Accessibility links
Author Interviews NPR interviews with top authors and the NPR Book Tour, a weekly feature and podcast where leading authors read and discuss their writing. Subscribe to the RSS feed.

Author Interviews

Fortress America: What We Can — And Can't — Learn From History

Barely a week after assuming office, President Donald Trump set off a worldwide firestorm when he decided to temporarily ban migrants from seven Muslim-majority countries and refugees from all over the world from entering the United States. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Alex Brandon/AP

Hidden Brain

Fortress America: What We Can — And Can't — Learn From History

President Trump's executive order on refugees left travelers stranded at airports worldwide. To some, the scenes evoked images of Jewish refugees during World War II. We investigate the parallels.

Fortress America: What We Can — And Can't — Learn From History

Listen · 22:47
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/512526162/554042059" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Doctor Considers The Pitfalls Of Extending Life And Prolonging Death
Caiaimage/Sam Edwards/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Doctor Considers The Pitfalls Of Extending Life And Prolonging Death

Fresh Air

In Modern Death, Dr. Haider Warraich says a slow dying process, during which patients move in and out of hospitals or nursing homes, is a "very recent development in our history as a species."

Doctor Considers The Pitfalls Of Extending Life And Prolonging Death

Listen · 36:33
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/512426568/512487429" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'This Is How It Always Is' Was Inspired By Its Author's Transgender Child

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel. Marian Carrasquero/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Marian Carrasquero/NPR

The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books

'This Is How It Always Is' Was Inspired By Its Author's Transgender Child

Still, Laurie Frankel says, her book is fiction. "The nice thing about my life is that it's pretty boring, which is really how you want your life to be — but not how you want your novel to be."

'This Is How It Always Is' Was Inspired By Its Author's Transgender Child

Listen · 7:19
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/512030431/512400294" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Translating The Untranslatable: 'Between Dog And Wolf'

Russian author Sasha Sokolov wrote Between Dog and Wolf, which had been deemed untranslatable from the original Russian since 1980. Alexander Boguslawski translated the work to English in December.

Translating The Untranslatable: 'Between Dog And Wolf'

Listen · 7:26
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/512199359/512199360" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

In Comic 'Deathstroke,' Taking Revenge For Victims Of Chicago Gun Violence

DC Comics' Deathstroke has an unusual storyline this week: Chicago mothers hire an assassin to avenge children killed by gun violence. Writer Christopher Priest and illustrator Denys Cowan explain.

In Comic 'Deathstroke,' Taking Revenge For Victims Of Chicago Gun Violence

Listen · 5:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/512129947/512129948" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Renowned Biographer Patricia Bosworth Writes A Chapter From Her Own Life

Bosworth sits in her "hideout" in 1945. Courtesy of Patricia Bosworth hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Patricia Bosworth

The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books

Renowned Biographer Patricia Bosworth Writes A Chapter From Her Own Life

The Men in My Life chronicles a 10-year period during which Bosworth married, divorced, finished college, became an actress, and worked alongside some of the biggest movie stars of the 1950s.

Renowned Biographer Patricia Bosworth Writes A Chapter From Her Own Life

Listen · 8:11
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/511863277/512129994" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A Very Expensive Poison

World

Journalist: Russia's Interference Is An 'Assault On The Western Liberal Order'

Fresh Air

Luke Harding, the former Moscow Bureau Chief for The Guardian, says that Putin "wants to turn the clock back to an age ... where strong sovereign nations didn't talk about values or human rights."

Journalist: Russia's Interference Is An 'Assault On The Western Liberal Order'

Listen · 43:18
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/511786803/511848603" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The True Flag

The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books

The History of U.S. Intervention And The 'Birth Of The American Empire'

Fresh Air

Journalist Stephen Kinzer's book, True Flag, explains how the Spanish-American War launched an ongoing debate about America's role in the world. Kinzer has also been writing about President Trump.

The History of U.S. Intervention And The 'Birth Of The American Empire'

Listen · 36:49
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/511387528/511442525" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Strangers in Their Own Land: The 'Deep Story' of Trump Supporters

Though Donald Trump's policies may not help his voters economically, sociologist Arlie Hochschild says he is speaking to them on a deeper level: meeting their emotional needs. MICHAEL MATHES/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
MICHAEL MATHES/AFP/Getty Images

Hidden Brain

Strangers in Their Own Land: The 'Deep Story' of Trump Supporters

Millions of Americans seem to ignore their own interests when it comes to how they vote. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild thinks we might be turning to politics to meet emotional needs, not economic ones.

Strangers in Their Own Land: The 'Deep Story' of Trump Supporters

Listen · 22:46
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/510567860/554041394" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

'Why Time Flies' Investigates How Humans Experience Time

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with Alan Burdick about his book, Why Time Flies. It's an investigation of the sometimes contradictory ways we experience time.

'Why Time Flies' Investigates How Humans Experience Time

Listen · 5:36
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/511267210/511267211" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A Great Place to Have a War

History

'America In Laos' Traces The Militarization Of The CIA

Fresh Air

In the '60s, the CIA began a secret program that aimed to curb Communism by arming and training local fighters in Laos. Author Joshua Kurlantzick calls it "the largest covert operation in US history."

'America In Laos' Traces The Militarization Of The CIA

Listen · 31:59
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/511185078/511239063" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Soviet Daughter': How A Great-Grandmother's Diary Became A Graphic Novel

In 1932, Lola's husband Mitia was drafted into the army, leaving her to care for Tanya, their infant daughter, alone. Microcosm Publishing/Julia Alekseyeva hide caption

toggle caption
Microcosm Publishing/Julia Alekseyeva

'Soviet Daughter': How A Great-Grandmother's Diary Became A Graphic Novel

After her beloved great-grandmother's death, author Julia Alekseyeva discovered her memoirs, bursting with rich details of her life in the USSR enduring wars, pogroms, and purges.

'Soviet Daughter': How A Great-Grandmother's Diary Became A Graphic Novel

Listen · 7:06
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/509158334/511048852" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Treating 'Imaginary Illness' In 'Is It All In Your Head?'

Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan about her new book Is It All In Your Head? O'Sullivan chronicles the stories of patients she's diagnosed with psychosomatic disorders.

Treating 'Imaginary Illness' In 'Is It All In Your Head?'

Listen · 4:38
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/511048839/511048840" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Not My Job: Author Daniel Handler Gets Quizzed On Baggage Handlers
Katy Winn/Katy Winn/Invision/AP

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

Not My Job: Author Daniel Handler Gets Quizzed On Baggage Handlers

Lemony Snicket, aka Daniel Handler, is the author behind "A Series of Unfortunate Events" and "All the Wrong Questions." He'll answer three questions about the people who handle our luggage.

Not My Job: Author Daniel Handler Gets Quizzed On Baggage Handlers

Listen · 9:13
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/510650563/510948331" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Artists Produce Great Works — And Great Romances

Catherine Lacey and Forsyth Harmon talk with Scott Simon about some of the 20th century's greatest artists and their love lives. Their new book is called The Art of the Affair.

Artists Produce Great Works — And Great Romances

Listen · 6:03
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/510935335/510935336" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript