Books

Books
Arts

A Painful Past And Ghostly Present Converge In 'Tokyo Ueno Station'

7:00am June 27, 2020

by Michael Schaub

Yu Miri's novel, about a homeless man who dies and finds the afterlife much bleaker than he expected, is both mournful and angry, emphasizing the unfairness of poverty with painful contrasts.

LGBTQ Activist Cleve Jones: 'I'm Well Aware How Fragile Life Is'

1:26pm June 26, 2020

by Terry Gross

Jones lost countless friends to the AIDS epidemic. He became an activist after Harvey Milk's assassination: "Meeting Harvey, seeing his death, it fixed my course." Originally broadcast Nov. 29, 2016.

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Arts

'Fresh Air' Marks Pride Month With Novelist Marijane Meaker

1:26pm June 26, 2020

by Terry Gross

Meaker wrote the lesbian pulp novel Spring Fire in 1952, and was surprised when it sold 1.5 million copies. She went on to write other lesbian-themed books under pen names. Originally broadcast 2003.

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Books

Journalist Kevin Powell On His New Book And His Hopes And Fears For His Future Child

5:26am June 26, 2020

NPR'S Rachel Martin speaks with writer, journalist and activist Kevin Powell about his New York Times essay, A Letter from Father to Child, excerpted from his new book, When We Free the World.

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A poll worker cleans a voting booth between voters during a primary election on June 23 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Have Questions About Voting? A Law Professor Tells You 'What You Need To Know'

2:19pm June 25, 2020

by Rachel Martin

In a new book, Kim Wehle explains voting basics. She tells NPR, "if we don't go to the polls to protect democracy itself, it could fail. And I believe that's what's on the ballot in November."

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Books
Arts

Fascinating, Messy 'Death In Her Hands' Is A Portrait Of An Unraveling Mind

7:00am June 25, 2020

by Bethanne Patrick

Ottessa Moshfegh's latest isn't exactly a murder mystery, though there seems to be a mysterious murder. It's more a portrait of a woman gradually losing her mind, using the mystery to try to hang on.

Books

NPR Books Summer Reader Poll To Focus On Books For Kids This Year

3:24pm June 24, 2020

by Petra Mayer

This year NPR Books Summer Reader Poll is all about books for the youngest readers. People can nominate their favorite books at npr.org/kidsbooks. The results are expected by mid-August.

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Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

'Jesus And John Wayne' Explores Christian Manhood — And How Belief Can Bolster Trump

7:03pm June 23, 2020

by Steve Inskeep

Author Kristin Kobes Du Mez says: "It seemed like evangelicals had betrayed their values. But if you look at this longer history of evangelical masculinity and militarism ... this wasn't a betrayal."

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Readers wait in line at Macmillan booth at the Book Expo trade show in 2013.

Books
Arts

Macmillan CEO Steps Back From Day-To-Day Operations

4:53pm June 23, 2020

by Petra Mayer

John Sargent, CEO of Macmillan — one of the Big Five book publishing houses — has stepped back from day-to-day operations, after five employees organized an industry-wide protest against racism.

Author Susan Burton struggled with disordered eating for decades. "Hunger was something that I believed protected me and gave me power," she says.

From 'Empty' To 'Satisfied': Author Traces A Hunger That Food Can't Fix

4:19pm June 23, 2020

by Terry Gross

For Susan Burton, decades of disordered eating was about power. "As long as I was bingeing, I didn't have to think. I didn't have to think about any loss or pain or wanting or yearning."

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