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Attorney Todd Blanche listens as his client former U.S. President Trump speaks as he arrives for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024, in New York City.

Todd Blanche in May 2024 at the Manhattan Criminal Court during the hush money trial of President Donald Trump. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Culture

The President has named a new Acting Librarian of Congress. It's his former defense lawyer.

Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer for President Trump, is now acting Librarian of Congress. According to his public profile, Blanche has no experience working in libraries or archives.

Ginseng Roots: A Memoir by Craig Thompson
Pantheon

Where does the ginseng in your tea come from? A new graphic memoir explains the trade

Craig Thompson, author of the award-winning graphic memoir Blankets returns with its spiritual successor. It's a look at his childhood growing up on ginseng farms, and the intricate balance of the global ginseng trade.

Where does the ginseng in your tea come from? A new graphic memoir explains the trade

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Jean Grae

Jean Grae's new book In My Remaining Years Flatiron Books hide caption

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Flatiron Books

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

Jean Grae

Jean Grae is back on the show! The multidisciplinary artist just wrote a collection of personal essays called In My Remaining Years. She joins us to talk about the new book, why she distanced herself from rapping, her upbringing and much more.

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From apps to gadgets, 'Second Life' considers how tech is changing having a baby
Getty Images

Author Interviews

From apps to gadgets, 'Second Life' considers how tech is changing having a baby

When Amanda Hess learned her unborn child had a genetic condition, she turned to the internet — but didn't find reassurance. "My relationship with technology became so much more intense," she says.

From apps to gadgets, 'Second Life' considers how tech is changing having a baby

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The Director, by Daniel Kehlmann
Simon & Schuster

Review

Book Reviews

A filmmaker in Nazi Germany strikes a deal with the devil in 'The Director'

When do compromises turn into full-blown capitulation? Daniel Kehlmann's new novel draws on the true story of German film director G.W. Pabst.

A filmmaker in Nazi Germany strikes a deal with the devil in 'The Director'

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On Tuesday, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on President Trump's attempt to dismantle the IMLS.

On Tuesday, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on President Trump's attempt to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Above, the building that houses the offices of the IMLS in Washington, D.C. Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption

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Jacquelyn Martin/AP

States win a legal injunction against President Trump, pausing library funding cuts

A federal judge Tuesday wrote that President Trump's executive order dismantling the IMLS "disregards the fundamental constitutional role of each of the branches of our federal government."

Ted Genoways, author of Tequila Wars: José Cuervo and the Bloody Struggle for the Spirit of Mexico, spoke to Morning Edition about his new book tracing the turbulent history of Mexico’s oldest alcohol brand.

Ted Genoways, author of Tequila Wars: José Cuervo and the Bloody Struggle for the Spirit of Mexico, spoke to Morning Edition about his new book tracing the turbulent history of Mexico's oldest alcohol brand. Mary Anne Andrei/W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. hide caption

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Mary Anne Andrei/W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Interview highlights

'Tequila Wars' tells story of José Cuervo and Mexico's oldest, most iconic tequila brand

Journalist and author Ted Genoways follows the violent, unpredictable and hugely profitable world of tequila through the story of its most successful maker, Jose Cuervo, in his book "Tequila Wars."

Author Ted Genoways discusses his new book 'Tequila Wars'

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How to be more creative — using science

In the two decades psychologist Zorana Ivcevic has studied creativity, she's found that even though creative people are unique, anyone can be creative. Getty Images hide caption

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Getty Images

Short Wave

How to be more creative — using science

Do you consider yourself a creative person? If not, you may be holding yourself back. Psychologist Zorana Ivcevic Pringle says creativity isn't a trait. Creativity is a choice. After studying creativity for more than 20 years, she has some suggestions for how anyone can stick with their creative ideas. Guest host and producer Berly McCoy talks to her about her new book The Creativity Choice.

How to be more creative — using science

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Percival Everett has won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel James.

Percival Everett has won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel James. Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

'James' wins 2025 Pulitzer Prize for fiction

The 2025 Pulitzer Prizes were announced Monday afternoon. Percival Everett won the award for fiction for his novel James, a powerful re-imagination of Huckleberry Finn.

'James' wins 2025 Pulitzer Prize for fiction

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Citrus fruits on sale at a shop in the UK.

Foreign Fruit is a hybrid memoir that pulls apart mythologies of colonialism, inheritance and identity like the segments of a citrus fruit. Above, citrus on display at a shop in the UK. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images hide caption

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Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Review

Book Reviews

Supermarket displays of oranges will never look the same after reading 'Foreign Fruit'

In her new hybrid memoir, Katie Goh unravels the multitudes citrus fruit contains, in lockstep with mythologies of colonialism, inheritance and identity.

Author Interviews

'The Wager' chronicles shipwreck, mutiny and murder at the tip of South America

David Grann discusses his book about an 18th-century British warship that wrecked along the coast of Patagonia. Martin Scorsese is slated to direct the film adaptation. Originally broadcast in 2023.

'The Wager' chronicles shipwreck, mutiny and murder at the tip of South America

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Lubrin is known for her poetry, but published her debut fiction collection Code Noir in 2024.

Lubrin, who is known for her poetry, published her debut fiction collection Code Noir in 2024. Rachel Eliza Griffiths/Carol Shields Prize for Fiction hide caption

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Rachel Eliza Griffiths/Carol Shields Prize for Fiction

Book News & Features

One of literature's most lucrative prizes goes to debut fiction writer Canisia Lubrin

The judges of the annual prize for female and nonbinary writers praised Lubrin's debut short story collection, Code Noir, for breaking "new ground in short fiction." The award comes with $150K.

Politics

How Project 2025 is shaping Trump's second term

Journalist David Graham says the aim of the creators of the conservative action plan Project 2025 is to push the federal government "as far to the right as they can." His new book is The Project.

How Project 2025 is shaping Trump's second term

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The Golden Hour
NPR

Review

Book Reviews

This Hollywood memoir is an expertly mixed cocktail of history and family drama

Matthew Specktor grew up the son of a famous Hollywood agent. In The Golden Hour he serves up family saga, cultural criticism, fictionalized biography, history and lament for a vanishing world.

This Hollywood memoir is an expertly mixed cocktail of history and family drama

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Regeneration, super strength, stolen powers: Meet sea creatures inspiring research

Some sea slugs can steal the abilities of other animals after eating them. Biologist Drew Harvell thinks this "super power" could be harnessed by researchers one day to make transplantation surgeries in humans more effective. TARIK TINAZAY/Getty Images hide caption

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TARIK TINAZAY/Getty Images

Short Wave

Regeneration, super strength, stolen powers: Meet sea creatures inspiring research

From starfish and sea slugs to jellyfish and sponges, the ocean's invertebrates are some of the most ancient and diverse critters on Earth. And so are their superpowers, as marine biologist Drew Harvell calls their unique abilities. In her new book, The Ocean's Menagerie, she chronicles the amazing abilities of some of these spineless creatures and showcases how they've inspired our science and medicine.

Regeneration, super strength, stolen powers: Meet sea creatures inspiring research

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'Chooch Helped' this author and illustrator win the 2025 Caldecott Medal
Copyright © 2024 Rebecca Lee Kunz / Levine Querido

Picture This

'Chooch Helped' this author and illustrator win the 2025 Caldecott Medal

Author Andrea L. Rogers and artist Rebecca Lee Kunz met by chance at the Cherokee National Holiday. Then they won the 2025 Caldecott Medal for their story about a helpful little boy named Chooch.

PICTURE THIS: CHOOCH HELPED

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Tina Knowles at the Billboard Women in Music 2025 held at the YouTube Theater on March 29 in Los Angeles, Calif.

Tina Knowles at the Billboard Women in Music 2025 held at the YouTube Theater on March 29 in Los Angeles, Calif. Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images hide caption

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Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images

Culture

Tina Knowles, mother of Beyoncé and Solange, knows how to be a 'Matriarch'

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Tina Knowles, the mother of artists Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Solange Knowles, about her new memoir, "Matriarch."

Tina Knowles, mother of Beyoncé and Solange Knowles, discusses new memoir 'Matriarch'

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