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Theoretical Physics And Down-To-Earth Loneliness In 'Lost And Wanted'

7:00am April 01, 2019

by Heller McAlpin

Nell Freudenberger's new novel is a bittersweet love story — about a lost friend, a missed romance, and an all-consuming career — that uses dense scientific concepts to illuminate everyday emotions.

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Arts

'Women Talking' Gives A Human Voice To Horror

9:18am March 31, 2019

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Miriam Toews' new novel is based on an awful true story: The drugging and rape of women in a Mennonite colony in Bolivia. Toews says she wanted to show the women as real humans, not isolated cultists.

A part of Band-e-Amir, Afghanistan's first national park, in Bamiyan province.

A Key To Peace In Afghanistan? Consider Conservation, Says One Scientist

7:59am March 31, 2019

by Ashley Westerman

Alex Dehgan, a former State Department official who ran the Wildlife Conservation Society's Afghanistan program, argues science diplomacy can play a key role in rebuilding the country.

Sky Without Stars, by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell

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'Sky Without Stars': Vive La Revolution ... In Space!

7:06am March 31, 2019

by Caitlyn Paxson

Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell's new novel recasts Les Miserables on a distant — yet French-inflected — planet where a powerful Regime keeps the populace split and oppressed.

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Arts

The Stories In 'Guestbook' Linger Like Ghosts

5:58pm March 30, 2019

by Lily Meyer

Leanne Shapton's new short story collection feels like walking through an art gallery, each piece linked in ways that are ineffable but clear. And many sections use artwork, including Shapton's own.

Books

Nora McInerny On 'No Happy Endings'

7:55am March 30, 2019

Nora McInerny is the author of It's Okay to Laugh and host of the popular podcast Terrible, Thanks for Asking. NPR's Scott Simon talks with McInerny about her new memoir, No Happy Endings.

Books

Namwali Serpell On 'The Old Drift'

7:55am March 30, 2019

NPR's Scott Simon talks with Namwali Serpell about her debut novel, The Old Drift.

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Arts

We Are All 'The Other Americans'

7:00am March 30, 2019

by Bethanne Patrick

Laila Lalami's new novel combines riveting police procedural with a sensitive examination of life in California's Mojave Desert region, told through a well-rendered choir of different voices.

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Arts

Mexican-American Author Finds Inspiration In Family, Tragedy And Trump

1:41pm March 29, 2019

by Terry Gross

Luis Alberto Urrea's The House of Broken Angels borrows from the story of his older brother, who died of cancer. He told Fresh Air in 2018 that the book went through a rewrite after the 2016 election.

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Arts

In 'She Could Fly,' A Teen Wrestles With A Host Of Psychological Mysteries

7:00am March 29, 2019

by Etelka Lehoczky

Christopher Cantwell's new graphic novel follows teenaged Luna, who's struggling with mental health issues and finds a kind of hope in the appearance of a mysterious flying woman in the Chicago skies.