Lunar New Year Love Story , the new graphic novel written by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by Leuyen Pham, follows a teenage girl who believes she's been stuck with a generational curse for heartbreak. But during the festivity's traditional lion dance, a chance encounter gives her hope she can rewrite her fate if she's willing to take a chance. In today's episode, Yang and Pham speak with Here & Now's Robin Young about writing romance for young readers, and what they say are the three essential...
Feb 21, 2024•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Julie Schwartz Gottman and John Gottman know their fair share about relationship troubles they're clinical psychologists who specialize in couples' therapy, and they've been married for more than 30 years. Their new book, Fight Right , breaks down how to navigate conflict by understanding communication styles, assessing wants and needs, and looking for positivity in any approach. In today's episode, the authors offer NPR's Andee Tagle some step-by-step advice on finding connection through any ar...
Feb 20, 2024•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yangsze Choo says she doesn't thoroughly plan out her novels her newest, The Fox Wife , blossomed from that core idea behind the title, of a woman who also happens to be a fox. But beyond that, it's a story about a mother avenging her child, about a murder investigation in early 20th century China, and about family curses. As the author tells NPR's Scott Simon, foxes hold a wide range of intrigue and mystery in Chinese, Korean and Japanese legends and it's these traits that broke open a whole wo...
Feb 19, 2024•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today's episode features two thrillers that unravel in the darkened halls of historic houses. First, NPR's Scott Simon speaks with C.L. Miller about The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder , a whodunnit amongst antique collectors trapped in an English manor under very bizarre circumstances. Then, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly asks Tracy Sierra about her debut novel, Nightwatching , and how the author's own New England home inspired this terrifying tale about a mother hiding from an intruder during a bliz...
Feb 16, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Pop culture can be a powerful tool for social and political activism but what happens when it's used to incite discrimination, or even violence? That's the question at the heart of journalist Kunal Purohit's book, H-Pop: The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop Stars . In today's episode, Purohit speaks with NPR's Diaa Hadid about how influencers, pop songs and poems are promoting Hindu nationalist values in India, and how political propaganda on social media can legitimize hate towards minority grou...
Feb 15, 2024•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Years ago, author GennaRose Nethercott promised herself she would sit at a cafe every morning and come up with three new creatures beasts inspired by medieval bestiaries that combined scientific record with moral folk tales. The result, Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart , is a collection of short stories that show the magical yet spooky nature of human affection. In today's episode, Nethercott speaks with NPR's Elissa Nadworny about some of the monsters she came up with, and why she cherishes wri...
Feb 14, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Author Sarah Ditum has an uncomfortable label for the late 90s and early 2000s: the upskirt decade. In her new book, Toxic , Ditum analyzes how digital cameras, the Internet and tabloid misogyny created a perfect storm to permanently alter the lives and careers of nine famous women. In today's episode, Ditum speaks with NPR's Scott Detrow about the infamous Britney Spears interview with Diane Sawyer, the growth of social media throughout that decade, and the way younger generations are now recla...
Feb 13, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome the Wretched , a new book by legal scholar Csar Cuauhtmoc Garca Hernndez, makes the case that the immigration and criminal legal systems in the U.S. have become way too intertwined over time and they should be separated. In today's episode, Cuauhtmoc Garca Hernndez walks Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes through the history of how we got to this point of criminalizing immigration. He also explains why he doesn't think immigrants should be deported for breaking the law, and how racism operates...
Feb 12, 2024•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's Super Bowl weekend so today's episode is all about football. First, a 2021 interview between NPR's A Martinez and former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson. Johnson's book The Forgotten First looks back at the racial politics of his beloved sport, and highlights four key players who desegregated the game back in the 1940s. Then, NPR's David Greene paid a visit to legendary coach Bill Parcells' home in 2015 and asked about his memoir, Parcells: A Football Life , and the coaching tree he left...
Feb 09, 2024•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Comedian Sarah Cooper blew up when her TikTok videos making fun of then-President Donald Trump's statements in press conferences went viral. Her new memoir, Foolish , recounts that moment in her life but it also expands on Cooper's larger trajectory, from learning she was Black as the daughter of Jamaican immigrants to working at Google as an adult. She tells NPR's Leila Fadel just how surreal her rise in comedy has been, and why HomeGoods home decor actually dishes out some pretty wise life adv...
Feb 08, 2024•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast There are lots of reasons to worry about climate change: rising temperatures, rising sea levels, devastating natural disasters. But in her new book, Not the End of the World , data scientist Hannah Ritchie says there's actually a lot of factors trending in the right direction, like declines in poverty rates and carbon emissions per capita. In today's episode, Ritchie speaks with NPR's Andrew Limbong about why it's important to reframe our thinking on the future of the planet, and how our decisio...
Feb 07, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Told through the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac, Ai Weiwei's new graphic memoir moves between the past, present and future with anecdotes from his childhood in a Chinese labor camp to his most recent moments, including flashing the middle finger in front of Trump Tower. In today's episode, Ai Weiwei speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about some of those memories, including the 81 days he spent detained by the Chinese government. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverag...
Feb 06, 2024•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast As Donald Trump runs for office in 2024, a new book by journalists Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman details how Trump attempted to overturn the presidential election in 2020, and how Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis built a case against him. In today's episode, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Isikoff and Klaidman about Find Me the Votes , the layers of intimidation behind Trump's bid for power, and the fast-moving allegations against Willis and her counsel. To listen to Book of...
Feb 05, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today's episode focuses on two novels where the characters are grappling with the natural elements and with mysterious deaths. First, NPR's Mary Louise speaks with Alex Michaelides about The Fury , a murder mystery in which a famous actress and her friends are trapped on a remote Greek island by the ferocious Mediterranean wind. Then, NPR's Scott Simon asks Sarah-Jane Collins about Radiant Heat , which follows a young woman who survives an Australian wildfire, only to emerge from her house and f...
Feb 02, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dating can be difficult and confusing at any age but especially after the end of a 36-year arranged marriage. The characters of Deepa Varadarajan's debut novel, Late Bloomers , are experiencing that second chance firsthand. Parents Suresh and Lata have just split and are learning to navigate dating online and IRL; their kids are fielding relationship troubles of their own. In today's episode, the author talks to NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer about what it means to find love later in life, and how writing...
Feb 01, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Halfway through today's episode, author Kaveh Akbar tells NPR's Scott Simon that his life is a summation of "private joys amidst collective grief and private grief amidst collective joy." It's a contrast that contextualizes his emotionally dark yet deeply funny debut novel, Martyr! , about an Iranian-American poet grappling with addiction, loss, displacement and art. Akbar, who is also poetry editor at The Nation , explains why his protagonist is so obsessed with the concept of martyrdom, and ho...
Jan 31, 2024•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast The titular protagonist of Elizabeth Gonzalez James' new novel, The Bullet Swallower , is rooted in a story she once heard about her great-grandfather: He was a Mexican outlaw, shot by Texas police and left for dead, who lived to tell the tale. Inspired by that family lore, James uses magical realism, spirituality and some very bad characters to paint a nuanced picture of life on the U.S. Mexico border. In today's episode, she tells NPR's Ari Shapiro why she's so committed to untangling Texas in...
Jan 30, 2024•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Crystal Harris was only 21 when she entered the Playboy mansion for the first time. Within a few days, the college student moved in. She later married Hugh Hefner, and stayed by his side until his death in 2017. In her new memoir, Only Say Good Things , Hefner looks back on the paradox of sexual freedom and strict rules she lived by at the mansion. She tells NPR's Michel Martin how her perspective on love, liberation and control has changed since she left. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-fr...
Jan 29, 2024•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's never too early for spooky season. Today, we've got two horror books that explore relationships, cynicism and arrogance. First, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Rachel Harrison about Black Sheep , which follows a disillusioned protagonist grappling with religious fanaticism and family ties when she returns to the Satanic community she was raised in. Then, Jenny Kiefer discusses her novel This Wretched Valley , which takes inspiration from the Dyatlov Pass Incident to put an influencer and Ph...
Jan 26, 2024•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast More than a decade ago, former NPR host Michele Norris started the Race Card Project. It was a simple premise: She asked people to send in six words that summarized their thoughts on race. Now, hundreds of thousands of submissions later, Norris expands on some of those opinions and experiences in the new book, Our Hidden Conversations . In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about the context behind some of the submissions like "I wish he was a girl" and the way feeling "invisib...
Jan 25, 2024•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Matt Hay grew up with a medical condition that eventually diminished his ability to hear. But in the process of going deaf, he memorized his favorite songs, fell in love and started a family. In today's episode, Hay speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about his new memoir, Soundtrack of Silence , and how nearly two decades later music has been able to help him do something doctors said was impossible: partially recover his hearing. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adc...
Jan 24, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Efrn C. Olivares is a human rights lawyer and he tells Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes that some of the toughest conversations he's ever had were during Trump-era family separations, when he had to tell the parents he was representing in South Texas that he wasn't sure when or where they'd see their children again. His new book, My Boy Will Die of Sorrow , is a firsthand account of the human impacts of anti-immigration policy at the border, told alongside Olivares' own experience immigrating to the...
Jan 23, 2024•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Three short stories comprise So Late in the Day , the new book by the highly acclaimed Irish writer, Claire Keegan. All three revolve around the ways men and women relate to one another from a failed marriage proposal to a troubling affair. In today's episode, NPR's Scott Simon asks Keegan about the way her male characters come across, and how the finite nature of time influences her protagonists' decisions. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Polic...
Jan 22, 2024•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today's episode focuses on two Republican legislators who, over time, came to feel like outsiders for sounding alarms about Trump. First, NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with former representative Adam Kinzinger about Renegade , his new memoir detailing his career and the way January 6 ultimately broke his allegiance to the Republican party. Then, journalist McKay Coppins speaks with Here & Now's Jane Clayson about his new biography of Mitt Romney, and how the former presidential candidate reflects on...
Jan 19, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Martha Ballard was a real midwife in the late 1700s who delivered more than 1,000 babies without ever losing a mother. Ballard kept a diary of her life and the town secrets she learned thanks to her profession and she's at the center of Ariel Lawhon's new novel, The Frozen River . In today's episode, Lawhon tells NPR's Scott Simon how she stumbled upon Ballard's story while pregnant with her own child, and why it was important for her to make a 54-year-old woman the hero of her book. Learn more ...
Jan 18, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Golden Screen , the new book by Jeff Yang, offers a comprehensive guide to some of the most significant films for Asian American representation, including commentary by industry trailblazers like Daniel Dae Kim, Janet Yang and Simu Liu. In today's episode, Yang and book contributor Preeti Chhibber speak with NPR's Ailsa Chang about how Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle , Bollywood and kung fu movies shaped their identities growing up. They also get to talking about some of the harmful stereo...
Jan 17, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Author Samantha Harvey tells NPR's Ari Shapiro that she was fascinated by the quotes and insight of astronauts as a child. Her new novel, Orbital , turns that interest into a careful contemplation of Earth, space and humanity it follows six people on a mission to orbit around our planet for 16 sunrises and sunsets. Harvey and Shapiro discuss the kind of poetry that emerged from imagining the daily routines of cosmonauts, so far up above, together and alone at once. Learn more about sponsor messa...
Jan 16, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast You Dreamed of Empires sets the scene for a violent historical encounter: the war between the Spanish and Aztec empires. But in a fictionalization of Hernn Corts' arrival in the city of Tenochtitlan in 1519, author lvaro Enrigue challenges ideas about colonialism, revolution and influential rulers. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about finding humor and humanity in the men he writes about sometimes laughing about, but not with, the powerful ones. Learn more about sponsor mes...
Jan 15, 2024•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today's episode features two authors who've written novels centering the personal and political experiences of women during war. First, NPR's Rob Schmitz speaks with Vanessa Chan about The Storm We Made , which follows a mother in 1945 Malay grappling with how her secret work as a spy has resulted in the brutal Japanese occupation tearing her family apart. Then, NPR's Juana Summers chats with Alice McDermott about her novel Absolution , which depicts two American wives looking back on the friend...
Jan 12, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the era of constant hot takes, what actually makes an opinion worthwhile? Roxane Gay tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe that it's a combination of things: credibility, backing arguments, articulation. In today's episode, Gay discusses her collection of nonfiction essays Opinions and the topics she tackles throughout from the overuse of the word 'empathy' in today's discourse to the truly terrible experience of Father's Day shopping. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoice...
Jan 11, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
