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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Poetry

Rare Robert Frost Collection Surfaces 50 Years After His Death

American poet Robert Frost, shown here in 1955, died on Jan. 29, 1963. Now, 50 years after his death, a rare collection of letters, audio and photographs sheds new light on his religious beliefs.

January 29, 2013 Jonathan Reichert, professor emeritus at the State University of New York at Buffalo, has donated a rare collection of Robert Frost's letters, photographs and audio files to the school. The materials chronicle the decades-long friendship between the poet and Reichert's father, rabbi and poet Victor Reichert.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

Monday, January 28, 2013

All Tech Considered

E-Readers Track How We Read, But Is The Data Useful To Authors?

Data gleaned from e-readers gives writers a new kind of feedback to take into consideration — or ignore.

January 28, 2013 Data is being collected about your reading habits — what kind of books you read, whether or not you finish them. Publishers say the information could improve how books are written, but some novelists are skeptical.

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The Opinion Page

A 'Permatemp' Economy: The Idea Of The Expendable Employee

According to the American Staffing Association, the U.S. temp industry has added more jobs than any other over the past three years.

January 28, 2013 Nearly 13 million people head to work as temporary and contract employees each year, according to the American Staffing Association. In an opinion piece for The New York Times, sociologist Erin Hatton argues that it's time to get rid of the "anti-worker ideology that has come to accompany it."

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On Talk of the NationPlaylist

Author Interviews

Al Roker On Being The 'Jolly Fat Person'

Today show co-host Al Roker appears on the set during a broadcast in August 2011 in New York.

January 28, 2013 Roker won fame as the ever-smiling weatherman on NBC's Today show. But he also endured years of indignities because of his weight. Then, in 2001, he had bariatric surgery and lost more than 100 pounds. Roker speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about his experiences and his latest book, Never Goin' Back.

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On Tell Me MorePlaylist

Author Interviews

'Anything That Moves': Civilians And The Vietnam War

Visitors take in a re-created scene at the massacre museum at Vietnam's My Lai village. Researcher Nick Turse says atrocities of all kinds were more common in the Vietnam War than most Americans believe.

January 28, 2013 In a new book, Nick Turse says the pressure on U.S. forces to produce a body count during the Vietnam War led to mass civilian deaths. "The idea," he says, "was that the Vietnamese, they weren't really people."

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On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist

Book Reviews

Jane Austen's 'Pride And Prejudice' At 200

Cover of The Real Jane Austen

January 28, 2013 As the classic novel celebrates its bicentennial, Paula Byrne's The Real Jane Austen examines some of the key objects in Austen's life and how they reveal a much more cosmopolitan awareness of the world than is commonly credited to her.

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On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist

PG-13: Risky Reads

Rich Kids, Greasers And The Life-Changing Power Of 'The Outsiders'

The Outsiders

January 28, 2013 When author Ally Carter found out that S.E. Hinton had been a teenager when she wrote The Outsiders, something inside her clicked. It was the first moment she realized she could be a writer. Is there a book that has inspired you to write? Tell us in the comments.

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Arts & Life

Watch This: Neil Gaiman's Imaginative Favorites

Neil Gaiman is also the author of Coraline, American Gods, Anansi Boys,Stardust and M Is for Magic. He was born in Hampshire, England, and now lives near Minneapolis.

January 28, 2013 From The Muppet Show to The Twilight Zone and a creepy animated version of Alice in Wonderland, author Neil Gaiman shares his film and television favorites for the occasional Morning Edition series Watch This. Gaiman calls the Muppets "one of the comedic glories of the human race."

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

A Colorful Anniversary: The Caldecott Medal Turns 75

The Polar Express won the Caldecott Medal in 1986, and was turned into an animated movie with Tom Hanks in 2004.

January 28, 2013 The award for the most distinguished children's picture book of the year is announced Monday. The first winner, in 1938, was a book of illustrated animals from the Bible, but the medal has also gone to books like Madeline's Rescue and Where the Wild Things Are.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Author Interviews

'Manifest Injustice': A 40-Year Fight For Freedom

Cover of Manifest Injustice

January 27, 2013 Bill Macumber, a respected member of his Arizona community, was convicted of a grisly 1962 double murder. Late last year, however, he was released from prison. A new book tells the story of a flawed investigation and legal process that cost Macumber 38 years of freedom.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

'Pride And Prejudice' Turns 200: A Cartoon Celebration

standard and square crops

January 27, 2013 This week marks an important milestone for anyone who swoons at the very mention of Mr. Darcy. Pride and Prejudice is turning 200, and to celebrate its bicentennial, cartoonist Jen Sorensen drew up an illustrated version of the classic.

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PG-13: Risky Reads

'Emmanuelle' And The Seductive Power Of Words

woodcut portrait of a woman in profile

January 27, 2013 Author Teddy Wayne writes that the 1967 French novel Emmanuelle taught him not only about good sex, but also about good writing.

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Saturday, January 26, 2013

Author Interviews

Ship Those (Virtual) Chips: The Rise And Fall Of Online Poker's Youngest Crew

Ship It Holla Ballas by Jonathan Grotenstein and Storms Reback.

January 26, 2013 In the early 2000s, the get-rich-quick scheme of choice for young college dropouts was online poker. In his new book Ship It Holla Ballas, Jonathan Grotenstein follows two young players as they rake in the dough.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

Author Interviews

Dave Barry's 'Insane' Miami Mixes Refugees, Gangsters, Escorts And A Burmese Python

Cover of Insane City, by Dave Barry.

January 26, 2013 In Dave Barry's latest novel, a bachelor dinner goes off the rails, entangling the groom to be with a colorful cast of characters — everyone from Russian mobsters to Haitian refugees to the fourth-place finisher in the Miss Hot Amateur Bod contest. Oh, and an albino Burmese python.

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