Books

American actor Theodore Roberts as Moses in Cecil B. DeMille's silent version of The Ten Commandments — one of many works from 1923 that entered the public domain on Jan. 1.

Books
Arts

Freed From Copyright, These Classic Works Are Yours To Adapt

12:01pm January 05, 2019

by Milton Guevara

For the first time in 20 years, a large body of films, music, and books has entered the public domain. That means they can be reworked by new creators in conversation with the originals.

Books
Arts

The Spirit Tells The Story In 'Orchestra Of Minorities'

7:56am January 05, 2019

by Scott Simon

Chigozie Obioma's latest novel is a love story, a story of exile, a mix of classical tragedy and Igbo folklore, narrated by a chi — a guardian spirit that refers to Obioma's protagonist as its host.

Books
Arts

A New Novel Makes The 'Sugar Run' Out Of Jail And Back To West Virginia

7:56am January 05, 2019

by Scott Simon

Mesha Maren's debut book follows a queer woman trying to restart her life and return to rural Appalachia. For the author, it's a place sometimes "difficult to love," but loved with "extra fierceness."

Paru Venkat and Alagappa Rammohan pose for a portrait after their StoryCorps interview in Chicago on June 23, 2018.

His Love For Books Reads Like Poetry

5:02am January 04, 2019

At StoryCorps, Alagappa Rammohan, 79, says books are a sacred transfer of knowledge from one person to another. A book "doesn't force you to read, but it is there," he tells his daughter.

'Punishment Without Crime' Highlights The Injustice Of America's Misdemeanor System

3:08pm January 02, 2019

by Terry Gross

Former federal public defender Alexandra Natapoff says 13 million misdemeanors are filed each year in the U.S., trapping the innocent, punishing the poor and making society more unequal.

Queue Listen Now

Books

Poetry Recommendations To Launch Your New Year

6:58pm January 01, 2019

Professional poet Tess Taylor says there's no better way to start the new year than with some poems.

Queue Listen Now

Books

Encore: Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall Embarks On The Quest To Cure Hangovers In 'Hungover'

4:52pm January 01, 2019

As long as humans have imbibed alcohol, they've had hangovers. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall about his book, Hungover: The Morning After and One Man's Quest for the Cure.

Queue Listen Now

In Red Dead Redemption 2, you don't exactly level up.

Books
Arts

Reading The Game: Red Dead Redemption 2

7:00am January 01, 2019

by Jason Sheehan

Our occasional series about storytelling returns with a look at Red Dead Redemption 2, which inverts one of the biggest tropes in video games — the Power Curve. There's no leveling up here.

Trade Wars Keep U.S. Farmers' Chickpeas In Silos

6:53am December 31, 2018

by Anna King

American soybean exports have started to move again, but China and India still aren't buying lentils, garbanzos or peas from the U.S. due to trade wars and tariffs.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

'The Winters' Is A Modern Update Of 1938 Best-Seller 'Rebecca'

8:37am December 30, 2018

The Winters is Lisa Gabriele's modern update of the 1938 novel Rebecca.