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Author Interviews

Emergency Quarters

Emergency Quarters Illustrations © 2024 by Gracey Zhang hide caption

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Illustrations © 2024 by Gracey Zhang

Picture This

'Emergency Quarters' are for pay phones (remember those?) in a new book by ‘90s kids

Ernesto's mom gives him a quarter every morning. "For emergencies," she says. "If you need me, look for a pay phone." Hey, it was the '90s! But how will Ernesto spend his Emergency Quarters?

'Emergency Quarters' are for pay phones (remember those?) in a new book by ‘90s kids

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Illustration of a man relaxing on a hamster wheel, symbolizing taking a break from the daily grind to refresh yourself and appreciate life.

Malte Mueller/fStop/Getty Images hide caption

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Malte Mueller/fStop/Getty Images

Life Kit

Stuck in a rut? How to appreciate your life again, according to science

After a while, even the most exciting relationships, jobs and environments lose their spark. But cognitive neuroscientist Tali Sharot says it's possible to fall back in love with life's small joys.

Why we become bored with our lives (and how to find joy again)

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The human brain is hardwired to recognize faces. But what if you can't?

Freelance science writer Sadie Dingfelder is the author of the new book Do I Know You?, which explores human sight, memory and imagination. Little, Brown Spark, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company hide caption

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Little, Brown Spark, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company

Short Wave

The human brain is hardwired to recognize faces. But what if you can't?

Humans are hardwired to see faces — even in inanimate objects. We have a lima bean-shaped part of our brains dedicated to facial recognition. But this process isn't always straightforward. Science journalist Sadie Dingfelder is one of 10 million Americans who are face blind, or struggle to recognize the faces of people they know. In her new book, Do I Know You? she dives into this, as well as the science of memory and imagination.

The human brain is hardwired to recognize faces. But what if you can't?

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The truth and lies behind one of the most banned books in America
Jackie Lay

Code Switch

The truth and lies behind one of the most banned books in America

Author Mike Curato wrote Flamer as a way to help young queer kids, like he once was, better understand and accept themselves. It was met with immediate praise and accolades — until it wasn't. When the book got caught up in a wave of Texas-based book bans, suddenly the narrative changed. And like so many books that address queer identity, Flamer quickly became a flashpoint in a long, messy culture war that tried to distort the nature of the book.

The truth and lies behind one of the most banned books in America

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Earth is more than a planet with life on it. It's a "living planet"

Ferris Jabr's book Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life examines the ways life and Earth have shaped each other. Lucas Heinrich/Random House hide caption

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Lucas Heinrich/Random House

Short Wave

Earth is more than a planet with life on it. It's a "living planet"

About ten years ago, science writer Ferris Jabr started contemplating Earth as a living planet rather than a planet with life on it. It began when he learned that the Amazon rainforest doesn't simply receive the rain that defines it; rather, it helps generate that rain. The Amazon does that by launching bits of biological confetti into the atmosphere that, in turn, seed clouds. After learning this, he began looking for other ways life changes its environment. That led to his new book Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life. He talks to host Regina G. Barber about examples of life transforming the planet — from changing the color of the sky to altering the weather.

Earth is more than a planet with life on it. It's a "living planet"

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The history of trans misogyny is the history of segregation

Author Jules Gill-Peterson poses next to her book, A Short History of Trans Misogyny Headshot by Kadji Amin and book cover design by Angela Lorenzo for Verso hide caption

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Headshot by Kadji Amin and book cover design by Angela Lorenzo for Verso

Code Switch

The history of trans misogyny is the history of segregation

As anti-trans legislation has ramped up, historian Jules Gill-Peterson turns the lens to the past in her book, A Short History of Trans Misogyny. This week, we talk about how panics around trans femininity are shaped by wider forces of colonialism, segregation and class interests.

The history of trans misogyny is the history of segregation

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WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 03: Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic at the Rayburn House Office Building on June 03, 2024 in Washington, DC. The Subcommittee is holding a hearing on the findings from a fifteen month Republican-led probe of former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci and the COVID-19 pandemic's origins. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Dr. Anthony Fauci testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Select Subcommittee on June 3. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Health Care

Why Anthony Fauci approaches every trip to the White House as if it's his last

Over the course of his decades-long career in public health, Fauci vowed he would never shy away from speaking the truth with the U.S. president— even when it was inconvenient. Fauci's memoir is On Call.

Why Anthony Fauci approaches every trip to the White House as if it's his last

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Carvell Wallace searches for 'Another Word for Love'

Carvell Wallace, author of 'Another Word for Love' Carvell Wallace hide caption

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Carvell Wallace

It's Been a Minute

Carvell Wallace searches for 'Another Word for Love'

In his new memoir, Another Word for Love, Carvell Wallace lays out his journey to find self-acceptance after a childhood colored by instability. Host Brittany Luse sits down with Carvell to talk about how he built new language around love and his new perspectives on recovery and healing.

Carvell Wallace searches for 'Another Word for Love'

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Sports

'Satchel' recalls the iconic pitcher who helped integrate Major League Baseball

Hall of Famer Satchel Paige started his career pitching in the Negro leagues and later became a major league star. Author Larry Tye tells his story in Satchel. Originally broadcast in 2010.

'Satchel' recalls the iconic pitcher who helped integrate Major League Baseball

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Drag queen Kyne Santos explores how math is 'beautiful' in new book 'Math in Drag'

Kyne wearing her hyperbolic plane dress. Author photo by Fabian Di Corcia. Fabian Di Corcia/Fabian Di Corcia hide caption

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Fabian Di Corcia/Fabian Di Corcia

Short Wave

Drag queen Kyne Santos explores how math is 'beautiful' in new book 'Math in Drag'

Kyne Santos was a student at the University of Waterloo when she began her math and her drag careers. She compares her double life to Hannah Montana, doing math equations at school by day and drag at night. You may already know Kyne from TikTok, where she makes educational videos about math, science, history and drag. And now, in her new book Math in Drag, Kyne explores the connections between math and drag: How both can be creative, beautiful and most of all, fun.

Drag queen Kyne Santos explores how math is 'beautiful' in new book 'Math in Drag'

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For 'Such Kindness' novelist Andre Dubus III, chronic pain is a fact of life

Dubus talks about the injuries he faced as a carpenter and his relationship with his dad. His a new collection of personal essays is Ghost Dogs: On Killers and Kin. Originally broadcast in 2023.

For 'Such Kindness' novelist Andre Dubus III, chronic pain is a fact of life

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Taylor Swift, the Mona Lisa and Beyoncé.

Taylor Swift, the Mona Lisa and Beyoncé. Andrew Dias Nobreafp via Getty Images; Thomas Coexafp via Getty Images; Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy./. hide caption

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Andrew Dias Nobreafp via Getty Images; Thomas Coexafp via Getty Images; Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy./.

Culture

What's the recipe for fame? For one, you need more than talent

Why is the Mona Lisa the most famous painting in the world? Why are The Beatles, well, The Beatles? Behavioral economist Cass Sunstein explores the alchemy of fame.

Approximately one in every three births in the U.S. occurs as the result of a C-section.

Approximately one in every three births in the U.S. occurs as the result of a C-section. Getty Images hide caption

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Getty Images

Health

After a traumatic C-section, journalist takes on the medicalization of birth

When Rachel Somerstein had an emergency C-section with her first child, the anesthesia didn't work. She recounts her own experience and the history of C-sections in her book, Invisible Labor.

After a traumatic C-section, journalist takes on the medicalization of birth

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When Baby Sloth tumbles out of a tree, Mama Sloth comes for him — s l o w l y

Illustrations © 2024 by Brian Cronin/Rocky Pond Books hide caption

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Illustrations © 2024 by Brian Cronin/Rocky Pond Books

Picture This

When Baby Sloth tumbles out of a tree, Mama Sloth comes for him — s l o w l y

Did you know on average a sloth will fall out of a tree once a week for its entire life? It's true — and the inspiration for Brian Cronin and Doreen Cronin's new children's book, Mama in the Moon.

PICTURE THIS: MAMA IN THE MOON

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Stephen King says finishing one of his stories decades after he started it felt like

Stephen King says finishing one of his stories decades after he started it felt like "calling into a canyon of time." Francois Mori/AP hide caption

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Francois Mori/AP

Interview highlights

Stephen King's new story took him 45 years to write

Stephen King is out with a new collection of short stories. As you might expect from the reigning King of Horror, some are terrifying. Some are creepy. Others are laugh-out-loud funny.

Stephen King's new story took him 45 years to write

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Understanding the refugee experience, through a time-traveling British colonizer
NPR

Code Switch

Understanding the refugee experience, through a time-traveling British colonizer

This week Code Switch digs into The Ministry of Time, a new book that author Kailene Bradley describes as a "romance about imperialism." It focuses on real-life Victorian explorer Graham Gore, who died on a doomed Arctic expedition in 1847. But in this novel, time travel is possible and Gore is brought to the 21st century where he's confronted with the fact that everyone he's ever known is dead, that the British Empire has collapsed, and that perhaps he was a colonizer.

Understanding the refugee experience, through a time-traveling British colonizer

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With age and sobriety, Michael McDonald is ready to get personal

Michael McDonald, 72, describes his voice as a "malleable" instrument: "Especially with age, it's like you're constantly renegotiating with it." Timothy White/Sacks & Co. hide caption

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Timothy White/Sacks & Co.

Music Interviews

With age and sobriety, Michael McDonald is ready to get personal

Fresh Air

McDonald says that earlier in his career, he tended to avoid writing about himself directly in songs. He opens up about his life and career in the memoir, What a Fool Believes.

With age and sobriety, Michael McDonald is ready to get personal

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Hold on to your wishes — there's a 'Spider in the Well'
Illustrations © 2024 Jess Hannigan

Hold on to your wishes — there's a 'Spider in the Well'

There's trouble in the town of Bad Göodsburg! A wishing well has stopped working! NPR's Tamara Keith talks with Jess Hannigan about her new children's book, "Spider in the Well."

Hold on to your wishes — there's a 'Spider in the Well'

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Writer Carvell Wallace on past pain and forgiveness: Letting go is 'always available'

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Macmillian

Writer Carvell Wallace on past pain and forgiveness: Letting go is 'always available'

Fresh Air

Wallace is known for his celebrity profiles, but his new memoir, Another Word For Love, is about his own life, growing up unhoused, Black and queer, and getting his start as a writer at the age of 40.

Writer Carvell Wallace on past pain and forgiveness: Letting go is 'always available'

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The miracle of middle age with Miranda July

Author Miranda July poses next to her novel, "All Fours" Elizabeth Weinberg/Amazon hide caption

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Elizabeth Weinberg/Amazon

Perspective

It's Been a Minute

The miracle of middle age with Miranda July

Our culture is full of stories about what it's like to be young: to find yourself, to fall in love, to leave home. But there aren't nearly as many scripts for what middle age might look like, especially for women. This week, host Brittany Luse is joined by author and filmmaker Miranda July, whose new novel 'All Fours' dives deep into the mystery and miracle of being a middle aged woman.

The miracle of middle age with Miranda July

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System of a Down's Serj Tankian on his memoir, why a new album hasn't come since 2005

Serj Tankian, singer for System of a Down Travis Shinn/Hachette Books hide caption

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Travis Shinn/Hachette Books

System of a Down's Serj Tankian on his memoir, why a new album hasn't come since 2005

System of a Down singer Serj Tankian covers fleeing the Lebanese Civil War as a child, advocating for recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and why his band hasn't made a new album since 2005.

System of a Down's Serj Tankian on his memoir, why a new album hasn't come since 2005

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