Author Interviews

Books

A Family Confronts Life And Death In 'The House Of Broken Angels'

8:11am March 03, 2018

The House of Broken Angels is the latest book by Luis Alberto Urrea. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with the best-selling author about the novel's themes of life, death and mortality.

Books
Arts

A Sister Shares 'Horrible And Wonderful' Memories Of Her Brother's Life And Death

8:11am March 03, 2018

by Scott Simon

Comedy writer and TV producer Harris Wittels died of an overdose in 2015; his sister Stephanie Wittels Wachs's new book came out of her desperate need to talk to him, even yell at him after he died.

Books
Arts

Trans Woman Reflects On Love, Loss And The Fight For Equality

2:32pm February 28, 2018

Sarah McBride was the first transgender person to speak at the political convention of a major party. Now she's the spokesperson for the LGBTQ rights organization the Human Rights Campaign.

Queue Listen Now

Cover detail of Blue Dreams, by Lauren Slater

Long-Term Effects Of Psychotropic Drugs Are 'Cloaked In Mystery'

5:18pm February 27, 2018

by Terry Gross

When it comes to antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs, author Lauren Slater says, "We don't really know what we're taking into our bodies." Her new book is Blue Dreams.

Queue Listen Now

"The job of a cartoonist is not just to capture a likeness," Tim Kreider says. "A caricature brings out aspects of someone's character that they're trying to conceal."

Books
Arts

Essayist Breaks Free From Conventional Relationships In 'Because I Love You'

3:11pm February 26, 2018

by Dave Davies

Tim Kreider says the longest relationship of his adult life was with the stray cat. He writes about that, his fling with a sexual performance artist and much more in a new essay collection.

Queue Listen Now

Books

In Age Of Division, Author Says 'It's Better Than It Looks' When You Stick To The Facts

5:26pm February 25, 2018

It might feel like the world is always on the brink of disaster, but Gregg Easterbrook says we're better off than we think. NPR's Sarah McCammon asks him about his new book, It's Better Than It Looks.

Jorge Ramos On Being A 'Stranger'

8:14am February 25, 2018

Jorge Ramos, the longtime Univision anchor, is also a Mexican immigrant. He talks with NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro about the decision to leave Mexico and his book Stranger.

Books
Arts

David Mamet On 'Chicago': 'These Were The Stories You Grew Up With'

8:25am February 24, 2018

by Scott Simon

The playwright and screenwriter's first novel in 20 years is set in the Windy City of the 1920s, where the mob rules, the market for sin is thriving and the dialogue is as distinctive as ever.

Queue Listen Now

"I'll Be Gone In The Dark," by Michelle McNamara.

Books
Arts

Patton Oswalt On His Late Wife's Search For The Golden State Killer

8:08am February 24, 2018

by Scott Simon

Before Michelle McNamara died in 2016, she was working on a book that aimed to bring a serial rapist and murderer to justice. I'll Be Gone in the Dark has now been published.

An image from Clifford Johnson's The Dialogues: Conversations about the Nature of the Universe.

'The Dialogues' Takes On Physics And Reality In Words And Pictures

11:21am February 23, 2018

by Adam Frank

Commentator Adam Frank interviews physicist Clifford Johnson, who has taken a new approach to the exploration of questions about the nature of the universe — the graphic novel.