1A - Ask A Mystery Novelist

Writing a book can be hard. Add in the twists and turns of a mystery... Where to even start?!

Three authors join us today to help us cozy up to confusing capers. In the latest edition of our "Ask A" series, we're asking mystery novelists about how they mystify and confound amateur sleuths and gumshoes the world over.

From the red herrings to the smoking guns, how do they craft their whodunits?

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Short Wave - The Trouble With Zero

Happy New Year, Short Wavers! What better time to contemplate the conundrum that is zero than this, the reset of the year? Zero is a fairly new concept in human history and even more recent as a number. It wasn't until around the 7th century that zero was being used as a number. That's when it showed up in the records of Indian mathematicians. Since then, zero has, at times, been met with some fear — at one point, the city of Florence, Italy banned the number.

Today, scientists seek to understand how much humans truly comprehend zero — and why it seems to be different from other numbers. That's how we ended up talking to science writer Yasemin Saplakoglu about the neuroscience of this number that means nothing.

Read more of Yasemin's reporting on zero for Quanta Magazine. Plus, check out our episode on why big numbers break our brains.

Thirst for more math episodes? Let us know what kind of stories you want to hear from us in 2025 by emailing shortwave@npr.org!

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NPR's Book of the Day - Salman Rushdie’s memoir ‘Knife’ recounts his attack and recovery

In 2022, the author Salman Rushdie was onstage at a public event when a man ran up and stabbed him. His new memoir, Knife, delves into that moment when Rushdie thought he was going to die — and everything that's come after, as he's healed from the attack. In today's episode, he speaks at length with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about how the miracles found in his fiction might've manifested themselves in his real life, how his wife – poet Rachel Eliza Griffiths – has helped him move forward, and how writing about that experience became a way for him to fight back.

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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Pod Save America - Introducing: Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams

In this episode of Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams, Stacey speaks to Dr. Céline Gounder, an infectious disease specialist, epidemiologist and editor at large for public health at KFF Health News, about the threats to public health with the incoming Trump Administration. They talk through Trump’s appointees for the nation’s top health and science agencies like RFK Jr., how to bring scientific thinking back to policy making, and how to differentiate between public health and individual healthcare. Then Stacey explains how to make change by “power-mapping” an issue, finding out who is responsible for the problem, who has jurisdiction over it, and who is already thinking and talking about solutions. Make sure you subscribe to Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams wherever you get your podcasts and on Youtube, so you don’t miss an episode.

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Amarica's Constitution - Justice on the Spot – Special Guest Justice Stephen Breyer

Amarica’s Constitution proudly celebrates four years of ambitious inquiry with a long-promised and very honored guest, former Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, Stephen G. Breyer.  Justice Breyer placed no restrictions on our questioning, and we engaged him in a frank discussion on a variety of topics related to his time on the Court, and then we switched to his current book: Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, not Textualism.  As you can imagine, Professor Amar has some opinions on the matter as well.  The discussion ranged far, from the French essayist Montaigne to 20th century American pragmatists, as Justice Breyer’s broad range is displayed in a way few have seen.  We take our time, and the Justice generously indulged, for an in-depth look at the thinking that helped shaped the bench for decades. This podcast will be available on YouTube video as well as the usual audio feeds found here; we will provide  information on accessing the video in subsequent podcast episodes, as well as on our Instagram feed - check it out.  CLE credit is available through podcast.njsba.com.

Everything Everywhere Daily - Questions and Answers: Volume 26

January is the first month of the year in the Gregorian calendar. Its name derives from Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and transitions. Janus symbolizes new opportunities and looks both forward and backward. 

It is often associated with new resolutions, fresh starts, and winter in the Northern Hemisphere, while it marks the peak of summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

January also represents something else…..questions and answers. 

Stay tuned as I answer your questions on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.


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