Author Interviews

David Adam is a writer and editor at the journal Nature and was a special correspondent at the Guardian, writing about science, medicine and the environment.

Why OCD Is 'Miserable': A Science Reporter's Obsession With Contracting HIV

10:58am January 14, 2015

David Adam has had obsessive-compulsive disorder for 20 years. In The Man Who Couldn't Stop, he chronicles his experiences — and how medical understanding and treatment of OCD have changed over time.

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Perry Wallace, playing for Vanderbilt University, blocks the shot of 'Pistol' Pete Maravich, circa 1970.

Perry Wallace, Who Broke Basketball Barriers, Didn't Set Out To Be A Pioneer

6:49pm January 13, 2015

by NPR Staff

Strong Inside tells the story of the first black player in college basketball's Southeastern Conference. Wallace says the hard work of integration is "a gritty, dirty, ugly business."

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Books
Arts

Miranda July Balances Weirdness And Reality In Debut Novel

6:45pm January 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

The director and artist says one of the challenges of writing The First Bad Man was shaping her main character's odd psyche. Then, she says, she realized, "I can always take it back if it's too much."

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World News

Despite Charlie Hebdo, Optimism On The Future Of Islam In Europe

11:26am January 11, 2015

A decade ago, Irshad Manji called for reform within Islam in her book, The Trouble with Islam Today. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Manji about her reaction to the recent events in France.

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Books
Arts

After Silence, An 'Outline' Of A Life In Fragments

11:26am January 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

Rachel Cusk's new novel Outline reflects the fragmentation of her own life in the story of a writer coming to terms with her dissolving marriage while on a summer teaching trip to Greece.

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Books
Arts

This Weekend, Visit San Francisco's Famed Forbidden City In 'China Dolls'

11:26am January 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

In this installment of Weekend Reads, Jean Kwok recommends Lisa See's novel China Dolls, about the unlikely friendship formed by three young women on vaudeville's all-Asian "Chop Suey Circuit."

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'Blood Of The Tiger': Shedding Light On China's Farmed-Tiger Trade

6:47pm January 10, 2015

by NPR Staff

The endangered animals are bred for luxury items, like tiger bone wine and tigerskin rugs. By raising the demand for these goods, the farms pose a threat to wild tigers, says author J.A. Mills.

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Books
Arts

Australian Cyberthriller 'Amnesia' Echoes Julian Assange Story

11:31am January 10, 2015

by NPR Staff

Peter Carey's novel opens as a hacker's computer virus is unlocking prison cells around the world. He says, "Assange was the reason I started writing the book, but I didn't want to write about [him]."

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Arts

Son Of A Secret Smuggler Digs Up The Truth About His Dad

2:38pm January 09, 2015

Tony Dokoupil's father was once busted for distributing enough marijuana "to roll a joint for every college-age person in America." In The Last Pirate, Dokoupil reflects on his dad's time as a dealer.

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Books
Arts

In 'Partisan Divide,' Former Congressmen Look For Answers

6:29pm January 08, 2015

Robert Siegel speaks with former Congressmen Martin Frost and Tom Davis, co-authors of the new book The Partisan Divide, about the new Congress and how political differences might be bridged.

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