Author Interviews

Books
Arts

'The Book Of Joan' Recasts A Historic Heroine — In Space

11:41am April 16, 2017

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Lidia Yuknavitch's fascination with Joan of Arc informs her new novel, set in a grim future where humanity is sexless and ageless, prisoners in a technological hell ruled by a malevolent billionaire.

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Philanthropy In America Is Becoming 'Ideological Arms Race,' Author Says

8:12am April 16, 2017

Many of the richest citizens are reshaping public policy, and society, as they see fit. Because of their numbers, they have more influence than the philanthropists of the past, David Callahan says.

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Michael Nesmith (center, foreground) with the other members of The Monkees — Davy Jones (left), Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork (right) — in the late 1960s.

Michael Nesmith On 'Infinite Tuesday' And Touring With Hendrix

8:12am April 16, 2017

In his new memoir, the one-time member of The Monkees recalls befriending John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix, who opened for the band on a 1967 tour. (That didn't last long.)

An anesthesiologist writes about the profound moment a patient wakes up from surgery.

The Poetic Intimacy Of Administering Anesthesia

5:00am April 16, 2017

by Meredith Rizzo

An anesthesiologist and poet says her medical work is well-suited to poetry, as patients move in and out of consciousness under the doctor's watch.

Books

Literature And Social Media Collide In 'Sympathy'

8:04am April 15, 2017

Sympathy, the debut novel by Olivia Sudjic, could be about falling in love in the digital age. Or it could be about falling down a digital rabbit hole. Linda Wertheimer asks Sudjic about her book.

Books

Filmmaker John Waters On How To 'Make Trouble'

8:04am April 15, 2017

NPR's Linda Wertheimer speaks with filmmaker John Waters about his new book. Make Trouble is based on Waters' commencement address to the Rhode Island School of Design.

Books
Arts

Fitzgerald Didn't Satisfy This Author, So She Wrote Her Own 'Gatsby'-Inspired Novel

4:57pm April 13, 2017

by Ari Shapiro

Stephanie Powell Watts' No One Is Coming to Save Us isn't quite a retelling of The Great Gatsby; instead, it uses similar themes to tell a story about black characters in a declining furniture town.

How Can The Colorado River Continue To Support 36 Million People In 7 States?

1:35pm April 13, 2017

by Terry Gross

New Yorker staff writer David Owen says that convoluted legal agreements and a patchwork of infrastructure determine how water from the Colorado is allocated. His new book is Where The Water Goes.

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Above, the Library of Congress Card Division, 1919

Books
Arts

File This Under Nostalgia: New Book Pays Tribute To The Library Card Catalog

8:10am April 13, 2017

by Andrew Limbong

Today, people use the antique wooden cabinets to store their knick-knacks. But these card catalogs once held the keys to a world of information. A new Library of Congress book explores their history.

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'The Souls Of China' Documents Country's Dramatic Return To Religion

4:36pm April 12, 2017

When the author Ian Johnson first visited China in 1984, he says religious life appeared to be dead. Today, he says China is experiencing a dramatic return to religion, and he documents this in a new book called The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao.