NPR's Book of the Day
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NPR's Book of the Day
In need of a good read? Or just want to keep up with the books everyone's talking about? NPR's Book of the Day gives you today's very best writing in a snackable, skimmable, pocket-sized podcast. Whether you're looking to engage with the big questions of our times – or temporarily escape from them –...
Recent Episodes
1308 episodes
Remembering Dolly Parton through her writing for children and adults
Over the past week, Dolly Parton has been remembered for her music, her star power, her advocacy and her philanthropic contributions. But she was also...
Chang-Rae Lee on whether his new novel 'A Tender Age' is autobiographical
Chang-Rae Lee’s new novel is filled with some of his own memories, like worrying about being picked last for dodgeball and sizing up his fellow Asian...
'New York Times' obituarist Sam Roberts says he writes about life – not death
Sam Roberts says when people find out what he does for work, they tend to shrink away. Roberts is a veteran obituarist for The New York Times. But the...
In 'Daytona Teddy Riggs,' a former high school football star enters a downward spiral
Daytona Teddy Riggs is a former high school football star from a wealthy oil and gas family. But in his 20s, he enters a downward spiral as he seeks t...
Former U.S. Mexico ambassador Ken Salazar on new memoir and "crisis" at the border
Ken Salazar's personal and political life have been defined by the U.S.-Mexico border. The fifth-generation Mexican American has served as a U.S. sena...
Journalist Jodi Kantor and happiness expert Arthur Brooks on how to find purpose
Journalist Jodi Kantor and Harvard happiness expert Arthur Brooks are both out with new books about identifying and cultivating meaning in one’s life....
In 'The Foursome,' conjoined twins marry two sisters — and that's just the beginning
In 1839, conjoined twins and famous showmen Chang and Eng Bunker — native to Thailand, then called Siam — took a break from touring, settled in North...
Andy Weir reveals his fun and frantic creative process behind 'Project Hail Mary'
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 Correspondent' is an epistolary novel, but can letters tell the whole story?
Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent became a runaway hit for its exploration of a life told through letters. When readers meet Sybil Van Antwerp she’s i...
'This is Where the Serpent Lives' is a sprawling debut novel set in modern Pakistan
Author Daniyal Mueenuddin hit the ground running with his debut novel, This is Where the Serpent Lives. Set in modern Pakistan, the story spans genera...
'Cloudthief' and 'Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep' are novels that center tech
Today’s episode features two novels with tech at the center. Climate journalist Nathaniel Rich’s Cloudthief is the story of a hacker and a journalist...
In 'Hinterlands,' Hannah Lucinda Smith warns not to overlook conflict at the fringes
Hannah Lucinda Smith is a veteran foreign correspondent. Her new book Hinterlands explores whether hidden conflicts unfolding in little-noticed border...
Authors Annie Hartnett and Kevin Wilson on writing road trip novels
By chance, authors Annie Hartnett and Kevin Wilson published road trip novels last year within just a few weeks of each other. The Road to Tender Hear...
Political strategist Ben Wikler on how Democrats can regain ground
As Democrats struggle to revive their party, democratic strategist Ben Wikler has advice to share. Wikler was chair of the Democratic Party of Wiscons...
'Etna' author Paul Yoon on narrating war through a dog's eyes
Etna is a dog living in a fictional, coastal country on a farm with his mom and siblings. Then, one day, he’s scooped up by a mysterious woman who enl...
'Torched' and 'Wildfire Days' look at California's wildfires from the front lines
This summer, wildfires have swept across Europe, Northern Africa, Canada and the U.S. – and today’s episode features firsthand accounts of deadly fire...
Robinne Lee's 'Crash Into Me' portrays middle age as complicated – and sexy
Robinne Lee’s first novel, The Idea of You, was a big hit. It tells the story of a single mother who begins a romance with a much younger man, the lea...
'Sex Diaries' author says people are becoming more empowered in their relationships
Sex Diaries is a weekly column in New York Magazine, collected and edited by Alyssa Shelasky, that has featured headlines like “The Musician Ghosting...
In 'I Made You Up Inside My Head,' the stories of three strangers become intertwined
I Made You Up Inside My Head is Marta Pérez-Carbonell’s debut novel. In the book, three strangers have a surprise encounter on an overnight train. A w...
Sen. Raphael Warnock argues that progressives should bring spirituality to politics
Before Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, became the state's junior U.S. senator, he was selected to serve as senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist...
Novels by Ben Reeves and Matt Haig look at life through the eyes of death (literally)
Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plu...
'The Friend' author Sigrid Nunez is out with a new collection of short stories
Sigrid Nunez – author of novels like The Friend and What Are You Going Through – is out with a new collection of short stories. It Will Come Back to Y...
ESPN soccer correspondent Julien Laurens on why Kylian Mbappé is “wired differently”
French footballer Kylian Mbappé was one of the World Cup's biggest stars this summer, despite France's loss to Spain in the semifinals. ESPN soccer co...
Author Tana French on the best summer reading set in Ireland
In preparation for an upcoming trip to Ireland, All Things Considered host Mary Louise Kelly has been tearing through Tana French's books. French is t...
Colson Whitehead on 'Cool Machine,' the final in his Harlem Trilogy series
Ray Carney is a furniture salesman in Harlem with a long-running side hustle. Colson Whitehead’s Harlem Trilogy follows the character as he descends i...
In 'The Great Wherever' and 'Country People,' city dwellers try out rural life
In two new novels, city folk are thrown into life in the country. The Great Wherever is a multigenerational story told through ghosts. A woman living...
Deb Haaland on 'A Voice Like Mine' and her candidacy for governor of New Mexico
Deb Haaland’s ancestors, who were Pueblo Indians, were the first inhabitants of New Mexico – and she’s had a number of firsts herself. In 2018 she was...
'The Delivery' is a horror novella about a family's mysterious AI assistant
After a couple suffers a tragedy, they receive a mysterious and exclusive offer for a humanoid AI companion that knows everything about them. At first...
Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy on why he "stays up at night" worrying about politics
Dave Portnoy, the polarizing social media personality and founder of Barstool Sports, has published a memoir. In Cancel Me If You Can, he writes about...
In Celeste Ng’s new novel 'Our Missing Hearts,' a boy searches for his missing mother
Celeste Ng – author of titles like Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere – says she begins her writing process by envisioning an ima...
'The Shampoo Effect,' 'The Revelation of Dionne Daphne' are marked by big surprises
In two new novels, characters with glamorous lives have their routines disrupted by shocking news. The Shampoo Effect is a story about an extremely cl...
Mary Beard's 'Talking Classics' examines our obsession with the ancient world
Why are we obsessed with the ancient world, even the most ordinary parts of it? Mary Beard tackles that question in her new book Talking Classics: The...
Artist and activist Ai Weiwei on political censorship in the West
In 2008, artist and activist Ai Weiwei clashed with the Chinese government over its response to the deadly Sichuan earthquake. The government had cens...
Mike Pence's 'What Conservatives Believe' critiques the second Trump administration
Former Vice President Mike Pence is out with a new book that includes critiques of the second Trump administration and the populist right. What Conser...
Jonathan Jakubowicz says he wanted to write a book Venezuelans couldn't resist
Filmmaker Jonathan Jakubowicz says he turned to fiction because he could no longer make movies in Venezuela after being exiled. In 2016, he published...
'Kin' and 'When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky' fictionalize the Jim Crow South
As we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., we’re revisiting author interviews on important books about American history. Today’s epis...
Eddie Glaude on the tension at the center of America's milestone birthdays
As we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., we’re revisiting author interviews on important books about American history. In Eddie Gla...
Revisiting the story of the American Revolution with Rick Atkinson
As we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., we’re revisiting author interviews on important books about American history. In today’s e...
'America's Founding Son' documents John Quincy Adams' influential post-presidency
As we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., we’re revisiting author interviews on important books about American history. Bob Crawford...
Norah O'Donnell’s 'We the Women' pays tribute to U.S. history's female heroes
As we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., we’re revisiting author interviews on important books that speak to American history. In t...