Book Review: 'The Black Snow,' Paul Lynch
NPR's Alan Cheuse reviews Paul Lynch's second novel, The Black Snow.
Arts & Life
New U.S. Poet Laureate Hopes To Invite All Communities To Express Themselves
NPR's Audie Cornish interviews Juan Felipe Herrera, the new U.S. poet laureate. He discusses his upbringing in California as the son of migrant workers.
For Comedian Kumail Nanjiani, Getting Personal Is Complicated
Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Nanjiani moved to the U.S. for college. "I have a very conflicted relationship to where I'm from ..." he says. "It's still a struggle to negotiate some of it."
It's All In Your Head: Director Pete Docter Gets Emotional In 'Inside Out'
The new film illustrates the inner workings of an 11-year-old's mind. Her emotions — Sadness, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Joy — are the stars, voiced by the likes of Amy Poehler and Louis Black.
Mama's Still Alive Today: 'Meursault' Investigates A Literary Murder
In The Stranger, Albert Camus' antihero Meursault famously killed a nameless Arab; Algerian writer Kamel Daoud's new novel reworks Camus from the point of view of the murdered man's brother.
Tea Tuesdays: Gift Of The Moon, Bane Of The Spanish — The Story Of Yerba Mate
Legend has it the moon gifted this drink to the Guaraní people of South America. It was banned by the colonial government. The Jesuits made it their most profitable crop. Oh, and the pope drinks it.
Tea Tuesdays: The Scottish Spy Who Stole China's Tea Empire
In the mid-1800s, Britain was a global superpower with a big weakness for tea, all of which came from China. But a botanist with a talent for espionage helped Britain swipe the secrets of tea.
Napoleon In America: Not As Strange As It Sounds
Historian Munro Price's new Napoleon: End of Glory imagines what might have happened had the French emperor followed through with a planned flight to America after his final defeat at Waterloo.
This Year, Women (And Girls) Rule The Big Screen
NPR film critic Bob Mondello notes that this year's most popular movies are surprisingly womancentric. That's more than at any other time in at least three decades.
If Jimmy Fallon Gets His Way, 'Your Baby's First Word Will Be Dada'
The Tonight Show host's new children's book was inspired by his daughters. He tells NPR about his efforts to trick his first daughter into saying "dada" and his family's struggle to conceive.