Podcast Episodes
Back to Search
'The House of Doors' is a novel about romance, secrecy and colonialism in Malaysia
The new novel by Tan Twan Eng, The House of Doors, is a project of historical fiction immersed in the culturally rich island of Penang in the 1920s. A once revered, now flailing British writer arrive…
Published on 2 years, 1 month ago
In 'Sparks,' Ian Johnson highlights China's 'grassroots historians'
Since being named general secretary of China's ruling Communist Party, Xi Jinping has exerted his power to control historical narratives in China. But in his new book, Sparks, Pulitzer Prize-winning …
Published on 2 years, 1 month ago
Jhumpa Lahiri questions Italian identity in 'Roman Stories'
Roman Stories, the new collection of short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri, captures the tensions of a rapidly-changing Rome, Italy. In today's episode, Lahiri speaks with NPR's Leila Fadel about how growin…
Published on 2 years, 1 month ago
Books about Olympic rowers and J. Robert Oppenheimer re-examine American history
Today's episode is about two books that examine the United States' relationship with other countries during contentious moments in history. First, Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with Daniel James Br…
Published on 2 years, 1 month ago
After three decades, John Grisham follows 'The Firm' with 'The Exchange'
We can't do a week about books turned into films without speaking with John Grisham. In today's episode, the author of The Pelican Brief and The Innocent Man speaks with our host Andrew Limbong about…
Published on 2 years, 1 month ago
'The Color Purple' is about the bonding of women
The Color Purple is about the survival of Black women in a male-dominated world. Author Alice Walker said that she just wrote what happens in the real world. The book has been made into a film and a …
Published on 2 years, 1 month ago
Isabel Wilkerson argues that 'Caste,' not racism caused The Great Migration
Isabel Wilkerson followed her novel about The Great Migration, The Warmth of Other Suns, with another book that looks at why it happened. Caste – recently made into a film by director Ava DuVernay – …
Published on 2 years, 1 month ago
'Killers of the Flower Moon' traces the murders of Osage families
This week, we're hearing from authors whose works have been adapted to the big screen. In this 2017 interview, NPR's Steve Inskeep asks David Grann about his nonfiction book Killers of the Flower Moo…
Published on 2 years, 1 month ago
Two poetry collections find beauty in unexpected places
Poet Franny Choi knows that marginalized communities have been facing apocalypses forever. But in her new book, The World Keeps Ending and the World Goes On, she uses their survival as a way to look …
Published on 2 years, 2 months ago
'My People' is a collection of stories – spanning decades – about Black America
Charlayne Hunter-Gault is a trailblazing journalist. The first Black reporter for The New Yorker's "Talk of the Town" section, she's spent more than a half-century reporting on the lives of Black Ame…
Published on 2 years, 2 months ago