Author Interviews

Joan Rivers says her material has only gotten stronger with age. "I always say, 'What are you going to do? Are you going to fire me? Been fired. Going to be bankrupt? Been bankrupt.'"

Books
Arts

Joan Rivers Hates You, Herself and Everyone Else

12:19pm December 26, 2012

Comedian Joan Rivers hates a lot of things. Her new book, I Hate Everyone, Starting With Me, details the things Rivers can't stand, from her appearance to obituaries to younger comedians who steal her gigs.

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How To Handle Santa-Heavy TV In A Jewish Home

1:46pm December 25, 2012

The Christmas season is a peculiar time for Jewish children, many of whom are drawn to Christmas specials like A Christmas Story. What should Jewish parents do? Guest host John Donvan talks to Slate senior editor Dahlia Lithwick about her Jewish parent's guide to Christmas specials.

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William Knoedelseder spent 12 years as an investigative reporter at the Los Angeles Times. He lives in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Books
Arts

The 'Bitter' Tale Of The Budweiser Family

9:05am December 24, 2012

by Acacia Squires

That trademark brew, Budweiser, is known to the world as the "King of Beers," and the Busch family was once considered practically royalty. Their early success led to a reign that lasted 150 years, but the end, when it came, wasn't so glorious.

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Books
Arts

In 'Red Pyramid,' Kid Heroes Take On Ancient Egypt

5:43pm December 19, 2012

by NPR Staff

Our latest pick for NPR's Backseat Book Club is The Red Pyramid, a tale of two kids who must rescue the world from Egyptian gods. Author Rick Riordan, a former schoolteacher, combined his obsession with books with his passion for mythology to write this book about ordinary kids doing heroic things.

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Books

Walking Through Life As 'The Pastor'

3:18pm December 17, 2012

Saturday on weekends on All Things Considered, host Guy Raz spoke with Pastor Eugene Peterson about his keeping faith in times of tragedy. Due to an overwhelming response from the audience following that conversation, the show is airing a rebroadcast of his initial interview with host Guy Raz from 2011. In that interview, Peterson talked about his memoir, The Pastor. (This piece initially aired March 6, 2011 on weekends on All Things Considered.)

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Historian David Nasaw's new biography of Joseph P. Kennedy unpacks the patriarch's full story.

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Joseph Kennedy, 'Patriarch' Of An American Dynasty

4:03pm December 12, 2012

In a new book, biographer David Nasaw profiles the father of Robert, John and Teddy, and unpacks the elder Kennedy's influence on his children. "He told them over and over again, 'I'm making all this money so you don't have to make money, so that you can go into public service,' " Nasaw says.

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Ayana Mathis is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is her debut novel.

Books
Arts

Oprah's Second Pick: A First-Time Novelist

10:55am December 11, 2012

by Lynn Neary

Oprah Winfrey's second pick for her rebooted book club is The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, by first-time novelist Ayana Mathis. It's a chronicle of the Great Migration of African-Americans leaving the rural South, following a family matriarch who leaves Georgia to start a new life in Philadelphia.

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Books
Arts

Lemony Snicket Dons A Trenchcoat

1:53pm December 10, 2012

In Who Could That Be at This Hour?, a prequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events, Daniel Handler satirizes pulp mysteries and uncovers the parallels between detective fiction and childhood. In both, he says, an outsider is trying to make his way in a mysteriously corrupt world.

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'Torn': Living As An Openly Gay Christian

12:50pm December 10, 2012

by NPR Staff

Justin Lee grew up in a Southern Baptist family. At age 18, he came out to his family and church, who had trouble accepting him as a gay man. Lee later started the Gay Christian Network to encourage a dialogue between gay Christians, their families and their churches. His new book is Torn.

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Though it is a capital offense to leave the country, more people attempt to flee North Korea each year.

Fleeing North Korea Through 'Asia's Underground Railroad'

3:21pm December 05, 2012

by NPR Staff

North Korea remains one of the most isolated and repressive countries in the world. Each year, a brave few attempt an escape to freedom through China. In Escape from North Korea, writer Melanie Kirkpatrick tells the harrowing personal stories of North Korean defectors and their quest for freedom.

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