Author Interviews

Books
Arts

'Frazzled' Takes Hilarious Look At The Ups and Downs Of Middle School

8:44pm October 19, 2016

Author Booki Vivat takes a hilarious look at middle school in her debut novel, Frazzled: Everyday Disasters and Impending Doom. The book is full of Vivat's incredible doodles of Abbie Wu who thinks, "Nothing good happens in the Middles." We'll find out if she's doomed.

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Books
Arts

Kidnapped, Then Forced Into The Sideshow: The True Story Of The Muse Brothers

1:27pm October 18, 2016

Journalist Beth Macy talks about George and Willie Muse, black albino brothers who were born in the Jim Crow South and were forced to become circus freaks. Her new book, Truevine, retells their story.

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Author Tim Wu says that much of the content on the Internet is created by businesses that are on a "quest for clicks."

Books
Arts

How Free Web Content Traps People In An Abyss Of Ads And Clickbait

4:02pm October 17, 2016

Author and law professor Tim Wu says much of the "free" content on the Web comes at a price to users, who are subjected to ads that are targeted specifically at them and increasingly hard to ignore.

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Books

'Truevine' Tells The Tale Of 2 Black Albino Brothers Forced To Work For The Circus

7:25am October 17, 2016

by Lynn Neary

For years, black children around Roanoke, Va., heard the cautionary tale of Willie and George Muse, African American albino brothers who were kidnapped and forced to perform in a series of circuses.

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Books

'Nobody's Son': A Memoir Of Childhood, Emigration And A Mother's Love

7:28am October 16, 2016

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks to author Mark Slouka's about his new memoir "Nobody's Son." It chronicles his family's life in 1940s Czechoslovakia, their emigration to Pennsylavnia, and his difficult relationship with his mother.

'Really Bad Chess': A Game That Introduces An Element Of Luck

7:28am October 16, 2016

Zach Gage is an artist and game maker who was frustrated by chess. So he made his own IOS version — Really Bad Chess — in which players get a random assortment of pieces instead of the typical lineup.

'Worst President Ever': One Author Says This Title Goes To James Buchanan

7:57am October 15, 2016

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with writer Robert Strauss about his new book, "Worst. President. Ever." Strauss looks at James Buchanan's time in office and argues he led the country to demise.

'Love For Sale': A History Of Pop Music That's As Personal As It Gets

7:57am October 15, 2016

NPR's Scott Simon talks to music critic David Hajdu about his new book, "Love For Sale," in which he chronicles the 100-plus year history of American pop music.

Taraji P. Henson plays family matriarch Cookie Lyon on Fox's Empire.

Books
Arts

'I Had To Create My Own Lane': How Taraji P. Henson Found Her Place In Hollywood

3:11pm October 14, 2016

by Karen Grigsby Bates

The actress became famous for her role in TV's Empire, but the road to Cookie wasn't easy. In her new memoir, Around the Way Girl, Henson shares stories of pushing her way to the top.

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Books
Arts

Jacqueline Woodson On Growing Up, Coming Out And Saying Hi To Strangers

1:37pm October 14, 2016

Woodson won the National Book Award for young people's literature in 2014 for her memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, and is a finalist for another NBA this year. Originally broadcast Dec. 20, 2014.

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