Books

Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

'Tightrope' Implores America To Make Changes To Save Itself

5:01am January 14, 2020

by Michael Schaub

A new book by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn is an agonizing account of how apathy and cruelty have turned America into a nightmare for many less fortunate citizens. But it is not without hope.

Former Export-Import Bank Chairman On How 'Trade Is Not A Four-Letter Word'

4:22pm January 13, 2020

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Fred Hochberg, former chair of the Export-Import Bank, about his book Trade Is Not a Four-Letter Word: How Six Everyday Products Make the Case for Trade.

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Children in the Bronx visit a New York Public Library bookmobile in the 1950s. The institution turns 125 this year.

Books
Arts

The New York Public Library Has Calculated Its Most Checked-Out Books Of All Time

3:17pm January 13, 2020

by Laurel Wamsley

"The books on this list have transcended generations and, much like the Library itself, are as relevant today as they were when they first arrived," the library's president said.

Books
Arts

'Wilmington's Lie' Author Traces The Rise Of White Supremacy In A Southern City

1:34pm January 13, 2020

by Dave Davies

Journalist 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 that changed everything.

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'Between Two Fires' Asks: At What Point Are We Responsible For Our Actions?

8:01am January 13, 2020

by Annalisa Quinn

In his new book, The New Yorker's Joshua Yaffa is as much an ethicist as he is a reporter, presenting a portrait of the Russian state through those who have decided to compromise with it.

A portrait of 19th-century abolitionist Frederick Douglass is unveiled at the Maryland governor's residence in Annapolis on Sept. 15, 2014.

Voters Face A Big Decision In 2020: Could A Lesson From Frederick Douglass Help?

6:01am January 13, 2020

by Steve Inskeep

In 1856, Frederick Douglass had a choice to make: support the big change he believed in — abolition of slavery — or settle for a less sweeping shift from a candidate better positioned to win.

In An Election Year, Reflecting On A Political Power Couple From The 1800s

5:14pm January 12, 2020

by Michel Martin

NPR's Steve Inskeep, discussing his book Imperfect Union: How Jesse and John Fremont Mapped the West, Invented Celebrity and Helped Cause the Civil War, touches on parallels to U.S. politics in 2020.

Books

The Zora Canon: Essential Books By African American Women

8:24am January 12, 2020

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Morgan Jerkins about The Zora Canon, a list of 100 great works by African American women. It includes novels, plays and poetry.

The Plain Janes, by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

Books
Arts

Art Attack! The 'Plain Janes' Deliver A Shot Of Creative Optimism

7:00am January 12, 2020

by Etelka Lehoczky

Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg's beloved young adult comic returns with a collection of old and new stories — and this time, our art-loving heroines are a little more grown up.

Books

Author Meng Jin On 'Little Gods'

8:26am January 11, 2020

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with author Meng Jin about her debut novel Little Gods, about a 17-year-old whose journey to China reveals the life of her mother, a former physicist who died in America.