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'Nobody's Fool' explains the science behind falling for scams – and how not to
In their new book, Nobody's Fool, psychology professor Daniel Simons and cognitive scientist Christopher Chabris make the case that people don't just fall for scams because they're gullible. The way …
Published on 2 years, 4 months ago
'The Best Possible Experiences' captures immigrant experience through short stories
In today's episode, author Nishanth Injam tells NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer that when he first arrived in the U.S. from India, he wondered if he'd made a huge mistake. That tension he grappled with is now a…
Published on 2 years, 4 months ago
'The Rachel Incident' looks back on early-20s friendships, love and mistakes
The new 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 …
Published on 2 years, 4 months ago
Dennis Lehane and Jake Tapper pen new novels set in the 1970s
Today's episode takes us back in time to American society in the '70s. First, NPR's Scott Simon speaks with author Dennis Lehane about Small Mercies, his new novel about the desegregation of Boston p…
Published on 2 years, 5 months ago
'The Apartment' follows the residents of a Miami Beach building over decades
Ana Menéndez's novel The Apartment starts decades – maybe centuries – before the art deco building named The Helena is built in South Beach, and ends eons into the future. What takes place in apartme…
Published on 2 years, 5 months ago
'When Crack Was King' chronicles the misunderstood history of the crack epidemic
In his new nonfiction book, When Crack Was King, Donovan X. Ramsey explores how the crack cocaine epidemic of the '80s and '90s shaped people, neighborhoods and entire communities, particularly for B…
Published on 2 years, 5 months ago
'Ripe' tackles the dark side of Silicon Valley
Cassie, the main character of Sarah Rose Etter's novel Ripe, has hit a wall. She's burned out at her toxic Silicon Valley job, she's disillusioned by the staggering wealth and poverty that surround h…
Published on 2 years, 5 months ago
'Temple Folk' conveys the experiences of Black Muslims through short stories
Early in today's episode, Aaliyah Bilal says she knows that a lot of people associate the Nation of Islam with hate. But in her new collection of short stories, Temple Folk, she reclaims narratives a…
Published on 2 years, 5 months ago
A Douglas Stuart double feature! 'Shuggie Bain' and 'Young Mungo'
Both interviews today are with author Douglas Stuart. The first is about his Booker prize-winning Shuggie Bain; a story based on his own life growing up a queer son of a single mother struggling with…
Published on 2 years, 5 months ago
In 'Lessons In Chemistry' a chemist is the star of...a cooking show?
Bonnie Garmus' new novel Lessons In Chemistry has been getting a lot of buzz. Elizabeth Zott is a talented chemist but because it's the 1960s she faces sexism in her quest to work as a scientist. So …
Published on 2 years, 5 months ago