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In 'Pete and Alice in Maine,' a marriage is tested during pandemic
When author Caitlin Shetterly saw an influx of license plates from Massachusetts and New York arrive in her home state of Maine during the pandemic, inspiration struck for her debut novel. Pete and A…
Published on 2 years ago
'This Is Salvaged' explores the mishaps of intimacy and communication
Vauhini Vara started writing some of the stories in This Is Salvaged when she was still in her 20s, two decades ago. From the complicated tension between two sisters to the way one mother chooses to …
Published on 2 years ago
'The Rachel Incident' looks back on early-20s friendships, love and mistakes
The novel The Rachel Incident is rooted around a wonderful, messy friendship. Rachel and James live together, party, and get themselves into a peculiar situation with an older married couple. In toda…
Published on 2 years ago
Erica Jong and daughter Molly Jong-Fast reflect on 'Fear of Flying'
This year, the novel Fear of Flying — which broke all sorts of unwritten rules around marriage, sex, and women's bodily autonomy when first published — turned 50 years old. So for today's episode, we…
Published on 2 years ago
Rose Previte, of Michelin star restaurant Maydān, releases her debut cookbook
Today's episode takes us inside the kitchen of Washington, D.C. Michelin-star restaurant Maydān. There, owner Rose Previte walks NPR's Asma Khalid through several recipes in her new cookbook, Maydān,…
Published on 2 years ago
Raquel Willis reflects on her journey in Black trans rights activism in new memoir
The Risk It Takes To Bloom is a new memoir by journalist and activist Raquel Willis. In 2014, Willis navigated post-college life as she grappled with the "dehumanization" of Blackness and the importa…
Published on 2 years ago
Jordan Peele curates a new Black horror story collection 'Out There Screaming'
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror is a collection of scary stories curated by horror filmmaker Jordan Peele. In today's episode, Peele speaks with NPR's Brittany Luse about the Bl…
Published on 2 years ago
Author David Wallace-Wells outlines the biggest climate change misunderstandings
As this year's United Nations Climate Summit wraps up, today's episode examines what people often get wrong about climate change. David Wallace-Wells' 2019 book The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Wa…
Published on 2 years ago
'Idlewild' follows a queer, teen friendship in early 2000s New York
In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, two teenagers form a tight bond at their Quaker high school in Manhattan. That's the premise for Idlewild, the debut novel by James Frankie Thomas. But while the g…
Published on 2 years ago
Novels by Sigrid Nunez and Michael Cunningham tackle the pandemic
Today's episode finds two renowned authors who found solace in writing characters navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. First, NPR's Leila Fadel spoke with Sigrid Nunez about The Vulnerables, which follo…
Published on 2 years ago