Books

'Outside' Magazine Correspondent Examines Her Fears In 'Nerve'

6:08am May 20, 2020

NPR's Noel King talks to Eva Holland, a correspondent with Outside magazine, about her new book: Nerve: Adventures in the Science of Fear, on how she tamed her fears and anxiety.

Queue Listen Now

An illustration illustrating positive thinking.

Anxious? Meditation Can Help You 'Relax Into The Uncertainty' Of The Pandemic

2:42pm May 19, 2020

by Terry Gross

ABC News correspondent Dan Harris was broadcasting live in 2004 when he experienced a panic attack. He credits meditation with helping him work through his anxiety — both then and now.

Queue Listen Now

Journalist Barton Gellman's new book, Dark Mirror, focuses on his complicated working relationship with Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked the agency's secret surveillance programs. Here, Snowden, who has lived in Mo

In 'Dark Mirror,' Reporter Concludes: 'Snowden Did Substantially More Good Than Harm'

6:01am May 19, 2020

by Greg Myre

Edward Snowden handpicked Barton Gellman as one of three journalists he would work with to reveal government secrets. Gellman's book is an in-depth look at where he agreed and disagreed with Snowden.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Suzanne Collins

Books
Arts

'The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes' Is A Lackluster Prequel To 'The Hunger Games'

4:59am May 19, 2020

by Annalisa Quinn

While Suzanne Collins leaves readers uncertain of the answer to the question she poses in The Hunger Games — how much of character is innate, how much formed — it becomes painfully obvious here.

'Rodham' Asks: Who Is Hillary Without Bill?

8:02am May 18, 2020

by Annalisa Quinn

In Curtis Sittenfeld's new novel, Hillary Rodham dumps Bill Clinton and goes on to forge a life of her own, in law and then politics. It's an uncomfortable, moving, technically brilliant book.

Hillary Without Bill? 'Rodham' Imagines What Could Have Been

7:41am May 17, 2020

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Curtis Sittenfeld's latest novel imagines a life for Hillary Rodham in which she turns down Bill Clinton's proposals and forges a career for herself, as a law professor and later a politician.

Books
Arts

Finding Love — And Feeling Worthy Of It — In 'Felix Ever After'

7:00am May 17, 2020

by Elise Hu

Kacen Callender's new young adult novel centers on a queer, trans teen trying to find out who's behind a traumatizing transphobic act — a quest that takes him on an emotional roller coaster.

Books

Reflecting On A Friendship Between A Lion Of Literature And A Critic

7:28am May 16, 2020

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with author Benjamin Taylor about his memoir, "Here We Are: My Friendship with Philip Roth."

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

Classic Literature Meets Modern Teen Drama In 'By The Book'

7:00am May 16, 2020

by Alethea Kontis

In Amanda Sellet's charming young adult romance, a teenage bookworm transfers to the local public high school and discovers that the literary classics she lives by aren't quite a match for real life.

What The 1918 Flu Pandemic Can Tell Us About The COVID-19 Crisis

2:06pm May 14, 2020

by Terry Gross

John Barry, author of the 2004 book, The Great Influenza, draws parallels between today's pandemic and the flu of 1918. In both cases, he says, "the outbreak was trivialized for a long time."

Queue Listen Now