The latest news about books from NPR

March 19th, 2024

 

In a fever dream of a retelling, America's new reigning king of satire has turned a loved classic, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, upside down, placing Huck's enslaved companion Jim at the center.
Author: Carole V. Bell
Posted: March 18, 2024, 5:53 pm
In an interview with NPR, Ford says it was only a couple of years ago that she felt ready to revisit how her life was upended by Brett Kavanaugh's rise to a position on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Author: Reena Advani
Posted: March 18, 2024, 9:07 am
When Shohini Ghose was studying physics as a kid, she heard certain names repeated over and over. "Einstein, Newton, Schrodinger ... they're all men." Shohini wanted to change that — so she decided to write a book about some of the women scientists missing from her grade school physics textbooks. It's called Her Space, Her Time: How Trailblazing Women Scientists Decoded the Hidden Universe. This episode, she talks to Short Wave host Regina G. Barber about uncovering the women physicists she admires — and how their stories have led her to reflect on her own.

Author: Margaret Cirino
Posted: March 18, 2024, 7:00 am
How did the soda giant from America come to be seen as "local" in Africa? And what has the impact been on the continent for worse and for better?
Author: Diane Cole
Posted: March 17, 2024, 1:50 pm
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks with Sarah McCammon, NPR National Political Correspondent, about her religious upbringing and new book, "The Exvangelicals."
Author: Ayesha Rascoe
Posted: March 17, 2024, 12:19 pm
NPR's Scott Simon talks with Charles Spencer, historian and Princess Diana's brother, about his memoir, "A Very Private School." It relates disturbing stories about his time in boarding school.
Author: Scott Simon
Posted: March 16, 2024, 12:03 pm
NPR's Scott Simon asks "The English Patient" author Michael Ondaatje about his new collection of poems, "A Year of Last Things."
Author: Scott Simon
Posted: March 16, 2024, 12:03 pm
Amazon is crowded with copycat books that appear to have been written by AI — and they're attached to real authors who didn't write them. (Story first aired on Morning Edition on March 13, 2023.)
Author: Andrew Limbong
Posted: March 16, 2024, 12:03 pm
The Chinese Nobel Prize-winning author Mo Yan is being sued for allegedly insulting national heroes. NPR's Scott Simon speaks to Cornell Professor Jessica Chen Weiss about the case.
Author: Scott Simon
Posted: March 16, 2024, 12:03 pm
The 2024 presidential election will be a rematch between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden; and with that rematch comes political fanfare, some public apathy and déjà vu. To take a look at the public perception of this repeat race, host Brittany Luse is joined by NPR political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben and NPR White House Correspondent Franco Ordoñez.

Then, Brittany is joined by Vinson Cunningham to discuss his debut novel, Great Expectations. It's a period piece that follows the story of a young man working on an election campaign that echoes that of Obama's 2008 run. Ultimately, it's a novel about belief - both religious and political. Brittany and Vinson discuss American politics as a sort of religion - and why belief in politics has changed so much in the last decade.

To end the show, Brittany shares her thoughts about "Kate Gate" and the mysterious case of royal photoshopping.

One more thing: we are working on a special series for IBAM about the gender divide and we want to talk to YOU. We're looking for people aged 18-24 for a roundtable interview on everything from dating, money, politics, and your future hopes. If you're interested in joining us, email our producers: ibam@npr.org
Author: Brittany Luse
Posted: March 15, 2024, 8:25 pm