Author Interviews

Bandit by Molly Brodak (Raquel Zaldivar/NPR)

Books
Arts

Growing Up As A Bank Robber's Daughter In 'Bandit'

5:04pm October 09, 2016

by NPR Staff

Kids eventually realize their parents are real people, says author Molly Brodak. But in her new memoir, she talks about another sort of realization: That her father was dishonest, and a criminal.

Books

'The Hostage's Daughter': A Traumatic Ordeal That Shaped The Life Of Sulome Anderson

1:44pm October 09, 2016

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Sulome Anderson about her memoir, The Hostage's Daughter. It's about her life as the daughter of a reporter who was kidnapped and held for years by radicals in Lebanon.

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Books

'Small Great Things' Author Jodi Picoult Talks About Inspired The Novel

8:29am October 08, 2016

Jodi Picoult's new novel "Small Great Things" tells the story of an African American labor and delivery nurse and the racism surrounding her care of a white supremacist couple's newborn son. She tells NPR's Scott Simon what compelled her to write this story.

After he was sentenced for illegally possessing a firearm, Albert "Prodigy" Johnson, of the hip-hop duo Mobb Deep, discovered how hard it was to eat healthy behind bars. His new cookbook tells the story.

From Mobb Deep Rapper, A Cookbook For Healthy Eating — In Prison

7:25pm October 07, 2016

by Tove Danovich

Behind bars, it takes ingenuity, other prisoners and a little help from the commissary to approximate a proper diet. That's what rapper Prodigy of hip-hop's Mobb Deep learned after going to prison.

Health & Safety

A Neurosurgeon Reflects On The 'Awe And Mystery' Of The Brain

1:41pm October 07, 2016

In his memoir Do No Harm, Henry Marsh confesses to the uncertainties he's dealt with as a surgeon and reflects on the enigmas of the brain and consciousness. Originally broadcast May 26, 2015.

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Books
Arts

New Biography Celebrates E.B. White, Who Really Was 'Some Writer!'

6:12pm October 05, 2016

by NPR Staff

Melissa Sweet's colorful, kid-friendly biography includes letters, family photos, illustrations, manuscripts and more from the man behind Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan.

In his new memoir, Born To Run, Bruce Springsteen reflects on how home, roots and family helped shape him and his music.

Bruce Springsteen: On Jersey, Masculinity And Wishing To Be His Stage Persona

2:25pm October 05, 2016

"People see you onstage and, yeah, I'd want to be that guy," Springsteen says. "I want to be that guy myself very often."

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The Angel of History by Rabih Alameddine (Raquel Zaldivar/NPR)

Books
Arts

'The Angel Of History' Says 'I Will Not Forget'

4:32pm October 04, 2016

by NPR Staff

Rabih Alameddine has much in common with the hero of his new novel: Both are gay, Arab writers in San Francisco. And both lost friends to the AIDS epidemic, and are angry that it's being forgotten.

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A team member from NPO Japan Rescue Dog Association and his dog search for victims in Rikuzentakata, Miyagi prefecture in the aftermath of the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

From Fire Hydrants To Rescue Work, Dogs Perceive The World Through Smell

3:30pm October 04, 2016

Dogs can sniff out people, drugs, bombs, cancer, time of day, oncoming storms and much more. In her new book Being A Dog, Alexandra Horowitz explores the mysteries and mechanics of canine noses.

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Books

A Chinese-American Family Faces Financial Ruin In 'The Wangs Vs. The World'

8:49am October 04, 2016

Steve Inskeep talks with writer Jade Chang about her comic novel "The Wangs vs. The World." It's the story of a Chinese-American family that comes together following the 2008 financial crisis.

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