Books

Books
Arts

Joy In Excess: The Overflowing Art of Mark Alan Stamaty

10:00am May 25, 2019

by Etelka Lehoczky

Two new books — a reissue of 1971's Yellow Yellow and a compilation of Stamaty's MacDoodle Street newspaper strips — highlight the artist's joyful ability to imagine the world the way kids do.

Books

A Different Kind Of Story About Slavery In 'The Confessions Of Frannie Langton'

8:20am May 25, 2019

by Lynn Neary

Debut novelist Sara Collins wanted to explore the roots of scientific racism and produced the Gothic novel The Confessions of Frannie Langton.

Cover art to Songs from the Novel Greatest Hits, by Kathryn Williams

This 'Greatest Hits' Album Is Real. Its Artist Is Fiction

8:20am May 25, 2019

by Scott Simon

Laura Barnett wrote a novel about an aging singer-songwriter sizing up her life in 16 tracks. Then she approached musician Kathryn Williams, who created the book's original soundtrack.

Books
Arts

Sharp Satire And Dark Humor In 'Riots I Have Known'

7:00am May 25, 2019

by Michael Schaub

Ryan Chapman's debut novel opens in the middle of a prison riot as the unnamed narrator cowers in fear for his life — which doesn't seem like a setup for comedy, but it's packed with dark laughs.

'Accidental Presidents' Looks At Achievements Of Vice Presidents Who Became President

5:07pm May 24, 2019

NPR's Audie Cornish talks with Jared Cohen, author of Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America. He chronicles the legacies of men who have taken office when the incumbent died.

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New research confirms what we've been hearing for years: Cooking from scratch and eating "real food" is healthier than consuming the highly processed foods that make up the majority of calories in the American diet. The problem is that knowing this doesn'

OPINION: Why Ditching Processed Foods Won't Be Easy — The Barriers To Cooking From Scratch

7:00am May 24, 2019

Though a new study shows that eating unprocessed food is healthier, home-cooked meals require resources that food experts take for granted, such as money and time, the authors of a new book argue.

Linda Taylor, 40, walks with her attorney T. Lee Boyd as they leave the Chicago Civic Center on March 8, 1977, during a recess in her trial. Dubbed the "Welfare Queen," Taylor was charged with bilking the State of Illinois out of $30,000 in bogus welfare

'The Queen' Reveals The Story Of The Woman Who Became A Symbol Of Welfare Fraud

2:48pm May 23, 2019

by Ilana Masad

Linda Taylor rose to infamy during the 1970s, when prize-winning reporter George Bliss brought her criminal activity to light — and then-candidate Ronald Reagan turned her into the Welfare Queen.

Books
Arts

These 'Empty Words' Are Full Of Life

7:00am May 23, 2019

by Lily Meyer

The late Uruguayan novelist Mario Levrero was known for his gleeful weirdness. Empty Words follows a writer who tries to cure his block by writing boring nothings — and it's anything but boring.

Books
Arts

'Nuking The Moon' Looks At Intelligence And Military Schemes That Didn't Make It

6:03pm May 22, 2019

Nuking the Moon is a new book that chronicles the history of unusual confidential military projects.

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Kenyan author Binyavanga Wainaina, seen here during a January 2014 interview in Nairobi, has died at the age of 48. A founder of the Nairobi-based literary network Kwani?, Wainaina had come out as gay in a country where homosexuality was illegal.

Books
Arts

Binyavanga Wainaina, Kenyan Writer And LGBTQ Activist, Dies At 48

1:31pm May 22, 2019

by Colin Dwyer

The author founded a platform for young Kenyan authors and came out as gay in a place where homosexuality has long been illegal. "Binyavanga was unbound in his imagining," said a friend and colleague.