NPR's Book of the Day
Episodes
'The Scent of Burnt Flowers' uses fiction to explore a real, historical event
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Blitz Bazawule directed the first Ghanaian original film to be released on Netflix, co-directed Beyonce's visual album 'Black is King', directed the u...
Author weaves family history with fiction in debut novel
22 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In Belinda Huijuan Tang's debut novel, A Map For the Missing, readers can find parallels between Tang's personal history and her fiction. The book to...
Mohsin Hamid and Alora Young detail the impact of colorism in their stories
19 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The two books featured in this episode illustrate the impact of colorism in society. First up is The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid. In conversation w...
Romance novelist pokes fun at genre while writing it, in 'Thank You for Listening'
18 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Author and audiobook narrator Julia Whelan says narrating her own second book, Thank You for Listening, was "so meta, that it just spins off its axis....
In new memoir, Sen. Tim Scott details the second chances he's gotten
17 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In an interview with NPR's Juana Summers, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina talks about the second chances he's been given by his mother and his cons...
A daughter helps her mom finish her book 'Properties of Thirst'
16 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Marianne Wiggins had started to write her latest book Properties of Thirst when she had a stroke in 2016. So her daughter Lara Porzak, helped her fini...
Criminal justice reform and resilience are central in Albert Woodfox's 'Solitary'
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In an interview with the author of Solitary, the issue of criminal justice reform is central. Alfred Woodfox, who served 43 years in prison – most i...
Nikole Hannah Jones and Adam Rubin work to make kids' books more approachable
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today's interviews center on children's books with wildly different topics, but they both aim to make reading more accessible for kids. Nikole Hannah ...
'South To America' shows how southern history shaped our nation
11 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Author Imani Perry is a child of the South. In her newest book South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation, s...
Chinese American culture, murder mystery, and Dostoyevsky in 'The Family Chao'
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Patriarch Leo Chao is murdered at his restaurant at the beginning of Lan Samantha Chang's new novel The Family Chao. Eventually family secrets and bit...
Devon Price on self-acceptance and expression for people with autism
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For people with autism, navigating a neurotypical world can be exhausting. Many deploy strategies to fit in with others, a tactic often referred to as...
Failure motivates Olympic medalist Lindsey Vonn
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The 2022 Winter Olympics are right around the corner, so to prepare we are bringing you a conversation with skier Lindsey Vonn. Her new memoir, Rise, ...
Family pets and complicated emotions in two children's books
05 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today, two children's books that touch on a little bit of everything: from pets and illustrations to managing complicated emotions. First, Ian Falcone...
Journalist Alan Henry's new book is an invitation to get Seen, Heard, and Paid
04 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The workplace can be a tricky - even fraught - place to navigate for anyone, but for those who come from marginalized backgrounds, it can be even toug...
Candice Millard explores the complicated legacy of exploration in 'River of Gods'
03 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The quest to find the headwaters of the Nile River was the mid-19th century's equivalent to the space race. In her new nonfiction book, River of God, ...
In 'Freewater' Amina Luqman-Dawson uses YA fiction to dive deep into Black history
02 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today, the Great Dismal Swamp is a National Wildlife Refuge stretching between Virginia and North Carolina. But from the late 1600s to the Civil War, ...
'The Inheritors' explores the lasting effects of Apartheid in South Africa
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's been 28 years since Apartheid ended in South Africa, but the country's people are still wrestling with the aftermath of segregationist policies. ...
Baseball at the center of personal narratives in two new memoirs
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features baseball diaries with Scott Simon. First up, CC Sabathia details his personal struggles with alcoholism and fame in his memoir T...
Life's hardships lead to the trek of a lifetime in 'Soundings'
28 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Doreen Cunningham felt worn down by financial limitations as a single parent trying to, as she says, make life work. She tells Scott Simon that societ...
Sci-fi elements help a family's story before and after warfare
27 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Displacement, identity and the aftermath of warfare are themes running through today's episode on 'The Haunting of Hajji Hotak.' Author Jamil Jan Koc...
'X' portrays dystopian reality among the marginalized where they are exported
26 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The setting for today's book could be an "alternate version of right now," according to author Davey Davis. They spoke with Anna Sale in an interview ...
'Why Didn't You Tell Me?' explores a false origin story for the price of assimilation
25 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today's book evaluates the price of assimilation when representation, identity and belonging are erased. In Why Didn't You Tell Me?, author Carmen Rit...
Two books show life as seen through the eyes of the animal kingdom
22 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today's episode features two books that reach deep into the animal world. First, E.O. Wilson sits down with Robert Seigel to discuss how the narrative...
The history of control over women and their bodies is central in 'The Foundling'
21 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today's fictional book is set in very non-fictional circumstances. Novelist Ann Leary was trying to learn about her grandmother's history as an orphan...
Blurred family history gets questioned in Joseph Han's debut novel, 'Nuclear Family'
20 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today's Book of the Day spans across two places: Hawaii and the Korean Peninsula. The story, though, goes beyond the two realities. In Joseph Han's de...
'The Pallbearers Club' shows how dangerous nostalgia can be
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today's Book of the Day is a little bit of everything: punk rock music, high school dynamics, some horror tropes, and pointing out the dangers of nost...
Mark Leibovich details the price of blind loyalty under Donald Trump in new book
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As the House's committee hearings on Jan. 6 continue, today's episode offers some context from The Atlantic reporter Mark Leibovich, who has a new boo...
Two Indigenous authors on the legacy of a shared, painful history
15 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today, two books from indigenous authors who make a similar, wry argument: it's a miracle there are any Indigenous people in the Americas alive at all...
'Covered in Night' compares colonial and Indigenous approaches to justice
14 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we're going back in time to 1722 to examine the different approaches to justice between Native Americans and Pennsylvania colonists i...
In 'Poet Warrior', Joy Harjo uses poetry to deal with pain and heal
13 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In celebration of the new U.S. poet laureate this year, Ada Limón, today's episode revisits another poet laureate's conversation with Michel Martin a...
In 'Fresh Banana Leaves' an indigenous approach to fighting climate change
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
According to Jessica Hernandez, "as long as we protect nature, nature will protect us." Hernandez, from the Maya Ch'ortí and Zapotec nations, is a Un...
Morgan Talty uses humor to tell the story of an indigenous tribe's struggles
11 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nailing the balance between humor and heavy, dark topics is a difficult feat. Night of the Living Rez by author Morgan Talty meets the mark. His colle...
Two nonfiction books reminiscent of a bygone era in Hollywood
08 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today we have two nonfiction books that touch on a bygone era of Hollywood some refer to as its "Golden Age." First, George Stevens, Jr., talks to Sco...
Werner Herzog's 'The Twilight World' is inspired by a WWII Japanese holdout officer
07 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hiroo Onoda was a Japanese intelligence officer during World War II, stationed on a small island in the Philippines. When the Japanese army evacuated,...
'Under the Skin' shows how COVID exposed racial disparities in healthcare
06 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Life expectancy in the U.S. has always been different for people of color. And since the pandemic, that gap has widened. In her new book, Under the Sk...
'The Tomorrow Game' is Sudhir Venkatesh's chronicle of violence in South Side Chicago
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In Sudhir Venkatesh's The Tomorrow Game, two teenagers on Chicago's South Side face each other in a story that conveys the pressures and motivations b...
'The Last Resort' unveils the environmental toll of beachside destinations
04 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Beach resorts are a favorite when it comes to travel destinations. But behind the infinity pools and the all-inclusive deals, these massive resorts ar...
Danielle Evans and Brit Bennett on the lies we tell ourselves
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today, two takes on stories we tell to make ourselves feel better and the consequences of believing them. First, author Danielle Evans' short story co...
A lifetime of secrets unfold in 'Black Cake'
30 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Author Charmaine Wilkerson's new novel, Black Cake, is all about identity; who we are and how we fit into this world. Estranged siblings, Benny and By...
What does 'The Family Chao' have in common with Dostoyevsky? Murder and more.
29 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Patriarch Leo Chao is murdered at his restaurant at the beginning of Lan Samantha Chang's new novel The Family Chao. Eventually family secrets and bit...
Hanya Yanagihara grapples with pandemics in 'To Paradise'
28 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Author of the wildly popular and, at times, controversial A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara, is out with a new novel. To Paradise is an epic – in thre...
In 'All Adults Here,' family is messy
27 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Author Emma Straub has written a book about family dynamics and the mess and love that comes with them in All Adults Here. It's no secret that familie...
Tap dancing Twizzlers, cockroach warriors, and fairy tales! Oh my!
24 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Two collections of short stories, both alike in playfulness in our fair podcast. The first is with Gwen Kirby whose debut collection of short stories ...
Finding simplicity and radical acceptance through animal sexuality
23 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A non-fiction science book about animal sexuality could read like a dry textbook, but Eliot Schrefer wanted his book to be accessible. Queer Ducks use...
A new book shows how the South – and its history – shapes our nation
22 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Frye Gaillard and Cynthia Tucker are old enough to remember Jim Crow in the South. But they recognize the part of the country they grew up in for both...
In Séamas O'Reilly's memoir, a tribute to a widowed father raising 11 kids in Ireland
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As a little boy grieving his mother, Séamas O'Reilly couldn't entirely grasp the monumental task it was for his father to have to raise 11 children a...
Nicole A. Taylor's cookbook puts a spin on traditional African American food
20 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Junteenth was celebrated across the country this weekend and is observed nationally Monday. In a new, Juneteenth-inspired cookbook, Nicole A. Taylor p...
Two books on fatherhood to help celebrate Sunday
17 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Father's Day is this Sunday, giving us a good opportunity to reflect not only the art of fatherhood but also on the struggles that come after dads lea...
A reflection on ambition and success in 'Tracy Flick Can't Win'
16 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You've probably seen it: Reese Witherspoon playing ambitious, throat-cutting Tracy Flick in the 1999 movie Election. It's the film adaptation of Tom P...
In Keri Blakinger's memoir, the path from high-achieving teenager to prison to writer
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Keri Blakinger says there are no rules behind bars. In 2010, she was arrested on a drug charge and spent two years in prison. And although that statem...
Inspired by a true story, 'Nightcrawling' deals with sex work – and sexual abuse
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by a true story from Oakland, California, Leila Mottley's first novel follows a young Black girl who is sexually abused by a group of police ...
Four strangers, a murder, and a cozy winter library in Sulari Gentill's new novel
13 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Four strangers sitting in the reading room of the Boston Public Library suddenly hear a woman's piercing scream. When the body is found, the four char...
Exploring immigration through a common experience: feeling like an outsider
10 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There is a common hurdle for many first generation immigrants: feeling out of place. Whether that's in school, speaking a different language, or livin...
Dan Chaon imagines a dystopian, dark future for America in 'Sleepwalk'
09 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Author Dan Chaon wanted to find a way to write about current times – instability, fear, political division – by creating an alternate version of A...
Book recommendations for 50+ states and beyond!
08 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We have something a little different today. Often when we travel to new places, we look for books about the areas we'll be exploring. Whether via trav...
The aftermath of Brown vs The Board of Education in 'Jim Crow's Pink Slip'
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Leslie Fenwick is a nationally-known education policy and leadership studies scholar at Howard University. In her new book, Jim Crow's Pink Slip: The ...
In 'Big Feelings:' Advice on how to be okay... when things are not okay
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The last couple of years have been tough for everyone, and dealing with the plethora of emotions they have brought on can be complicated for many adul...
A multifaceted view of trauma in two Indian novels
03 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Trauma isn't finite. It doesn't happen only to one person – and its effects on people and communities don't always end. Today, two books that explor...
Grady Hendrix reimagines the horror movie sequel in 'Final Girl Support Group'
02 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Grady Hendrix loves horror movies, especially those old 80s slashers. And his new book is a tribute to that "final girl" at the end of so many of them...
Jhumpa Lahiri on translating herself and others
01 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jhumpa Lahiri is best known for her fictional stories about immigration; novels that usually explore themes that arise from living in between two worl...
A quest for knowledge in Elif Batuman's sequel to 'The Idiot'
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For teenagers, every life question can feel existential. It was like that for Elif Batuman, who found meaning through literature and creative writing....
In honor of Memorial Day: 'When Books Went to War'
30 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
During World War II, as American publishers sought ways to support the troops abroad, they began printing small, pocket-sized books that soldiers coul...
Two celebrity memoirs take us behind the scenes to talk health, relationships, fame
27 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Contrary to how it might feel when we're just seeing them through screens, celebrities, too, deal with very common human problems: disease, mental hea...
Anne Heltzel questions 'cult of motherhood' in a new horror novel 'Just Like Mother'
26 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In a frightening new horror novel, a young woman reunites with her cousin after escaping from a motherhood cult. In Just Like Mother, Anne Heltzel exp...
New George Floyd biography paints a picture of being a Black man in America
25 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Most people know George Floyd through how he died, not how he lived. His Name is George Floyd, a new biography by journalists Robert Samuels and Tolus...
The debate on reforming the Supreme Court in Eric Holder's 'Our Unfinished March'
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion on Roe v. Wade earlier this month has reignited debates about the power and reach of the highest court in ...
Traveling in time with Emma Straub in her new novel 'This Time Tomorrow'
23 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you could go back in time to when you were 16 years old, what would you change? This question is at the heart of Emma Straub's new novel, This Time...
Understanding China's brutal treatment of Uyghur Muslims through two nonfiction books
20 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's estimated that more than 1 million Uyghur Muslims have been detained in camps in China, where they may be subjected to forced labor, sexual viole...
Authentic Mexican recipes abound Ricky Martínez's cookbook 'Mi Cocina'
19 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Just like every person has a story, every recipe has a memory. For famous chef Rick Martínez, those memories often come from his time in Mexico, wher...
An unexpected, endearing friendship in 'Remarkably Bright Creatures'
18 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can humans and sea creatures communicate? In Shelby Van Pelt's first novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures, they sure can –and they do. The story cente...
A new Bonnie and Clyde-type adventure in 'Teenager' by Bud Smith
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Two teenagers in love, in a whole lot of trouble, and on a road trip across the country. It's the plot of Bud Smith's novel Teenager, a Bonnie and Cly...
Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on the ethical dilemmas of working for Trump
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As secretary of defense for President Trump, Mark Esper was privy to a lot of the inner workings of the administration. In his new book, A Sacred Oath...
Two nonfiction books... that just won Pulitzer Prizes!
13 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Pulitzer Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the country for writers... and last year's winners were just announced this week. So today...
The illusion and power of money in Hernan Diaz's 'Trust'
12 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Money is all things... or it can become all things, says Hernan Diaz, author of Trust. In his new book, readers are presented with narratives on wealt...
Romance, terror, and the supernatural in Isabel Cañas' debut novel 'The Hacienda'
11 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the aftermath of the Mexican war for independence, a new bride finds herself alone in a haunted house surrounded by people who don't believe her. I...
The paradox of fame in Minnie Driver's new memoir
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Minnie Driver's experience with fame has been what she calls "surreal." She's faced the paradox of fame: she wants to be seen, but not that much. In h...
In 'The Family Roe:' the human side of the landmark abortion case 'Roe v. Wade'
09 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Despite the attention that Roe v. Wade has gotten throughout the years, there are still many details about the case that are obscure to the public. Fo...
For Mother's Day, two books that tackle motherhood
06 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This weekend is Mother's Day, a good occasion to reflect on the art of parenting. First, comedian Glenn Boozan speaks to Celeste Headlee on Here and N...
Dolen Perkins-Valdez's historical novel fictionalizes involuntary sterilizations
05 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dolen Perkins-Valdez says she's attracted to what she calls "silences in the archives," or – holes in our recollection in history, particularly thos...
Colson Whitehead Finally Gets To Flex His Comedy Muscle
04 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After writing his Pulitzer Prize-winning books The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, author Colson Whitehead needed a change of pace. So for h...
Devon Price on the freedom of "unmasking" for people with autism
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For people with autism, simply existing in a neurotypical world can be exhausting. Many learn early on to employ certain strategies to fit in with oth...
Danica Roem reclaims her own story in her memoir 'Burn the Page'
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 2017, Danica Roem became the first openly transgender woman in office when she was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. In her new memoir, B...
Two memoirs that celebrate the influence of Black female artists
29 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who made you the person you are? Today, we bring you two interviews from Black female authors who explore the impact that musicians, writers, and actr...
A retelling of the Book of Genesis with God as a woman in 'Let There Be Light'
28 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
New Yorker magazine cartoonist Liana Fink grew up in a Jewish household; she went to synagogue, attended Hebrew day school, and observed Shabbat. But ...
'How to Be a Woman Online' tackles online harassment against women
27 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
According to Nina Jankowicz, a fellow at the Wilson Center known for her research on online disinformation, women face a disproportionate amount of at...
A queer, Afrofuturistic world in 'The Memory Librarian'
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Janelle Monáe's Afrofuturistic pop album 'Dirty Computer' was nominated for a Grammy in 2019. Now, Monáe brings the sci-fi world into literature thr...
Mortality, politics, and the power of poetry in Colm Tóibín's 'Vinegar Hill'
25 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After more than a dozen novels and collections of short stories, Irish writer ColmTóibín recently published his first book of poetry. His new collec...
For Earth Day, two books rethink how we talk about environmental crises
22 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today is Earth Day, a good occasion as any to reflect on the emergencies the planet currently faces. First, Harriet A. Washington, author of A Terribl...
Humor, horror and social commentary blend in Percival Everett's detective novel
21 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Percival Everett's page-turning new detective novel is at once gruesome and screamingly funny. A racial allegory rooted in southern history, the book ...
How Delia Ephron let herself fall back in love after heartbreak
20 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nobody does love and heartbreak like an Ephron. And Delia Ephron knows a lot about it. Her new memoir is Left on Tenth, and it details the trauma of l...
Reinventing the epic with 'The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois'
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When you think of an epic, what comes to mind? The Iliad, the Odyssey, maybe Beowulf? Well, author Honorée Fanonne Jeffers points out that epics are ...
Virtual memories live in 'The Candy House'
18 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's already pretty hard to tell what's really real when it comes to social media. But Jennifer Egan takes it one step further in her latest novel The...
A Douglas Stuart double feature! 'Shuggie Bain' and 'Young Mungo'
15 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Both interviews today are with author Douglas Stuart. The first about his Booker prize-winning Shuggie Bain; a story based on his own life growing up ...
In 'Lessons in Chemistry,' a chemist is the star of ... a cooking show?
14 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 face...
How to manage a disaster in 'The Devil Never Sleeps'
13 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Former Homeland Security official and author Juliette Kayyem has a new book out that encourages preparedness. The Devil Never Sleeps makes the case th...
Novel 'Four Treasures of the Sky' focuses on the horrors of the Chinese Exclusion Act
12 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Author Jenny Tinghui Zhang is out with a new historical fiction novel, Four Treasures In The Sky. Set in the 1800s during the height of anti-Chinese s...
Poet Ocean Vuong shares his grief in 'Time Is A Mother'
11 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
April is National Poetry Month, so to celebrate we are bringing you a conversation with poet Ocean Vuong. His new collection, Time Is A Mother, is abo...
Maud Newton and Jhumpa Lahiri interrogate one's place in the world
08 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Writer Maud Newton could not ignore her family's white supremacist history, so she decided to reconcile with it in her new book Ancestor Trouble: A Re...
Viet Thanh Nguyen follows Pulitzer winning 'The Sympathizer' with 'The Committed'
07 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Viet Thanh Nguyen's novel The Committed follows the same unnamed character we met in his Pulitzer-winning thriller, The Sympathizer. The character is ...
'The Vortex' investigates how climate catastrophes can have unexpected consequences
06 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1970, a cyclone tore through Pakistan and the political lines that existed, leading to genocide and very nearly a nuclear war in the country. Autho...