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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.

Transcript

On Weekend Edition SaturdayPlaylist

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

'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.

Transcript

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

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."

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

'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."

Transcript

On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist

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.

Transcript

On Tell Me MorePlaylist

'The Insurgents': Petraeus And A New Kind Of War()  

Gen. David Petraeus is the subject of The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War, a new book by Fred Kaplan.

January 29, 2013 In a new book about Gen. David Petraeus, author and journalist Fred Kaplan looks at how theories of counterinsurgency have shaped U.S. military policy in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Transcript

On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist

'Distant Witness': Social Media's 'Journalism Revolution'()  

A shop in Tahrir Square is spray-painted with the word "twitter" after the government shut off Internet access in February 2011 in Cairo, Egypt.

January 31, 2013 When protests broke out across North Africa and the Middle East, NPR senior strategist Andy Carvin followed the events in real time online. In his book Distant Witness, Carvin explains how he cultivated social media sources into a new form of journalism where people on the ground controlled the news.

Transcript

On Talk of the NationPlaylist

Netflix Moves Back Into Content Production With 'Cards'()  

Red Netflix envelopes.

February 1, 2013 House of Cards is a $100 million adaptation of a British television show. Starring Kevin Spacey, the first two episodes are directed by The Social Network's David Fincher — and all 13 episodes will be available at once.

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

How The Glock Became America's Weapon Of Choice()  

Glock cover detail

February 1, 2013 In his book Glock: The Rise of America's Gun, Paul Barrett traces how the sleek, high-capacity Austrian weapon found its way into Hollywood films and rap lyrics, not to mention two-thirds of all U.S. police departments.

Transcript

On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist

'Schroder' Chronicles A Father's Desperate Mistakes()  

Schroder by Amity Gaige

February 1, 2013 In Amity Gaige's new novel, Eric Kennedy, aka East German immigrant Erik Schroder, reveals his true identity to his ex-wife and explains why he kidnapped his own 6-year-old daughter.

Transcript

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

'City Of Devi' Sets A Love Triangle In Pre-Apocalyptic Mumbai()  

Sunset over the Indian Ocean

February 2, 2013 As India and Pakistan inch closer to nuclear war, statistician Sarita teams up with Jaz, who is gay and nominally Muslim, to find her missing husband. Author Manil Suri says he pushed the envelope with his latest novel, the third in a series roughly based on the Hindu trinity.

Transcript

On Weekend Edition SaturdayPlaylist

The Inconvenient Truth About Polar Bears()  

A polar bear looks up as the sound of the camera catches his ear on the edge of the Hudson Bay, outside Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.

February 2, 2013 Zac Unger moved to Churchill, Manitoba, to cover the decline of the polar bear. It was 2008, and the adorable predators had become symbols in the battle over climate change. But the story he ended up writing in his new book was more complicated than he expected.

Transcript

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

'Fresh Off The Boat' And Serving Up Asian Culture()  

After stints as a lawyer, furniture salesman and stand-up comic, Eddie Huang found success as the owner of Baohaus, a Taiwanese bun shop on the Lower East Side.

February 3, 2013 Restaurateur and food personality Eddie Huang spent time as a lawyer and a stand-up comic before getting into the food business. In his new memoir, Fresh Off The Boat, he talks about food, family, hip-hop and growing up Asian in America.

Transcript

On Weekend Edition SundayPlaylist

'Disaster Diaries' Will Help You Survive The End Of The World()  

The Disaster Diaries by Sam Sheridan

February 3, 2013 Sam Sheridan was a mixed martial arts fighter, wilderness firefighter, construction worker in the South Pole, and now, author. His new book, Disaster Diaries, will help you survive the apocalypse, no matter the catastrophe.

Transcript

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

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Books

Also: shameless book blurbs; Italo Calvino's letters; new plays from Ayad Ahktar.

Book News: Newly Found Pearl Buck Novel To Be Published This Fall

Also: shameless book blurbs; Italo Calvino's letters; new plays from Ayad Ahktar.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's lates novel follows a middle-class Nigerian immigrant to America.

A Different Kind Of Immigrant Experience In 'Americanah'

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's lates novel follows a middle-class Nigerian immigrant to America.

Read an exclusive excerpt of Lionel Shriver's new book,<em> Big Brother</em>, about the effects of obesity.

Exclusive First Read: 'Big Brother' By Lionel Shriver

Read an exclusive excerpt of Lionel Shriver's new book, Big Brother, about the effects of obesity.

Carol Shaben describes the night they spent in the wilderness, wondering if they'd ever be found.

After Crashing In Canadian 'Abyss,' Four Men Fight To Survive

Carol Shaben describes the night they spent in the wilderness, wondering if they'd ever be found.

Jackson's new book reflects on his legendary career as coach of the Bulls and the Lakers.

Courtside Chemistry: How NBA's Phil Jackson Won 'Eleven Rings'

Jackson's new book reflects on his legendary career as coach of the Bulls and the Lakers.

Colorful characters from across the class divide tell their stories of a social contract in tatters.

American Voices On 'The Unwinding' Of America's Values

Colorful characters from across the class divide tell their stories of a social contract in tatters.

Also: the creator of Lyle Crocodile died; Aussie airliner Qantas commissions flight-length books.

Book News: Stephen King's New Bogeyman? Digital Publishing

Also: the creator of Lyle Crocodile died; Aussie airliner Qantas commissions flight-length books.

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