Episodes

  • In the epic 'Son of Nobody,' Yann Martel gives footnotes a starring role

    In the epic 'Son of Nobody,' Yann Martel gives footnotes a starring role
    Apr 1 2026
    Yann Martel’s new novel Son of Nobody contains two narratives: a lost epic about the Trojan War and a personal tragedy that plays out in the book’s footnotes. The two protagonists are Psoas, a common Greek foot soldier, and Harlow Donne, a graduate student who discovers Psoas’ story by chance. In today’s episode, Martel joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about the author’s decision to give footnotes a “starring role” in the novel and whether war gives his characters a sense of purpose.

    To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

    To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

    See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

    NPR Privacy Policy
    Show more Show less
    8 mins
  • Geoff Bennett on the history of Black comedy from vaudeville to sitcoms

    Geoff Bennett on the history of Black comedy from vaudeville to sitcoms
    Mar 31 2026
    PBS Newshour co-anchor Geoff Bennett is out with a new book that presents portraits of Black artists who shaped comedy. Black Out Loud is a history that starts with vaudeville and runs through the ‘90s, when sitcoms like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, In Living Color and Family Matters carried the responsibility of representing a varied Black experience. In today’s episode, Bennett speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about vaudeville and minstrelsy as the DNA of Black comedic performance, the impact of Amos ‘n’ Andy, and comedians like Bert Williams, Richard Pryor and Dave Chappelle.

    To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

    To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

    See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

    Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    NPR Privacy Policy
    Show more Show less
    9 mins
  • Andy Weir reveals his fun and frantic creative process behind 'Project Hail Mary'

    Andy Weir reveals his fun and frantic creative process behind 'Project Hail Mary'
    Mar 30 2026
    In Project Hail Mary, amateur astronaut Ryland Grace must travel light years from Earth to save humanity from a dying Sun. The stakes are high, to say the least. But author Andy Weir was intentional about centering hope in his bestselling novel, which inspired the recent blockbuster film starring Ryan Gosling. In today’s episode, Andy Weir joins Here and Now’s Indira Lakshmanan to discuss his creative world-building process, and why he remains optimistic about our ability to collaborate in the face of existential threats.

    To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

    To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

    See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

    Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    NPR Privacy Policy
    Show more Show less
    12 mins
  • In new memoirs, David Archuleta and Lindy West break with their pasts

    In new memoirs, David Archuleta and Lindy West break with their pasts
    Mar 27 2026
    Singer-songwriter David Archuleta and writer Lindy West are both out with memoirs that deal with letting go of the past. First, Archuleta was the runner-up on the seventh season of American Idol. Underneath that success, he struggled privately with his queer identity and his relationship to the Mormon church. In today’s episode, he talks with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan about his new memoir Devout. Then, Lindy West tells NPR’s Leila Fadel about Adult Braces, the cross-country road trip that reset the Shrill writer’s life, and how she opened herself to the idea of a non-monogamous marriage.

    To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

    To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

    See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

    Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    NPR Privacy Policy
    Show more Show less
    20 mins
  • Apple is turning 50. David Pogue’s new book tells its history.

    Apple is turning 50. David Pogue’s new book tells its history.
    Mar 26 2026
    Next month, tech giant Apple will turn 50, marking five decades since Steve Jobs and his co-founders set out to put powerful technology in the hands of everyday people. David Pogue joined NPR’s Michel Martin for a conversation about his new book Apple: The First 50 Years – and said he sees the company’s story as one of “focus.” In today’s episode, Martin and the CBS News correspondent discuss Steve Jobs as a Rorschach test, Jobs’ relationship with Steve Wozniak and Apple’s lesser-known third founder, Ronald Wayne, and a time when the company faced bankruptcy.

    To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday


    To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

    See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

    Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    NPR Privacy Policy
    Show more Show less
    8 mins
  • In the novel ‘Black Bag,’ a classroom experiment invites questions about masculinity

    In the novel ‘Black Bag,’ a classroom experiment invites questions about masculinity
    Mar 25 2026
    The narrator in Black Bag is an unnamed and mostly unemployed actor until a professor offers him the starring role in an experiment. The narrator is asked to zip himself in a black bag and sit in the back of a lecture theater. Luke Kennard’s new novel is based on an experiment from 1967, in which a professor set out to explore “the mere-exposure effect.” In today’s episode, Kennard talks with NPR’s Scott Simon about why the protagonist takes up this non-role – and what the experiment reveals about masculinity.

    To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

    To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

    See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

    Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    NPR Privacy Policy
    Show more Show less
    8 mins
  • Fab 5 Freddy’s 'Everybody’s Fly' is a backstage pass to NYC’s new wave hip hop scene

    Fab 5 Freddy’s 'Everybody’s Fly' is a backstage pass to NYC’s new wave hip hop scene
    Mar 24 2026
    Fred Brathwaite — aka ‘Fab 5 Freddy’ — is a pioneering multimedia artist credited with bringing hip hop to the mainstream in the 1980s. His new memoir Everybody’s Fly looks back at Brathwaite’s life in New York, beginning when art forms like rap, graffiti, breakdance, and DJ remained mostly underground. In today’s episode, Brathwaite joins NPR’s Adrian Ma to discuss his inspiration behind the memoir, and how his widespread artistic collaborations throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s synthesized culture and propelled it forward.

    To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

    To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

    See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

    Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    NPR Privacy Policy
    Show more Show less
    10 mins
  • Sarvat Hasin's new novel is about a magnetic friendship between 'Strange Girls'

    Sarvat Hasin's new novel is about a magnetic friendship between 'Strange Girls'
    Mar 23 2026
    In Sarvat Hasin’s novel Strange Girls, a Pakistani woman and an American woman meet at a London-based university in the 2010s. There, they quickly become close, bonding over a shared dissatisfaction with the definition of femininity available to them. In today’s episode, Hasin joins NPR’s Juana Summers for a conversation about the intense relationship that forms between the two protagonists, the way friendships can be strained in the post-college years, and what makes this novel a kind of “period piece.”

    To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

    To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

    See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

    Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    NPR Privacy Policy
    Show more Show less
    9 mins