Books

Like his previous work, including Homeland Elegies, The Radiance exposes the fissures of American racial, political and economic identity.

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested at Columbia University by immigration authorities last year. His memoir is "No Land to Stand On: Notes From Detention."

Lee Clarke doesn't want to fight in Vietnam. So he's headed to Canada, saying goodbye to his family along the way. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks with Patrick deWitt about his new novel, "Dodge City."

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to fellow host, Scott Detrow, and NPR editor, Daniel Burke about their new book, "American Pope: Leo XIV's Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City."

NPR's Scott Simon talks with D.L. Hughley about his new memoir, "Charlie's Boy," and all the people from his childhood in South Central Los Angeles who shaped his life and his comedy.

When the 2025 conclave began, no one expected an American pope. But by its end, Cardinal Robert Prevost had become Pope Leo. Here's a look behind the scenes.

The book follows the lives of four young women as they start a new life in America — learning English, repeating college and forging new identities.

Move over, beach reads. With the fall equinox behind us, we can now curl up with cozy autumn books. There are new titles coming from Barbara Kingsolver, Chad Harbach, Jasmine Guillory and more.

In "The Radiance," a writer who's also named Ayad Akhtar has an almost fatal bicycle accident that leaves him with a mysterious state of altered perception.

An increasing number of people say they don't; that conversing with, confiding in, and sometimes falling in love with an artificial intelligence bot that "performs" empathy, but has none, is not only acceptable, but sometimes preferable.