George Orwell's "1984" through the eyes of the protagonist's girlfriend.

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Books
Arts

'Flower Moon' author recounts the conspiracy to murder the Osage people

1:22pm October 20, 2023

by Dave Davies

David Grann's 2017 book chronicled how members of the Osage Indian Nation were murdered in the 1920s by white people who wanted to take control of their land. Originally broadcast April 17, 2017.

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Walter Isaacson, left, and Michael Lewis are authors and friends from New Orleans. Their new books are about billionaire Elon Musk and fallen crypto executive Sam Bankman-Fried respectively.

Books
Arts

As Walter Isaacson and Michael Lewis wrote, their books' heroes became villains

4:47pm October 18, 2023

by David Folkenflik

What happens when the hero you plan to write about becomes a villain in much of the public's eye? We asked bestselling authors Michael Lewis and Walter Isaacson about Sam Bankman-Fried and Elon Musk.

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