Books

'Strange Gods' Chronicles The History Of Secularism And Conversion

1:27pm February 17, 2016

Journalist Susan Jacoby tells Fresh Air that more than half of Americans will change religion at least once in their adult life time. Her new book is Strange Gods: A Secular History of Conversion.

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Books
Arts

Book Review: 'The Darkening Trapeze,' Larry Lewis

5:10pm February 16, 2016

Tess Taylor reviews a posthumous collection by Larry Levis, The Darkening Trapeze.

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Sue Klebold plays in the snow with a young Dylan. "He's like an invisible child that I carry in my arms everywhere I go, always," she says.

Columbine Shooter's Mother: I Carry Him 'Everywhere I Go, Always'

3:27pm February 16, 2016

Sue Klebold says she wishes she'd asked her son Dylan "the kinds of questions that would've encouraged him to open up." Published 17 years after the massacre, her new memoir is A Mother's Reckoning.

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A Mexican soldier stands guard next to marijuana packages in Tijuana following the discovery of a tunnel under the U.S.-Mexico border in 2010.

'Narconomics': How The Drug Cartels Operate Like Wal-Mart And McDonald's

12:47pm February 16, 2016

The cartels' business models are similar to those of big-box stores and franchises, says Tom Wainwright, former Mexico City bureau chief for The Economist. His new book is Narconomics.

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Books

'Breaking Wild' Explores Dark Spaces In Nature And In Ourselves

8:11am February 16, 2016

David Greene talks to author Diane Les Becquets about her new novel Breaking Wild which vividly evokes Colorado's rugged backcountry.

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'Indentured' Explores Efforts To Fight Mistreatment Of College Athletes

7:23pm February 15, 2016

College sports rake in billions, but the athletes' pay just covers college costs. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with author Joe Nocera about Indentured: The Inside Story of the Rebellion Against the NCAA.

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Books
Arts

What The Sitcoms Don't Tell You About New York City Friendships

7:00am February 15, 2016

by Michael Schaub

Kristopher Jansma's novel, Why We Came to the City, explores the dynamic between a group of friends who must confront cancer, alcoholism and the mirage of contentment created by New York City.

Books
Arts

M.F.K. Fisher Conjured Good Times That Couldn't Last

7:00am February 14, 2016

by Jason Sheehan

In this posthumous novel beloved food writer, M.F.K. Fisher, rouses the "perfect nothingness, lightness and frivolity of the days before tragedy" as well as the "squirming aftermath."

Books
Arts

Don't Be Fooled, 'The Vegetarian' Serves Up Appetites For Fright

7:51am February 13, 2016

In "The Vegetarian," a young woman is tormented by violent dreams that drive her to give up meat. Author Han Kang says that extremes of human behavior compelled her to write the book.

Dave Stewart's new memoir, Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This, chronicles his life in music.

In New Memoir, Eurythmics' Dave Stewart Tells Of Life Before And After 'Sweet Dreams'

7:51am February 13, 2016

by NPR Staff

"Life can change you on amazing trails if you let it," Stewart says. His new memoir tells the story of those changes — and his complicated relationship with Annie Lennox.