Author Interviews

Sports
Books

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Writes About His Friendship With Coach Wooden

7:13am May 21, 2017

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to writer and sports legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar about his book, Coach Wooden and Me, about his 50-year relationship with his UCLA basketball coach John Wooden.

The Education of Margot Sanchez book cover

Books
Arts

In 'Margot Sanchez,' A Teen Grows Up And Learns To Love The Bronx

7:13am May 21, 2017

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Instead of going to the beach with her prep school friends, Margot is stuck working at her father's supermarket in the Bronx. Lilliam Rivera says her YA novel was inspired by her own Bronx childhood.

Leaving High School Behind For A Dangerous Life In 'A Good Country'

2:30pm May 20, 2017

by Scott Simon

Laleh Khadivi's new novel traces the path of a young Muslim man in California, the son of strict Iranian immigrant parents, from his first bong hit at age 14 to his eventual radicalization.

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Books

'Standard Deviation' Is A Story Of Marriage And Origami

8:02am May 20, 2017

A husband and wife are complete opposites. She's charming and effusive, he's a buttoned-down man of routine. Katherine Heiny tells NPR's Scott Simon about her first novel, Standard Deviation.

Sports
Books

Baseball Player David Ortiz On Being 'Big Papi'

7:45am May 19, 2017

David Greene talks with legendary baseball player David Ortiz. His career includes three World Series wins with the Boston Red Sox. Ortiz retired in 2016 and is out with a new memoir.

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Books
Arts

'The Color Of Law' Details How U.S. Housing Policies Created Segregation

4:37pm May 17, 2017

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with author Richard Rothstein about his new book, The Color of Law, which details how federal housing policies in the 1940s and '50s mandated segregation and undermined the ability of black families to own homes and build wealth.

Cover detail from Becoming Ms. Burton, by Susan Burton and Cari Lynn

After 6 Prison Terms, A Former Inmate Helps Other Women Rebuild Their Lives

1:59pm May 16, 2017

by Terry Gross

For Susan Burton, getting on track after being released from prison was a daunting experience. Now she's determined to help other women follow in her footsteps. Her new memoir is Becoming Ms. Burton.

Author Michael Ruhlman says U.S. grocery stores represent extraordinary luxury that most Americans don't even think about.

Grocery Stores: 'The Best Of America And The Worst Of America'

10:47pm May 15, 2017

by Laurel Dalrymple

In his new book, Michael Ruhlman explores how and why Americans have changed from corner-store customers to insatiable consumers of every edible product at our fingertips.

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Books
Arts

'The Captain Class' Defines The Greatest Sports Teams Ever Based On One Character

5:57pm May 14, 2017

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with author Sam Walker about his book The Captain Class, which takes a look at the common qualities of elite athlete team leaders, and how they create winning teams.

Books

Gladstone's Book Answers The Question: What Ails Our Democracy?

7:57am May 14, 2017

NPR's Lulu Garcia Navarro talks to Brooke Gladstone, co-host of On The Media, about her new book, The Trouble with Reality: A Rumination on Moral Panic in Our Time.