Author Interviews

Musician Fred Hersch Recounts A Life 'In And Out Of Jazz' In His New Memoir

2:50pm September 14, 2017

Nearly 30 years ago, Hersch was among the first jazz musicians to come out as both gay and HIV positive. His memoir looks back on that time, as well as the time he spent in a medically induced coma.

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Attica Locke is the author of Black Water Rising, The Cutting Season and Pleasantville, and has written for the Fox drama, Empire.

Books
Arts

Author Attica Locke: In America, We Walk 'Side By Side' With Our Past

1:17pm September 14, 2017

by Rachel Martin

Locke's novel Bluebird, Bluebird is set in Texas where her family roots stretch back to slavery. The family didn't go north during the Great Migration, she explains: "We said: No, Texas is ours, too."

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Hillary Clinton at the Glazier Arboretum Park, where she often likes to hike, in Chappaqua, N.Y.

Hillary Clinton Is 'Done,' But Not Going Away

5:19pm September 12, 2017

by Tamara Keith

In interviews with NPR, Clinton discusses her life since the election she didn't expect to lose and why she lost. And she offers scathing criticism of President Trump.

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Books
Arts

'Survivor Cafe' Explores How To Preserve The Legacy Of Horrific Events

4:31pm September 12, 2017

How do we carry the stories of horrific events forward? That's one of the questions Elizabeth Rosner tries to answer in her book, Survivor Cafe: The Legacy of Trauma and the Labyrinth of Memory.

Politics & Government

News Brief: Irma Weakens, Clinton Memoir And New iPhone

8:06am September 12, 2017

While Irma has weakened, it is still bringing heavy rain to the Southeast. And, there are some big releases on Tuesday: Hillary Clinton's new memoir and Apple's latest iPhone iteration.

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Wold Without Mind by Franklin Foer (Emily Bogle/NPR)

'World Without Mind': How Tech Companies Pose An Existential Threat

6:31pm September 11, 2017

by Ari Shapiro

From Facebook's algorithms to our reliance on phones instead of our memories, tech giants are taking us to a future that's either utopian or dystopian, author Franklin Foer says.

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Books

He Wanted To Be A Soldier But Became A Bank Robber

8:26am September 10, 2017

A good kid just out of high school gets swept up into a plot to rob a bank. Ben Blum tells Linda Wertheimer the true story of his cousin Alex in Ranger Games.

Books

A Mother And Daughter Upset Suburban Status Quo In 'Little Fires Everywhere'

7:39am September 09, 2017

by Scott Simon

Novelist Celeste Ng knows Shaker Heights, Ohio well. Writing about your own hometown is "like writing about a relative," she says. "You love them dearly, and yet you also know all of their quirks."

Marie Lu says it's fitting — given her tendency to write dark, dystopian novels — that she was born in the year 1984.

Books
Arts

'Young People Who Do Extraordinary Things' Are The Norm In Marie Lu's YA World

5:15am September 08, 2017

by Mandalit del Barco

The bestselling young adult author specializes in dystopian fiction. Her latest, Warcross, is set in the not-too-distant future, and draws on Lu's time working in the video game industry.

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Biologist Jonathan Losos Explores 'Convergent Evolution' In 'Improbable Destinies'

4:28pm September 07, 2017

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with Jonathan Losos, author of the new book, Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance, and the Future of Evolution, which explores the growing understanding of "convergent evolution."