Immigration Is An Ongoing Process In Patricia Engel's 'Infinite Country'
NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Patricia Engel about her new novel, Infinite Country, about a family with one foot in Colombia and one in the U.S.
Books
'Wilmington's Lie' Author Traces The Rise Of White Supremacy In A Southern City
David Zucchino says Wilmington, N.C., was once a mixed-race community with a thriving Black middle class. Then, in 1898, white supremacists staged a murderous coup. Originally broadcast Jan. 13, 2020.
'Useful Delusions' Examines How Beliefs Can Be Powerful In Positive And Negative Ways
In a new book, former NPR reporter Shankar Vedantam suggests attaining "a deeper psychological understanding of why people believe what they believe," being empathetic and considering costs involved.
'Maniac' Recounts Deadliest School Mass Murder In American History
Author Harold Schechter details the 1927 school bombing in Bath Township, Mich., which killed 38 children and six adults. Days later, Charles Lindbergh's famous trans-Atlantic flight made headlines.
The Stories In 'Reality' Have Some Bite
John Lanchester's sharp new story collection considers the dark side of technology, from smartphones to selfie sticks. But you don't have to be a Luddite to appreciate this smart, scary book.
From SNL To SpongeBob, Laraine Newman Chronicles 'Interesting Times'
Newman was a founding member of the improv group The Groundlings and an original Saturday Night Live cast member. She's voiced dozens of animated characters and has just published a new audio memoir.
Books Hold The Key To 'The Postscript Murders'
The woman who turns up dead at the start of Elly Griffiths' new novel billed herself as a "murder consultant" for writers. Griffiths says she was inspired by her aunt, who enjoys thinking up murders.
In 'The Empathy Diaries,' Sherry Turkle Considers The Burden Of Family Secrets
MIT professor Sherry Turkle was 27 when she learned that her estranged father had conducted psychological experiments on her when she was a child. She looks back on her childhood in a new memoir.
Story Collection Puts A Ghostly Spin On Digital 'Reality'
Cell phones, social media and smart houses feature prominently in John Lanchester's Reality and Other Stories. A year into the pandemic, the collection speaks eerily to our tech-dependent lives.
The Weird World Of 'Cosmogony' Is Immensely Inviting
In her first collection, Lucy Ives proves herself — and we mean this as a compliment — a real literary weirdo. Her stories are strange without ever performing strangeness, baffling yet precise.