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Grief Haunts 'Ghosts Of Bergen County'

7:00am May 07, 2016

by Michael Schaub

Dana Cann's novel is packed with ghosts, literal and figurative. It centers on a married couple grieving the loss of their infant daughter — and the way that grief can make strange things happen.

Batman Writer Scott Snyder signs autographs for DC Comics' Free Comic Book Day Special Issue at Fourth World Comics in 2015 in Smithtown, N.Y.

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Free Comic Book Day 2016: Even Archie Has Something New To Say

7:48pm May 06, 2016

by Glen Weldon

Glen Weldon runs down all 50 of the books on offer for Free Comic Book Day and explains how you can get your share of the goods.

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After 20 Years On The Job, NYC Police Officer Tells His Intense Stories

3:40pm May 06, 2016

"Your heart is pounding; your adrenaline is shooting out of your ears," retired police officer Steve Osborne says. "And you got one second to get it right." Originally broadcast April 21, 2015.

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Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele in Keanu.

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Pop Culture Happy Hour: Comics, More Comics, Free Comics And Keanu

10:34am May 06, 2016

by Linda Holmes

This week's show takes us on a tour of what's on offer for Free Comic Book Day and also finds us watching Key & Peele's kitten-driven action comedy.

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Crepes are a cousin of the enchilada, says Mexican chef Pati Jinich. A vestige of French intervention in Mexico, crepes are now considered classics of Mexican gastronomy. (Above) Jinich's crepe enchiladas with corn, poblano chiles and squash in an avocado

Crepes For Cinco De Mayo? Chef Pati Jinich Explains Por Qué

10:19pm May 05, 2016

by Maria Godoy

The holiday commemorates a Mexican victory against French invaders, whose culinary imprint lingers. In her new cookbook, Jinich explores Mexico's evolving cuisine and its many immigrant influences.

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'The Queue' Carries On A Dystopian Lineage

3:33pm May 05, 2016

by Carmen Maria Machado

Basma Abdel Aziz's new novel is set in an unspecified Middle Eastern city, where an endless line snakes back from the mysterious Gate where citizens await pronouncements from a sinister government.

Newly Released Documents Detail Traumas Of China's Cultural Revolution

1:44pm May 05, 2016

Historian Frank Dikötter says newly opened archives offer fresh details about the chaos China experienced in the 1960s, when Chairman Mao urged students to take to the streets.

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Novelist Richard Russo: 'I Find Myself Now ... Having Lived The American Dream'

11:11am May 05, 2016

by NPR Staff

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author says his blue-collar grandfather would have been astonished by the life Russo leads. His new book, Everybody's Fool, is a sequel to 1993's Nobody's Fool.

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Empty storefronts line the streets of Northern Cambria, Pa., Jennifer Haigh's hometown.

'Heat And Light' Digs For The Soul Of Coal Country

6:44pm May 04, 2016

by Lynn Neary

Jennifer Haigh grew up in small town Pennsylvania, where jobs disappeared when coal mines closed. Her new novel explores the changes that mining — and now fracking — has brought to nearby communities.

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To Play Sports Under Taliban Rule, 'Different Kind Of Daughter' Dressed As A Boy

1:33pm May 04, 2016

Growing up in the tribal region of Pakistan, Maria Toorpakai pretended she was a boy in order to compete as a weightlifter. Later she became an internationally known squash player.

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