Author Interviews

Amanda Petrusich is a contributing writer for Pitchfork. Her work has also appeared at NPR Music.

Music Journalist Chronicles The 'Wild Obsessive Hunt' For Rare 78 RPM Records

1:37pm August 11, 2015

In Do Not Sell At Any Price, Amanda Petrusich details the extreme measures collectors take in pursuit of rare 78s. "You can still find quite a few of them around at junk shops," she says.

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Books

Legislating Desire: An Author's Take On 'Bad Laws And Good Sex'

1:37pm August 11, 2015

American sex laws have not always kept pace with society's changing standards. In The Boundaries of Desire, Eric Berkowitz explores how the legal system has addressed sex in the last century.

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D. Randall Blythe is the lead vocalist of the metal band Lamb of God.

'Dark Days': Retracing The Steps Of A Heavy Metal Tragedy

8:56pm August 10, 2015

by NPR Staff

When a stage diver died after a Lamb of God concert, singer D. Randall Blythe was arrested for manslaughter. In his memoir, Blythe unpacks the incident — and why he returned to Europe to stand trial.

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Books

'Scream' Meets Agatha Christie In 'A Dark, Dark Wood'

4:45pm August 10, 2015

by NPR Staff

Author Ruth Ware's new thriller takes place at a bachelorette party in an isolated English country house. The book blends the creepy voyeurism of a Scream movie with the setting of a Christie novel.

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Beverly Jenkins says her mission is to write about the parts of black history you don't learn in school — and wrap them up in a good love story.

Books
Arts

Beverly Jenkins Wraps Bitter History In Sweet Romance

3:55pm August 10, 2015

by Petra Mayer

Beverly Jenkins writes historical romances — about free black towns, lawmen and cowboys and Civil War vets. She says her mission is to illuminate the parts of black history you don't learn in school.

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A poll worker hands out "I Voted Today" stickers in Washington, D.C., in 2012. Journalist Ari Berman says a 2013 Supreme Court ruling opened the door for new voting restrictions that disproportionately affect poor people, young people and people of color

Block The Vote: A Journalist Discusses Voting Rights And Restrictions

3:37pm August 10, 2015

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed racial discrimination in voting. But author Ari Berman says a 2013 Supreme Court ruling blocks the act's enforcement — and opened the door for new restrictions.

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Books

'The Stuff Was Company': One Man Cleans Up His 'Mess'

9:54am August 09, 2015

NPR's Rachel Martin talks about the plight of hoarders with Barry Yourgrau, author of a new memoir, Mess: One Man's Struggle to Clean Up His House and His Act.

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Books
Arts

Novel Highlights The Shocks Facing First-Generation College Students

5:33pm August 08, 2015

by NPR Staff

Jennine Capó Crucet, author of Make Your Home Among Strangers, was inspired by her experiences as the daughter of Cuban immigrants and the first person in her family to attend college.

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Books
Arts

'Blood Will Out' Reveals Secrets Of A Murderous Master Manipulator

3:07pm August 07, 2015

Author Walter Kirn thought he was befriending an eccentric Rockefeller, but his pal turned out to be an impostor wanted for murder. Originally broadcast March 10, 2014.

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Cover art from Friday Night Lights, 25th Anniversary Edition.

Books
Arts

Reflecting On Football And Addiction As 'Friday Night Lights' Turns 25

10:22am August 05, 2015

A quarter-century ago, Buzz Bissinger wrote about the big-time stakes of small-town high school football in Friday Night Lights. Now he talks about the impact the book had on the players and himself.

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