Author Interviews

Samantha Irby's new memoir is Quietly Hostile. Her previous books include Meaty; New Year, Same Trash; We Are Never Meeting in Real Life; and Wow, No Thank You.

Books
Arts

'Quietly Hostile' is Samantha Irby's survival guide (of sorts)

12:43pm May 16, 2023

by Tonya Mosley

Irby shares almost everything in her new book of essays, Quietly Hostile but, she says, "If I can't have a conversation with a stranger about the thing that I wrote, I won't put it in a book."

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Books

Jonathan Eig's new biography examines the life of Martin Luther King Jr.

5:10am May 16, 2023

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to biographer Jonathan Eig about King a Life. "One of the interesting things about King is that he's a protest leader who really does not like conflict," Eig says.

Books

'New China Playbook' has a different view than many Western policymakers do on China

5:10am May 15, 2023

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with economist Keyu Jin about her book: The New China Playbook. She teaches now at the London School of Economics.

Books

Cassandra Jackson on her memoir 'The Wreck'

8:02am May 14, 2023

by Ayesha Rascoe

As Cassandra Jackson struggled with infertility, she learned more about loss that devastated her father before her birth. She talks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about her memoir, "The Wreck."

Books

Anne Berest's novel traces her family history and leads back to the Holocaust

8:12am May 13, 2023

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon talks with Anne Berest about her new novel "The Postcard." It's based on the author's own family history and unwinds a mystery leading back to the Holocaust.

Truman Committee became the model for scrutinizing giant public expenditures

5:12am May 11, 2023

Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep talks to NPR's Steve Drummond about his book, The Watchdog: How the Truman Committee Battled Corruption and Helped Win World War Two.

This anthology wants us to redefine fitness for ourselves

5:13pm May 10, 2023

NPR's Juana Summers talks with Justice Roe Williams, who coedited Deconstructing the Fitness Industrial Complex: How to Resist, Disrupt, and Reclaim What it Means to Be Fit in American Culture.

Millions of people have long COVID brain fog — and there's a shortage of answers

1:50pm May 10, 2023

by Dave Davies

Psychologist James Jackson says people with long COVID experience impaired brain function and mental health issues. He offers some practical advice and support in his new book, Clearing the Fog.

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'Hotel Cuba' tells an immigrant's story of everyday courage

6:01pm May 09, 2023

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with Aaron Hamburger, author of Hotel Cuba, a novel is based on the real life immigration story of his grandparents.

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Author Dave Eggers channels a stray dog for his new book

4:07pm May 09, 2023

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with author Dave Eggers about his new book, "The Eyes and the Impossible." The protagonist is a dog whose job is to serve as the eyes of the vast urban park where he resides.