Episodes

  • Two books, two very different takes on Christmas stories

    Two books, two very different takes on Christmas stories
    Dec 20 2024
    Two books take dramatically different approaches to the Christmas story. First, in Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret, reluctant detective Ernest Cunningham finds himself in the middle of another murder mystery. His ex-wife's partner has been killed and every suspect is a master of the art of deception. The book is the third installment of comedian Benjamin Stevenson's Ernest Cunningham mysteries series. In today's episode, Stevenson joins NPR's Ayesha Rascoe for a discussion that touches on the essential rules of the genre, the fun of writing to the holiday theme, and the commonalities between his comedy and writing practices. We then hear from Dolly Parton about her new picture book, Dolly Parton's Billy the Kid Comes Home for Christmas. She speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about her real-life French bulldog, the inspiration for her children's literacy program, and her annual Christmas traditions.

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    17 mins
  • 'When Southern Women Cook' is a diverse portrait of the American South's food culture

    'When Southern Women Cook' is a diverse portrait of the American South's food culture
    Dec 19 2024
    A new cookbook from America's Test Kitchen pays homage to the diverse communities of women who have defined food in the American South. When Southern Women Cook includes recipes and accompanying culinary histories from women with a variety of backgrounds. Each of the book's 14 chapters opens with an essay from a historian, author or chef that goes deep on a recipe's backstory or cultural context. In today's episode, co-authors Toni Tipton-Martin and Morgan Bolling join Here & Now's Robin Young to talk about the project. They discuss the physical and cultural boundaries of the South, restoration of recipes like Aunt Jule's Pie, and permanent slaw.

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    12 mins
  • Alizah Holstein writes about the complex echelons of academia in 'My Roman History'

    Alizah Holstein writes about the complex echelons of academia in 'My Roman History'
    Dec 18 2024
    After a high school English teacher introduced Alizah Holstein to Dante's Divine Comedy, the Italian capital Rome became the first place she wanted to go. Rome's rich history was the one thing she wanted to study most. As an adult, she did spend time researching and exploring in Rome, believing that becoming a Roman historian was her destiny. But while working on her Ph.D. back in the U.S., Holstein came face to face with gender biases in academia – and she pivoted to another, wholly different path. In today's episode, Holstein speaks with NPR's Robin Young about her memoir My Roman History, the gender biases she encountered, and how Rome has continued to be a city that inspires wonder in her.

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    12 mins
  • In 'Kingdom of No Tomorrow,' a young woman joins the Black Panther Party

    In 'Kingdom of No Tomorrow,' a young woman joins the Black Panther Party
    Dec 17 2024
    In Fabienne Josaphat's latest novel, a young woman named Nettie leaves Haiti for the United States. Set in the 1960s, Kingdom of No Tomorrow follows Nettie as she joins the Black Panther Party's free health clinics in Oakland, California, and falls in love with a party defense captain. In her research for the novel, Josaphat found deep resonances between Haiti's revolutionary history and the Black Panther movement. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about her research, the Black Panthers' Free Breakfast for School Children Program, and how her book might fit into the broader understanding of the party.

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    6 mins
  • Colson Whitehead's novel 'The Nickel Boys' comes to the big screen

    Colson Whitehead's novel 'The Nickel Boys' comes to the big screen
    Dec 16 2024
    Colson Whitehead's 2019 novel The Nickel Boys follows the studious and idealistic Elwood Curtis, a Black teenager whose prized possession is a recording of speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. But when Elwood is sent to a juvenile reformatory in Florida, his worldview is challenged by the horrors he experiences there. Now, Whitehead's novel has been adapted into a film. In today's episode, we revisit a conversation between Whitehead and NPR's Scott Simon, where they discuss the real-life reform school that inspired Nickel Academy, MLK's idea of soul force, and Whitehead's strong emotional reaction to the characters in his novel.

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    7 mins
  • Two books explore phases of female life, girlhood and womanhood

    Two books explore phases of female life, girlhood and womanhood
    Dec 13 2024
    Two books of essays consider the female experience through different stages of life. First, Kate Kennedy's One in a Millennial documents coming of age as a member of a highly-scrutinized generation. Her book explores the origins of millennial stereotypes and pop culture, but also focuses on the way that shared experiences of girlhood are often dismissed as frivolous. In today's episode, Kennedy joins NPR's Juana Summers for a conversation that touches on AOL Instant Messenger, college pre-games, and self-editing our own desires. We then hear from Jenny Slate about her new book Lifeform, a compilation of experimental essays that follow her life through five phases: Single, True Love, Pregnancy, Baby, and Ongoing. Slate joined Here & Now's Emiko Tamagawa at a live event in Boston, where the two discussed the confidence it takes to write down our ideas, fear and bravery in love, and Slate's perspective on childbirth and motherhood.

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    19 mins
  • In Zahid Rafiq's debut short story collection, the future of Kashmir is uncertain

    In Zahid Rafiq's debut short story collection, the future of Kashmir is uncertain
    Dec 12 2024
    The World With Its Mouth Open is a book of short stories from journalist-turned-author Zahid Rafiq. The collection showcases the precarious but ordinary lives of people in modern day Kashmir, a site of ongoing geopolitical conflict. In Rafiq's stories, a work crew makes a disturbing discovery at a construction site, a pregnant woman searches for fresh fish, and a shopkeeper has an unexpected encounter with a mannequin. In today's episode, Rafiq tells NPR's Eric Deggans about his interest in writing stories without knowing the ending, and his characters' ability to build a future on the foundation of a difficult past.

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    8 mins
  • Remembering Nikki Giovanni, poet and icon of the Black Arts Movement

    Remembering Nikki Giovanni, poet and icon of the Black Arts Movement
    Dec 11 2024
    Renowned poet and professor Nikki Giovanni died earlier this week at age 81, following a third cancer diagnosis. She was a prolific writer and leader in the Black Arts Movement, publishing poetry collections such as Black Feeling Black Talk and Those Who Ride the Night Winds. She also taught English at Virginia Tech. In today's episode, we revisit a 2013 conversation between Giovanni and NPR's Michel Martin that followed the release of Chasing Utopia, which featured a combination of essays and poetry. Giovanni and Martin discussed the poet's relationship to her late mother, the pleasure of old age, and the trauma of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting.

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    12 mins