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Interrupting Violence With The Message 'Don't Shoot'()
November 9, 2012 Criminologist David M. Kennedy's strategy for reducing gang violence has dramatically reduced youth homicide rates nationwide. In his new memoir, Don't Shoot, Kennedy outlines how community meetings and interventions have worked to curb youth violence in more than 70 cities.
What Happens When Kids Fall 'Far From The Tree'()
November 8, 2012 Sometimes a son isn't a chip off the old block, and a mother isn't anything like her daughter. Straight parents have gay kids; hearing parents have deaf kids; and autistic kids are born to parents who don't have autism. In a new book, Andrew Solomon looks at how families cope with their differences.
Author Warns 'Second Nuclear Age' Is Here ()
November 8, 2012 Since the end of the Cold War, many Americans have largely dismissed the threat of nuclear war. But Paul Bracken warns that Americans feel a misguided sense of calm. In The Second Nuclear Age, he argues that the second age of nuclear politics has arrived and the U.S. must face a new nuclear reality.
'Crushing Eastern Europe' Behind The 'Iron Curtain'()
November 8, 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum describes the tactics the Soviets used after World War II to take over and transform much of Eastern Europe. Her book Iron Curtain was recently nominated for the National Book Award.
What Obama's Re-election Means ()
November 7, 2012 President Obama has been re-elected. Democrats and Republicans have maintained their respective majorities in the Senate and in the House. So does this mean there will be more partisan gridlock? Fresh Air talks with political analyst Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute.
Oliver Sacks, Exploring How Hallucinations Happen()
November 6, 2012 The famed neurologist talks to Fresh Air about how grief, trauma, brain injury, medications and neurological disorders can trigger hallucinations — and about his personal experimentation with hallucinogenic drugs in the 1960s.
Education
A Lesson In Making Math Cool For Girls()
November 5, 2012 Women make up nearly half of the college-educated workforce, but hold less than a quarter of STEM jobs — as in jobs that involve science, technology, engineering and math. Actress turned mathematician Danica McKellar wants to turn those numbers around. She speaks to host Michel Martin about her latest math book for young girls, Girls Get Curves.
An 'Oddly Normal' Outcome For A Singular Child()
November 5, 2012 From the time their son Joe was 3, John Schwartz and his wife, Jeanne Mixon, suspected he was gay. They supported him through troubles in school and when he decided to come out — but as a teen, Joe attempted suicide. Their memoir, Oddly Normal, chronicles their experiences.
'Richard Burton Diaries' Unveil A Theatrical Life()
November 4, 2012 Actor Richard Burton was one of the most acclaimed actors of his time, but his tumultuous relationship with Elizabeth Taylor captured the public's curiosity. A new book of his diaries reveals his dramatic personal life. Host Rachel Martin talks to Burton's daughter, Kate, and Chris Williams, who edited the diaries.
Nick, Nora (And Asta) Return In 'Thin Man' Novellas()
November 3, 2012 Dashiell Hammett's The Thin Man invented a new kind of crime fiction. It was hard-boiled, but also light-hearted; funny, with a hint of homicide. Now, for the first time, the stories of After the Thin Man and Another Thin Man have been published as novellas.
NPR's Backseat Book Club
How 'Black Beauty' Changed The Way We See Horses()
November 2, 2012 In 1877, Anna Sewell wrote a novel about human kindness and cruelty — all from the point of view of a horse. In the decades since, Black Beauty has been embraced by generations of children, and has helped change the way we treat and think about horses.
Faith Matters
Lakota Spiritual Guidance From The Bow And Arrow()
November 2, 2012 Most Americans think of the bow and arrow as a tool for hunting or sports. But writer and craftsman Joseph Marshall III has always seen the bow and arrow as a source of spiritual guidance. For Native American Heritage Month, host Michel Martin speaks with Marshall about his book The Lakota Way of Strength and Courage.
Rin Tin Tin: A Silent Film Star On Four Legs()
November 2, 2012 The orphaned German shepherd was found in the wreckage of a kennel during World War I. Writer Susan Orlean details how he became one of the biggest film stars of the silent era in Rin Tin Tin: The Life and Legend.
Reading 125 Titles A Year? That's 'One For The Books'()
November 1, 2012 Joe Queenan reads so many books, it's amazing that he can also find time to write them. Queenan estimates he's read between 6,000 and 7,000 books total, at a rate of about 125 books a year. His latest work, One for the Books, is all about what he reads and why.
'Race-Baiter': Media Feed On Fear And Prejudice()
November 1, 2012 Author Eric Deggans dissects coverage of events such as Hurricane Katrina, the Trayvon Martin case and the 2012 presidential election to build an argument that Americans lack the right vocabulary for talking about race. And the echo chambers of our fractured media landscape, he adds, don't help.
