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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
  • After 100 years of Mount Rushmore, its biographer says the landmark is incomplete

    After 100 years of Mount Rushmore, its biographer says the landmark is incomplete
    Feb 16 2026
    Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the first drilling at Mount Rushmore, the iconic American landmark in South Dakota. But Matthew Davis, author of the new book A Biography of a Mountain, says the project is actually unfinished. In today’s episode, he joins NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer for a conversation about the original vision for Mount Rushmore, which was intended to diversify a struggling South Dakota economy after World War I.


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    7 mins
  • 'Football' and 'Everybody Loses' examine changes to America’s most popular sport

    'Football' and 'Everybody Loses' examine changes to America’s most popular sport
    Feb 13 2026
    The Super Bowl is over, but the NFL season is set to ramp up again in just a few months. Today’s episode features two nonfiction books that delve into the world of football. First, Chuck Klosterman’s Football is a critical reading of the sport. He spoke with NPR’s Juana Summers about why football became dominant in American culture and why he believes it’ll lose popularity over the next decades. Then, Danny Funt speaks with NPR’s A Martínez about his new book Everybody Loses, which charts the sports gambling boom and the NFL’s role in the popularization of prop bets.


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    17 mins
  • A new book focuses on a queer, Black, WWII-era translator who risked safety for love

    A new book focuses on a queer, Black, WWII-era translator who risked safety for love
    Feb 12 2026
    About a decade ago, professor and historian Ethelene Whitmire was presenting research on the experiences of African Americans living in Denmark. At that talk, she met – by chance – a relative of Reed Peggram, one of her research subjects. That relative directed Whitmire to a trove of letters written by Peggram, a queer, Black translator who found himself in Europe on the eve of World War II. In today’s episode, Whitmire joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about her book The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram, the project that emerged from his family’s archive.


    To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

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    9 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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