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Mary Karr On Writing Memoirs: 'No Doubt I've Gotten A Million Things Wrong'

3:47pm September 23, 2016

Karr discusses the faults of memory, the challenges of writing about loved ones and the pain of deleting pages because "there was something untrue about them." Originally broadcast Sept. 15, 2015.

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Pop Culture Happy Hour: Emmys, Comedy And Your Spooky Grandpa

11:27am September 23, 2016

by Stephen Thompson

An assortment of odds and ends, including an Emmys recap, David Greene's interview with comedian Hari Kondabolu, and Petra Mayer's discussion with English writer Alan Moore.

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In 1948, eight African-American men joined the Atlanta police force. They could not drive squad cars, step foot in police headquarters, or arrest white citizens. They are the inspiration for Thomas Mullen's new novel, Darktown.

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'Darktown' Imagines What It Was Like For Atlanta's First Black Policemen

8:30am September 23, 2016

by Karen Grigsby Bates

In 1948, eight African-American men joined Atlanta's police force. Those pioneer officers — who couldn't drive squad cars or even step foot in headquarters — inspired Thomas Mullen's new novel.

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If You Think Eating Is A Political Act, Say Thanks To Frances Moore Lappe

7:16pm September 22, 2016

by Allison Aubrey

When Frances Moore Lappe wrote the best-selling Diet For A Small Planet back in 1971, she helped start a conversation about the social and environmental impacts of the foods we choose.

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Mel Brooks receives the National Medal of Arts during an East Room ceremony at the White House on Thursday.

At White House, A Golden Moment For America's Great Artists And Patrons

3:43pm September 22, 2016

by Colin Dwyer

Two dozen luminaries — from Terry Gross to Mel Brooks, Morgan Freeman to Louise Glück — got laurels Thursday, as President Obama awarded the National Medals of Arts and National Humanities Medals.

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'Born To Run' Is A 500-Page Springsteen Show

2:53pm September 22, 2016

by Barbara J. King

Can't see The Boss in concert? Pick up his new memoir, which begins with 7-year-old Springsteen watching Elvis on TV. From $3-a-night shows to swooning stadiums, it's a wild and well-written ride.

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'The Wonder' Is A Hard-To-Believe Tale Of Belief

11:21am September 22, 2016

by Michael Schaub

Emma Donoghue's latest follows a nurse in 19th century Ireland who agrees to monitor a famed fasting girl. But both the unsympathetic nurse and the credulous villagers are hard to like or understand.

"You can't have the modern American restaurant without Delmonico's," explains Yale historian Paul Freedman. The restaurant opened in 1837, setting the bar very high for fine dining. Above, a dinner in honor of an admiral held at Delmonico's in 1906.

Food For Thought: 10 Restaurants That Shaped America

4:30pm September 21, 2016

by Neda Ulaby

A Yale historian's new book explores America's changing tastes, and what they say about our culture — from class mobility to civil rights to women's changing status.

Atlas Obscura by Joshua Foer, Dylan Thuras & Ella Morton

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'Atlas Obscura' Tour Of Manhattan Finds Hidden Wonders In A Well-Trodden Place

4:05pm September 21, 2016

by Ari Shapiro

Dylan Thuras, co-author of a new book, takes NPR to a piece of lost subway grandeur, a room of well-groomed dirt and a sonic secret in the middle of Times Square.

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Love Shifts The Self In 'The Lesser Bohemians'

1:14pm September 21, 2016

by Annalisa Quinn

Eimear McBride's latest follows a young drama student who goes to London and falls for an older man. Her live, wriggling language makes a beautiful account of the ways the self is built and rebuilt.