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NPR's Book of the Day

NPR's Book of the Day

In need of a good read? Or just want to keep up with the books everyone's talking about? NPR's Book of the Day gives you today's very best writing in a snackable, skimmable, pocket-sized podcast. Whether you're looking to engage with the big questions of our times ? or temporarily escape from them ? we've got an author who will speak to you, all genres, mood and writing styles included. Catch today's great books in 15 minutes or less.

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In 'Collision of Power' and 'Outtakes,' journalists look back on their careers

Today's episode features two retired journalists who've written memoirs reflecting on some of the highs and lows of a career in the industry. First, former Washington Post editor Marty Baron speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about Collision of Power, covering the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections and the state of media in today's electoral cycle. Then, former NPR producer Peter Breslow joins NPR's Ayesha Rascoe to discuss Outtakes, taking a three-month work trip camping across China and up Mount Everest and finding hope in a music school in Afghanistan.

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2024-03-15
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In 'The Extinction of Irena Rey,' translators search for a missing author

Eight translators from eight countries travel to a Polish forest to begin adapting famed author Irena Rey's newest book into their respective languages. But when Irena Rey disappears, a competitive, ego-fueled search unravels in the surrounding woods and within each person. In today's episode, author Jennifer Croft speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about her new novel, The Extinction of Irena Rey, and how her own experience as an International Booker Prize-winning translator sparked an interest in the drive and desires of the people tasked with "shapeshifting" a text into their own tongue.

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2024-03-14
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'The Last Ships from Hamburg' recalls the plight of Jewish refugees before WWI

Before World War I, approximately 2 million Jewish people fled Russia and Eastern Europe for the United States. The Last Ships from Hamburg, a new book by Steven Ujifusa, recounts this time in history with a special focus on three businessmen who facilitated mass emigration: Jacob Schiff, Albert Ballin and J.P. Morgan. In today's episode, Ujifusa speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about how anti-immigrant rhetoric in the U.S. looks very similar today to how it did then, and why beyond historical record, this is a deeply personal story for him to write.

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2024-03-13
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Maurice Vellekoop's graphic memoir recounts his coming out to his religious family

Maurice Vellekoop's new graphic memoir, I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together, is named after the song Carol Burnett would close out her show with in the '60s and '70s. But it's also a reflection of some of the author-illustrator's most cherished childhood memories, going shopping in downtown Toronto with his mom. In today's episode, Vellekoop tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe how that relationship changed as he came to terms with his sexuality ? something his religious mother did not accept ? and how his father ended up surprising him later in life.


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2024-03-12
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In 'Anita de Monte Laughs Last,' Xochitl Gonzalez explores marriage, art and success

Raquel Toro, the protagonist of Xochitl Gonzalez's new novel, is working on her thesis about a minimalist sculptor when she discovers his all-but-forgotten wife, artist Anita de Monte, died after falling 33 stories from their apartment more than a decade prior. Based on the story of Cuban artist Ana Mendieta, Anita de Monte Laughs Last is an odyssey into ego, power and marriage in the art world. In today's episode, Gonzalez tells NPR's Scott Simon how fiction allowed her to expand on Mendieta's legacy, and why she didn't want to discredit the husband's own career along the way.

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2024-03-11
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Tommy Orange follows 'There, There' with 'Wandering Stars'

Tommy Orange's debut novel, There, There, centers several Native American characters grappling with identity in the bustling city of Oakland, California. In today's episode, we revisit a profile of Orange reported by NPR's Lynn Neary in 2018. Then, Orange joins NPR's Scott Simon to discuss his new book Wandering Stars, a sequel to There, There that stretches across time to follow a survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864. Orange explains how an image he saw in a museum in Sweden introduced him to this historical narrative, and why he decided to focus on his protagonist Orvil's ancestors.

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2024-03-08
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Kara Swisher's memoir 'Burn Book' reflects on a career covering Silicon Valley

Journalist Kara Swisher, who's been covering the internet and the tech industry for decades, says she's not surprised when people like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk lie to her ? but what she says they sometimes don't realize is how much they lie to themselves. Her new memoir, Burn Book, recounts what she's learned in conversation with some of the brightest minds in Silicon Valley. In today's episode, Swisher tells NPR's Steve Inskeep that as disillusioned as she is with how much harm the industry has caused, she's still optimistic about the future of tech and AI.


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2024-03-07
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'The Rise and Fall of the EAST' chronicles China's economic history

Yasheng Huang, a professor of global economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, names four major contributors to China's economy in his new book, The Rise and Fall of the EAST: exams, autocracy, stability and technology. Huang writes that those have been the driving factors of Chinese development dating back to the Sui dynasty, and particularly during the economic boom of the past half-century. But he tells Here & Now's Scott Tong that a declining property sector, a lack of investment in people and today's political leadership is ringing alarms for the country's future.

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2024-03-06
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Lucy Sante's memoir reflects on her experience coming out as transgender in her 60s

Lucy Sante says it was a smartphone app that ultimately pushed her to come out to herself ? and the world ? as trans in her mid 60s. In her new memoir, I Heard Her Call My Name, the writer and professor chronicles how using the gender swap function on FaceApp ultimately opened a brand new life to her. And she tells NPR's Don Gonyea that though there are a lot of complexities to having that kind of realization later in life, there are also a lot of positive outcomes.

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2024-03-05
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'The Achilles Trap' analyzes the relationship between the U.S. and Saddam Hussein

Early in today's episode, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly asks Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Steve Coll why he felt the need to write The Achilles Trap about the Iraq War amidst so many ongoing world conflicts. Coll explains that he hoped enough time had passed to try to answer a lingering question: Why did Saddam Hussein allow the world to believe he harbored weapons of mass destruction when he didn't? Coll's reporting ? which includes Hussein's own audio recordings ? unravels decades of tension and miscommunication between the U.S. and Iraq, which ultimately cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

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2024-03-04
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Memoirs by Helen Rebanks and Crystal Wilkinson weave recipes with women's stories

Today's episode features two books that capture how cooking, taking care of loved ones, and running a home has sustained women for generations. First, NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Helen Rebanks (who is joined by actor and comedian Nick Offerman) about The Farmer's Wife, which chronicles her life as a homemaker and farmer in England. Then, Here & Now's Celeste Headlee speaks with former Kentucky poet laureate Crystal Wilkinson about Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts, which stretches back into Wilkinson's family history to understand how Black women were the unsung heroes of Appalachia.

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2024-03-01
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'Julia' revisits George Orwell's '1984,' from a new point of view

With permission from the Orwell estate, Sandra Newman's latest novel takes place in the same world and with many of the same characters as 1984, but retold through the eyes of Winston Smith's love interest, Julia. It's a deep exploration of women's experiences under totalitarianism, and as Newman tells NPR's Scott Simon, an appreciation of the original that doubles down on some of Orwell's humor and ability to capture the psyche of fear ? and unexpected comfort ? under political tyranny.

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2024-02-29
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Hala Gorani's memoir 'But You Don't Look Arab' is a journey of belonging

Journalist and former CNN anchor Hala Gorani tells NPR's Leila Fadel that she has a whole paragraph queued up to answer a seemingly simple question: Where are you from? Gorani's memoir, But You Don't Look Arab, unpacks her many roots across Istanbul, Syria, France and the U.S. ? and grapples with how her identity and its impact on her work have been scrutinized for decades. In today's episode, she opens up about why she had to change her name and add a photo of herself to her passport to land a job in journalism, and why constant movement can offer an odd sort of comfort for her.

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2024-02-28
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'Ours' follows a woman in the 1830s who has the power to free enslaved people

Phillip B. Williams' debut novel, Ours, is a sweeping story that takes place in the 19th century. It takes off with a conjuror named Saint who destroys plantations and enslavers, and creates a community of freed people, Ours, that grapples with mysticism, spirituality and liberation over the course of several decades. In today's episode, Williams speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about the different interpretations and experiences of freedom in the novel, and the importance of community in the story.

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2024-02-27
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'Private Equity' analyzes the ethical and personal costs of a career in finance

There's a moment in Carrie Sun's memoir, Private Equity, when she remembers trying to answer a text for her high-pressure hedge fund job while running on the treadmill. It ended poorly ? and Sun says, looking back, it was a good metaphor for the toll her career was taking on her life. In today's episode, Sun speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about the moral, mental and physical sacrifices we normalize for work, and why maybe that's not such a good thing.


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2024-02-26
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'Fierce Ambition' and 'The Lede' look inside the world of journalism

Today's episode focuses on two books about legendary journalists, the business of reporting and the state of the industry today. First, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Jennet Conant about Fierce Ambition, a biography of war correspondent Maggie Higgins ? the first woman to win a Pulitzer for foreign correspondence, who also resented being defined by her gender. Then, NPR's Scott Simon asks The New Yorker's Calvin Trillin about The Lede, an introspection into the realities of being a reporter, the careers of Edna Buchanan and R.W. "Johnny" Apple, and so much more.

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2024-02-23
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'Thank You Please Come Again' pays homage to Southern gas station food shops

Photojournalist Kate Medley took a road trip across 11 states in the South, documenting the culture of convenience stores and gas stations that serve hot, delicious food. Her new book, Thank You Please Come Again, captures how these establishments serve as important community meeting points across class, ethnic and racial divides. In today's episode, Medley speaks to NPR's Debbie Elliott about how communities of color are playing an important role in this Southern tradition, and how it's manifesting in dishes like cajun banh mis and jollof rice.

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2024-02-22
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In a new graphic novel, romance flourishes during the Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year Love Story, the new graphic novel written by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by Leuyen Pham, follows a teenage girl who believes she's been stuck with a generational curse for heartbreak. But during the festivity's traditional lion dance, a chance encounter gives her hope she can rewrite her fate ? if she's willing to take a chance. In today's episode, Yang and Pham speak with Here & Now's Robin Young about writing romance for young readers, and what they say are the three essential elements to a good kiss.

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2024-02-21
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'Fight Right' analyzes how to communicate and connect through relationship conflicts

Julie Schwartz Gottman and John Gottman know their fair share about relationship troubles ? they're clinical psychologists who specialize in couples' therapy, and they've been married for more than 30 years. Their new book, Fight Right, breaks down how to navigate conflict by understanding communication styles, assessing wants and needs, and looking for positivity in any approach. In today's episode, the authors offer NPR's Andee Tagle some step-by-step advice on finding connection through any argument.

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2024-02-20
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Yangsze Choo's 'The Fox Wife' explores gender, murder and folklore in the 1900s

Yangsze Choo says she doesn't thoroughly plan out her novels ? her newest, The Fox Wife, blossomed from that core idea behind the title, of a woman who also happens to be a fox. But beyond that, it's a story about a mother avenging her child, about a murder investigation in early 20th century China, and about family curses. As the author tells NPR's Scott Simon, foxes hold a wide range of intrigue and mystery in Chinese, Korean and Japanese legends ? and it's these traits that broke open a whole world of secrets for her characters.

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2024-02-19
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Novels by C.L. Miller and Tracy Sierra find suspense in spooky, old houses

Today's episode features two thrillers that unravel in the darkened halls of historic houses. First, NPR's Scott Simon speaks with C.L. Miller about The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder, a whodunnit amongst antique collectors trapped in an English manor under very bizarre circumstances. Then, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly asks Tracy Sierra about her debut novel, Nightwatching, and how the author's own New England home inspired this terrifying tale about a mother hiding from an intruder during a blizzard.

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2024-02-16
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Kunal Purohit's book examines Hindutva pop, social media and hate speech

Pop culture can be a powerful tool for social and political activism ? but what happens when it's used to incite discrimination, or even violence? That's the question at the heart of journalist Kunal Purohit's book, H-Pop: The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop Stars. In today's episode, Purohit speaks with NPR's Diaa Hadid about how influencers, pop songs and poems are promoting Hindu nationalist values in India, and how political propaganda on social media can legitimize hate towards minority groups.

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2024-02-15
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GennaRose Nethercott's short stories expose the monstrosity of human longing

Years ago, author GennaRose Nethercott promised herself she would sit at a cafe every morning and come up with three new creatures ? beasts inspired by medieval bestiaries that combined scientific record with moral folk tales. The result, Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart, is a collection of short stories that show the magical yet spooky nature of human affection. In today's episode, Nethercott speaks with NPR's Elissa Nadworny about some of the monsters she came up with, and why she cherishes writing about darkness.


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2024-02-14
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'Toxic' looks back on Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and tabloid culture in the 2000s

Author Sarah Ditum has an uncomfortable label for the late 90s and early 2000s: the upskirt decade. In her new book, Toxic, Ditum analyzes how digital cameras, the Internet and tabloid misogyny created a perfect storm to permanently alter the lives and careers of nine famous women. In today's episode, Ditum speaks with NPR's Scott Detrow about the infamous Britney Spears interview with Diane Sawyer, the growth of social media throughout that decade, and the way younger generations are now reclaiming autonomy over their public image.

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2024-02-13
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'Welcome the Wretched' argues for the separation of immigration and criminalization

Welcome the Wretched, a new book by legal scholar César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, makes the case that the immigration and criminal legal systems in the U.S. have become way too intertwined over time ? and they should be separated. In today's episode, Cuauhtémoc García Hernández walks Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes through the history of how we got to this point of criminalizing immigration. He also explains why he doesn't think immigrants should be deported for breaking the law, and how racism operates in immigration enforcement.

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2024-02-12
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'The Forgotten First' and 'Parcells: A Football Life' chronicle NFL history

It's Super Bowl weekend ? so today's episode is all about football. First, a 2021 interview between NPR's A Martinez and former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson. Johnson's book The Forgotten First looks back at the racial politics of his beloved sport, and highlights four key players who desegregated the game back in the 1940s. Then, NPR's David Greene paid a visit to legendary coach Bill Parcells' home in 2015 and asked about his memoir, Parcells: A Football Life, and the coaching tree he left behind even after his retirement.

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2024-02-09
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Sarah Cooper's memoir 'Foolish' is about her immigrant family, TikTok fame and comedy

Comedian Sarah Cooper blew up when her TikTok videos making fun of then-President Donald Trump's statements in press conferences went viral. Her new memoir, Foolish, recounts that moment in her life ? but it also expands on Cooper's larger trajectory, from learning she was Black as the daughter of Jamaican immigrants to working at Google as an adult. She tells NPR's Leila Fadel just how surreal her rise in comedy has been, and why HomeGoods home decor actually dishes out some pretty wise life advice.

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2024-02-08
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'Not the End of the World' takes a solutions-based approach to climate change

There are lots of reasons to worry about climate change: rising temperatures, rising sea levels, devastating natural disasters. But in her new book, Not the End of the World, data scientist Hannah Ritchie says there's actually a lot of factors trending in the right direction, like declines in poverty rates and carbon emissions per capita. In today's episode, Ritchie speaks with NPR's Andrew Limbong about why it's important to reframe our thinking on the future of the planet, and how our decisions can actually make a difference.

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2024-02-07
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Ai Weiwei's graphic memoir 'Zodiac' recounts a life of art and activism

Told through the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac, Ai Weiwei's new graphic memoir moves between the past, present and future with anecdotes from his childhood in a Chinese labor camp to his most recent moments, including flashing the middle finger in front of Trump Tower. In today's episode, Ai Weiwei speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about some of those memories, including the 81 days he spent detained by the Chinese government.

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2024-02-06
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'Find Me the Votes' investigates Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election

As Donald Trump runs for office in 2024, a new book by journalists Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman details how Trump attempted to overturn the presidential election in 2020, and how Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis built a case against him. In today's episode, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Isikoff and Klaidman about Find Me the Votes, the layers of intimidation behind Trump's bid for power, and the fast-moving allegations against Willis and her counsel.

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2024-02-05
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'The Fury' and 'Radiant Heat' set whodunnits against extreme weather

Today's episode focuses on two novels where the characters are grappling with the natural elements ? and with mysterious deaths. First, NPR's Mary Louise speaks with Alex Michaelides about The Fury, a murder mystery in which a famous actress and her friends are trapped on a remote Greek island by the ferocious Mediterranean wind. Then, NPR's Scott Simon asks Sarah-Jane Collins about Radiant Heat, which follows a young woman who survives an Australian wildfire, only to emerge from her house and find a dead woman she's never met ? clutching a piece of paper with her name and address.

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2024-02-02
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'Late Bloomers' is a novel about arranged marriage, divorce and dating later in life

Dating can be difficult and confusing at any age ? but especially after the end of a 36-year arranged marriage. The characters of Deepa Varadarajan's debut novel, Late Bloomers, are experiencing that second chance firsthand. Parents Suresh and Lata have just split and are learning to navigate dating online and IRL; their kids are fielding relationship troubles of their own. In today's episode, the author talks to NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer about what it means to find love later in life, and how writing fiction provided her with her own kind of fresh start.


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2024-02-01
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Kaveh Akbar's novel 'Martyr!' is a journey of identity, addiction and poetry

Halfway through today's episode, author Kaveh Akbar tells NPR's Scott Simon that his life is a summation of "private joys amidst collective grief and private grief amidst collective joy." It's a contrast that contextualizes his emotionally dark yet deeply funny debut novel, Martyr!, about an Iranian-American poet grappling with addiction, loss, displacement and art. Akbar, who is also poetry editor at The Nation, explains why his protagonist is so obsessed with the concept of martyrdom, and how it relates to his own personal journey with sobriety.

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2024-01-31
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In 'The Bullet Swallower,' the wild, wild West meets magical realism

The titular protagonist of Elizabeth Gonzalez James' new novel, The Bullet Swallower, is rooted in a story she once heard about her great-grandfather: He was a Mexican outlaw, shot by Texas police and left for dead, who lived to tell the tale. Inspired by that family lore, James uses magical realism, spirituality and some very bad characters to paint a nuanced picture of life on the U.S. Mexico border. In today's episode, she tells NPR's Ari Shapiro why she's so committed to untangling Texas in her writing, and what she thinks her great-grandfather might think of the story she based on him.

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2024-01-30
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'Only Say Good Things' chronicles Crystal Hefner's life at the Playboy mansion

Crystal Harris was only 21 when she entered the Playboy mansion for the first time. Within a few days, the college student moved in. She later married Hugh Hefner, and stayed by his side until his death in 2017. In her new memoir, Only Say Good Things, Hefner looks back on the paradox of sexual freedom and strict rules she lived by at the mansion. She tells NPR's Michel Martin how her perspective on love, liberation and control has changed since she left.

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2024-01-29
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'Black Sheep' and 'This Wretched Valley' use horror to question morality

It's never too early for spooky season. Today, we've got two horror books that explore relationships, cynicism and arrogance. First, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Rachel Harrison about Black Sheep, which follows a disillusioned protagonist grappling with religious fanaticism and family ties when she returns to the Satanic community she was raised in. Then, Jenny Kiefer discusses her novel This Wretched Valley, which takes inspiration from the Dyatlov Pass Incident to put an influencer and Ph.D. students at odds with nature.

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2024-01-26
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Michele Norris' 'Our Hidden Conversations' examines race and identity in the U.S.

More than a decade ago, former NPR host Michele Norris started the Race Card Project. It was a simple premise: She asked people to send in six words that summarized their thoughts on race. Now, hundreds of thousands of submissions later, Norris expands on some of those opinions and experiences in the new book, Our Hidden Conversations. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about the context behind some of the submissions ? like "I wish he was a girl" ? and the way feeling "invisible" has changed in recent years.

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2024-01-25
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'Soundtrack of Silence' is a touching memoir about music and hearing loss

Matt Hay grew up with a medical condition that eventually diminished his ability to hear. But in the process of going deaf, he memorized his favorite songs, fell in love and started a family. In today's episode, Hay speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about his new memoir, Soundtrack of Silence, and how ? nearly two decades later ? music has been able to help him do something doctors said was impossible: partially recover his hearing.

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2024-01-24
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Efrén C. Olivares' memoir recounts family separations at the border

Efrén C. Olivares is a human rights lawyer ? and he tells Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes that some of the toughest conversations he's ever had were during Trump-era family separations, when he had to tell the parents he was representing in South Texas that he wasn't sure when or where they'd see their children again. His new book, My Boy Will Die of Sorrow, is a firsthand account of the human impacts of anti-immigration policy at the border, told alongside Olivares' own experience immigrating to the U.S. from Mexico as a young teen.

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2024-01-23
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Claire Keegan's new book of stories explores tension, drama and gender dynamics

Three short stories comprise So Late in the Day, the new book by the highly acclaimed Irish writer, Claire Keegan. All three revolve around the ways men and women relate to one another ? from a failed marriage proposal to a troubling affair. In today's episode, NPR's Scott Simon asks Keegan about the way her male characters come across, and how the finite nature of time influences her protagonists' decisions.

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2024-01-22
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Adam Kinzinger, Mitt Romney and the evolution of the Republican party

Today's episode focuses on two Republican legislators who, over time, came to feel like outsiders for sounding alarms about Trump. First, NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with former representative Adam Kinzinger about Renegade, his new memoir detailing his career and the way January 6 ultimately broke his allegiance to the Republican party. Then, journalist McKay Coppins speaks with Here & Now's Jane Clayson about his new biography of Mitt Romney, and how the former presidential candidate reflects on the conspiratorial leanings dominating today's politics.

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2024-01-19
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'The Frozen River' tells the fictionalized story of a real 18th century midwife

Martha Ballard was a real midwife in the late 1700s who delivered more than 1,000 babies without ever losing a mother. Ballard kept a diary of her life and the town secrets she learned thanks to her profession ? and she's at the center of Ariel Lawhon's new novel, The Frozen River. In today's episode, Lawhon tells NPR's Scott Simon how she stumbled upon Ballard's story while pregnant with her own child, and why it was important for her to make a 54-year-old woman the hero of her book.

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2024-01-18
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'The Golden Screen' chronicles the films that shaped the Asian American diaspora

The Golden Screen, the new book by Jeff Yang, offers a comprehensive guide to some of the most significant films for Asian American representation, including commentary by industry trailblazers like Daniel Dae Kim, Janet Yang and Simu Liu. In today's episode, Yang and book contributor Preeti Chhibber speak with NPR's Ailsa Chang about how Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Bollywood and kung fu movies shaped their identities growing up. They also get to talking about some of the harmful stereotypes we still see on screen today, and why maybe mediocrity isn't such a bad thing.

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2024-01-17
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'Orbital' captures one day in the life of six astronauts

Author Samantha Harvey tells NPR's Ari Shapiro that she was fascinated by the quotes and insight of astronauts as a child. Her new novel, Orbital, turns that interest into a careful contemplation of Earth, space and humanity ? it follows six people on a mission to orbit around our planet for 16 sunrises and sunsets. Harvey and Shapiro discuss the kind of poetry that emerged from imagining the daily routines of cosmonauts, so far up above, together and alone at once.

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2024-01-16
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Álvaro Enrigue's new novel reimagines Hernán Cortés' and Moctezuma's empires

You Dreamed of Empires sets the scene for a violent historical encounter: the war between the Spanish and Aztec empires. But in a fictionalization of Hernán Cortés' arrival in the city of Tenochtitlan in 1519, author Álvaro Enrigue challenges ideas about colonialism, revolution and influential rulers. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about finding humor and humanity in the men he writes about ? sometimes laughing about, but not with, the powerful ones.

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2024-01-15
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Two historical fiction novels focus on women's lives during wars in Southeast Asia

Today's episode features two authors who've written novels centering the personal and political experiences of women during war. First, NPR's Rob Schmitz speaks with Vanessa Chan about The Storm We Made, which follows a mother in 1945 Malay grappling with how her secret work as a spy has resulted in the brutal Japanese occupation tearing her family apart. Then, NPR's Juana Summers chats with Alice McDermott about her novel Absolution, which depicts two American wives looking back on the friendship they developed living in Saigon as their husbands' "helpmeets" during the Vietnam War.

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2024-01-12
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Roxane Gay fleshes out her strong 'Opinions'

In the era of constant hot takes, what actually makes an opinion worthwhile? Roxane Gay tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe that it's a combination of things: credibility, backing arguments, articulation. In today's episode, Gay discusses her collection of nonfiction essays Opinions and the topics she tackles throughout ? from the overuse of the word 'empathy' in today's discourse to the truly terrible experience of Father's Day shopping.

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2024-01-11
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Celine Saintclare's debut novel explores the life of a 'Sugar,Baby' in London

The protagonist of Celine Saintclare's Sugar, Baby is pretty disillusioned with her life: She's 21 and still at home, she has few friends and she feels like she'll never live up to her religious mother's expectations. But when she crosses paths with a London socialite, Agnes is introduced to a glamorous lifestyle bankrolled mostly by sex work and social media posts. In today's episode, NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento speaks with Saintclare about how the novel explores power dynamics, female friendships and social inequalities.

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2024-01-10
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Olympic runner Caster Semenya's memoir tackles gender stereotypes in sports

When she was only a teenager, South African runner Caster Semenya won gold at the 2009 World Championships. But she was soon faced with intense scrutiny over her gender and testosterone levels and forced to endure intrusive questions and tests about her eligibility to compete. In her new memoir, The Race to Be Myself, Semenya opens up about having her skill and merit challenged on a global stage and choosing self-love over it all. She speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about breaking down expectations for women athletes, and raising her own daughters with that experience in mind.

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2024-01-09
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Booker Prize winner 'Prophet Song' is a dystopian tale of Irish authoritarianism

Early on in today's interview with author Paul Lynch, he says he was careful not to specify whether his dystopian novel Prophet Song is set in the future. Instead, the gripping tale of an Irish family sticking together through the fall of democracy focuses on the present moment and the personal relationships affected by it. In today's episode, Lynch speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about the power of fiction to break through the noise of news and social media ? and the weight of his own platform after winning the Booker Prize.

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2024-01-08
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