NPR's Book of the Day

Over the past few months, some industry insiders have warned that rogue AI could escape its human creators, resulting in dangerous – and perhaps existential – consequences. But in his new book, Kevin Roose reminds readers that billionaire tech executives behind the technology have been fighting about this possibility for a decade or more. The AGI Chronicles follows the all-out sprint to create artificial general intelligence, despite its risks. In today’s episode, Kevin Roose, host of the new NPR podcast Machine Gods, speaks with Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd about the quasi-religious pursuit of this technology.

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Bonnie Garmus’ 2022 novel Lessons in Chemistry was a smash hit, selling more than 8 million copies worldwide. Her new novel Peck & Peck is set in the ‘80s and centers around Batter Gray, a young man who lands a job in the copy room of a prestigious poetry magazine. But soon, Batter becomes embroiled in personal and editorial conflicts. In today’s episode, Garmus joins NPR’s Elissa Nadworny for a conversation about poetry, reading aloud and why Peck & Peck is a novel about being misunderstood.

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Spooky season is year-round, and so are our episodes about scary stories. First up, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Jeanette Winterson about The Night Side of the River, a collection of ghost stories that weaves in the liminal spaces — Metaverses, one might say — created through technology to coexist with the dead. Then, NPR's Juana Summers asks Desiree Evans and Saraciea Fennell about The Black Girl Survives in This One, an anthology of horror stories by Black writers that contend with the genre's relationship to race.

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With stories like “The Lottery” and The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson was one of the great horror authors of the 20th century. In 2012, Ruth Franklin wrote a biography of the writer called Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life. In today’s episode, we revisit a conversation between Franklin and NPR’s Linda Wertheimer. They talk about Jackson’s childhood, domestic life, and her unique ability to see "extraordinary evil” under the surface of ordinary life.

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In his latest novel, George Saunders continues to explore his interest in death and the afterlife. Vigil tells the story of an oil tycoon and climate change denier named K.J. Boone who’s visited by a series of ghosts in his final hours. In today’s episode, NPR’s Scott Detrow asks Saunders about similarities between this novel and A Christmas Carol. They also discuss the author’s Substack, his experience in the oil industry, and the role of storytelling in this political moment.

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Salman Rushdie lived for decades under a death sentence and survived a knife attack three years ago. His latest book The Eleventh Hour is his first work of fiction since that near-death experience. These short stories and novellas center around the end of life, what might come after, and the idea of personal legacy. In today’s episode, Rushdie joins Here & Now’s Scott Tong for a conversation that touches on mortality, changes to the author’s writing process, and his first ghost story.

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Today’s episode features two books – one classic and one new – that might lead you to reconsider your relationship to work. Nearly 25 years ago, journalist and activist Barbara Ehrenreich went undercover as a nursing aide, waitress, hotel maid and retail worker to write Nickel and Dimed. Here & Now’s Scott Tong spoke with Alissa Quart about Ehrenreich’s legacy and why the author took issue with the term “unskilled” labor. Then, Lindsay Crouse is the author of The Case for Quitting. She spoke with NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer about how quitting and perseverance can be complimentary options.

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Hernan Diaz’s new book, Ply, takes place in a future where institutions have fallen apart. It appears to be a book about systems and community, but turns out to be one about the self. Ply’s protagonist is a “pincher,” someone who steals electricity from the grid to sell on the black market – and this work leads her to an invention with the potential to drastically alter her reality. In today’s episode, Diaz joins NPR’s Elissa Nadworny for a discussion about understanding the United States through technology, the phenomenon of rewilding and how he ended up writing a story about selfhood.

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Diana, Princess of Wales, died almost three decades ago, but her legacy and image persist in the public eye. Her brother, Charles Spencer, is out with a new book that paints a personal portrait of her. Swan Song is – in part – a deep dive into Diana’s childhood, including the fact that Spencer believes his sister had undiagnosed learning differences. In today’s episode, the author speaks with All Things Considered’s Scott Detrow about the way early criticism from teachers shaped Diana’s identity, her singular parenting style and Spencer’s vow to care for William and Harry in his sister’s absence.

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Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is the author of a new book called Go And Do Likewise: How We Heal A Broken Country.Beshear is a rare Democratic leader in an otherwise majority Republican voting state – and has said he is weighing a presidential run. In his book, Beshear discusses how faith has guided his leadership. He spoke with Morning Edition’s A Martínez about explaining the “why” behind tough political decisions, what this year's midterms mean for the presidential race and why he believes a Democratic governor would be uniquely qualified to lead the country.

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John Green is known for his influential young adult fiction like Looking for Alaska, The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All the Way Down. His new book, Hollywood, Ending, is his first novel for adults. The story takes place during the fictional filming of a new independent movie about Andy Warhol and centers around two young actors. In an interview with Here & Now, Green spoke with Robin Young about selecting Andy Warhol as one of his subjects, what’s lost and gained from engaging with the attention economy and why this is the hardest book he’s ever written.

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It’s been more than a decade since Lois Lowry has dealt with the end of the world. Her 1993 YA dystopian novel The Giver became a hugely popular middle school staple. She expanded that universe into a quartet of novels wrapping up with 2012’s Son (her personal favorite of the series). Since then, she’s stayed away from grim futures filled with despotic leaders and authoritarian rules. Until now. Her new book, Building 903 takes place in 2099.

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Ari Emanuel is a powerful Hollywood agent who has represented clients including Oprah Winfrey, Martin Scorsese and Vince McMahon. Known for his brash approach to business, he was the model for the character Ari Gold on Entourage. In an interview with Morning Edition, Emanuel told NPR’s Steve Inskeep that “the art of agenting is being relentless in the pursuit to fulfill the dreams of your clients.” In today’s episode, Emanuel and Inskeep discuss being a “ride or die,” how Emanuel successfully hounded Larry David into coming on as a client and how the agent uses rage as a tool of his trade.

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The author Tomi Adeyemi rose to fame with Children of Blood and Bone, the first novel in her popular young adult fantasy series based on the Yoruba religion. That book is the subject of a long-awaited Hollywood adaptation set to come out in January. Now, Adeyemi is out with a new book called The Siren, which is set on a college campus. In today’s episode, the author joins NPR’s Andrew Limbong for a conversation about setting her new book in the real world, the difficulty she faced while working on the Children of Blood and Bone film and her relationship with social media.

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For more than 200 years, one question about the nation's third president has lingered: Did Thomas Jefferson father children with Sally Hemings, a woman 30 years his junior whom he held in slavery? Richard Kurin, a scholar and ambassador-at-large for the Smithsonian Institution, spent 15 years searching for Jefferson's DNA in an effort to answer this question. The investigation began with strands of hair found in Jefferson's personal Bible. In today’s episode, Kurin joins Morning Edition’s Michel Martin for a conversation about his book History by a Hair, which details the investigation.

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John and Helen Koh are a middle-class couple living in South Korea with. But when a financial crisis hits, they leave Seoul for Southern California and are faced with a new financial reality. There, they struggle to find a place for their children among the American Dream. American Hagwon is the newest novel from Min Jin Lee, author of Free Food for Millionaires and Pachinko. In today’s episode, she speaks with Weekend Edition’s Scott Simon about the culture of hagwons, the Korean word for learning centers, and why Lee says writing this novel "transformed" her.

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Before she won the Pulitzer for Demon Copperhead, Kingsolver wasn't sure her neighbors knew what she did for a living. Her new novel Partita, about a classical pianist, gets very personal.


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John F. Kennedy once wrote a book called Profiles in Courage, which highlighted senators throughout history who made unpopular but politically brave decisions. Journalist Jacob Weisberg took inspiration from this premise, but his new book Profiles in Cowardice instead identifies people and institutions that have enabled President Trump as he’s tested the limits of executive power. In today’s episode, Weisberg joins Morning Edition’s Steve Inskeep for a conversation about the law firm leaders, university presidents, court authorities and politicians who Weisberg sees as examples of “civic cowardice.”

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Ben Macintyre is a master of espionage stories that are true. His latest project is based on a case study taught in MI6, the British foreign intelligence service. Redwood follows a KGB spy who offers valuable secrets to Britain while working in Iran during the height of the Cold War. In today’s episode, the author joins Weekend Edition’s Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on the spy’s surprising motivations, the contentious history between Russia and Britain in Iran and the fear of nuclear confrontation that hangs over the story.

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R.F. Kuang, author of popular books like Yellowface and Babel, is out with a more personal novel. Taipei Story follows Lily Chin, a Chinese-American college student who travels to Taipei for a summer language intensive. While there, she struggles with complicated feelings about language, identity and the thread of her family’s story. In today’s episode, Kuang talks with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan about how the author relates to Lily, her own relationship to speaking Chinese and her interest in writing across genres.

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Two new romance novels subvert expectations about the genre. In Tropesick, Katie and Tyler are old acquaintances who are reunited as writing partners. In today’s episode, author Lauren Okie chats with All Things Considered’s Juana Summers about structuring the novel with different tropes, writing a rivals-to-lovers setup and how Okie balanced metafictional elements with the story’s natural plotline. Then, a former pop star and her psychology professor become intertwined in Extracurricular. Author Rachel Lynn Solomon spoke with Summers about what drew her to the forbidden romance subgenre.

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Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox is out with a new book – but he wants to clarify that he’s not running for president (often an assumption when politicians write books). Off Ramp: How To Be A Peacemaker In An Age Of Contempt is an extension of a plea he made following the killing of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. In the book, he argues Americans need to learn to disagree better in order to restore the respect that once existed between political adversaries. In today’s episode, Cox tells NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer why he’s the “worst possible spokesperson” for his message.

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Emily St. John Mandel’s new novel opens in the first spring after the collapse of the United States – and her protagonist, Ari, is on her way to a party. Exit Party is set in a new world emerging out of the chaos of a second American Civil War, one shaped by climate catastrophe and populated by doppelgangers. In today's episode, Mandel chats with Weekend Edition’s Scott Simon about counterlives, recognizing “good moments” amid disaster and how the painting “Swan Dive” helped the author maintain narrative cohesion.

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In her 2016 book Grit, University of Pennsylvania psychologist Angela Duckworth argued that willpower and determination were keys to success. A decade later, her new book signals a change of heart. In Situated, Duckworth says – while grit still matters – changing the situation you’re in is the most helpful thing you can do to meet your goals. In a conversation with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan, Duckworth shares four practical ways to take situational agency, including lessons she learned from a snorkeling accident, Oprah and Taylor Swift.

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Ten years ago, Colin Kaepernick – then the quarterback for the 49ers – took a knee during the national anthem in a preseason game in order to protest racial injustice. His new memoir The Perilous Fight reflects on that decision. In a conversation with Morning Edition’s Michel Martin, the former NFL player spoke about the lifetime of experiences that led him to that moment. They also discussed the NFL’s engagement in “paid patriotism,” Kaepernick’s views on the relationship between work and personhood, and why, even at 38, he still maintains NFL ambitions.

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In the post-9/11 era, American Muslims became the target of government suspicion and surveillance. But while reporting her new book, New York Times Magazinejournalist Rozina Ali found that Islamophobia has been present in the United States since at least the 1960s. In today’s episode, Ali joins Morning Edition’s Leila Fadel for a conversation about the four family stories – spanning eight decades – that she profiles in Seasons of Fury. They also discuss the way Islamophobia plays out in American politics today.

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Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creaturesseries follows two kid heroes on their journey to save a group of islands filled with magical beasts. She’s the first children's author since J.K. Rowling to simultaneously top the U.K. and U.S. sales charts. Now, Rundell is out with The Neverfear, the third installment in the series. She’s also authored a book-length essay called Why You Should Read Children's Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise.In today’s episode, she talks with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan about how children’s literature gets to “the meat of the human heart.”

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Emily Wilson is a classicist whose translations ofThe Iliad andThe Odysseyare popular and controversial. Recently, she was at the center of the discourse surrounding Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of The Odyssey. Her new book of essays reflects on translation and the role of classics in modern society. In it, she argues that "it is a waste of everyone's time if a retranslation takes more or less the same approach as one or more existing published translations." In today’s episode, she speaks with NPR’s Joel Rose about Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea.

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In 1988, a group of gay men gathered in Kingston, Jamaica to put on a play. At the time, homophobia in the country was rampant and sex between men was outlawed. Marlon James’ new novel The Disappearers is about a hateful mob attack at one of the group’s rehearsals. In an interview with All Things Considered’s Juana Summers, James said “this attack in the book was based on an incident which I knew in my gut happened. I just couldn’t prove it.” In today’s episode, Summers and James discuss the untrustworthy quality of official records and the author’s views on writing about violence.

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On today’s show, we mark the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 with two books that historicize the attacks. First, All the Presidents’ Wars focuses on anti-terror campaigns waged around the world over the past quarter century. Author Peter Bergen spoke with Morning Edition’s Steve Inskeep about the expansion of executive branch powers that have enabled these wars. Then, Scattered Steel investigates how material from the World Trade Center ended up in memorials across the country. All Things Considered’s Scott Detrow spoke with Sam Holleran – who co-authored the book with his brother, Max Holleran.

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Sen. Ted Cruz’s new book isn’t a political memoir but an exploration of the life and career of Justice Clarence Thomas. In Going Further, Cruz praises Thomas as an “independent thinker” who is willing to go against the grain. And he argues the Justice has been criticized by the political left because he did not conform to what liberals expected him to be. In today’s episode, Morning Edition’s Steve Inskeep asks Cruz about his own aspirations for the Supreme Court and Thomas’ history of overturning precedent.

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For author Jade Chang, the vibe of summer isn’t encapsulated at the pool or by the beach, but in time itself — “and how time kind of stops.” In today’s episode, she joins All Things Considered’s Ailsa Chang to discuss the books she recommends to help keep the summer season alive, even as fall approaches. Jade Chang recommends books like The Corn King and the Spring Queen by Naomi Mitchison and Stories of the Sahara by Taiwanese author Sanmao. Then, they discuss Jade Chang’s novel What a Time to Be Alive.

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Jill Lepore says our liberal democracy has been replaced by corporations and technology. But what can we do about it? In today’s episode, the historian joins Morning Edition’s Michel Martin for a conversation about her new book The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State. Lepore says she wanted to put a name to a new kind of governance she’s observed in which functions of nation states are being taken over by private interests and run by machinery. She and Martin discuss the way technology has historically maligned representative democracy – and what we can do about it.

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After the big success of the 2014 novel Big Little Lies, which included an award-winning HBO adaptation, author Liane Moriarty says everyone kept asking her for a sequel. Now, that sequel has arrived. Big Little Truths picks up the drama between five women as their children navigate high school. Meanwhile, the school’s principal receives a troubling package. In today’s episode, Moriarty tells Here & Now’s Emiko Tamagawa about how performances by Laura Dern and Meryl Streep influenced the sequel, the author’s interest in aging, and how she still writes novels without adaptation in mind.

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In today’s episode, we chat about two new music histories. First, 1986’s Gracelandis considered Paul Simon's signature album. It introduced South African music to a global audience and revitalized Simon's career. Author Ashley Kahn spoke with Morning Edition’s A Martínez about his new book Days of Miracle and Wonder, which goes behind the scenes of the album. Then, a book about how outlaws, gangers and criminals dot the history of American music. In today’s episode, Colin Asher talks with NPR’s Don Gonyea about The Midnight Special, a history of the relationship between music and prison.

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As midterm elections approach, former President Joe Biden's legacy still plays a big role in the Democratic Party. Princeton historian Julian Zelizer has edited a new book called The Presidency of Joseph R. Biden, which evaluates Biden’s time in office from a historical perspective. In today’s episode, the editor talks with Here & Now’s Scott Tong about writing a first draft of history, the political polarization that surrounded the Biden years and what the lessons Democrats might have learned – and missed.

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It’s 1989 in Romania and the country is living under a totalitarian regime. In the new novel Astronaut!, an 8-year-old girl craves bright colors among otherwise gray surroundings as she comes of age during the fall of the Iron Curtain. Simultaneously, a serial killer is on the loose, but the government denies any criminal activity. Instead, they blame a bear. In today’s episode, author Oana Aristide talks with Weekend Edition’s Scott Simon about communist humor and how her upbringing in Transylvania helped shape the novel.

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Thomas Mullaney is a historian at Stanford University. After his father died, Mullaney began to think about the archive he left behind: papers, documents, photos, objects and more. How We Disappear is a personal and academic history of information – and the role information plays in a naturally chaotic universe. In today’s episode, Mullaney joins Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd for a conversation about the small pieces that form our identities, a concept historians called “original order” and why How We Disappearis really a book about entropy.

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While on a cruise, a former college swimmer finds himself in the water, adrift alone, swimming for his life. But he isn’t sure how he got there. In Man Overboard!, 33-year-old Patrick “Kick” Kilpatrick navigates an existential reckoning while trying to stay afloat. Along the way, he reflects on his touchy relationship with his older girlfriend, grapples with darkness and finds a conversational partner in a sea turtle. In today’s episode, author Kathleen Rooney speaks with Weekend Edition’s Scott Simon about how the novel pairs a survival story with comedy.

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Over the past week, Dolly Parton has been remembered for her music, her star power, her advocacy and her philanthropic contributions. But she was also an author. In today’s episode, we remember the country star through two of her books. In 2022, Parton and co-author James Patterson spoke with Morning Edition’s Rachel Martin about their novel Run, Rose, Run, about an aspiring country musician who moves to Nashville. Then, we revisit a 2023 conversation between Parton and NPR’s Melissa Block about the author’s children's book, Billy the Kid Makes It Big.

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Chang-Rae Lee’s new novel is filled with some of his own memories, like worrying about being picked last for dodgeball and sizing up his fellow Asian American classmates to determine who was most “foreign.” Lee says, unlike some of his other novels, these autobiographical elements populate A Tender Age. In today’s episode, the author speaks with Here & Now’s Scott Tong about growing up Korean American in suburban New York in the 1970s, attending church camp in the Hudson Valley and the fragility of being a pre-teen.

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Sam Roberts says when people find out what he does for work, they tend to shrink away. Roberts is a veteran obituarist forThe New York Times. But the writer says he writes about life – not death. His new memoir Are They Dead Yet?is a behind-the-scenes look at the craft of writing obituaries. In today’s episode, he tells NPR’s Eyder Peralta about how the Times determines who gets an obituary, how Roberts weighs the unsavory parts of his subjects’ pasts and why he decided to publish an obituary for Jesus.

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Daytona Teddy Riggs is a former high school football star from a wealthy oil and gas family. But in his 20s, he enters a downward spiral as he seeks to become the World’s Strongest Man. Daytona Teddy Riggs follows this single-minded quest, one marked by steroids, behavioral issues and new consequences for his actions. In today’s episode, debut author Drew Buxton joins NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben for a conversation about the novel, masculinity, and his protagonist’s future.

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Ken Salazar's personal and political life have been defined by the U.S.-Mexico border. The fifth-generation Mexican American has served as a U.S. senator, secretary of the interior and ambassador to Mexico. His new memoir Borderlands focuses on the long history between the U.S. and Mexico. In today’s episode, he speaks with NPR’s Eyder Peralta about his work on migration under the Biden administration.

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Journalist Jodi Kantor and Harvard happiness expert Arthur Brooks are both out with new books about identifying and cultivating meaning in one’s life. Brooks says he wanted to write The Meaning of Your Life after observing an explosion in depression and anxiety among young people beginning around 2008. In today’s episode, he chats with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan about how neglecting right-brain activity has led us astray. Then, Kantor tells NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly about the daunting commencement speech invitation that led to her book How to Start, which focuses on cultivating one’s life work through ideas like “craft” and “need.”

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In 1839, conjoined twins and famous showmen Chang and Eng Bunker — native to Thailand, then called Siam — took a break from touring, settled in North Carolina, bought a slave plantation, and married two American sisters. The interracial union caused a public scandal for more reasons than one, and their story is the inspiration for Christina Baker Kline’s novel The Foursome.In today’s episode, Baker Kline, who is a distant cousin of the twins’ wives, speaks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about exploring the complexity of the foursome’s place in a society that both feared and fetishized them. 

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In Project Hail Mary,amateur astronaut Ryland Grace must travel light years from Earth to save humanity from a dying Sun. The stakes are high, to say the least. But author Andy Weir was intentional about centering hope in his bestselling novel, which inspired the recent blockbuster film starring Ryan Gosling. In today’s episode, Andy Weir joins Here and Now’s Indira Lakshmanan to discuss his creative world-building process, and why he remains optimistic about our ability to collaborate in the face of existential threats.

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Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent became a runaway hit for its exploration of a life told through letters. When readers meet Sybil Van Antwerp she’s in her 70s, and she takes readers on a journey through her various correspondences — which include names as revered as Joan Didion and Ann Patchett. But Sybil isn’t telling us everything, and her clever prose might hide as much as it reveals. In today’s episode, author Virginia Evans joins Here and Now’s Robin Young to discuss the value of correspondence, and how the book’s success has changed the letter-writing industry itself.

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Author Daniyal Mueenuddin hit the ground running with his debut novel, This is Where the Serpent Lives. Set in modern Pakistan, the story spans generations and explores class, corruption, and crime — themes that  Mueenuddin says he believes might resonate with American readers in particular. In today’s episode, Mueenuddin speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about his novel-writing process for This is Where the Serpent Lives, and why he sprinkled subtle autobiographical details across its pages.

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Today’s episode features two novels with tech at the center. Climate journalist Nathaniel Rich’s Cloudthief is the story of a hacker and a journalist who team up to rob a data center in Oklahoma. Rich spoke with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan about how he came up with the idea for the heist. Then, horror writer Paul Tremblay is out with a new novel about a gamer who takes on an odd job involving a man in a vegetative state. Tremblay spoke with Here & Now’s Tiziana Dearing about Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep.

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Hannah Lucinda Smith is a veteran foreign correspondent. Her new book Hinterlands explores whether hidden conflicts unfolding in little-noticed border areas might be shaping a new world order. In today’s episode, she speaks with All Things Considered’s Mary Louise Kelly about “overlooked” places caught between the Russian and Turkish spheres of influence and the West. They also discuss Smith’s comparison between the political circumstances in Damascus in 2011 and Sarajevo in 1914 – and the dynamic nature of borders.

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By chance, authors Annie Hartnett and Kevin Wilson published road trip novels last year within just a few weeks of each other. The Road to Tender Hearts follows a 67-year-old man, his estranged daughter and his newly adopted grandniece and nephew on a road trip to reunite with the man’s high school crush. Run for the Hillsis about four half-siblings who set off to track down the father who abandoned them. In today’s episode, Hartnett and Wilson join All Things Considered’s Juana Summers for a conversation about road trip stories and their favorites in the genre.

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As Democrats struggle to revive their party, democratic strategist Ben Wikler has advice to share. Wikler was chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin from 2019-2025. And the key, he says, is to focus on the whole system rather than one candidate. He makes this argument in a new book called This Is the Plan. He spoke with NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer about how he believes Democrats can “un-rig” the system and regain political power at the national level.

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Etna is a dog living in a fictional, coastal country on a farm with his mom and siblings. Then, one day, he’s scooped up by a mysterious woman who enlists him for war. The new novel Etna is narrated through the dog’s eyes as he lives and fights alongside explosions, gunfire, crumbling buildings and his handler, Jason. In today’s episodes, author Paul Yoon speaks with Weekend Edition’s Scott Simon about what we learn about war by seeing it through Etna’s eyes.

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This summer, wildfires have swept across Europe, Northern Africa, Canada and the U.S. – and today’s episode features firsthand accounts of deadly fires in California. In Torched, CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti writes about political mismanagement of the 2025 Palisades Fire. He spoke with Morning Edition’s A Martínez about how the 2028 Summer Olympics are impacting L.A.’s efforts to rebuild. Then, Wildfire Days is a memoir by Kelly Ramsey, the only woman on her hotshot crew. She spoke with Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd about working on the “special forces” of wild land firefighters in 2020.

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Robinne Lee’s first novel, The Idea of You, was a big hit. It tells the story of a single mother who begins a romance with a much younger man, the lead singer of a fictional boy band. In Lee’s latest novel, Crash Into Me, a middle-aged couple moves from Paris to Los Angeles. And this time, the wife falls into a love affair with a much younger woman, bringing her marriage to a crossroads. In today’s episode, Lee joins All Things Considered’s Juana Summers for a discussion about writing a multi-generational, multi-racial novel.

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Before Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, became the state's junior U.S. senator, he was selected to serve as senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. His new book,The Crooked Places Made Straight: Reflections on the Moral Meaning of America, argues that democracy is "the political enactment of a spiritual idea." In today’s episode, Warnock talks to Morning Edition host Michel Martin about the relationship between faith and politics.

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Sigrid Nunez – author of novels like The Friend and What Are You Going Through – is out with a new collection of short stories. It Will Come Back to You features characters like a middle-age daughter coping with her mother’s memory loss, a Brad Pitt lookalike and a housekeeper working at a luxury hotel in Manhattan. In today’s episode, Nunez joins Here & Now’s Tiziana Dearing for a conversation about the familial relationships in the collection. The author also shares writing advice from Elizabeth Hardwick and Kurt Vonnegut.

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French footballer Kylian Mbappé was one of the World Cup's biggest stars this summer, despite France's loss to Spain in the semifinals. ESPN soccer correspondent Julien Laurens has written a new book called Kylian Mbappé: The Definitive Biography, which details the soccer star’s upbringing and path to becoming a sports prodigy. In today's episode, Laurens speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about how Mbappé has grown over his career and how – like many of our greatest athletes – he's "wired differently."

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In preparation for an upcoming trip to Ireland, All Things Considered host Mary Louise Kelly has been tearing through Tana French's books. French is the queen of Irish crime fiction and has authored the popular Dublin Murder Squad series, among other novels. In today’s episode, Kelly and French talk about traveling through fiction, how land ownership looms large in the Irish psyche and how French gives her fiction a sense of place. Then, the author shares her recommendations for summer reads set in Ireland.


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Ray Carney is a furniture salesman in Harlem with a long-running side hustle. Colson Whitehead’s Harlem Trilogy follows the character as he descends into crime across decades in a rapidly changing New York. Cool Machine is the third and final book in that series. In today’s episode, Whitehead speaks with Weekend Edition’s Ayesha Rascoe about Carney as a divided soul. They also chat about gentrification in 1980s Harlem and how Whitehead brought his own version of New York into the world of the book.

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In two new novels, city folk are thrown into life in the country. The Great Wherever is a multigenerational story told through ghosts. A woman living in Washington, D.C. learns she’s inherited her father’s share of a family property, a piece of farmland in Tennessee. In today’s episode, author Shannon Sanders chats with Weekend Edition’s Scott Simon about ancestral hauntings. Then, Country People is about two academics who move from the Bay Area to a small town in Vermont. Author Daniel Mason spoke with Here & Now’s Robin Young about procrastination, Russian folktales and how we imagine rural America.

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Deb Haaland’s ancestors, who were Pueblo Indians, were the first inhabitants of New Mexico – and she’s had a number of firsts herself. In 2018 she was one of the first two Native women elected to Congress, and then in 2021 she became the first Native American named as a cabinet secretary. Now, she’s running for governor of New Mexico. In today’s episode, she talks with Morning Edition’s A Martínez about her new memoir A Voice Like Mine, her candidacy for governor and how federal policy on natural resources has shifted under the Trump administration.

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After a couple suffers a tragedy, they receive a mysterious and exclusive offer for a humanoid AI companion that knows everything about them. At first, Mr. Man is a godsend for their home, but then it begins to anticipate the family’s every need, even their unspoken desires. In today’s episode, author Gregg Hurwitz joins Weekend Edition’s Ayesha Rascoe for a conversation about his horror novella The Delivery. The author also shares his views on how to keep AI in check.

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Dave Portnoy, the polarizing social media personality and founder of Barstool Sports, has published a memoir. In Cancel Me If You Can, he writes about building a media empire – but also about his role as a political lightning rod. Portnoy spoke with Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep about his fallout with Call Her Daddy's Alex Cooper, his popularity among young men, and why he "stay[s] up at night" worrying about antisemitism and democratic socialism.

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Celeste Ng – author of titles like Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere– says she begins her writing process by envisioning an image, then investigating something she doesn’t understand. Her new novel Our Missing Hearts is set in a dystopian near-future where xenophobia and state oppression are norms. She joined Here & Now’s Robin Young in May for a conversation at the WBUR festival in Boston. They spoke about Ng’s childhood in her hometown near Pittsburgh, Pa. and how she incorporates real-life experiences of anti-Asian discrimination in her books.

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In two new novels, characters with glamorous lives have their routines disrupted by shocking news. The Shampoo Effect is a story about an extremely close friend group living in a small seaside town. In today’s episode, author Jenny Jackson speaks with All Things Considered’s Juana Summers about how her characters’ tight-knit dynamic is disrupted by an outsider and a surprise pregnancy. Then, in The Revelation of Dionne Daphne, an ex-boyfriend pops up with news that stirs up past traumas. Author and TV producer Mara Brock Akil spoke withMorning Edition’s Michel Martin about writing her debut novel.

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Why are we obsessed with the ancient world, even the most ordinary parts of it? Mary Beard tackles that question in her new book Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old. Her personal interest in antiquity began with a 4,000 year-old piece of bread displayed at the British Museum. Now, she’s an academic who has spent her career studying ancient Greece and Rome. In today’s episode, Beard chats with NPR’s Scott Simon about how the Greeks and Romans were “brutal” but also "unfailingly interesting" – and how contemporary culture replicates aspects of the classical world.

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In 2008, artist and activist Ai Weiwei clashed with the Chinese government over its response to the deadly Sichuan earthquake. The government had censored information about the death toll, so Ai Weiwei launched a citizen’s investigation, knocking on doors and visiting villages to learn the names of the thousands of children who died. More recently, the artist has also become critical of political censorship in the United States. In today’s episode, he joins Here & Now’s Scott Tong for a conversation about his new book On Censorship, a critique of censorship under both democratic and authoritarian governments.

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Former Vice President Mike Pence is out with a new book that includes critiques of the second Trump administration and the populist right. What Conservatives Believe, Pence says, was inspired in part by Barry Goldwater’s 1960 manifesto The Conscience of a Conservative, which helped define modern conservatism. In today’s episode, Pence speaks with Morning Edition’s Steve Inskeep about political favoritism of companies, civil rights, and returning to the country’s “first principles.”

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Filmmaker Jonathan Jakubowicz says he turned to fiction because he could no longer make movies in Venezuela after being exiled. In 2016, he published the blockbuster hit The Adventures of Juan Planchard, a novel about a deeply flawed anti-hero who gets involved with a corrupt government regime. Jakubowicz says he wanted to show the reality of life under the late Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez. In today’s episode, the author joins NPR’s Scott Detrow for a conversation about the book, which has just been translated into English.

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As we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., we’re revisiting author interviews on important books about American history. Today’s episode features two novels that fictionalize the Jim Crow South. Author Tayari Jones spoke with Weekend Edition’s Ayesha Rascoe about Kin, which follows two friends growing up in Honeysuckle, La. who must navigate the constraints on Black women in the 1960s. And Margaret Verble chatted with All Things Considered’s Ari Shapiro about When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky, the story of a Cherokee woman working as a horse-diver at a Nashville, Tenn. zoo.

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As we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., we’re revisiting author interviews on important books about American history. In Eddie Glaude’s new book, the Princeton professor says the United States has a “double consciousness.” Glaude expands on a concept from W.E.B. Du Bois, arguing the country imagines itself at once as a beacon of freedom and as a white republic. In today’s episode, Glaude joins Here & Now’s Scott Tong for a conversation about America, U.S.A., which traces that contradiction as it has bubbled up across the country’s milestone birthdays.

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As we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., we’re revisiting author interviews on important books about American history. In today’s episode, author and journalist Rick Atkinson speaks with Weekend Edition's Scott Simon about his book The British Are Coming. They discuss Atkinson’s portrait of George Washington, whether the American Revolution was motivated by freedom or economic incentives and how “the nation was born disputatiously.”

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As we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., we’re revisiting author interviews on important books about American history. Bob Crawford of the Avett Brothers has a second career as a writer. In today’s episode, he talks with Morning Edition’s Steve Inskeep about his book, America’s Founding Son, a biography of one of the less-distinguished presidents in U.S. history: John Quincy Adams. Adams was a Washington insider who was swept out of office by a populist wave in 1829. But Crawford argues Adams had an influential post-presidency career in Congress as an advocate against slavery.

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As we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., we’re revisiting author interviews on important books that speak to American history. In today’s episode, journalist Norah O’Donnell joins NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly to discuss We the Women, written in collaboration with Kate Andersen Brower. O’Donnell tells Kelly about lesser-known female heroes, like the woman who printed the Declaration of Independence and a female soldier who fought in the American Revolution.

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Summer can be a great time to catch up on reading. If you’re looking for recommendations, the NPR Books team is out with a list of some of our staff’s favorite reads of 2026 so far. In today’s episode, NPR’s Elissa Nadworny and Book of the Day producer Chloee Weiner discuss some of their favorite fiction and nonfiction picks from the list, including The Missed Connection by Tia Williams, The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson and In Trees: An Exploration by Robert Moor.

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Over 50 years, Judy Blume wrote an incomparable set of books for young readers, including Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret, Deenie, Tiger Eyes, Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing and Blubber. But she doesn't write books anymore. Scott Simon spoke with Blume at the Santa Fe International Literary Festival in May, where they reflected on her life and career. In today’s episode, they speak about how Blume traded felt art pieces for a typewriter, her new career as a bookstore owner and why Margaret will always be 12.

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Ophir led an unremarkable life until her best friend pulled her into the scam. After 10 years on the run from the Singapore police, she’s assumed new identities, losing sight of herself along the way. She decides to tell her story anonymously through a confessional podcast, but longs to be acknowledged for who she really is. In today’s episode, author Yu-Mei Balasingamchow joins Weekend Edition’s Ayesha Rascoe to discuss her debut novel Names Have Been Changed. They talk about the novel's exploration of diaspora, the "Singlish" vernacular and what Balasingamchow hopes readers will learn about Singapore.

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A new book argues that Elon Musk has an influence in the 21st century similar to what Henry Ford had in the 20th. He's not just a businessman, but the architect and proponent of a world view. Historian Quinn Slobodian and tech writer Ben Tarnoff make this argument in a new book called Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed. In today’s episode, Slobodian speaks with Morning Edition’s Michel Martin about the parallels between Muskism and Fordism, Musk’s upbringing in South Africa under apartheid and the metamorphosis of his politics.

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In Tom Perrotta’s new novel, a successful writer named Jimmy Perrini is invited to return to his hometown in suburban New Jersey. The invitation takes him back to a difficult summer when he was in eighth grade and had just lost his mother to cancer. Ghost Town revisits that 1970s summer, one colored by strip malls, troublemakers, the Vietnam War, an Ouija board, and racial tensions in Perrini’s white, working-class town. In today’s episode, Perrotta speaks with Here & Now’s Robin Young about the bygone era of his own childhood.

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The Rolling Stones and Soundgarden are two of the most influential bands in the history of rock – and two new books tell their stories. The Rolling Stones by Bob Spitz is a history of the band, but also of drugs, women and feuds. In today’s episode, the author gives Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan a behind-the-scenes look at songs like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and “Gimme Shelter.” Then, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil joins Morning Edition’s A Martínez for a conversation about A Screaming Life, which tells the story of the band from its roots in Seattle’s grunge scene.

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Laverne Cox became a breakout TV star at 40 with a starring role in Orange Is the New Black. Since then, she’s become an advocate and role model for trans people, which she says means “invit[ing] people to see trans people as human beings.” In today’s episode, Cox joins All Things Considered’s Ailsa Chang for a conversation about her new memoir Transcendent. They discuss Cox’s childhood in Alabama, how reading Walden provided her with important language and what it was like to find creative success later in life.

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Author Tessa Yang describes her The Jellyfish Problemprotagonist as an "introverted, know-it-all dork." In the novel, Jo, a marine biologist, gets a call from her unrequited college crush, Nadia, who has a request. Nadia lives on a remote island, where they’re having a problem with a giant creature. Can Jo help? In today’s episode, Yang speaks with NPR’s Elissa Nadworny about similarities between Jo and the story’s central monster – and whether this book makes a good beach read.

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Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut believes there is a “spiritual rot” festering in the country – and he wants the left and right to come together to resolve it. His new book Crisis of the Common Good argues the United States worships profit over people. In it, he takes aim at corporations, billionaires and super PACs. In today’s episode, he speaks with Morning Edition’s Leila Fadel about addressing financial inequality in the United States and what Democrats can learn from Donald Trump about messaging.

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Novelist Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, The Circle)has a new novel out: Contrapposto.It’s a decade-spanning romance of sorts, between two devoted creatives whose careers in the art world bring them together and tear them apart — repeatedly. As Cricket and Olympia navigate their relationship, the age-old question remains: what is art, really? In today’s episode, Eggers joins NPR’s Ailsa Chang to discuss Contrapposto,the inspiration behind the book, and how Eggers himself approaches the ‘meaning’ of art. 

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In the new novel They All Fall in Love at the End,polyamory is the topic at hand — primarily what it offers the protagonist and how she navigates a world where open relationships are not the norm. The End of Romancetells a story quite the opposite: A woman becomes opposed to romance altogether after leaving an abusive marriage. Today’s episode features conversations with the authors of both books. First, Haili Blassingame discusses They All Fall in Love at the Endwith NPR’s Juana Summers. Then, Lily Meyer joins NPR’s Elissa Nadworny for a conversation about The End of Romanceand its exploration of the “anti-romance” plot.

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How does a nationwide revolution affect the individual lives of its citizens? In the midst of the latest conflict in Iran, journalists Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati set out to answer this question by charting Iran’s history since its 1979 revolution. The product is Stolen Revolution,a collection of accounts from six Iranians — each with their own perspective on Iran and its past, present, and future. In today’s episode, Torbati joins NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly to discuss the book, and how joy survives in the shadow of statewide oppression.

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In 2022, journalist Carlos Barragán moved to Lagos, Nigeria to investigate a cybercrime network of text-based internet phishing, also known as “sweetheart scams." He found that a small band of young men known as the “Yahoo Boys” were creating fake avatars to lure American victims into online romances — a 21st-century iteration of the Yahoo email scams from the 1990s. Barragán, who wrote about his discoveries in The Yahoo Boys,joined NPR’s Eyder Peralta to discuss the new book, and why these cybercriminals are not actually “masterminds of the universe playing with your minds.” 

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R.F. Kuang’s fantasy novel Katabasis, first published in 2025, is out in paperback. The book is about two rival doctoral students studying magic at Cambridge University. Together, they travel to hell to rescue their recently deceased thesis advisor. Last year, Kuang joined NPR’s Emiko Tamagawa for a conversation about the novel at a live event in Boston. They spoke about Kuang’s rigorous approach to the study of magic, how the author sees herself (and her husband) in Katabasis’ protagonists, and the myth of the male genius in academia.

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A few years ago, Theo Baker – then a student at Stanford University – joined the school newspaper and broke a story that forced the university president to resign. Marc Tessier-Lavigne, he uncovered, had overseen several labs in which researchers had falsified results. His new book How to Rule the World documents power and corruption at Stanford, colored by mansion parties, slush funds, and tech executives in competition to be the first to invest in young talent. In today’s episode, Baker speaks with NPR’s Steve Inskeep about his reporting.

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Novelist Ann Patchett has written about things as wild as hostage takeovers, fairy tales, and betrayed magicians’ assistants. But her new novel Whistler turns down the stakes to focus on the quieter complexities of human relationships. Today’s episode features two conversations between Ann Patchett and NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly. First, Patchett talks about Whistlerand how it embraces the act of aging among past and present loved ones. Then, we revisit Patchett’s 2023 reflection on Tom Lake,a novel born from her serendipitous visits to the Michigan fruit farms she calls “a world like no other.”

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Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray have just published new historical fiction. Their novel A Pair of Aces is about two women in 1930s New York who face down the mob and try to take down the infamous gangster Lucky Luciano. One of the protagonists is Eunice Carter, based on the real first Black female prosecutor in New York. In today’s episode, the co-authors talk with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about how they approached their third collaboration.

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