Author Interviews

La Belle Limonadiere, hand coloured etching (1816). Lemonade was ubiquitous in mid-17th century Paris. Where the limonadiers went, piles of spent lemon peels followed. As rats nibbled on the peels, they killed off plague-infected fleas, Tom Nealon argues

How Lemonade Helped Paris Fend Off Plague And Other Surprising 'Food Fights'

7:00am March 12, 2017

by Tove Danovich

Tom Nealon's new book searches through patchy historical records to trace subjects like how chocolate helped lead to war in the Caribbean, or the role a grain fungus played in the Crusades.

Books

Author Kanishk Tharoor On Language And Short Stories

8:30am March 11, 2017

Author Kanishk Tharoor's first book, Swimmer Among the Stars, is a compilation of short stories. He tells Scott Simon the format requires intensity and offers an opportunity to be playful.

Amy Dickinson is also the author of The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter, and the Town That Raised Them.

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Arts

In 'Strangers Tend To Tell Me Things,' An Advice Columnist Comes Home

5:20am March 11, 2017

by Scott Simon

After moving away, Ask Amy columnist Amy Dickinson returned to her hometown of Freeville, N.Y. There, she married a man she first met at age 12, and cared for her mother in her final days.

Books
Arts

In Many Ways, Author Says, Spanish Civil War Was 'The First Battle Of WWII'

1:38pm March 10, 2017

Adam Hochschild says American involvement in the Spanish Civil War resulted in Americans being bombed by Nazis years before the U.S. entered World War II. Originally published March 28, 2018.

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Keggie Carew — seen here with her father, Tom Carew — says, "It was never mundane with dad, even with dementia."

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Arts

Author Unravels Her Spy Dad's Life, One Secret Mission At A Time

4:28pm March 08, 2017

by Ari Shapiro

Keggie Carew grew up with her father's stories of parachuting into the jungle and working as a spy in Burma. She wasn't sure how much to believe until she started researching her new book, Dadland.

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Mohsin Hamid's previous novels include The Reluctant Fundamentalist and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia.

Books
Arts

From Refugees To Politics, Mohsin Hamid Writes The Change He Wants To See

2:01pm March 08, 2017

"All of us who are writers are doing something that actually matters," Hamid says. His latest novel, Exit West, follows a couple who have to decide whether to flee their homeland.

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German dictator Adolf Hitler gives a speech in October 1944. Author Norman Ohler says that Hitler's abuse of drugs increased "significantly" from the fall of 1941 until the winter of 1944.

Author Says Hitler Was 'Blitzed' On Cocaine And Opiates During The War

7:05pm March 07, 2017

Author Norman Ohler says that Adolf Hitler's drug abuse increased "significantly" from the fall of 1941 until winter of 1944: "Hitler needed those highs to substitute [for] his natural charisma."

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'On Tyranny' Explores New Threats Facing American Political System

5:01pm March 06, 2017

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with historian Timothy Snyder about his new book, On Tyranny, which explores the new threats faced by our political order and how we can look back to the 20th century for lessons on how to overcome them.

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Books

Mohsin Hamid's Novel 'Exit West' Raises Immigration Issues

12:36pm March 06, 2017

Steve Inskeep talks to Pakistani novelist Mohsin Hamid, who examines the global refugee crisis in a new novel called Exit West. The book is part ripped from the headlines and part magic realism.

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Arts

A Middle-Aged Coming Of Age In 'All Grown Up'

11:29am March 05, 2017

by Mary Louise Kelly

Novelist Jami Attenberg tells the story of Andrea Bern — a failed artist who, as she turns 40, is seeking a path to personal and professional happiness.

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