Author Interviews

A pediatric neurosurgeon reflects on his intense job, and the post-Roe landscape

5:44pm July 06, 2022

by Dave Davies

Jay Wellons has operated on children's brains and spinal cords. He knows the anguish of losing a patient and the exhilaration of saving a child's life. His memoir is All That Moves Us.

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Books
Arts

How the Mexican revolution of 1910 helped shape U.S. border policy

1:32pm July 05, 2022

by Tonya Mosley

Kelly Lytle Hernández's book, Bad Mexicans, tells the story of the rebels who fled from Mexico to the U.S. to publish an oppositional newspaper that would help spark revolution in Mexico.

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Books
Arts

A billion here, a billion there: A new book tells the story of J. Paul Getty

5:05am July 05, 2022

by Susan Stamberg

In his day, J. Paul Getty was known as "the richest man in America." James Reginato's biography, Growing Up Getty, is an exhaustive account of how the rich are different from most people.

Books

'The Pallbearer's Club:' a memoir on friendship — and a vampire thriller

8:29am July 03, 2022

by Shannon Bond

Is it a memoir of a man's relationship with a friend or with a New England vampire? NPR's Shannon Bond talks to Paul Tremblay about his deliciously confusing thriller, "The Pallbearer's Club."

Books

'Night of the Living Rez' chronicles one tribe's struggle with poverty and addiction

9:41am July 02, 2022

by Melissa Block

NPR's Melissa Block talks with author Morgan Talty about his book, "Night of the Living Rez," a series of short stories about members of a Native American tribe wrestling with poverty and addiction.

Books
Arts

'Noir Alley' host celebrates cinema's double crosses and doomed characters

1:36pm July 01, 2022

by Terry Gross

Eddie Muller's book, Dark City, chronicles film noir from the '40s and '50s. He says the genre draws on a "very dark vision of existence." Originally broadcast Oct. 21, 2022.

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Books

'Tahrir's Youth' follows the trajectories of some young revolutionaries in Egypt

5:06am June 30, 2022

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to author Rusha Latif, who embedded herself with Egyptian revolutionaries, and writes about what the world can learn from a defeated revolt in Tahrir's Youth.

Mat Johnson is the Philip H. Knight Chair of Humanities at the University of Oregon. His previous books include Pym and Loving Day.

Books
Arts

Real life or satire? Novelist Mat Johnson says it can be hard to tell the difference

5:38pm June 29, 2022

by Terry Gross

Set in the future, Johnson's new satirical novel, Invisible Things, takes place on one of Jupiter's many moons, where humans have created an artificial ecosystem designed to replicate life on Earth.

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Books

Hadero's stories feature immigrants, refugees and others struggling to belong

6:23am June 29, 2022

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Meron Hadero about her new book of short stories: A Down Home Meal for these Difficult Times.

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In Ian Falconer's new book, 'Two Dogs' cause mischief after being left home alone

5:17pm June 28, 2022

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with illustrator and kids book writer Ian Falconer about his new picture book, Two Dogs.

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