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Losing An Old Faith — And Gaining A New One — In 'The Churchgoer'

7:00am July 31, 2019

by Ilana Masad

Patrick Coleman's novel follows a former pastor, now working as a security guard, who gets caught up in a noirish adventure after one of his coworkers is murdered, but it's much more than a whodunit.

Novelist Laura Lippman isn't interested in writing that sensationalizes crime. She says she aims to center her work in "a respect for victims."

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'Cities Are Resilient,' Says Baltimore Crime Novelist Laura Lippman

3:40pm July 30, 2019

by Terry Gross

Lippman's latest novel, Lady in the Lake, was inspired by two real-life Baltimore disappearances in the 1960s. She says Trump's recent tweets show a "basic disrespect" for the residents of her city.

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It Came From Something Awful, by Dale Beran

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'It Came From Something Awful' Links 4Chan And Today's Political Discourse

1:29pm July 30, 2019

by Andrew Limbong

If author Dale Beran is to be believed, all the world's an Internet forum. His new book offers an overview of Internet culture and explores the mindset and techniques of early Internet trolls.

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'Idiot Wind' Tells A Personal Tale Of Journeying From Addiction To Recovery

5:01am July 30, 2019

by Martha Anne Toll

Even if we weren't in need of another road-trippy-addiction memoir, Peter Kaldheim's book recounts his very human efforts to swim to shore with compassion and gratitude.

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Looking Back At Human History, Archaeologist Suspects 'We're 51% Good'

4:40pm July 29, 2019

by Ari Shapiro

Sarah Parcak has found that studying the rise and fall of civilizations has given her hope, or at least some hope. Her new book is called Archaeology from Space: How The Future Shapes Our Past.

It may plague your summer peaches and plums, but the fruit fly is "one of the most important animals" in medical research, says conservationist Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson.

Bugged By Insects? 'Buzz, Sting, Bite' Makes The Case For 6-Legged Friends

2:38pm July 29, 2019

by Terry Gross

The decline of Earth's insect population may have serious consequences for humans, says scientist Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson. Insects are the world's janitors, as well as pollinators and a food source.

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Marilou is Everywhere, by Sarah Elaine Smith

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'Marilou Is Everywhere,' And Also A Miracle

7:00am July 29, 2019

by Michael Schaub

Sarah Elaine Smith's debut novel, about a girl from an impoverished, broken family who impersonates a missing neighbor in order to get motherly attention, is otherworldly in its beauty and power.

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'Jade War' Is A Magical, Operatic Crime And Family Drama

10:00am July 28, 2019

by Jason Sheehan

Fonda Lee's Jade War is the second volume in her sweeping yet intimate saga about two clans on a small island nation, battling for control over supplies of the magical jade that powers their fighters.

Books

Former CIA Official Philip Mudd Discusses New Book On Post-9/11 Intelligence Community

8:51am July 28, 2019

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to Philip Mudd about his new book, "Black Site: The CIA in the Post-9/11 World."

This costume, with corn husks and feathers and paper flowers, is worn by a member of a dance group that gathers in cemeteries and other places to mark Day of the Dead festivities (called Xantolo, the word written above the mask). The idea of combining a s

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Arts

A Photographer's Vision Of The Magical Masks Of Mexico

7:07am July 28, 2019

by Cathy Newman

On festivals that range from Day of the Dead to Easter, Mexicans hide their true identity behind fantastic masks that conjure up both indigenous — and European — traditions.