Author Interviews

In 1917, the Harlem Hellfighters were first sent to train at Camp Whitman near Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

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Arts

The Harlem Hellfighters: Fighting Racism In The Trenches Of WWI

7:58pm April 01, 2014

by Hansi Lo Wang

The Harlem Hellfighters broke barriers as the first African-American infantry unit to fight in World War I. Their story is retold in a new graphic novel written by Max Brooks, author of World War Z.

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Post Arab Spring, Where Do Islamist Parties Stand?

8:23am April 01, 2014

Steve Inskeep talks with author Shadi Hamid about his new book, Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East.

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Marijuana plants grow at a farm near Medellin. Tony Dokoupil's father made hundreds of thousands of dollars smuggling marijuana into the U.S. from Colombia.

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

3:47pm March 31, 2014

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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'Lovesongs' Examines What It Means To Come Home

11:27am March 29, 2014

A new novel, Shotgun Lovesongs, interlaces the stories of friends who keep returning to each other, to grasp hold of where they are in the world. NPR's Scott Simon talks with author Nickolas Butler.

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In 'Storied Life,' Characters Come With A Reading List

6:34pm March 28, 2014

by NPR Staff

At its heart, Gabrielle Zevin's new novel is a love letter to the joys of reading. Each chapter starts with the title of a book or short story, essentially introducing characters by what they read.

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Close-up of a part of the face of young woman taking nap.

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'Sleep Donation': A Dark, Futuristic Lullaby For Insomniacs

4:42pm March 26, 2014

Karen Russell's new book imagines a mysterious insomnia epidemic so serious that many are dying from lack of sleep. But the cure — sleep donations from babies — is hard to swallow.

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'What Everyone Needs To Know' About Today's Cyberthreats

5:46pm March 24, 2014

For an extra layer of online protection, author P.W. Singer advises making your security answers something counterintuitive, like pizza.

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"No, Thursday's out. How about never? Is never good for you?"

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New Yorker Cartoon Editor Explores What Makes Us Get It

4:43pm March 24, 2014

Humor is both a creative and a cognitive process, says Bob Mankoff, who has contributed cartoons to The New Yorker since 1977. His memoir is called How About Never — Is Never Good For You?

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Carl Hoffman is a contributing editor at National Geographic Traveler.

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Cannibals And Colonialism: Solving The Mystery Of Michael Rockefeller

5:14pm March 18, 2014

The son of one of America's wealthiest families disappeared off the island of New Guinea in 1961. Writer Carl Hoffman explains how he thinks Rockefeller died and why the truth was kept hidden.

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Penelope Lively's other books include A Stitch In Time, Astercote and The Road To Lichfield.

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Author Penelope Lively Shares 'The View From Old Age'

1:52pm March 17, 2014

In Dancing Fish And Ammonites, the British writer reflects on growing older. She tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about adjusting to her husband's death and losing the desire for new things.

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