npr book reviews october 2022

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Here are the Books We Love: 400+ great 2022 reads recommended by NPR

NPR's Books We Love returns with 400+ new titles handpicked by NPR staff and trusted critics. Find 10 years of recommendations all in one place – that's more than 3,200 great reads.

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Here are the Books We Love: 160+ great 2022 reads recommended by NPR

• Natalie Escobar
• Maureen Pao
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NPR's top picks for 2022 fiction books

ALINA SELYUKH, HOST:

A lot of you look forward to NPR's Books We Love at the end of each year. And that's because it's a great resource for what new books to read as recommended by our staff and contributors. But why wait? We have some suggestions right now. Today, some of the best fiction of 2022 so far. We start with Code Switch producer Summer Thomad and a spellbinding fantasy novel about death.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SUMMER THOMAD, BYLINE: The book I'm recommending is "How High We Go In The Dark" by Sequoia Nagamatsu. It's about a world reeling from a climate catastrophe-driven plague. Sound familiar? From the earliest days of a pandemic to the impacts that linger centuries into the future, the plague forces humans to reckon with immeasurable grief and loss. But what I love most about this book is that despite all the doom and gloom, these stories are endlessly imaginative and rich with meaning. Though the world they're inhabiting is undeniably weak, Nagamatsu's characters maintain a sense of cosmic hope and humanity.

ROMMEL WOOD, BYLINE: My name is Rommel Wood, and I'm an associate producer in programming at NPR. I'm recommending the book "Vladimir," a novel by Julia May Jonas because when was the last time a book made you sit up from your couch and yell, what? Where is this going? This happened to me about three-quarters of the way into her debut novel. The book follows a nameless narrator, a 50-something tenured professor at a liberal arts college. She's married to a disgraced professor about to be drummed off campus due to a parade of former students coming forward with sexual misconduct allegations. But she isn't terribly concerned with his fate or the other women because she herself is infatuated with a new junior professor. In "Vladimir," Jonas carefully builds a house of matchsticks where our protagonist's desires safely live until she reaches a flash point that left me squirming and desperate to discover, how exactly is this going to end?

KAREN GRIGSBY BATES, BYLINE: I'm Karen Grigsby Bates. I'm the senior correspondent for Code Switch, NPR's podcast about race and identity. I selected "Mecca," a novel by Susan Straight. Straight writes a lot about the California we don't often see or hear about. The people she writes about are working-class refugees. They came west to escape racial violence and poverty from places like Texas, Mississippi and Oaxaca. And some come from communities who've even lived in the state for thousands of years. "Mecca" is a fine set of interwoven tales of these people. They're connected to each other by their love for the land, by their jobs, for each other, for all of those things. This Southern California is filled with desert highways and strip malls and small suburban houses where everyday people are sometimes faced with choices that are anything but. Straight's writing is both illuminous and sharp and bold. And these tales are told to richly layered family histories. Who'd love this book? People who suspect there's more to California than Kardashians, wildfires and serial killers.

NATALIE ESCOBAR, BYLINE: My name is Natalie Escobar, and I'm an associate editor on NPR's Culture Desk. I read "The Candy House" by Jennifer Egan. She is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "A Visit From The Goon Squad," and "The Candy House" is a follow up to her previous book. The basic premise is a little bit complicated. But there is this form of social media that basically allows users to upload all of their memories to something called the collective consciousness. And if they upload all their memories, they're also able to access all the memories of the users who have done the same. Each of the book's chapters is told through the eyes of different people whose lives are affected by this new technology that's so encompassing that it basically dictates a lot of how society runs. It's this sort of alternate universe type of book that really grapples with a lot of the questions of, what is technology, especially social media, doing to our lives in the way that we relate to each other as people? What would it look like to opt out of that? Is it possible? And because it's Jennifer Egan, it's a really beautifully written book. And I loved every moment of it.

SELYUKH: There you go. Glowing recommendations from NPR staff for "The Candy House," "Mecca," "Vladimir" and "How High We Go In The Dark." For more reading ideas, hop over to our Books We Love list at npr.org/bestbooks.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

20 new books hitting shelves this summer that our critics can't wait to read

June is around the corner, meaning summer is almost here! As we look forward to travel and staycations, plane rides and trips to the beach, we've asked our book critics for some advice: What upcoming fiction and nonfiction are they most looking forward to reading?

Their picks range from memoirs to sci-fi and fantasy to translations, love stories and everything in between. Here's a look:

Daughter of the Merciful Deep by Leslye Penelope

I was hooked when I first saw the gorgeous cover for Daughter of the Merciful Deep by Leslye Penelope. But the novel's premise put it at the top of my summer reading list. Penelope is known for unforgettable characters, world-building, beautiful writing and robust storytelling. Her latest work, inspired by actual events — the drowned Black towns of the American South — promises a magical, mythical and powerful tale of a young woman's quest to save her town. A historical fantasy must-read. (June 4) — Denny Bryce

The Future Was Color by Patrick Nathan

The Future Was Color by Patrick Nathan has everything I look for in a book: a unique and startling voice, a queer protagonist and a deep understanding of a particular time and place. George — once György — is a gay Hungarian immigrant working as a screenwriter in McCarthy-era Hollywood, occasionally fantasizing about his officemate, Jack. When a once-famous actress named Madeline invites George to stay and write at her spacious Malibu house, she won't take no for an answer — and so George finds himself in a hedonistic milieu where pleasure, politics and strong personalities intermingle. (June 4) — Ilana Masad

Mirrored Heavens: Between Earth & Sky, Book 3 by Rebecca Roanhorse

Rebecca Roanhorse is one of my auto-read authors — and one major reason is because of her fire Between Earth and Sky series. That trilogy comes to a stunning, fevered conclusion with Mirrored Heavens . All of the characters you love, hate and love to hate will converge on the city of Tova. Get ready for an epic battle between ancient gods, their human avatars and the mortals caught in between. (June 4) — Alex Brown

Sing Like Fish: How Sound Rules Life Under Water by Amorina Kingdon

You may know about 52 Blue , whose vocalizations likely go unheard by some other whales; it captured worldwide sympathy and became a pop-culture metaphor. But did you know all whale song is critically disrupted by ships? If that gets you wondering, keep an eye out for Sing Like Fish , which promises to illuminate the fragile symphony of the deep. (June 4) — Genevieve Valentine

Consent: A Memoir by Jill Ciment

I look forward to reading Jill Ciment's Consent and to the discussions it's sure to provoke. In this follow-up memoir to Half a Life, Ciment reconsiders what she wrote 25 years ago about her teenage affair and marriage to her art teacher, 30 years her senior. Half a Life was written before the #MeToo movement, and before her husband died at the age of 93 after 45 years of marriage. Consent promises a fuller picture. (June 11) — Heller McAlpin

Do What Godmother Says by L.S. Stratton

As we continue to experience the frenzy of Harlem Renaissance celebrations, commemorations and historical resonance, Do What Godmother Says by L.S. Stratton is the perfect addition to the litany of works set in this artistic period this year. It examines the intense and frequently degenerating relationship between patrons and artists during this intellectual and cultural movement. In this dual-timeline gothic thriller, a modern writer discovers a family heirloom painting by a Harlem Renaissance artist, which connects her family to a mysterious past. This historical novel is one I'm eager to read because it deftly exposes the layers of creative ownership, especially when race and wealth are involved. (June 11) — Keishel Williams

Horror Movie: A Novel by Paul Tremblay

Paul Tremblay is one of the most entertaining and innovative voices in contemporary fiction regardless of genre. Horror Movie , a story about a cursed movie that never came out and is about to get a remake, is a love letter to horror novels and horror movies, as well as a tense narrative that will redefine the cursed film subgenre. Tremblay is one of the modern masters of horror, and this new novel promises to be packed with the author's distinctive voice, knack for ambiguity and intrigue, and superb atmosphere. (June 11) — Gabino Iglesias

Cue The Sun! The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum

Every so often there's a nonfiction title I covet like it's the next installment in my favorite mystery series. This summer it's Cue the Sun! Based on in-depth interviews with more than 300 sources from every aspect of the production process, this book is a cultural history of the genre that ate American entertainment, from New Yorker critic Emily Nussbaum. It combines the appeal of a page-turning thriller and the heft of serious scholarship. Juicy and thoughtful, it's a must-read for anyone interested in television or popular culture. (June 25) — Carole V. Bell

The Undermining of Twyla and Frank by Megan Bannen

In this return to the delightfully wacky world established in one of my personal top-five romance novels of all time, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy , Megan Bannen takes on the friends to lovers trope with a combination of madcap joie de vivre and the exhausted practicality of a mom who's had enough. Also, there are dragons! (July 2) — Caitlyn Paxson

The Anthropologists by Ayşegül Savaş

I am eagerly awaiting Ayşegül Savaş' The Anthropologists . Born in Istanbul, Savaş has lived in England, Denmark and the U.S. also and now resides in France; in this novel she takes up themes of cultural migration through focus on a young couple seeking an apartment in a foreign city. I'm intrigued to discover how Savaş gifts her characters with an anthropological lens of exploration. (July 9) — Barbara J. King

Elevator in Saigon by Thuân, translated by Nguyen An Lý

Elevator in Saigon is a literal and structural exquisite corpse , capturing Vietnam's eventful period from 1954 to 2004. Mimicking an elevator's movement, the novel heightens our yearning for romance and mystery, while unflinchingly exposing such narrative shaft. Channeling Marguerite Duras and Patrick Modiano, the book also offers a dead-on tour of a society cunningly leaping from one ideological mode to the next. As if challenging Rick's parting words to Ilsa in Casablanca , Thuận's sophomore novel in English implies that geopolitical debacles might have been mitigated if personal relations were held in more elevated regard than "a hill of beans." (July 9) — Thúy Đinh

Goodnight Tokyo by Atsuhiro Yoshida, translated by Haydn Trowell

Atsuhiro Yoshida's Goodnight Tokyo begins with a film company procurer who's tasked with finding fresh kumquats for a production. From there, interlinked tales of Tokyo residents unspool in unpredictable directions. Characters range from a cabdriver to a star of a detective TV series who might be an actual detective. Readers will be reminded of Jim Jarmusch's 1991 movie Night on Earth , which also takes place in the wee hours of the morning and threads together the stories of strangers. (July 9) — Leland Cheuk

Navola: A novel by Paolo Bacigalupi

I love when a beloved author — especially one known mostly for a certain type of book — throws us a daring curveball. Navola is exactly such a pitch. Paolo Bacigalupi, who has won pretty much every major award in the science-fiction field with his climate-conscious dystopianism, is veering hard left with his new novel. It doesn't take place in the future, and it isn't a cautionary tale. Instead, it's a hefty tome of high fantasy set in a dreamed-up world akin to Renaissance Florence. Only with, you guessed it, dragons. But also high finance, political intrigue, and de' Medici-esque opulence. Bacigalupi is one of today's most gripping spinners of speculative fiction, and I can't wait to dive into this surprising magical foray. (July 9) — Jason Heller

The Lucky Ones: A Memoir by Zara Chowdhary

In 2002, two train carriages were set on fire in Gujarat, India. Within three weeks, more than 2,000 Muslims were murdered in response by Hindu mobs. By the end of the year, more than 50,000 Muslims became refugees in their own country. The Lucky Ones is a unique memoir in English of this largest-ever massacre in independent India . It is also about a communal crisis bringing a fractured family together. A must-read in our warring world today. (July 16) — Jenny Bhatt

Sharks Don't Sink: Adventures of a Rogue Shark Scientist by Jasmin Graham

Author Jasmin Graham is a marine biologist specializing in smalltooth sawfish and hammerhead sharks. Who are the real sharks in this story? Graham had to face the sharp-teethed truths of academia, while creating a world of curiosity and discovery around the complex lives of sharks. To combat the racism she encountered in academia, Graham created an "ocean of her own" to become an independent scientist and a champion of social justice, a journey she unspools in this new memoir. (July 16) — Martha Anne Toll

Liars by Sarah Manguso

I have long been a fan of Sarah Manguso's crystalline prose, from her fragmented illness memoir The Two Kinds of Decay to her tightly constrained 2022 novel Very Cold People . Her second novel , Liars , marries restraint with rage — in it, Manguso traces the full arc of a 15-year relationship between Jane, a successful writer, and John, a dilettante artist-cum-techie, in aphoristic vignettes. The result is a furious, propulsive meditation on wifehood, motherhood and artistic ambition. (July 23) — Kristen Martin

The Horse: A Novel by Willy Vlautin

Musician and Lean on Pete author Willy Vlautin captures the American West like few other writers. His prose is always excellent, his characters always beautifully drawn, and that promises to be the case with his next novel, about an isolated Nevada man in his 60s who is visited by a blind horse that refuses to leave. (July 30) — Michael Schaub

Einstein in Kafkaland: How Albert Fell Down the Rabbit Hole and Came Up With the Universe by Ken Krimstein

Art and science collide in Ken Krimstein's new graphic biography . In this book, the author of the brilliant and whimsical The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt similarly translates careful research into scenic, emotive comics — in this case tracking the potential effects of an adventitious meeting in Prague between two geniuses on the cusp of world-changing discoveries. (Aug. 20) — Tahneer Oksman

Survival Is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde by Alexis Pauline Gumbs

I'd probably be interested in a new biography of Audre Lorde if it focused on the eating habits of the brilliant thinker, poet, feminist and activist. But biographer Alexis Pauline Gumbs promises to more than exceed that bar. An award-winning poet, writer, feminist and activist in her own right, Gumbs is among the first researchers to delve into Lorde's manuscript archives. The resulting book highlights the late author's commitment to interrogating what it means to survive on this planet — and how Lorde's radical understanding of ecology can guide us today. (Aug. 20) — Ericka Taylor

Et Cetera: An Illustrated Guide to Latin Phrases by Maia Lee-Chin, illustrated by Marta Bertello

To those claiming Latin is dead, I say res ipsa loquitur — the thing speaks for itself — in children's cartoons , Hollywood cartoons and enduring epics . As a fan of both Mr. Peabody and the Muses, the idea of combining Maia Lee-Chin's thoughtful scholarship and Marta Bertello's dynamic artistry is captivating. Their new book reimagines the world of Latin's invention and tops my summer reading list. (Aug. 27) — Marcela Davison Avilés

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20 Best Books To Read in October

OCT. 4, 2022

by Celeste Ng

Underscores that the stories we tell about our lives and those of others can change hearts, minds, and history. Full review >

OCT. 18, 2022

by George Saunders

A tour de force collection that showcases all of Saunders’ many skills. Full review >

by Elizabeth McCracken

Novel? Memoir? Who cares. It’s a great story, beautifully told. Full review >

OCT. 25, 2022

by Cormac McCarthy

Enigmatic, elegant, extraordinary: a welcome return after a too-long absence. Full review >

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

by Jon Meacham

An essential, eminently readable volume for anyone interested in Lincoln and his era. Full review >

by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Another outstanding addition to the author’s oeuvre, which we hope will continue to grow for years to come. Full review >

OCT. 11, 2022

by Zarifa Ghafari with Hannah Lucinda Smith

A searingly honest, profoundly courageous memoir of one fearless woman’s fight for her homeland. Full review >

by Jemele Hill

A frank, fearless, and entertaining memoir. Full review >

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT

by S.K. Ali

A contemplative exploration of faith, love, and the human condition. Full review >

by Joan He ; illustrated by Tida Kietsungden

A riveting series opener. Full review >

by Mark Kurlansky ; illustrated by Eric Zelz

Impassioned, thorough, and brilliant: describes the struggle for truth that “keeps the world from descending into chaos.” Full review >

by David Treuer ; adapted by Sheila Keenan

Utterly vital in its historical prowess, essential in its portraits of lived experiences. Full review >

CHILDREN'S

by Meira Drazin

Authentic, joyful, achingly real. Full review >

by Maulik Pancholy

A timely affirmation that hate has no place in school. Full review >

by Elizabeth Partridge ; illustrated by Lauren Tamaki

A bold combination of art, media, and records create a compelling read. Full review >

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8 books that npr critics and staff were eager to tell you about in 2022.

NPR has launched its complete Books We Love list for 2022, our quirky collection of staff and contributors' favorite books of the year. Here are...

It's that time of year again: NPR brings you the complete Books We Love list for 2022, a quirky, highly personal collection of our staff and contributors' favorite books of the year.

We've curated a range of reads from the renaissance of ever-diverse graphic novels to hair-raising thrillers and mysteries .

Of the 402 books that made the list, here are eight of the books that our Books We Love readers recommended the most.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

You know that feeling when you finally beat a video game? Emotional catharsis floods your mind and body and, drained, you set down the controller with a sigh. If you're not much of a gamer, but you still crave that emotional release, Gabrielle Zevin's brilliant novel about two friends' journey to video game stardom is the perfect substitute. This story of love, loss and the constant battle between art and commercial success left me short of breath. It's one of those books you'll be thinking about long after "game over."

— Brandon Carter , associate producer, Washington Desk

Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott

For centuries, the crone Baba Yaga has been a figure in Slavic folklore – the kind of character who might lend you a magical candle or kill you and use your skull to decorate her house on chicken legs. In her debut novel, Thistlefoot , author and folklorist GennaRose Nethercott reimagines Baba Yaga as a Jewish woman living in an Eastern European shtetl in 1919, during a time of civil war and pogroms. Through the crone and her story, Nethercott explores the idea of folklore as a retelling of a memory too painful to talk about plainly.

— Mallory Yu , producer/editor, All Things Considered

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Former iCarly star Jennette McCurdy's account of her tumultuous relationship with show business, disordered eating and abuse by her mother is the heart of her debut memoir, I'm Glad My Mom Died . McCurdy's storytelling is not only fantastic but intimate and raw, full of both pain and humor. While it can be hard to read, learning about how much she was going through privately while in the public eye, I'm Glad My Mom Died is also hard to put down – and hard to forget.

— Aja Miller, associate, Member Partnership

If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery

I could say something buttoned-up, like "Jonathan Escoffery's debut collection of short stories examines race, identity and class in incisive ways." And that'd be true, but phrasing it that way betrays the lack of didacticism in his writing . Instead, the book – which follows generations of one Jamaican American family – focuses on the hunger (literal and figurative), heartbreak, horniness and (maybe?) hope that often come hand-in-hand with trying to make it in this country.

— Andrew Limbong , correspondent, Culture Desk and host, Book of the Day

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

Lucy Foley is back with her latest whodunit, this time set in an eerie Parisian apartment complex. Running from her own problems, Jess decides to visit Ben, her journalist brother. But when she gets to Paris, Ben is nowhere to be found. None of his neighbors know where he is, but they all seem to know him – maybe a little too well. As she investigates, Jess learns more about her brother, his work and those peculiar neighbors. With characters suspicious and unlikable in their own way and a fun twist, you're in for a dark and moody escape .

— Arielle Retting , growth editor, Digital News

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

I'm a sucker for Gothic novels, and I've been loving the trend of Gothics that take place somewhere unexpected (i.e., not Europe). The Hacienda is a story that takes us to, well, a hacienda – in a remote Mexican town in the 1820s, not long after the War of Independence. The protagonist, Beatriz, moves to her new husband's large estate, eager to escape the rejection, poverty and tragedy that she's suffered in Mexico City. What she finds instead is a ridiculously haunted house inhabited by some equally haunted-seeming people – including those meant to be closest to her.

— Leah Donnella , supervising editor, Code Switch

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

Sequoia Nagamatsu's debut is beautiful and unsparing in its depiction of a world reeling from a climate catastrophe-driven plague . From the earliest days of a pandemic, to the impacts that linger centuries into the future, the plague forces humans to reckon with immeasurable grief and loss. And the commercialization of death is inescapable: There's a euthanasia amusement park for terminally ill children, a hotel for the dead. But despite the doom and gloom, these stories are endlessly imaginative and rich with meaning. Though the universe these stories are unfolding within is undeniably bleak, Nagamatsu imbues his characters with a sense of cosmic hope and humanity.

— Summer Thomad , production assistant, Code Switch

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

The 1950s weren't just unkind to women with aspirations outside the home – they were punishing. Case in point: Elizabeth Zott, chemist. She doesn't have her Ph.D. because she was assaulted by a professor; she's belittled and harassed by the men she works with. She falls in love with a star scientist – and is dogged by rumors that she's using him to get ahead. His accidental death, her surprise pregnancy and new single-mother desperation lead her to success in an unlikely place: a TV cooking show. But Zott gives her audience radical lessons that go beyond the kitchen. This book is an often funny-yet-infuriating read.

— Melissa Gray , senior producer, Weekend Edition

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• News & Stories

NPR's top picks for 2022 fiction books

• Summer Thomad
• Natalie Escobar
• Rommel Wood
• Karen Grigsby Bates

[Copyright 2022 NPR]

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Books We Love

Great reads, thoughtfully curated by npr.

‹ Back to books

What is this thing?

Books We Love is NPR’s interactive reading guide. Mix and match tags such as Book Club Ideas , Biography & Memoir or Eye-Opening Reads to filter results and find the book that’s perfect for you or someone you love.

How are the books selected?

We reached out to our staffers and trusted critics and asked them to nominate their favorite books published in 2023. They responded with hundreds of titles. Then, the editors and producers at NPR Books sat down with a huge spreadsheet of responses; we resolved duplications, noted omissions, considered the overall mix and balance of books recommended and then made assignments.

Why isn’t this just a list?

Back in 2013, the NPR Books staff was suffering from an acute case of list fatigue. So we teamed up with our friends at NPR News Apps and started to think about a site that would be more Venn diagram-y than list-y – a site that could help you seek out the best biographies that were also love stories, or the best mysteries that were also set in the past. We wholeheartedly believe that human beings are capable of absorbing new information in formats that are 1) not sequentially ordered and 2) wait … dammit! and 3) never mind.

But no, really, I just want to see a list of books

We got you. To view these books as a list of titles rather than as an array of covers, you are welcome to select the “List” option in the upper right-hand corner of the site.

So what’s the deal with these tags?

At NPR Books, we’re all about discovery: helping you find your next great read – the mystery you can’t put down, the memoir you recommend to all your friends. In 2013, we hashed out a basic taxonomy that was both functional (e.g., Biography & Memoir or Kids’ Books ) and fun (e.g., It’s All Geek To Me and Let’s Talk About Sex ). Over the years, we’ve refined our filters and added new tags, like The States We’re In and No Biz Like Show Biz .

The names are cute, but what do they mean?

The States We’re In is for stories of the American experience both true and fictional. It’s All Geek To Me is for deep dives on particular topics – trees, personality tests, tiny houses, you name it. In The Dark Side , you’ll find dystopias, serial killers, true crime and people behaving badly in general. Eye-Opening Reads will give you a new perspective on the topic at hand, whether it’s the state of philanthropy or a new pair of shoes.

How do the books get tagged?

Our critics and staffers make suggestions, but to ensure we are applying tags consistently, the producers and editors at NPR Books consider and discuss every tag on every book.

That must take a very long time

Can i look under the hood.

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The 2023 Books We Love team: Rose Friedman , Andrew Limbong , Beth Novey and Meghan Collins   Sullivan

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This edition of Books We Love was published on Nov. 20, 2023.

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Previous editions of Books We Love: Annette Elizabeth Allen, Preeti Aroon, Jeremy Bowers, Tayla Burney, Nicole Cohen, Patricia Cole, Danny DeBelius, Camila Domonoske, Beth Donovan, David Eads, Juan Elosua, Jess Eng, Natalie Escobar, Rose Friedman, Alice Goldfarb, Christopher Groskopf, Geoff Hing, Clinton King, Becky Lettenberger, Megan Lim, Wes Lindamood, Petra Mayer, Amy Morgan, Koko Nakajima, Duy Nguyen, Beth Novey, Maureen Pao, Katie Park, Ashley Pointer, Christina Rees, Arielle Retting, Ellen Silva, Meghan Collins Sullivan, Ruth Talbot, Shelly Tan, Pam Webster, Glen Weldon, Thomas Wilburn, Matthew Zhang

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Oleksandr Breus, a Ukrainian and onetime French legionnaire, was killed next to his car during the Russian invasion. Oleksandr Holod, who says he witnessed it from his window, describes events as he rides his bike past the charred remains of the vehicle near Nova Basan, Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine on June 28. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Investigations

There have been 50,000 alleged war crimes in ukraine. we worked to solve one.

Investigators in Ukraine have opened more than 50,000 inquiries into alleged Russian war crimes since the war began. NPR looked into the death of one man to show the challenges investigators face.

In acceptance speech, Russian Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate condemns Ukraine war

Life in a ukrainian town: rampaging russians, power cuts, a visit by banksy.

France forward Kylian Mbappe (#10) fights for the ball with England defender Kyle Walker during the World Cup quarterfinal match between England and France at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar on December 10, 2022. Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

FIFA World Cup 2022

France beats its european rival england to advance to the world cup semifinals.

Youssef En-Nesyri of Morocco soars high to head the ball and score the team's first goal during Morocco-Portugal quarterfinal at the World Cup in Qatar on December 10, 2022. Justin Setterfield/Getty Images hide caption

Morocco marches on — eliminating Portugal in the quarterfinals of the World Cup

With TikTok trends like "copy-paste Latinas", the standard for what a Latinx woman could or should look like is squeezed into a very narrow set of ideals. Charlotte Gomez for NPR hide caption

Pop Culture

How latin identity became fodder for content.

After winning a prize in Quebec, Michael Kaloki went on to sculpt ice at other competitions, such as the Helsinki Zoo International Ice Carving Festival. Michael Kaloki hide caption

Goats and Soda

The strange but true story of how a kenyan youth became a world-class snow carver.

German police help a person into a police car near a shopping mall in the center of the city of Dresden, Germany, on Saturday. Jens Schlueter/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Hostage situation in Dresden, Germany, ends with suspect dead and hostages freed

Gloria Lucchesi cooks some local beans that she prepared using the cooking containers, on Nov. 12, in San Casciano dei Bagni, Italy. Valerio Muscella for NPR hide caption

Amid rising energy costs, Italian cooks go old-school to save gas

More NPR content after sponsor message

OHYUNG's imagine naked! is one of NPR Music's top 11 experimental music albums of 2022. Photo Illustration: Jackie Lay/NPR/Jess X. Snow/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Best Music of 2022

The 11 best experimental albums of 2022.

In 2022, the greatest difficult-to-classify sounds encompassed microtonal rock jams, tender ambient, Egyptian ghosts and an epic synth symphony.

Raina Douris' Favorite Music of 2022

Sheldon pearce's top 20 albums of 2022.

People gather around the lighthouse after the dedication ceremony of a Third Order Fresnel Lens after being relit at the Port Isabel Lighthouse Historic Site in Port Isabel, Texas on Friday. Veronica G. Cardenas for TPR hide caption

Texas' last public lighthouse shines for the first time in 117 years

At the southern tip of Texas, hundreds of people gathered around the last public lighthouse in the state on Friday. No living person in Port Isabel had seen the city's lighthouse's beacon shine before.

In this photo taken by a drone, cleanup continues in the area where the ruptured Keystone pipeline dumped oil into a creek in Washington County, Kan., on Friday. DroneBase via AP hide caption

Kansas oil spill is Keystone pipeline's biggest ever, according to federal data

A ruptured pipeline northwest of Kansas City dumped about 588,000 gallons of oil into a creek running through rural pastureland, throwing operator TC Energy's federal permit into question.

In this file photo, sportswriter Grant Wahl speaks during a panel discussion in New York in 2014. He died Friday in Qatar while covering the Argentina-Netherlands World Cup quarterfinal. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images hide caption

Longtime soccer sportswriter Grant Wahl has died covering the World Cup in Qatar

Grant Wahl was influential in the soccer world. He was able to break down the most intricate of plays and relate to hardcore and casual fans alike.

Revellers gather in Times Square for the start SantaCon in New York City on Saturday. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Strange News

Santas gather by the thousands to drink and be merry at santacon nyc.

The annual SantaCon celebration is back in New York City this Saturday.

The Dingers' Matthew Carrillo shares a high five with a teammate. Luke Paine Photography hide caption

Sandlot baseball is about having fun and building community — and everyone's a winner

The amateur sport is booming, with at least 21 new teams formed in 2022 alone.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., speaks during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee hearing to examine social media's impact on homeland security, Sept. 14, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

Sinema's break with the Democratic Party may not help her as much as she'd like

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced she will no longer be a member of the Democratic Party, raising questions about how independent politicians can really be.

Here's what Sinema's switch from Democrat to independent could mean for the Senate

Three people hold U.S. flags as they wait to be sworn in as American citizens at a naturalization ceremony on the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

Nearly a million adults became U.S. citizens this past year, a record high since 2008

Despite the setbacks caused by the pandemic, the federal government naturalized a record number of adult immigrants this year and reduced its application backlog by nearly half.

Jennifer Hadley's overall winning photo of a 3-month-old cub tumbling out of a tree. Jennifer Hadley/Comedy Wildlife 2022 hide caption

The Picture Show

We're not lion: the 2022 comedy wildlife photography awards are a good laugh.

Jennifer Hadley claimed the top prize for her photo of a 3-month-old lion cub tumbling out of a tree in the Serengeti region of Tanzania.

Rep.-Elect Maxwell Frost (D-FL) speaks at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus event on Nov. 18, 2022 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption

The first Gen Z member of Congress was denied a D.C. apartment due to bad credit

Maxwell Frost, who became the first Gen Z candidate to be elected to the U.S. House in November, says Congress has a serious problem of accessibility for people who don't come from wealth.

The "congregation" gathers on a Sunday morning in early November at the Battlefield Farm & Gardens in Knoxville, Tenn. Pastor Chris Battle, center, left the Baptist church and started the community garden and a free food delivery as a way to build community and "do church differently." Mike Belleme for NPR hide caption

As attendance dips, churches change to stay relevant for a new wave of worshippers

A longtime pastor says the question used to be: How can the church change the culture? Now, it's how to change the culture of the church. Ways range from gardening to food giveaways to fire pits.

A painting by British street artist Banksy amidst destroyed buildings in Borodianka on Saturday. The image shows a young boy tossing a man to the floor. Both are in martial arts attire. The man is widely assumed to be Russian leader Vladimir Putin, a judo enthusiast. Natalie Keyssar for NPR hide caption

Ukraine invasion — explained

Borodianka was largely reduced to rubble by the Russian invasion. It's become a symbol of the devastation inflicted by the Russian forces, and attracted a recent visit by the artist Banksy.

In this image taken from El Paso County District Court video, Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22 (center) sits during a court appearance in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Tuesday. According to newly unsealed court documents, Aldrich was also charged with felony crimes in June 2021, but the case was dismissed. El Paso District Court/AP hide caption

The Club Q suspect's bomb threat case was dismissed because victims wouldn't testify

A court has unsealed documents in a 2021 bomb threat case involving felony charges for the Club Q shooting suspect. The district attorney said a conviction would've required family testimony.

Shots - Health News

Because of wisconsin's abortion ban, one mother gave up trying for another child.

Kristen Petranek has a history of miscarriages – and she has diabetes, which makes pregnancy risky. She fears that if something goes wrong, her state's law may inhibit doctors from helping her.

Small wheels of Gouda line the shelves at 't Kaaswinkeltje cheese shop in Gouda, the Netherlands. Amanda Aronczyk/NPR hide caption

Planet Money

The case of the missing cheese racks.

Jelle Peterse's company ships cheese all over the world, but they don't always get their cheese racks back. In this episode of Planet Money, we try to fix a supply chain problem.

Matt Rogers in Matt Rogers: Have You Heard of Christmas? Scott Gries/Showtime hide caption

What's Making Us Happy: Recommendations From 'Pop Culture Happy Hour'

What's making us happy: a guide to your weekend viewing and reading.

Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: South Side , Treasure Planet , the Sight & Sound film list, Matt Rogers and more.

A woman watches an episode of the newly released Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, about Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in London on Thursday. Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

It's thumbs-down in the U.K. for Harry and Meghan's Netflix Series

Even critics in the liberal media panned Harry & Meghan, the new documentary that attacks Britain's notorious tabloids for invading the couple's privacy and coverage that traded in racist tropes.

Here's what we learned from Harry and Meghan's Netflix documentary

Supporters of ousted Peruvian President Pedro Castillo march at the Plaza San Martin in Lima, Peru on Thursday. Peru's Congress voted to remove Castillo from office Wednesday and replace him with the vice president, Dina Boluarte, shortly after Castillo tried to dissolve the legislature ahead of a scheduled vote to remove him. Fernando Vergara/AP hide caption

Latin America

From president to prisoner: the rapid descent of peru's pedro castillo.

Castillo gambled away all of his power in one breathtaking day, attempting to avoid possible corruption charges by shuttering Congress, reorganizing the judiciary and ruling by decree. No one else seemed to like that plan.

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch, at right, in London a decade ago on his way to give evidence at a British judicial inquiry. He is accompanied by his son (and now Fox Corp boss) Lachlan Murdoch, at left, and his then-wife Wendi Deng. LEON NEAL/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Untangling Disinformation

Rupert murdoch's turn to face questions in $1.6 billion lawsuit against fox news.

Rupert Murdoch will be deposed on Monday in a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, which also alleges that Fox News destroyed messages from star Sean Hannity and others.

Starbucks employees strike outside their store on Nov. 17 in Mesa, Ariz. Matt York/AP hide caption

Starbucks union organizing gave labor a jolt of energy in 2022

Starbucks workers unionized at record speed. But workers are now filing fewer unionization petitions, one year on.

American basketball star Brittney Griner gets out of a plane after landing in San Antonio on Friday. Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Brittney Griner is back home in the U.S. after a Russian prisoner swap

American basketball star Brittney Griner returned to the United States early Friday after being freed in a high-profile prisoner exchange following nearly 10 months in detention in Russia.

Why vaccine hesitancy persists in China — and what they're doing about it

The reluctance of many citizens — especially the elderly — to get vaccinated is a problem for a government facing intense pressure to roll back strict COVID policies.

Performers with the Kyiv National Ballet rehearse for a production of The Snow Queen at the National Opera in Kyiv on Sunday. Pete Kiehart for NPR hide caption

Ukraine is calling for a boycott of 'The Nutcracker,' but ballet companies aren't budging

Ukraine's culture minister said his country's allies could stop Russia from weaponizing its culture by temporarily boycotting Russian artists, including The Nutcracker composer Tchaikovsky.

It's Been a Minute

'framing agnes' questions the ways trans stories are told.

When the world never stops questioning you, do you refuse to answer... or do you play along to get what you want? These questions are at the heart of Framing Agnes , an award-winning documentary about the legacy of a young trans woman in the 1950s who was forced to choose between access and honesty.

The classical singer Julia Bullock has released Walking in the Dark , her debut solo album. Grant Legan/Nonesuch Records hide caption

Deceptive Cadence

With a bold debut album, julia bullock curates an unconventional career.

The velvet-voiced soprano with a career on the rise chooses her projects, and the music on her debut solo album, with consummate intention.

Do some people have built-in protection against a COVID infection? Laura Gao for NPR hide caption

From COVID to mpox to polio: Our 9 most-read 'viral' stories in 2022

It was a big year for viruses, which simply refused to be ignored. And unlike the previous two years, COVID had to share the spotlight.

Former Vice President Mike Pence campaigns for Sen. Chuck Grassley at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa on August 19, 2022. Clay Masters/Iowa Public Radio hide caption

As Democrats look elsewhere, Republicans are keeping Iowa first

The DNC has taken its first steps to make drastic changes to the primary calendar. But Republicans want to keep things exactly as they are and that means a lot of attention on Iowa.

Eliane Elias performs a Tiny Desk concert. Credit: Bob Boilen/NPR hide caption

Eliane Elias: Tiny Desk Concert

One of the most respected names in Latin jazz gives a commanding performance behind the Tiny Desk.

Here are the Books We Love: 400+ great 2022 reads recommended by NPR

Books We Love returns with 400+ new titles handpicked by NPR staff and trusted critics. Find 10 years of recommendations all in one place — that's more than 3,200 great reads.

A visual feast: 6 favorite coffee table and gift books of 2022

A helicopter flies above a wildfire burning in Canada this summer. Smoke from these wildfires floated hundreds of miles, blanketing much of North America in toxic air. James MacDonald/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

Wildfire smoke this year woke up places unaccustomed to its effects. Now what?

Wildfires worsened by climate change spewed smoke over much of North America this year. It's a new reality Americans haven't yet processed: how dangerous the smoke is for human health.

2023 was a tragic and bizarre year of wildfires. Will it mark a turning point?

Rigoberto Urán crosses the finish line of stage 12 of the 110th Tour de France, July 13, 2023, in Belleville-en-Beaujolais, France. Jean Catuffe/Getty Images hide caption

For Colombia's most beloved cyclist, winning isn't the point

Doctors and medical societies are suggesting patients who rely on Flovent take action now to ensure they can get the medication in 2024. Mariia Siurtukova/Getty Images hide caption

A popular asthma inhaler is leaving pharmacy shelves. Here's what you need to know

Top global TikToks of 2023: Mr. Bean of math, makeup demo, capybaras!

Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons drives to the basket between Gary Trent Jr. #33 and Jakob Poeltl #19 of the Toronto Raptors during the first half at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday in Detroit. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images hide caption

Detroit Pistons end a historic losing streak with a win against the Toronto Raptors

Paula Abdul and producer Nigel Lythgoe are pictured in Los Angeles at a Television Academy event in 2014. Vince Bucci/Vince Bucci/Invision/AP hide caption

Paula Abdul accuses 'American Idol' producer of sexual assault

Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Friday. Fatima Shbair/AP hide caption

Middle East crisis — explained

Airstrikes hit refugee camps in gaza as u.s. approves new weapons sales to israel.

English actor Tom Wilkinson poses for photographers on the red carpet ahead of the Royal and World Premiere of the film The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in London on Feb. 17, 2015. Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Actor Tom Wilkinson, known for 'The Full Monty' and 'Michael Clayton,' dies at 75

Wilkinson died suddenly at home on Saturday, his family confirmed. His wife and family were with him, they said in a statement.

Maurice Hines, seen in 2005, appeared alongside his younger brother Gregory Hines during the first part of his career. Frank Franklin II/AP hide caption

Broadway actor, dancer and choreographer Maurice Hines dies at 80

Maurice Hines, who started tap dancing at the age of five, starred alongside his late brother Gregory Hines in the 1984 Francis Ford Coppola movie The Cotton Club .

Dan Novack, an attorney for the publisher Penguin Random House, speaks with reporters after an injunction hearing against an Iowa law that bans schools from having books in their libraries that include descriptions of sexual acts. Grant Gerlock/Iowa Public Radio hide caption

Federal judge blocks enforcement of Iowa book ban law

A federal judge has blocked the state from enforcing major portions of an education law which has caused school districts to pull hundreds of books from library shelves.

Cruise rolled out hundreds of its robotaxis in San Francisco this year. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

Driverless car startup Cruise's no good, terrible year

After rapidly expanding its self-driving car program, things took a disastrous turn for Cruise when one of its robotaxis struck a pedestrian.

The $7,500 tax credit for electric cars will see big changes in 2024. What to know

Michael Cohen arrives at New York Supreme Court for former President Donald Trump's civil business fraud trial on Oct. 25, 2023 in New York. Cohen says he unwittingly passed along to his attorney bogus artificial intelligence-generated legal case citations he got online before they were submitted to a New York judge. Yuki Iwamura/AP hide caption

Michael Cohen says he unwittingly sent AI-generated fake legal cases to his attorney

Donald Trump's onetime personal lawyer and fixer says he passed along to his attorney bogus artificial intelligence-generated legal case citations he got online before they were submitted to a judge.

A robot was scheduled to argue in court, then came the jail threats

A woman digs through rubble of a home destroyed by a wildfire on Aug. 11, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Rick Bowmer/AP hide caption

Maui wildfires ruined personal treasures. A local jeweler is repairing items for free

The August wildfires on the Hawaiian island erased troves of irreplaceable items — photographs, urns and mementos. One local jewelry store has been trying to help recover what the fires destroyed.

Eden Austin waits on customers at the Same Day Cafe in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood on Aug. 18. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

Minimum-wage workers in 22 states will be getting raises on Jan. 1

While that's great news for the almost 10 million workers affected, 20 other states still pay minimum-wage workers the federal rate of $7.25 an hour.

Taylor Swift (left) and Brittany Mahomes react during the first half of a game between the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs in Foxborough, Mass., on Dec. 17. Michael Dwyer/AP hide caption

Call it 'Swiftonomics': How Taylor Swift brought a gold rush to Kansas City

Swift's Eras Tour this summer gave a big boost to the local economy. Then the mega-popular performer kept coming back to Kansas City because of her relationship with the Chiefs' Travis Kelce. Local business owners and tourism officials say they're reaping the benefits.

Book Reviews

11 books to look forward to in 2024.

The first few months of the year are stacked with exciting and interesting reads. Get ready for big swings from old pros and exciting new debuts.

Here are the Books We Love: 380+ great 2023 reads recommended by NPR

Clockwise from left: Sinéad O'Connor, Tina Turner, Matthew Perry, Wayne Shorter, Paul Reubens and Harry Belafonte Getty Images; Brian Rasic/Getty Images; Getty Images; Christophe Simon/AFP via Getty Images; Danny Moloshok/AP; AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Remembering the actors, musicians, writers and artists we lost in 2023

Giants of the arts world left us this year: We look back on the legacies of Harry Belafonte, Tina Turner, Sinéad O'Connor, Paul Reubens (aka Pee-wee Herman), Richard Roundtree, Norman Lear and more.

Book News & Features

Public libraries reveal their most borrowed books of 2023.

Not all libraries track checkouts, and there isn't one definitive national list. But this year lots of people checked out Lessons in Chemistry, Prince Harry's memoir Spare, and Colleen Hoover's books.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., during a voting on a motion to adjourn after the 14th vote for speaker in the House chamber as the House meets for the fourth day to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress on Jan. 6. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption

2023: What a year in politics

From former President Donald Trump's historic mug shot to the House speaker drama, here are moments that captured the unprecedented political drama and other powerful moments that unfolded in 2023.

NPR Politics Podcast: The 2023 can't-let-it-go year-end spectacular

Herlin Riley performing at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 30, 2011. Ebet Roberts/Redferns/Getty Images hide caption

Herlin Riley: master of drums in the cradle of jazz

With a long career playing among jazz and R&B greats, he remains one of the most in-demand drummers in New Orleans.

Internally displaced Palestinian children use a makeshift wheeled cart to haul water in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, as battles continue between Israel and the militant group Hamas. Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

There's a water crisis in Gaza that the end of fighting might not solve

Before the war, Palestinians in the territory relied heavily on power-hungry desalination plants. But with Israel's intense bombardment, the fate of those plants — and Gaza's water future — is hazy.

Why Egypt doesn't want Palestinians in Gaza to cross the border

Dnipro: A man walks past a damaged building after Russian airstrikes which killed 6 and injured around 28 people. Ozge Elif Kizil//Anadolu/Getty Images hide caption

See the aftermath of Russia's aerial assault on several cities in Ukraine

Several large Ukrainian cities were attacked, including the capital, Kyiv, as well as Dnipro, Lviv, Odesa and Kharkiv.

Russia launches what Ukraine is calling the biggest aerial barrage of the war

Google agreed Dec. 28, to settle a $5 billion privacy lawsuit claiming that it continued spying on people who used the "incognito" mode in its Chrome browser — along with similar "private browsing" modes in other browsers — to track their internet use. Matt Slocum/AP hide caption

Google settles $5 billion privacy lawsuit over tracking people using 'incognito mode'

The class-action lawsuit said Google misled users into believing that it wouldn't track their internet activities while using 'incognito mode.' Terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.

Elizabeth Weller speaks at a press conference in Austin, Texas on July 19. She's one of 20 women suing the state after being denied abortions despite serious pregnancy complications. Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

'Jane Roe' is anonymous no more. The very public fight against abortion bans in 2023

As the first full year since Roe v. Wade was overturned closes, the abortion landscape in the U.S. has changed legally, politically and medically.

A next big ballot fight over abortion could come to Arizona

Immigrants wait to be processed after they crossed the border into the U.S. in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Dec. 22. Eleven states and D.C. offer taxpayer-funded health insurance to some immigrants without legal status. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

More states extend health coverage to immigrants even as the issue inflames the GOP

More than 1 million immigrants, most lacking permanent legal status, are covered by state health programs. Several states, including GOP-led Utah, will soon add or expand such coverage.

An unprecedented year in immigration, and in anti-immigration rhetoric

College students home for break it's a good time to talk about their mental health.

Mental distress is on the rise among 18- to 25-year-olds. Experts say parents can ask open-ended questions while college students are home between semesters to get a sense if they need extra support.

A Boeing 737 MAX jet lands following a Federal Aviation Administration test flight at Boeing Field in Seattle, Wash., in June 2020. Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Boeing urges airlines to check its 737 Max jets for loose bolts

The FAA says it's closely monitoring the Boeing-requested checks after an unnamed international airline discovered a bolt with a missing nut on a 737 Max while performing routine maintenance.

In this file photo, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks during a town hall on Dec. 18 in Nevada, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall/AP hide caption

Nikki Haley didn't say slavery caused the Civil War. Now she's facing major backlash

At a campaign event in New Hampshire Wednesday, the former S.C. governor didn't mention slavery as a cause of the Civil War, sparking controversy. Now she's walking back those comments.

Marlene Kaiser winds up at the end of her lane during the Colorado Blind Bowling Association's weekly takeover of Federal Boulevard's Crown Lanes on Dec. 9. Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite hide caption

Colorado Blind Bowling Association has been rolling for 50 years

Marlene Kaiser and Veronica Rodriguez have bowled together pretty much every weekend since the 1970s. They had no idea they were starting something that would last for decades.

The Pop-Tarts mascot is lowered into a toaster following the 2023 Pop-Tarts Bowl between the Kansas State Wildcats and the NC State Wolfpack at Camping World Stadium on Thursday in Orlando, Fla. Julio Aguilar/Getty Images hide caption

First edible mascot in sports history stars in the Pop-Tarts Bowl

Kansas State beat NC State, 28-19, after which the winning team devoured the giant pastry that emerged from an even more giant toaster in what was a clever marketing move.

Bishop William J. Barber II speaks during the Clinton Global Initiative September 2023 meeting at New York Hilton Midtown on Sept. 19, 2023. Noam Galai/Getty Images for Clinton Global hide caption

AMC Theatres apologizes for kicking out a civil rights leader for using his own chair

Bishop William J. Barber II, who suffers from a chronic and painful form of arthritis, was escorted out of an AMC movie theater after he tried to use his own chair in the accessible section.

The cast of Melrose Place in 1998. Worldvision/Getty Images hide caption

A guide to your weekend reading, viewing and listening

Each week, Pop Culture Happy Hour guests and hosts share what's bringing them joy. This week: 5-Second Films, an eye-opening Melrose Place article, the song "Ça plane pour moi" and rewatching 30 Rock .

James Beard award-winning chef Alexis Nikole Nelson harvests wild food while building a community of plants and people. Alexis Nikole Nelson hide caption

Foragers build a community of plants and people while connecting with the past

James Beard award-winning chef Alexis Nikole Nelson harvests wild food while building a community of plants and people.

A woman casts her vote at a polling station during regional elections in Hyderabad, India, on Nov. 30. In 2024, India will be among a large number of countries holding important national elections. Noah Seelam/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

2024 elections are ripe targets for foes of democracy

Billions of people around the world are expected to head to the polls in 2024. But experts warn that these elections are ripe targets for bad actors seeking to disrupt democracy.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in the White House Oval Office of in January 2021 in Washington, D.C., as Vice President Kamala Harris looks on. Doug Mills/Getty Images hide caption

Biden's West Wing has a moon rock, a rugby ball and homemade cookies

The White House's latest tenant invited over Architectural Digest magazine for a rare and personal look at his version of the Oval Office.

7 tiny hacks that can improve your to-do list

Is your to-do list helping you reach your goals? Or is it holding you back? Productivity experts explain how to level up your list so it prioritizes what matters.

Clockwise from left: Brad Mehldau, Maryam Keshavarz, Samantha Irby, Lauren Fleshman, Ke Huy Quan and Christian Cooper. Giorgio Perottino/Getty Images for OGR; Fred Hayes/Getty Images for SAGindie; Lori Morgan Gottschling/Random House; Ryan Warner/Oiselle; A24; Matt Licari/Invision/AP hide caption

'Fresh Air' staffers pick the 2023 interviews you shouldn't miss

Interviews with actor Ke Huy Quan, pianist Jason Moran, humorist Samantha Irby, and media critic Brian Stelter are among the conversations that stuck with the staff of Fresh Air this year.

In Memoriam 2023: The musicians we lost

When artists die, it can feel impossible to imagine a world without their musical guidance. Yet it's also a moment to celebrate — not just their impact on culture but also inside ourselves.

In Memoriam 2023: The Musicians We Lost

A person passes a pile of discarded Christmas trees along a sidewalk in New York City on Jan. 14, 2014. Spencer Platt/Getty Images file photo hide caption

Environment

How to give your christmas tree new life or kick it to the curb.

Christmas has come and gone but your tree is probably still up. Here are some tips to dispose of your tree or give it new life.

Madeline and one of the many non-magical creatures she encountered at farm camp in 2023. Courtesy Madeline's mom, Leilani hide caption

A year after receiving LA's first 'unicorn license', she has raised thousands for animal wellfare

The story of Madeline's letter to L.A. County Animal Care and Control traveled around the world and raised more than $10,000. But she's searching for the mystical equine creatures.

Watch the Sam Smith Tiny Desk concert here . Michael Zamora/NPR hide caption

Want to know what it's like to photograph a Tiny Desk concert?

NPR photographers share their insights behind their favorite Tiny Desk concert photos of 2023.

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12 books to read from 2022

Which books of 2022 will you remember and recommend?

Thursday on the PBS NewsHour, Maureen Corrigan, book critic for NPR’s Fresh Air, and New York Times books editor Gilbert Cruz join Jeffrey Brown to share some of their favorite books of the year. Here, they describe a few of their suggestions.

“Trust” by Hernan Diaz

This is a novel that tells the rise of a financier in New York City in the early 20th century, but it tells it from four different perspectives. … This is one of my favorite books of the year.

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“The Candy House” by Jennifer Egan

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“Foster” by Clare Keegan

This is a novella… telling the story of a young girl who’s shipped off to relatives she doesn’t know to live for a summer on a farm. … Keegan raises the question of whether this is a kindness or not to introduce a child who has been deprived to a different way of living and different relationships when she’s going to be shipped back to her parents at the end of the summer.

– Maureen Corrigan

“If I Survive You” by Jonathan Escoffery

It’s about a Jamaican American family. The parents come to Florida to … try to give their two young sons another kind of life. They keep getting knocked down. The 2008 recession. Hurricane Andrew. Racism. Escoffery is a terrific writer … and the “You” his characters are trying to survive is America.

“Stay True” by Hua Hsu

It’s a memoir of growing up as a child of Taiwanese immigrants in California. But it’s also the memoir of going to Berkeley in the mid-1990s. … [The author] becomes friends with the son of Japanese American immigrants, a boy named Ken, who he first thinks is sort of this very simple frat boy, but then grows to learn is much more complicated. … It’s a book about grief. It’s a book about youth and nostalgia.

“An Immense World” by Ed Yong

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“Also a Poet” by Ada Calhoun

Ada Calhoun is writing about her father, Peter Schjeldahl, who was an art critic for The New York Times. … She comes upon these cassette tapes that her father made when he was trying to write a biography of the New York poet Frank O’Hara. And she decides she’s going to use these tapes to try to complete what he never completed. … “Also A Poet” is literary criticism. It’s biography of both her father and Frank O’Hara. And it’s also a daughter’s memoir and a love letter to New York City. So it’s fabulous.

“The Facemaker” by Lindsey Fitzharris

It’s about the pioneering plastic surgery work of Harold Gillies, a doctor during World War I, who’s faced with this catastrophe of all of these men who’ve had their faces shattered by the new technology of warfare during World War I. There are no textbooks, there are no guides. He’s trying to put these men’s faces back together again and to give them their lives.

“Lucy by the Sea” by Elizabeth Strout

A novel starring a character that she’s written about several times before, Lucy Barton. And in this novel, Lucy experiences the pandemic. She is an older woman who has to leave New York to go up to Maine to join her husband in a cabin so they can sort of get away from what they imagine is a very dangerous place to be. … I found it extremely readable.

WATCH: How fiction draws Pulitzer-winner Elizabeth Strout home to Maine

“The Year of the Puppy” by Alexandra Horowitz

Alexandra Horowitz is the head of the canine cognition lab at Barnard, and she’s written a lot of nonfiction about the way dogs think. … She and her family adopted a puppy during the pandemic. And so it’s partly that personal story … but also this attempt, yes, to get into the mind of a creature who we love but who is not us.

And two more personal favorites…

Corrigan suggested “Vladimir” by Julia May Jonas and Cruz suggested “Olga Dies Dreaming” by Xochitl Gonzalez .

In his more than 30-year career with the News Hour, Brown has served as co-anchor, studio moderator, and field reporter on a wide range of national and international issues, with work taking him around the country and to many parts of the globe. As arts correspondent he has profiled many of the world's leading writers, musicians, actors and other artists. Among his signature works at the News Hour: a multi-year series, “Culture at Risk,” about threatened cultural heritage in the United States and abroad; the creation of the NewsHour’s online “Art Beat”; and hosting the monthly book club, “Now Read This,” a collaboration with The New York Times.

Anne Azzi Davenport is the Senior Producer of CANVAS at PBS News Hour.

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Demon Copperhead: A Novel Hardcover – October 18, 2022

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION

New York Times Readers’ Pick: Top 100 Books of the 21 st Century • An Oprah’s Book Club Selection • An Instant  New York Times  Bestseller • An Instant Wall Street Journal Bestseller • A #1  Washington Post  Bestseller • A New York Times "Ten Best Books of the Year"

"Demon is a voice for the ages—akin to Huck Finn or Holden Caulfield—only even more resilient.” —Beth Macy, author of  Dopesick

"May be the best novel of [the year]. . . . Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, this is the story of an irrepressible boy nobody wants, but readers will love.” — Ron Charles,  Washington Post

From the acclaimed author of The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees,  a brilliant novel that enthralls, compels, and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero’s unforgettable journey to maturity

Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.

Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote  David Copperfield  from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story.  Demon Copperhead  speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.

• Print length 560 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Harper
• Publication date October 18, 2022
• Dimensions 6 x 1.48 x 9 inches
• ISBN-10 0063251922
• ISBN-13 978-0063251922
• See all details

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From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com review.

"Demon is a voice for the ages—akin to Huck Finn or Holden Caulfield—only even more resilient. I’m crazy about this book, which parses the epidemic in a beautiful and intimate new way. I think it’s her best.” — Beth Macy, author of Dopesick

“Brilliant. . . . A page turner and Kingsolver’s best novel by far. . . . Kingsolver has some of Mark Twain in her, along with 21st-century gifts of her own. More than ever, she is our literary mirror and window. May this novel be widely read and championed.” — Minneapolis Star-Tribune

" May be the best novel of 2022... Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, this is the story of an irrepressible boy nobody wants, but readers will love….You may be reminded of another orphaned boy slipping through the country’s underbrush, just trying to stay out of trouble: Huck Finn. With Demon, Kingsolver has created an outcast equally reminiscent of Twain’s masterpiece, speaking in the natural poetry of the American vernacular….Kingsolver's best demonstration yet of a novel’s ability to simultaneously entertain and move and plead for reform." — Ron Charles, Washington Post

“If you’re familiar with the Charles Dickens classic, you’ll follow the story’s beats and chuckle….What keeps you turning the pages is the knowledge that Demon has a future. The novel ends on a note of hope...not every fate is decided by the circumstances of one’s birth.”   — Associated Press

" There’s really nothing like being immersed in a Kingsolver novel. . . . Damon [is Kingsolver’s] bravest, most ambitious creation yet." — Los Angeles Times

“Kingsolver’s capacious, ingenious, wrenching, and funny survivor’s tale is a virtuoso present-day variation on Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield. . . . Kingsolver’s tour de force is a serpentine, hard-striking tale of profound dimension and resonance.” — Booklist (Starred Review)

“An epic…brimming with vitality and outrage….the rare 560-page book you wish would never end.” — People "Book of the Week"

“With its bold reversals of fate and flamboyant cast, this is storytelling on a grand scale. . . . As Demon discovers, owning his story—every part of it—and finding a way to tell it is how he’ll wrest some control over his life. And what a story it is: acute, impassioned, heartbreakingly evocative, told by a narrator who’s a product of multiple failed systems, yes, but also of a deep rural landscape with its own sustaining traditions.”   — The Guardian

“Extraordinary. . . . Much like Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain or Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield , Kingsolver’s epic is narrated by a self-professed screwup with a heart of gold . . . chock-full of cinematic twists and turns. It’s a book that demands we start paying attention to—and embracing—a long-ignored community and its people." — San Francisco Chronicle

" Kingsolver's new novel is her best in years . . . . The character of Damon is right up there with the best classic orphans of literatre. Believe me: you will root for this lost boy." — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“In Demon Copperhead …Kingsolver channels the voice of a disenfranchised boy lost in the failures of our social system. It's a testament to her storytelling mastery that this novel also illustrates how deeply intertwined our attitudes about nature are with our collective destiny. As always, her purpose is to make us think about the ways we all must look out for each other.” — Arizona Republic

“Absorbing….Readers see the yearning for love and wells of compassion hidden beneath Demon’s self-protective exterior…. Emotionally engaging is Demon’s fierce attachment to his home ground, a place where he is known and supported, tested to the breaking point as the opiate epidemic engulfs it…. An angry, powerful book seething with love and outrage for a community too often stereotyped or ignored.” — Kirkus Review (Starred Review)

“A deeply evocative story…Kingsolver’s account of the opioid epidemic and its impact on the social fabric of Appalachia is drawn to heartbreaking effect. This is a powerful story, both brilliant in its many social messages regarding foster care, child hunger, and rural struggles, and breathless in its delivery.” — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Kingsolver brings a notably different energy from her previous work to  Demon Copperhead …through a tremendous narrative voice, one so sharp and fresh as to overwhelm the reader’s senses….Demon’s spirit comes through, and it is haunting. It’s the reason the pages keep turning….Kingsolver has made this story her own, and what a joy it is to slip into this world and inhabit it, even with all its challenges.” — BookPage

“ Demon Copperhead is a propulsive reading experience, energetic and funny while still conveying Kingsolver’s fury at the institutions that have let her community down.” — Slate

“You’ll be enthralled by [Demon’s] voice, simultaneously hilarious and wise, as he illuminates life in rural America…..this is the ideal late-fall read to sink your teeth into.” — Real Simple

“A dazzling novel….a lyrical re-dreaming of Dickens’s David Copperfield . The social injustices of Victorian England have been transplanted, with spellbinding success, to modern-day Appalachia…populated by America’s rural white underclass and now ravaged by the opioid crisis…Kingsolver maintains an astonishing level of energy and intensity…. This novel is surely a highpoint of Kingsolver’s long career and a strong early candidate for next year's Booker Prize. ” — Times Literary Supplement

“A riveting, epic tale…[Kingsolver’s] exquisite writing takes a wrenching story and makes it worthwhile… Kingsolver has given us a superb novel.” — Christian Science Monitor

"A heartrending, probing and ultimately hopeful tale about a young boy’s journey from devastation to survival…. It’s hard to ascertain which is more brilliant, Kingsolver’s skill in modernizing Dickens’ narrative or the voice she gives to the privations and adversities facing the land and people she so dearly loves.”   — Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"This is storytelling at its best. The voice rings true and so do the incidents." — Stephen King

About the Author

Barbara Kingsolver was born in 1955 and grew up in rural Kentucky. She earned degrees in biology from DePauw University and the University of Arizona, and has worked as a freelance writer and author since 1985. At various times she has lived in England, France, and the Canary Islands, and has worked in Europe, Africa, Asia, Mexico, and South America. She spent two decades in Tucson, Arizona, before moving to southwestern Virginia where she currently resides.

Her books, in order of publication, are:  The Bean Trees  (1988),  Homeland  (1989),  Holding the Line: Women in the Great Arizona Mine Strike  (1989),  Animal Dreams  (1990),  Another America  (1992),  Pigs in Heaven  (1993),  High Tide in Tucson  (1995),  The Poisonwood Bible  (1998),  Prodigal Summer  (2000),  Small Wonder  (2002),  Last Stand: America’s Virgin Lands,  with photographer Annie Griffiths (2002),  Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life  (2007),  The Lacuna  (2009),  Flight Behavior  (2012),  Unsheltered  (2018),  How To Fly (In 10,000 Easy Lessons)  (2020),  Demon Copperhead  (2022), and coauthored with Lily Kingsolver,  Coyote's Wild Home  (2023). She served as editor for Best American Short Stories 2001. 

Kingsolver was named one the most important writers of the 20th Century by Writers Digest, and in 2023 won a Pulitzer Prize for her novel  Demon Copperhead . In 2000 she received the National Humanities Medal, our country’s highest honor for service through the arts. Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages and have been adopted into the core curriculum in high schools and colleges throughout the nation. Critical acclaim for her work includes multiple awards from the American Booksellers Association and the American Library Association, a James Beard award, two-time Oprah Book Club selection, and the national book award of South Africa, among others. She was awarded Britain's prestigious Women's Prize for Fiction (formerly the Orange Prize) for both  Demon Copperhead  and  The Lacuna , making Kingsolver the first author in the history of the prize to win it twice. In 2011, Kingsolver was awarded the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for the body of her work. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

She has two daughters, Camille (born in 1987) and Lily (1996). She and her husband, Steven Hopp, live on a farm in southern Appalachia where they raise an extensive vegetable garden and Icelandic sheep. 

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper; First Edition (October 18, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 560 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0063251922
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063251922
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.9 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.48 x 9 inches
• #7 in Small Town & Rural Fiction (Books)
• #22 in Coming of Age Fiction (Books)
• #61 in Literary Fiction (Books)

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What you should know about Demon Copperhead

One Minute Reviews

Demon Copperhead Tackles Opioid Crisis in Appalachia

My honest thoughts about this book

Dark, witty, funny, sad, so good!

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My Top 3 of 2024 so far!

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REVIEW Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

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Demon Copperhead REVIEW

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Customer Review: Excellent storytelling

Ellen Johnson

Such a great, raw read

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About the author

Barbara kingsolver.

Her books, in order of publication, are: The Bean Trees (1988), Homeland (1989), Holding the Line: Women in the Great Arizona Mine Strike (1989), Animal Dreams (1990), Another America (1992), Pigs in Heaven (1993), High Tide in Tucson (1995), The Poisonwood Bible (1998), Prodigal Summer (2000), Small Wonder (2002), Last Stand: America's Virgin Lands, with photographer Annie Griffiths (2002), Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (2007), The Lacuna (2009), Flight Behavior (2012), Unsheltered (2018), How To Fly (In 10,000 Easy Lessons) (2020), Demon Copperhead (2022), and coauthored with Lily Kingsolver, Coyote's Wild Home (2023). She served as editor for Best American Short Stories 2001.

Kingsolver was named one the most important writers of the 20th Century by Writers Digest, and in 2023 won a Pulitzer Prize for her novel Demon Copperhead. In 2000 she received the National Humanities Medal, our country's highest honor for service through the arts. Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages and have been adopted into the core curriculum in high schools and colleges throughout the nation. Critical acclaim for her work includes multiple awards from the American Booksellers Association and the American Library Association, a James Beard award, two-time Oprah Book Club selection, and the national book award of South Africa, among others. She was awarded Britain's prestigious Women's Prize for Fiction (formerly the Orange Prize) for both Demon Copperhead and The Lacuna, making Kingsolver the first author in the history of the prize to win it twice. In 2011, Kingsolver was awarded the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for the body of her work. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

She has two daughters, Camille (born in 1987) and Lily (1996). She and her husband, Steven Hopp, live on a farm in southern Appalachia where they raise an extensive vegetable garden and Icelandic sheep.

Customer reviews

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• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 74% 18% 5% 2% 1% 1%

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To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers find the book amazing, compelling, and well-written. They praise the writing quality as excellent, articulate, and breezily readable. Readers appreciate the depth of the characters, saying they're rough-edged and artistic. They find the story insightful and powerful. Reader also describe the story as believable, relatable, and intriguing. They describe the book as engaging and entertaining.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the book unbelievable, a delight to read, and well-written. They say the story feels familiar but provides a retrospective spin on the struggles. Readers also mention the writing, characters, and storyline are flawless and compelling.

"...Demon’s voice is engaging and his struggles are real , particularly when it comes to the challenges of the foster care system and the brutality of..." Read more

"...and human attachment, and her ability to capture these, is beyond fabulous , Her grasp of the sweep of history behind her characters, and within her..." Read more

"...The writing was superb, and the story captivated me from start to finish ...." Read more

"...If you're looking for a well-written story with a strong sense of place and relatable characters, then Demon Copperhead is definitely worth..." Read more

Customers find the writing quality excellent, articulate, and eloquent. They say the book is breezily readable and keeps them interested. Readers also mention the language is careful but vernacular. In addition, they say the novel is long and has strong messages.

"...about Demon Copperhead but one of the main things is that it’s so breezily readable . For a 546-page epic, it goes down fast...." Read more

"...And Kingsolver is way, way up there. This is some of the finest writing I've ever read...." Read more

"...the descriptions of nature are wonderful and meticulously detailed, especially as seen through the..." Read more

"...This book is like that one: beautifully written , and it just sticks to you." Read more

Customers find the book insightful, positive, and thought-provoking. They say it provides an extensive exploration of what it means to live on. Readers also mention the book is inspiring, meaningful, and engaging.

"...She channels Dickens' anger, compassion , and faith in storytelling's transformative power to give voice to a new generation of lost boys and those..." Read more

"...It's a fresh take on a beloved story. Powerful Exploration of Social Issues : Kingsolver tackles relevant issues like poverty, addiction,..." Read more

"...I laughed and had my mind opened. A deeply real and life-affirming journey . My first Kingsolver but not my last!" Read more

"...off the page with both confidence and world-weariness, with stoicism and self-knowledge , with everything the character is going to exhibit in the..." Read more

Customers find the characters relatable, well-written, and three-dimensional. They also appreciate the strong sense of place.

"...There are plenty of characters to keep track of , but Kingsolver gives them juicy nicknames (again, a la Dickens) or colorful descriptions so they..." Read more

"...The titular character's surroundings are beautifully done , as Kingsolver's descriptions always are, and the reader is immediately immersed in his..." Read more

"...for a well-written story with a strong sense of place and relatable characters , then Demon Copperhead is definitely worth considering...." Read more

"...And I loved how Barbara gave this resilient, rough-edged character an artistic , soft side without making him a stereotypical beta male or heaven..." Read more

Customers find the story believable and relatable. They appreciate the vivid descriptions and rich storytelling. Readers also find the realism intriguing. They mention the book is honest and a first-person narrative.

"...I think Kingsolver did a great job of telling the stories of damaged kids. I loved this book...." Read more

"...I laughed and had my mind opened. A deeply real and life-affirming journey. My first Kingsolver but not my last!" Read more

"...This is not my first Barbara Kingsolver. She is authentic and articulate. Definitely would recommend the author and the book." Read more

"... It was real . It was raw. It gave me a range of emotions...." Read more

Customers find the book engaging, entertaining, and interesting. They say it's a learning adventure and they enjoy every moment of reading it. Readers also mention it leaves them speechless yet completely content.

"...especially Demon Copperhead himself, are well-developed and memorable . You'll find yourself invested in their struggles and triumphs...." Read more

"...It is an enjoyable and riveting read." Read more

"The best word I can think of to describe this story is compelling! Not fun - not all sad...." Read more

"Awesome story and interesting , damaged characters. I feel in love with all the people. June was amazing. I would love a part two.😍😍..." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the heartbreaking story. Some mention it's beyond heartbreaking, emotional, and evocative. Others say it'll be depressing and hopeless.

"...take on Charles Dickens' David Copperfield, is a powerful and evocative novel ...." Read more

"...and this place that’s been damaged, and it seemed like a really hopelessly sad story ...." Read more

"DEMON COPPERHEAD delighted, engaged, educated, depressed and hooked me beyond all my expectations...." Read more

"...complex issues, and profound themes . Dickens may have been your parents/ grandparents’ required reading but Kingsolver needs to be read today!" Read more

Customers find the plot oddly relatable, marvelous, and exceptional. They say it's an important point in American literature. However, some readers feel the book is too long and the ending drags on. They also mention the story falls flat and there aren't many unexpected plot twists.

"...This is a revolutionary piece of literature that I would imagine helps those not close to the opioid abuse epidemic, have a bit more empathy for..." Read more

"...while certainly important and timely, is often depressing and repetitive . Most members read only part of the book...." Read more

"...view into society on the Appalachian mountains and the challenges of an orphan is eye opening ." Read more

"... It's overwhelming . And fascinating. For the first 300 pages, this was the car crash you rubberneck...." Read more

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September 8, 2024 • Ana is so excited that her abuela is coming to live with her — until it means saying goodbye to her babysitter. No More Señora Mimí is an ode to caregivers from Meg Medina and Brittany Cicchese.

PICTURE THIS: No More Señora Mimí

Ian Frazier's Paradise BRonx Farrar, Straus and Giroux hide caption

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

The history of the bronx with writer ian frazier.

September 6, 2024 • Ian Frazier, is a writer who, for lack of a better term, does the thing. If there is a place that fascinates him he goes to that place, immerses himself in it, and writes about it. And that's exactly what he did for his new book about the Bronx called Paradise Bronx . He joins us to talk about the history of the New York borough and even tells us how he mapped out the radius in which residents can smell cookies from a local bakery. Plus, he shares what items he brings with him when he goes out to explore a city.

Listen to this Episode

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is sworn-in during her Supreme Court confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 21, 2022. Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson shares the poem she's kept in every one of her offices

September 4, 2024 • The first Black woman appointed to the Supreme Court says Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "The Ladder of Saint Augustine," has been a guiding principle. Jackson's new memoir is Lovely One.

Ketanji Brown Jackson talks with All Things Considered co-host Juana Summers. Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR hide caption

Consider This from NPR

Ketanji brown jackson chronicles her path to the supreme court.

September 3, 2024 • When Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson entered the national spotlight, she found praise and also criticism.

Danzy Senna says her first novel, Caucasia, was met with acclaim. "But one of the things I kept hearing from publishers was: Don't do this again. Don't keep writing about mixed-ness. ... it's that idea that you're a predicament. You're not a world." Her latest novel is Colored Television. Dustin Snipes/Penguin Random House hide caption

'I want to write myself into existence,' says 'Colored Television' author

September 3, 2024 • Danzy Senna was born in 1970, just a few years after Loving v. Virginia legalized interracial marriage. “Just merely existing as a family was a radical statement at that time,” she says.

Algorithms are in everything from your social media use to how many companies curate your playlists. Researcher Joy Buolamwini and writer Kyle Chayka question the extent of their influence and helpfulness. Qi Yang/Getty Images hide caption

Algorithms don't just pick playlists. They're changing your life

September 3, 2024 • Humans hallucinate. Algorithms lie.

'The Dictionary Story' is a kids' book that defies definition

August 31, 2024 • Dictionary wants to bring her pages to life but then a hungry alligator chasing a donut crashes into a queen who slips on some soap and chaos ensues. Can Dictionary put herself back together again?

Grief is complicated, but author Annie Sklaver Orenstein tells Morning Edition there are simple ways to help those grieving a loss. Getty Images hide caption

Mental Health

Grieving the dead is complicated. here's how you can help someone experiencing loss.

August 31, 2024 • Annie Sklaver Orenstein, author of Always a Sibling: The Forgotten Mourner’s Guide to Grief , tells Morning Edition that grief is complicated but there are simple things someone can do for those going through it.

Complex grief: Coping with the loss of a sibling

Lynda Barry was a 2019 recipients of MacArthur "Genius" Grant. John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation hide caption

Cartoonist Lynda Barry

August 30, 2024 • Lynda Barry is a legend of alternative comics. These days, she teaches at the University of Wisconsin. Her book What It Is , was recently re-issued on paperback. When we talked to Lynda in 2020, she'd just released Making Comics . It's sort of an illustrated guide on how to create comics. At the heart of the book is a belief Lynda has: Anybody can draw. Anyone can make comics. Yes, even you!

Preserving humanity in the age of robots

August 27, 2024 • Human beings are hardwired for social connection – so much so that we think of even the most basic objects as having feelings or experiences. (Yup, we're talking to you, Roomba owners!) Social robots add a layer to this. They're designed to make us feel like they're our friends. They can do things like care for children, the elderly or act as partners. But there's a darker side to them, too. They may encourage us to opt out of authentic, real-life connections, making us feel more isolated. Today on the show, host Regina G. Barber explores the duality of social robots with Eve Herold, author of the book Robots and the People Who Love Them .

President Biden speaks during the Democratic National Convention on Monday in Chicago's United Center Stadium. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption

With the DNC underway, a historian explains how 'The Stadium' became a public square

August 20, 2024 • "We fight our political battles in stadiums," historian Frank Andre Guridy says. "They become ideal places to stake your claims on what you want the United States to be." His new book is The Stadium.

This composite image shows the Cartwheel Galaxy, located about 500 million light-years away. In the heat death scenario, the universe would expand so far that the light of one galaxy would be unable to reach its neighbor. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI hide caption

What happens at the end of the universe?

August 13, 2024 • Today, we're bringing you the final installment of our space summer series ... with the end ... of EVERYTHING. Will the universe end in a huge cosmic unraveling? A slow and lonely dissolution? Or a quantum-level transition that breaks the laws of physics? Theoretical astrophysicist Katie Mack breaks down three possible scenarios for how the universe as we know it will finally come to an end.

Did the U.S. need to drop two atomic weapons on Japan in order to end World War II?

August 9, 2024 • In The Road to Surrender, Evan Thomas examines the closing months of WWII, exploring the motivations of key U.S. leaders, and of Japanese commanders and diplomats. Originally broadcast June 20, 2023.

Dr. Ala Stanford's new memoir is Take Care of Them Like My Own. Simon & Schuster hide caption

Health Care

When poor black communities were struggling with covid, this surgeon stepped in.

August 7, 2024 • When the pandemic hit, Dr. Ala Stanford set up shop in parking lots, churches and mosques where she provided tests and vaccines to underserved Philadelphia communities like the one she grew up in.

"Everything that we are as human beings is in our brain," Dr. Theodore Schwartz says. Brian Marcus /Penguin Randomhouse hide caption

For this brain surgeon, the operating room is 'the ultimate in mindful meditation'

August 5, 2024 • Dr. Theodore Schwartz has been treating neurological illnesses for nearly 30 years. He says being a brain surgeon requires steady hands — and a strong bladder. His new book is Gray Matters.

Code Switch

'not a badge of honor': how book bans affect indigenous literature.

July 31, 2024 • For some authors, finding their book on a "banned" list can feel almost like an accolade, putting them right there with classics like The Bluest Eye and To Kill a Mockingbird. But the reality is, most banned books never get the kind of recognition or readership that the most famous ones do.

To learn 'The Truth About Dragons,' go on a quest through this kids' book

July 27, 2024 • A little boy must go on a hero's quest — through woods full of oak trees and a bamboo forest — to discover "The Truth About Dragons" in Julie Leung and Hanna Cha's Caldecott Honor children's book.

PICTURE THIS: THE TRUTH ABOUT DRAGONS

Jon M. Chu directs Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande on the set of Wicked . Universal hide caption

Movie Interviews

'wicked' director jon m. chu says creativity isn't magic — it's hard work.

July 24, 2024 • Chu takes his inspiration from his dad, a Chinese immigrant who worked both the front room and the kitchen of their family-run restaurant: "The guy that in the back of the kitchen, that was my hero."

A cuttlefish swims on seagrass. Cuttlefish can change the color and texture of their bodies. cinoby/Getty Images hide caption

Dancing yeti crabs, morphing cuttlefish, other stories from the deep sea

July 24, 2024 • As a kid, Sabrina Imbler loved the ocean. They'd swim and snorkel, following around parrotfish in the water. Later, they tried to learn everything they could about the brightly-colored tropical fish – how some create a mucus cocoon at night to protect it from parasites, or how they help keep coral reefs healthy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during a meeting in Beijing on Oct. 18, 2023. Sergei Guneyev/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Expert on dictators warns: Don't lose hope -- that's what they want

July 23, 2024 • Autocracy, Inc. author Anne Applebaum says that today’s dictators — including Putin and Xi — are working together in a global fight to dismantle democracy, and Trump is borrowing from their playbook.

Autocracy, Inc

It's Been a Minute

Simmering over summer books.

July 15, 2024 • We're at the peak of summer, which means sunny days on the grass with a good book! Bestselling authors Tia Williams and Jean Chen Ho join host Brittany Luse to give their recommendations for great summer reads. They also offer some armchair theories on why we love a gossipy summer novel.

Up First from NPR

The sunday story: the love that shaped whoopi goldberg.

July 14, 2024 • Whoopi Goldberg is an icon of entertainment. She's played many roles in Hollywood, and she has perhaps been most inspirational for the way she has shown up as herself. But before the acclaim, Whoopi Goldberg was known as Caryn Johnson and in her own words, "A little bit different.. and out there."

Self-portrait after the avalanche, first winter ascent of Gasherbrum II, Karakorum Himalaya, Pakistan, Feb. 4, 2011. Cory Richards hide caption

This photographer nearly died mountain climbing. His memoir details the mental toll

July 10, 2024 • Former National Geographic photographer details his struggles with mental health while climbing the world’s mountains

In 'The Color of Everything," photographer shares how being bipolar shaped his life