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The scary movies and books that still haunt us

Horror author Stephen King has been scaring audiences for generations. Jim Spellman/WireImage hide caption

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Jim Spellman/WireImage

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The scary movies and books that still haunt us

A lot of us are about to have the experience of opening our front doors to find witches, goblins, ghosts, and those guards from Squid Game standing on our porches. Why? Because it's almost Halloween. We decided this would be a good time to talk about what kinds of entertainment scared us when we were kids, and maybe even whether they still scare us now.

The scary movies and books that still haunt us

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In 'Dreaming of You,' poet Melissa Lozada-Oliva reimagines Selena's legacy

Melissa Lozada-Oliva reimagines pop star Selena's legacy in Dreaming of You. Melissa Lozada-Oliva/Astra House hide caption

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Melissa Lozada-Oliva/Astra House

Author Interviews

In 'Dreaming of You,' poet Melissa Lozada-Oliva reimagines Selena's legacy

Author Melissa Lozada-Oliva's new novel in verse, Dreaming of You, is about a heartbroken poet who brings Selena Quintanilla back from the dead.

In 'Dreaming of You,' poet Melissa Lozada-Oliva reimagines Selena's legacy

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Nick Offerman on why he finds solace in the outdoors

Jeff Tweedy, Nick Offerman and George Saunders at Glacier National Park. Jon Maret hide caption

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Jon Maret

Author Interviews

Nick Offerman on why he finds solace in the outdoors

The actor and author has a new book, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play. He talks with NPR's Scott Simon about why walking in the woods makes him feel better and how to experience nature in a city.

Nick Offerman on why he finds solace in the outdoors

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Katie Couric goes behind the scenes in the cutthroat world of morning TV news

Television journalist Katie Couric's new memoir, Going There, is a behind-the-scenes look at her personal life and professional strife in the years she anchored top morning news shows. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Little, Brown and Company hide caption

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Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Little, Brown and Company

Author Interviews

Katie Couric goes behind the scenes in the cutthroat world of morning TV news

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with the veteran broadcast journalist and former Today show anchor about her new memoir, Going There, which chronicles her decades in TV news as well as her personal life.

Katie Couric goes behind the scenes in the cutthroat world of morning TV news

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Jerry Pinkney, the beloved, award-winning children's book illustrator, has died at 81

Children's book illustrator Jerry Pinkney poses in front of two of his illustrations in 2016, at the City Hall in Philadelphia. Dake Kang/AP hide caption

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Dake Kang/AP

Obituaries

Jerry Pinkney, the beloved, award-winning children's book illustrator, has died at 81

The Caldecott Medal winner died of a heart attack on Wednesday. He was known for illustrating over 100 books for readers of all ages, including The Lion and the Mouse and Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Stephanie Grisham is — yes, really — taking our questions now
NPR

NPR's Book of the Day

Stephanie Grisham is — yes, really — taking our questions now

Former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham famously held no press briefings during her time in the White House — but now, she's ready to talk. Her memoir, I'll Take Your Questions Now, is the latest tell-all from a former Trump staffer — and Tamara Keith, from NPR's Politics Podcast, hit her with some tough questions about whether the book is simply an image rehab project. "Too many books have been out there to help one person's reputation so they can be rehabilitated ... or to try to rewrite history," Grisham says. "I just want to tell my story and have people take what they want from it."

Stephanie Grisham is — yes, really — taking our questions now

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Billy Porter makes peace with himself: 'I set myself free, honey. No more secrets'

Billy Porter attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. "Fabulous and serious can go hand in hand. I am proof positive of that," he says. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images hide caption

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Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Author Interviews

Billy Porter makes peace with himself: 'I set myself free, honey. No more secrets'

Fresh Air

Fourteen years after his initial diagnosis, the Pose actor revealed publicly that he is HIV-positive. Porter says being open about his health status felt like a rebirth. His new memoir is Unprotected.

Billy Porter makes peace with himself: 'I set myself free, honey. No more secrets'

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This book of poetry says, 'I have fists,' and the world needs to know
Alice James Books

Author Interviews

This book of poetry says, 'I have fists,' and the world needs to know

Chinese American poet Jane Wong's new collection, How Not to Be Afraid of Everything, grapples with fear and anger at her family's silence about what they suffered in China's Great Leap Forward.

This book of poetry says, 'I have fists,' and the world needs to know

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How Colin Powell Wanted The World To Remember Him
Harper

NPR's Book of the Day

How Colin Powell Wanted The World To Remember Him

When Colin Powell died on October 18 at the age of 84 from COVID-19 complications, he left behind a long, decorated career in Washington and the U.S. Army. He spent much of his life in the military, eventually rising to the rank of four-star general, and went on to become the first Black Secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs. But, as he discussed in a 2012 interview with NPR's Robert Siegel about his memoir It Worked For Me, Powell's reputation was tarnished when he used faulty evidence to push for the Iraq War: "I'll never leave it behind."

How Colin Powell Wanted The World To Remember Him

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Carmen Mola was a popular Spanish novelist. Three male writers made her up

The writer Carmen Mola, pseudonym of the writers Jorge Diaz, Agustin Martinez and Antonio Mercero, winner of the 70th edition of the Planeta Novel Prize, gives a press conference after the award ceremony, at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, on 15 October 2021, in Barcelona, Catalonia. Europa Press News/Europa Press via Getty Images hide caption

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Europa Press News/Europa Press via Getty Images

Carmen Mola was a popular Spanish novelist. Three male writers made her up

Antonio Mercero, Agustín Martínez and Jorge Díaz not only created a series of highly successful novels in Mola's name, but also invented the author herself.

As Jane Goodall grieves climate change, she finds hope in young people's advocacy

Dr. Jane Goodall in 2019. She has co-authored a new book, The Book Of Hope. Craig Barritt/Getty Images for TIME hide caption

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Craig Barritt/Getty Images for TIME

As Jane Goodall grieves climate change, she finds hope in young people's advocacy

The world-renowned primatologist explains how small acts to protect the planet can spiral upwards. She has a new book, co-authored by Douglas Abrams, called The Book of Hope.

As Jane Goodall grieves climate change, she finds hope in young people's advocacy

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How do we make sense of the sounds around us?

How do our brains create meaning from the sounds around us? That is the question at the heart of a new book from neuroscientist Nina Kraus, called Of Sound Mind. kimberrywood/Getty Images hide caption

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kimberrywood/Getty Images

Short Wave

How do we make sense of the sounds around us?

Our colleagues at All Things Considered chatted with neuroscientist Nina Kraus about her new book Of Sound Mind. She shares how our brains process and create meaning from the sounds around us.

How do we make sense of the sounds around us?

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Amor Towles' new book is about a road trip that takes more than a few U-turns
NPR

NPR's Book of the Day

Amor Towles' new book is about a road trip that takes more than a few U-turns

Amor Towles' new book is quite the joyride — The Lincoln Highway follows four kids in a 1948 Studebaker who set out along the real-life Lincoln Highway, the first highway to cross the country. Two of them are trying to head for San Francisco to find their mother — the other two want to go the other way, looking for a promised inheritance. Needless to say, things don't go as planned. Towles talked to NPR's Scott Simon about the book — and also about the way the world moves so much faster now than it did in the 1950s, and how that affects the stories kids hear and see and create.

Amor Towles' new book is about a road trip that takes more than a few U-turns

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