Author Richard Rothstein says the housing programs begun under the New Deal were tantamount to a "state-sponsored system of segregation," in which people of color were purposely excluded from suburbs.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist revisits the lives and deaths of his parents in his new memoir, Between Them. "As much as they loved me, an only child, they loved each other more," he says.
Scott Westerfeld's new graphic novel was inspired by photos of Chernobyl; it's the story of two sisters living on the outskirts of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. after a mysterious incident destroys the city.
A new book traces the history of white evangelicals in the U.S., from the group's rebellious 19th century roots to its role as political force. We asked the author about where the movement is headed.
Feeling out of place is a fact of life for Bell, who describes himself as a "black and proud ... mama's boy." He celebrates his outsider status in the new memoir The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell.
Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Scaachi Koul of BuzzFeed about her new book of essays, cheerily titled One Day We'll All Be Dead And None of This Will Matter.
Legal expert Jeffrey Toobin says Hearst, who was abducted in 1974 and declared allegiance to her captors, "responded rationally to the circumstances." Originally broadcast Aug. 3, 2016.
In Las Vegas-based writer Laura McBride's new novel, "'Round Midnight," the lives of four women - a casino owner, her daughter, an immigrant from the Philippines, and an immigrant from Mexico - are intertwined.
In ancient Rome, food was a bargaining chip for position for slaves and nobles alike. At the center of Feast Of Sorrow is real-life nobleman Apicius, who inspired the oldest surviving cookbook.
The Facebook executive lost her husband in 2015. She says, "Rather than offer to do something, it's often better to do anything. Just do something specific." Her new book is called Option B.
Dr. Elizabeth Ford treated mentally ill inmates in New York City for more than a decade. It was almost universal, she says, that they had suffered abuse or significant neglect as children.
Daniel Sharfstein's new book Thunder In the Mountains sheds new light on the Nez Perce Indian wars, and the two historical figures on each side of the conflict: Chief Joseph and Oliver Otis Howard.
Washington Post reporter Amy Goldstein talks about her book Janesville: An American Story, that's about a factory town in Wisconsin that lost its lifeblood when its factory shut down.
After an incorrect dose of a chemotherapy drug for Crohn's disease caused Anne Webster's bone marrow to shut down, she decided that, if she survived, she'd write about her experience.
Author Peggy Orenstein says that when it comes to adolescent sexuality, the subject of girls' pleasure is often left unspoken. Originally broadcast March 29, 2016.
For a new word to enter the dictionary, it must meet three criteria: widespread use, sustained use and meaningful use. Merriam-Webster lexicographer Kory Stamper explains the process in Word by Word.
"Everybody's got to get out there and find the piece that they can do," the Democratic Massachusetts senator says. She talks to NPR's Audie Cornish about her new book, the middle class and activism.
Alyssa Mastromonaco worked in the West Wing for six exhilarating and exhausting years. She describes that era in her new memoir, Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?
David Letterman, one of the most famous people in America, is an enigma. Jason Zinoman's new book, Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night, looks at the late night talk show host's long career and the impact it still has on broadcasting today.
The Osage tribe in Oklahoma became spectacularly wealthy in the early 1900s — and then members started turning up dead. David Grann's Killers of the Flower Moon describes the dark plot against them.
Poet and author Kevin Coval talks about his new book of poems, A People's History of Chicago. The book tells the stories of the city's marginalized communities.
In his new memoir, the one-time member of The Monkees recalls befriending John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix, who opened for the band on a 1967 tour. (That didn't last long.)