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'From Staircase to Stage': Raekwon on growing up in N.Y. and the Wu-Tang Clan

Steve Inskeep spoke to Raekwon about the new book, the difficulties of his upbringing and the trappings of success. Sebastian Duncan/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Sebastian Duncan/Courtesy of the artist

Music Interviews

'From Staircase to Stage': Raekwon on growing up in N.Y. and the Wu-Tang Clan

In his new memoir, From Staircase to Stage, rapper Raekwon recalls watching as that relatively serene New York City neighborhood rapidly declined, succumbing to the wildfires of the crack epidemic.

'From Staircase to Stage': Raekwon on growing up in N.Y. and the Wu-Tang Clan

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'Chouette' is part owl part human baby. Fine. But how to raise her?
Harper Collins

NPR's Book of the Day

'Chouette' is part owl part human baby. Fine. But how to raise her?

Claire Oshetsky's new novel Chouette is... pretty strange, but also kind of wonderful? Oshetsky says the story is a parable about motherhood, in which a woman gives birth to an owl baby. The mother finds this strange not because the baby is an owl, but because she only had intercourse with the owl parent in a dream, and that owl was a woman. Still with us? Good. Oshetsky talked with NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben about how her own daughter consulted on writing the book, and what she learned from raising an autistic child.

'Chouette' is part owl part human baby. Fine. But how to raise her?

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Mario Vargas Llosa explores 1954 Guatemalan coup in new novel

Harsh Times: A Novel, by Mario Vargas Llosa Farrar, Straus and Giroux hide caption

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Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Author Interviews

Mario Vargas Llosa explores 1954 Guatemalan coup in new novel

Harsh Times, set in the 1950s, is historical fiction centering on events of a CIA-backed coup to overthrow Guatemala's democratically-elected government led by Jacobo Árbenz.

Mario Vargas Llosa explores 1954 Guatemalan coup in new novel

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'Black Food' is more than just recipes, it's the stories behind them
Penguin Random House

NPR's Book of the Day

'Black Food' is more than just recipes, it's the stories behind them

Cookbook author and chef Bryant Terry edited and curated the new book, Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes From Across The African Diaspora. His goal was to preserve Black American recipes and their complex stories, but he uses more than just food to tell those stories. The book is also full of essays, art and music. Terry told Here And Now's Scott Tong that the cookbook is a "communal shrine to the shared culinary histories of the African Diaspora."

'Black Food' is more than just recipes, it's the stories behind them

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Celebrating NPR's Petra Mayer with three literary things she loved
Darian Woehr/NPR

NPR's Book of the Day

Celebrating NPR's Petra Mayer with three literary things she loved

Our beloved friend and colleague Petra Mayer died suddenly a few weeks ago. This episode is for her. First, a conversation with NPR's Scott Simon and Sir Andrew Motion on The Folio Book of War Poetry, edited by Motion. Among her many nerdy interests, Petra was a self avowed "WWI poetry dork." The poetry is dark and moving, conveying universal feelings around loss. Then, a few quintessentially "Petra" pieces that capture her work and who she was. A conversation with romance author Beverly Jenkins and Petra talking about one of her favorite comfort reads, The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison.

Celebrating NPR's Petra Mayer with three literary things she loved

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Tommy Orange is here to hold the door open for future Indigenous writers
Penguin Random House

NPR's Book of the Day

Tommy Orange is here to hold the door open for future Indigenous writers

This Thanksgiving, we're bringing you an author whose narrative likely runs counter to what you learned in school. Tommy Orange's novel, There There, is a brutal, remarkable, and necessary Native history. It's also a story of the shameful way America still treats its Native people. Orange was not comfortable with his new rising fame back in 2018. But he told NPR's Lynn Neary it was important to him to pave the way, spotlight and all, for young Indigenous writers.

Tommy Orange is here to hold the door open for future Indigenous writers

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What people miss in the conversation about banned books

Many banned books lists include Raina Telgemeier's Drama, Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds's All American Boys, Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, Benjamin Alire Sáenz's Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Ruby Bridge's This is Your Time, and Toni Morrison's Beloved. Estefania Mitre/NPR/NPR hide caption

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Estefania Mitre/NPR/NPR

It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

What people miss in the conversation about banned books

Guest host Ayesha Rascoe is joined by NPR senior editor Barrie Hardymon and Traci Thomas, host of The Stacks podcast, to talk about banned books. They talk about why it's important for kids to discover books freely, even if that means starting a hard conversation with them. They also discuss their favorite — and least favorite — books that often show up on banned book lists.

What people miss in the conversation about banned books

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HBO revolutionized TV, but the next few years are tipped to be pivotal for its future

Steven Van Zandt [left], James Gandolfini and Tony Sirico starred in HBO's hit television series, The Sopranos. HBO/Getty Images hide caption

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HBO/Getty Images

Author Interviews

HBO revolutionized TV, but the next few years are tipped to be pivotal for its future

Journalist James Andrew Miller and NPR TV critic Eric Deggans talk about how HBO changed television and why the next few years are pivotal for the network's future.

HBO revolutionized TV, but the next few years are tipped to be pivotal for its future

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NPR's Book Concierge returns with a new name, a new look and new books

NPR's end of the year picks are collected in a recommendation tool we're calling: Books We Love. It's more than just a list of the year's best books.

NPR's Book Concierge returns with a new name, a new look and new books

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'Calvin' shows how transgender kids can express who they really are
Penguin Random House

NPR's Book of the Day

'Calvin' shows how transgender kids can express who they really are

Authors JR and Vanessa Ford read the one book they could find about transgender kids to their child but skipped over the word 'transgender.' When they finally used the word, their child felt empowered by finding the right language to describe themselves. So the Fords set out to help more families with their children's book, Calvin. JR and Vanessa Ford told NPR's Audie Cornish that they are still learning as they go.

'Calvin' shows how transgender kids can express who they really are

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'The Island of Missing Trees' uses, well, trees to chronicle generational trauma
Bloomsbury Publishing

NPR's Book of the Day

'The Island of Missing Trees' uses, well, trees to chronicle generational trauma

Author Elif Shafak struggled at first with how to write her new book, The Island of Missing Trees. The story she wanted to tell is about a family from Cyprus, a Mediterranean island that was the center of a conflict in the 1970s, but she didn't want the story to be about tribalism or nationalism. Which is why, Shafak told NPR's Steve Inskeep, much of the story is told from the perspective of a fig tree

'The Island of Missing Trees' uses, well, trees to chronicle generational trauma

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Poet Robert Bly, anti-war activist and 'men's movement' leader, dies at 94

Robert Bly won a National Book Award in 1968. He is pictured above in 2008. Jim Mone/AP hide caption

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Jim Mone/AP

Obituaries

Poet Robert Bly, anti-war activist and 'men's movement' leader, dies at 94

MPR News

Bly won a National Book Award and was a tireless advocate for poetry. But he knew he could rub people the wrong way. "I do remember people wanting to kill me," he said, "but that's not unusual."

Poet Robert Bly, anti-war activist and 'men's movement' leader, dies at 94

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Former gun industry insider explains why he left to fight for the other side

A clerk shows a customer an AR-15 style rifle at a gun show in Costa Mesa, Calif. in June 2021. Gun sales increased in the U.S, following COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Author Interviews

Former gun industry insider explains why he left to fight for the other side

Fresh Air

Gunfight author Ryan Busse was once a rising star in the gun industry. But he became disillusioned after Columbine when, he says, the NRA began to use "fear and conspiracy and hatred" to boost sales.

Former gun industry insider explains why he left to fight for the other side

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