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NPR's Book of the Day

NPR's Book of the Day

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 In need of a good read? Or just want to keep up with the books everyone's talking about? NPR's Book of the Day gives you today's very best writing in a snackable, skimmable, pocket-sized podcast. Whether you're looking to engage with the big questions of our times – or temporarily escape from them – we've got an author who will speak to you, all genres, mood and writing styles included. Catch today's great books in 15 minutes or less.Copyright 2021 NPR - For Personal Use Only Art Literary History & Criticism
Episodes
  • Amitav Ghosh’s 'Wild Fictions' gathers essays on empire and the environment

    Amitav Ghosh’s 'Wild Fictions' gathers essays on empire and the environment
    Jan 8 2026
    Indian Bengali writer Amitav Ghosh has been writing about empire, the environment, and other subjects for the past 25 years. Now, he has gathered some of his essays into a new collection called Wild Fictions, which asks big questions about the way humans are connected to other forms of life. In today’s episode, Ghosh joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on climate change as a problem of politics, culture, and imagination. They also discuss an idea central to Ghosh’s thought: that anthropocentrism is responsible for our current planetary crisis.


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    7 mins
  • In 'Twice Born,' a daughter discovers her father through his biography of Mark Twain

    In 'Twice Born,' a daughter discovers her father through his biography of Mark Twain
    Jan 7 2026
    Hester Kaplan, the daughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Justin Kaplan, knew her father was an esteemed writer and researcher, but she didn’t quite know him personally. After the elder Kaplan died in 2014, Hester began to discover her father, unexpectedly, through his famous biographical account of Mark Twain. In today’s episode, Kaplan speaks with Here and Now’s Tiziana Dearing about the power of biography, and how her memoir Twice Born recounts the stories of a man – and a family – still alive in the margins.


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    11 mins
  • 'The Philosopher in the Valley' paints an eccentric portrait of Palantir’s Alex Karp

    'The Philosopher in the Valley' paints an eccentric portrait of Palantir’s Alex Karp
    Jan 6 2026
    Palantir is one of the world’s most valuable companies, analyzing data for businesses, but also for U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies. The Philosopher in the Valley, a new book by Michael Steinberger, is a portrait of the company’s CEO, Alex Karp. In today’s episode, Steinberger speaks with NPR’s Steve Inskeep about Palantir’s operations at the nexus of technology and national security, Karp’s liberal arts background, and the CEO’s unusual lifestyle.


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    8 mins
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brilliant! beautifully written and narrated.
I was transported back to Italy in the exquisite descriptions of villages, pensions and characters.

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