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Shea Serrano answers existential questions about rap in 'Hip Hop (And Other Things)'

Author of Hip Hop (And Other Things) Shea Serrano. Larami Serrano/Grand Central Publishing hide caption

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Larami Serrano/Grand Central Publishing

It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Shea Serrano answers existential questions about rap in 'Hip Hop (And Other Things)'

Author and host of the No Skips podcast Shea Serrano gets obsessive about things — movies, basketball, and now, rap. In Hip Hop (And Other Things), he dives into Cardi B's explosive 2018, the early days of Missy Elliot's career, and the 1995 Source Awards, which he says remains — to this day — one of the biggest nights in rap history.

Shea Serrano answers existential questions about rap in 'Hip Hop (And Other Things)'

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In 'The Matter of Black Lives,' generations of Black thinkers probe American racism
Ecco

NPR's Book of the Day

In 'The Matter of Black Lives,' generations of Black thinkers probe American racism

Back in June 2020, during a summer of protests for racial justice, the New Yorker republished 'Letter from a Region in my Mind," a seminal James Baldwin essay calling out the ignorance of liberal white Americans. In the following months, writer Jelani Cobb put together a collection of essays from the magazine that fit a similar theme: Black writers, including Toni Morrison and Ta-Nehisi Coates, who wrote pieces for the New Yorker about race and racism that still ring true today. In this interview, Cobb reflects on the essays and what it took for those Black writers to break into the magazine.

In 'The Matter of Black Lives,' generations of Black thinkers probe American racism

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In a new book, Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen envision a more unified America

Bruce Springsteen, Michelle Obama and Barack Obama in the Blue Room before the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony on Nov. 22, 2016. It's one of many photos featured in the Renegades book. Pete Souza courtesy of the Barack Obama Presidential Library hide caption

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Pete Souza courtesy of the Barack Obama Presidential Library

Author Interviews

In a new book, Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen envision a more unified America

In an NPR interview, the former president and the iconic musician speak about spreading hope amid widespread division and about the "critical patriotism" of Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A."

In a new book, Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen envision a more unified America

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In this new political thriller, a familiar pantsuited figure saves democracy

State of Terror, by Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny Simon & Schuster hide caption

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Simon & Schuster

Review

Book Reviews

In this new political thriller, a familiar pantsuited figure saves democracy

Fresh Air

Co-written by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny, State of Terror centers on a female secretary of state as she races against time to out-maneuver international terrorists and homegrown traitors.

In this new political thriller, a familiar pantsuited figure saves democracy

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The zoo that history nearly forgot in 'When Two Feathers Fell From The Sky'
Mariner Books

NPR's Book of the Day

The zoo that history nearly forgot in 'When Two Feathers Fell From The Sky'

If you visited South Nashville today, you might not suspect that, over a century ago, it was home to a zoo and amusement park called the Glendale Zoo. Among other attractions, the zoo had a popular attraction called "horse diving," in which a performer rode a horse off a tall platform into a body of water. In her book, When Two Feathers Fell From The Sky, Verble imagines the life of a young Cherokee girl named Two Feathers, who horse dives for a living at the zoo in the year 1926 — set against the background of the Jim Crow South and widespread mistreatment of Native Americans.

The zoo that history nearly forgot in 'When Two Feathers Fell From The Sky'

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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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