Episodes

  • ‘Atlantic’ writer James Parker says his odes are exercises in gratitude and attention

    ‘Atlantic’ writer James Parker says his odes are exercises in gratitude and attention
    Aug 21 2025
    James Parker finds inspiration for odes in small and large things: history, America, brain farts, his flip phone, Pablo Neruda, meditation. The Atlantic staff writer’s book Get Me Through the Next Five Minutes spans these subjects and more. In today’s episode, Parker joins Here & Now’s Anthony Brooks for a conversation that touches on the subjects he’s found difficult to write odes to, the origins of ode, and what it means to stay ode-ready.


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    11 mins
  • In ‘The Hounding,’ rumors swirl around five sisters living in 18th-century England

    In ‘The Hounding,’ rumors swirl around five sisters living in 18th-century England
    Aug 20 2025
    Author Xenobe Purvis says the premise for her new novel is based on a nugget of history. In 1700, a doctor reported that five sisters in Oxfordshire, England were said to be “seized with frequent barking in the manner of dogs.” Purvis’ The Hounding imagines what happens to these girls after a ferryman starts a dangerous rumor about them. In today’s episode, Purvis talks with NPR’s Scott Simon about rumors, gossip and the danger of being a girl in society.


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    7 mins
  • Alexis Okeowo’s ‘Blessings and Disasters’ is an ode to Alabama’s complicated history

    Alexis Okeowo’s ‘Blessings and Disasters’ is an ode to Alabama’s complicated history
    Aug 19 2025
    Alexis Okeowo grew up in Alabama. But it wasn’t until they left for college that Okeowo realized the strong stereotypes outsiders held about their home state. With their new book Blessings and Disasters, the New Yorker staff writer blends memoir and reporting to tell an alternate history of Alabama. In today’s episode, Okeowo speaks with NPR’s Emily Kwong about those who are often excluded from the state’s history, including the Poarch Creek Indians and Alabama’s West African communities.


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    9 mins
  • ‘Dwelling’ fictionalizes the American housing crisis with elements of fairy tale

    ‘Dwelling’ fictionalizes the American housing crisis with elements of fairy tale
    Aug 18 2025
    In Emily Hunt Kivel’s new novel Dwelling, a mass eviction in New York City throws a young woman’s life into chaos. Suddenly homeless, Evie relocates to Gulluck, Texas, where she moves into a giant cowboy boot, the only rental property she can afford. In today’s episode, Kivel joins NPR’s Adrian Ma for a discussion about how she approached American capitalism through the lens of fairy tales.


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    9 mins
  • For the authors of ‘Reading Van Gogh,’ ‘Black in Blues,’ art opened a door to meaning

    For the authors of ‘Reading Van Gogh,’ ‘Black in Blues,’ art opened a door to meaning
    Aug 15 2025
    In today’s episode, the authors of two recently released nonfiction books search for meaning in art. First, Elizabeth Barks Cox’s Reading Van Gogh: An Amateur’s Search for God chronicles her infatuation with the painter’s writings, especially those on spirituality. In today’s episode, Cox joins Here & Now’s Lisa Mullins for a conversation that touches on the artist’s eye for beauty and despair – and why the author says she fell “a little bit in love with him.” Then, Harvard professor Imani Perry’s book Black in Blues tells the story of Black history through the color blue. In today’s episode, Perry speaks with Here & Now’s Scott Tong about the many ways blue appears in African American culture, art and literature.


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    22 mins
  • In ‘Human Nature,’ Kate Marvel bridges the gap between climate science and emotions

    In ‘Human Nature,’ Kate Marvel bridges the gap between climate science and emotions
    Aug 14 2025
    Kate Marvel is a climate scientist who has testified before Congress and served as lead author of the U.S. National Climate Assessment. But in her new book Human Nature, she takes a different approach to climate change, exploring the crisis through nine emotions. In today's episode, the scientist and author speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about watching the world end through computer models, pushing back against emotional neutrality, and her book’s chapter on pride.

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    9 mins
  • Jason Mott’s new novel ‘People Like Us’ is metafiction that was almost memoir

    Jason Mott’s new novel ‘People Like Us’ is metafiction that was almost memoir
    Aug 13 2025
    In 2021, Jason Mott won the National Book Award for Hell of a Book. Now, he’s out with a new novel called People Like Us, in which two Black writers navigate life in the United States in an era of gun violence. Mott says the book is loosely based on himself – and leans into the audience’s tendency to conflate authors with the stories they write. In today’s episode, Mott talks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about his personal relationships with American identity, guns, and fiction.


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    9 mins
  • ‘Sloppy’ author Rax King says she’s inspired by writers who did their best work sober

    ‘Sloppy’ author Rax King says she’s inspired by writers who did their best work sober
    Aug 12 2025
    Author Rax King says her new book of essays Sloppy is unified by themes of “addiction and bad habits.” King has been sober from alcohol and cocaine for three years and in these essays, she openly shares her sobriety journey. In today’s episode, King speaks with NPR’s Juana Summers about why the author doesn’t see addiction as a shameful secret, King’s relationship with her dad, and learning to generate creativity without substances.

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    9 mins