Author Interviews

Books
Arts

Deconstructing Gov. Chris Christie's 'Bridge To Redemption'

1:47pm January 25, 2016

Journalist Matt Katz discusses Christie's rise to power in New Jersey, the "Bridgegate" scandal and his performance in the '16 Republican presidential primary. Katz is the author of American Governor.

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Books
Arts

Passion And Obsession En Pointe In 'Girl Through Glass'

7:47am January 24, 2016

by NPR Staff

Author Sari Wilson's new novel follows a young dancer in New York City in the 1970s, and a grown professor of dance years later — both of whom find their lives upended by dangerous relationships.

Books
Arts

Death Memoirs: Why The Grave Subject Sells So Well

7:47am January 24, 2016

Why do we love to read about dying? NPR's Rachel Martin asks critic Michelle Dean about the enduring popularity of books like "The Last Lecture" and "Tuesdays with Morrie."

Books
Arts

Groucho Marx Spared No One — And His Biographer Isn't Pulling Punches, Either

7:24pm January 23, 2016

by NPR Staff

Lee Siegel, author of Groucho Marx: The Comedy of Existence, wanted his biography to uncover the real man behind the iconic mustache. What Siegel found, he says, was "a thoroughgoing misanthrope."

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Books
Arts

In First Novel, Former Hostage Ingrid Betancourt Tells A Story Of Captivity

1:43pm January 23, 2016

by NPR Staff

The Blue Line follows a woman who is detained during Argentina's Dirty War. Betancourt says writing the novel helped her process the years she spent as a captive of Colombian revolutionaries.

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Books
Arts

'I Regret Everything': Toni Morrison Looks Back On Her Personal Life

1:26pm January 22, 2016

"It's not profound regret," Morrison tells Fresh Air. "It's just a wiping up of tiny little messes that you didn't recognize as mess when they were going on." Originally broadcast April 20, 2015.

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Danny Bowien says Sichuanese cuisine is "really about balance and restraint and not having things be over-the-top spicy." Bowien's Chongqing Chicken Wings, featured in The Mission Chinese Cookbook, are pictured above.

Books
Arts

The Audacious Korean-American Chef Who Mastered 'Mission Chinese Food'

9:45am January 22, 2016

Born in South Korea, raised in Oklahoma, Danny Bowien was an adult when he taught himself to make Chinese food. That DIY vibe to his cooking has made him a rising star. Now he's written a cookbook.

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Novelist Sunil Yapa has lived all around the globe, including in Chile, China, Greece, Guatemala, Argentina and India. He says his father, who was a consultant for the World Bank, instilled in him a sense of "the world being an interconnected place."

Books
Arts

When 'Your Heart Is A Muscle,' Empathy Is A Revolutionary Act

3:33pm January 21, 2016

by NPR Staff

Writer Sunil Yapa says his father taught him to have a global perspective from a very young age. Yapa's new novel was inspired by explosive global trade protests that took place in Seattle in 1999.

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A child gold miner in Watsa, northeastern Congo. 2004

Today's Slaves Often Work For Enterprises That Destroy The Environment

3:22pm January 20, 2016

Kevin Bales' book, Blood and Earth, explains why slavery in the world's lawless zones is essential to operate mines that pose a grave threat to the environment.

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In researching their book, Caren Zucker and John Donvan tracked down Donald Gray Triplett (center), the first person officially diagnosed with autism. Now in his 80s, Triplett has had a long, happy life, Donvan says, maybe partly because his hometown embr

'In A Different Key' Traces History And Politics Of Autism

2:13pm January 20, 2016

by NPR Staff

Authors John Donvan and Caren Zucker say parents have been "unsung heroes" in spurring more research on autism, and in getting many more kids out of institutions and into schools.

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