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Books

In the battle over books, who gets to decide what's age-appropriate at libraries?

Parents Against Bad Books co-founder Carolyn Harrison (center) talks with people last month outside the public library in Idaho Falls, Idaho, about what she considers obscene books on the shelves. Kim Raff for NPR hide caption

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Kim Raff for NPR

National

In the battle over books, who gets to decide what's age-appropriate at libraries?

There are efforts to change how decisions are made about which books libraries should stock and which section they belong in. Some advocate using a national rating system like the one used for movies.

In the battle over books, who gets to decide what's age-appropriate at libraries?

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How the Roswell 'UFO' spurred our modern age of conspiracy theories

A group of protestors march in front of the General Accounting Office on March 29, 1995, to raise awareness about the mysterious object that was found in Roswell, N.M., in 1947. Joshua Roberts/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Joshua Roberts/AFP via Getty Images

Author Interviews

How the Roswell 'UFO' spurred our modern age of conspiracy theories

Fresh Air

In 1947, a New Mexico rancher found mysterious debris on his land. UFO author Garrett Graff links the Roswell incident to the "deep state" conspiracy theories and misinformation of today.

How the Roswell 'UFO' spurred our modern age of conspiracy theories

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Beware! 'The Baddies' are here to scare your kids — and make them laugh
Illustrations © Axel Scheffler

Picture This

Beware! 'The Baddies' are here to scare your kids — and make them laugh

From the author and illustrator of The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom now comes The Baddies: a witch, a troll and a ghost like being bad so much they compete to see who can be the very worst.

Beware! 'The Baddies' are here to scare your kids — and make them laugh

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Television

How comic Leslie Jones went from funniest person on campus to 'SNL' star

Fresh Air

Jones says performing stand-up for the first time as a freshman in college felt like putting on a shirt that fit perfectly. Her memoir is Leslie F*cking Jones. Originally broadcast Sept. 21, 2023.

How comic Leslie Jones went from funniest person on campus to 'SNL' star

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Defending the Disney Adult; plus, what it takes to stand up for Black trans people
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images, Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images, Amazon

It's Been a Minute

Defending the Disney Adult; plus, what it takes to stand up for Black trans people

Disney recently celebrated its 100th birthday, so we're exploring a fandom that's kept the magic alive while also generating lots of online hate: Disney Adults. To break the phenomenon down, Brittany Luse chats with Rolling Stone senior writer and self-proclaimed Disney Adult, E.J. Dickson. Their conversation looks at the rise of Disney Adults, why they're so maligned and what the public may misunderstand about these superfans.

Defending the Disney Adult; plus, what it takes to stand up for Black trans people

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A memoir about life 'in the margins,' 'Class' picks up where 'Maid' left off

Stephanie Land's 2019 memoir Maid became a 10-part Netflix series. Erika Peterman/Simon & Schuster hide caption

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Erika Peterman/Simon & Schuster

Author Interviews

A memoir about life 'in the margins,' 'Class' picks up where 'Maid' left off

Fresh Air

"As a country, we don't like giving poor people money and that's what they need the most," says author Stephanie Land. Her 2019 memoir Maid inspired a 10-part Netflix series.

A memoir about life 'in the margins,' 'Class' picks up where 'Maid' left off

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Economic fact in literary fiction

Min Jin Lee, author of Pachinko Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Blackyoonicorn hide caption

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Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Blackyoonicorn

Planet Money

Economic fact in literary fiction

Some of the most influential and beloved novels of the last few years have been about money, finance, and the global economy. Some overtly so, others more subtly. It got to the point where we just had to call up the authors to find out more: What brought them into this world? What did they learn? How were they thinking about economics when they wrote these beautiful books?

Economic fact in literary fiction

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The story of a devastating wildfire that reads 'like a thriller' wins U.K. book prize

A wildfire burns south of Fort McMurray, Alberta, near Highway 63 on Saturday, May 7, 2016. A book about an inferno that ravaged a Canadian city and has been called a portent of climate chaos has won Britain's leading nonfiction book prize. Jonathan Hayward/AP hide caption

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Jonathan Hayward/AP

Book News & Features

The story of a devastating wildfire that reads 'like a thriller' wins U.K. book prize

John Vaillant's Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World was awarded Britain's leading nonfiction book prize on Thursday in London.

Justin Torres wins at National Book Awards as authors call for cease-fire in Gaza

Justin Torres' novel Blackouts won the National Book Award for fiction on Wednesday night. Cindy Ord/Getty Images hide caption

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Cindy Ord/Getty Images

Justin Torres wins at National Book Awards as authors call for cease-fire in Gaza

At one of literature's most prestigious awards ceremonies, nominated authors made a collective call for a cease-fire in Gaza.

Justin Torres wins at National Book Awards as authors call for cease-fire in Gaza

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Healing the 'Invisible Ache' behind the suicide crisis among Black men and boys
Hachette

Shots - Health News

Healing the 'Invisible Ache' behind the suicide crisis among Black men and boys

Fresh Air

Rates of suicide among Black men and boys in the U.S. are increasing faster than among any other group. Actor Courtney B. Vance and Robin L. Smith (aka "Dr. Robin") address the crisis in a new book.

Healing the 'Invisible Ache' behind the suicide crisis among Black men and boys

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In 'The Killer,' there's a method to his badness

Michael Fassbender in The Killer. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'The Killer,' there's a method to his badness

The new Netflix movie The Killer is a stylish new thriller starring Michael Fassbender as a stoic and ruthlessly efficient international hitman. When a hit goes wrong, his very detached and methodical life begins to fall apart. The film from director David Fincher and also features Tilda Swinton.

In 'The Killer,' there's a method to his badness

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Claire Keegan's 'stories of women and men' explore what goes wrong between them
Grove Atlantic

Review

Book Reviews

Claire Keegan's 'stories of women and men' explore what goes wrong between them

Fresh Air

Book critic Maureen Corrigan says her only frustration with Keegan's work is that she wants more of it. So she was happy to read her nuanced, three-story collection, So Late in the Day.

Claire Keegan's 'stories of women and men' explore what goes wrong between them

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What the Global South could teach rich countries about health care — if they'd listen

Dr. Matthew Harris visits the primary health-care center where he worked in Brazil 20 years ago. The author of Decolonizing Healthcare Innovation: Low-Cost Solutions from Low-Income Countries says: "I really think that if people had been more receptive to learning from Brazil 20 years ago, we could have had an army of community health workers in [the U.K.] by now." Courtesy Dr. Matthew Harris hide caption

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Courtesy Dr. Matthew Harris

Goats and Soda

What the Global South could teach rich countries about health care — if they'd listen

In his book Decolonizing Healthcare Innovation, Dr. Matthew Harris argues wealthy countries ought to pay attention to innovative programs around the world instead of believing that "the West is best."

'Fellow Travelers' is a queer love story with highs, lows, tops, and bottoms

Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer in Fellow Travelers. Ben Mark Holzberg/Showtime hide caption

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Ben Mark Holzberg/Showtime

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Fellow Travelers' is a queer love story with highs, lows, tops, and bottoms

The sweeping new Showtime series Fellow Travelers chronicles a relationship between two gay men played by Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey. It spans the McCarthy Era of the 1950s through the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. One is perfectly content to stay in the closet and live a lie, and the other wants more out of their relationship. As the years pass the two men keep coming back together only to find the power dynamic between them shifting back and forth.

'Fellow Travelers' is a queer love story with highs, lows, tops, and bottoms

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Could creativity transform medicine? These artists think so

Design strategist Anna Engstrom created this sketch of a futuristic hospital that appears in Artists Remaking Medicine. She writes that she envisions "a more colorful health care future." Anna Engstrom/Procedure Press hide caption

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Anna Engstrom/Procedure Press

Shots - Health News

Could creativity transform medicine? These artists think so

A new book argues that the arts have a role to play in shaking up the status quo in the American health care system and creating 'desperately needed culture change.'

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