In the first major biography of James Baldwin in over three decades, Nicholas Boggs presents an intimate portrait shaped by the people who inspired him. Boggs traces four of Baldwin's transformative relationships that depict him not just as a fearless social critic, but as an emotional, vulnerable man shaped by love. Geoff Bennett spoke with Boggs about his book, "Baldwin: A Love Story." PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy
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.
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
Nearly 60 years after his death, there is a renewed interest in the life and music of American folk icon and social activist Woody Guthrie. Last week, an album of songs and recordings of him talking was released, and Guthrie’s songs are showing up on the set lists of some of music’s biggest stars. Jeffrey Brown reports for our series, Art in Action, and our arts and culture coverage, CANVAS. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy
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.
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
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.
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
There is a hidden addiction plaguing humanity right now: revenge. Researchers have identified retaliation in response to real and imagined grievances as the root cause of most forms of human aggression and violence. From vicious tweets to road rage, murder-suicide, and armed insurrection, perpetrators almost always see themselves as victims seeking justice. Chillingly, recent behavioral and neuroimaging studies of the human brain show that harboring a personal grievance triggers revenge desires and activates the neural pleasure and reward circuitry of addiction. Although this behavior is ancient and seems inevitable, by understanding retaliation and violence as an addictive brain-biological process, we can control deadly revenge cravings and save lives. In The Science of Revenge: Understanding the World's Deadliest Addiction—and How to Overcome It(Random House, 2025), Yale violence researcher and psychiatry lecturer James Kimmel, Jr., JD, uncovers the truth behind why we want to hurt the people who hurt us, what happens when it gets out of hand, and how to stop it. Weaving neuroscience, psychology, sociology, law, and human history with captivating storytelling, Dr. Kimmel reveals the neurological mechanisms and prevalence of revenge addiction. He shines an unsparing light on humanity’s pathological obsession with revenge throughout history; his own struggle with revenge addiction that almost led him to commit a mass shooting; America’s growing addiction to revenge as a special brand of justice; and the startlingly similar addictive behaviors and motivations of childhood bullies, abusive partners, aggrieved employees, sparring politicians, street gang members, violent extremists, mass killers, and tyrannical dictators. He also reveals the amazing, healing changes that take place inside your brain and body when you practice forgiveness. Emphasizing the necessity of proven public health approaches and personal solutions for every level of revenge addiction, he offers urgent, actionable information and novel methods for preventing and treating violence.
James Kimmel, Jr. is an assistant clinical professor in psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, a lawyer, and the founder and co-director of the Yale Collaborative for Motive Control Studies.
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.
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
She’s the preschool teacher to millions, though most of her students have never set foot in her classroom. Rachel Accurso, known as Ms. Rachel, is the creator of the wildly popular YouTube series "Songs for Littles," a lifeline for parents and a source of joy for toddlers. She sat down with Geoff Bennett to discuss how she's using her platform to call attention to the plight of children in Gaza. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders
Philip Carr-Gomm joins Jana Byars to talk about A Brief History of Nakedness (Reaktion, 2010) on the occasion of its newest paperback edition. From the naked sages of India to modern-day witches and Christian nudists, from Lady Godiva to Lady Gaga, Carr-Comm writes a survey of the touching, sometimes tragic, and often bizarre story of our relationships with our naked bodies. As one common story goes, Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, had no idea that there was any shame in their lack of clothes; they were perfectly confident in their birthday suits among the animals of the Garden of Eden. All was well until that day when they ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and went scrambling for fig leaves to cover their bodies. Since then, lucrative businesses have arisen to provide many stylish ways to cover our nakedness, for the naked human body now evokes powerful and often contradictory ideas--it thrills and revolts us, signifies innocence and sexual experience, and often marks the difference between nature and society. In A Brief History of Nakedness psychologist Philip Carr-Gomm traces our inescapable preoccupation with nudity. Rather than studying the history of the nude in art or detailing how the naked body has been denigrated in the media, A Brief History of Nakedness reveals how religious teachers, politicians, protesters, and cultural icons have used nudity to enlighten or empower themselves as well as entertain us. Among his many examples, Carr-Gomm discusses how advertisers and the media employ images of bare skin--or even simply the word "naked"--to garner our attention, how mystics have used nudity to get closer to God, and how political protesters have discovered that baring all is one of the most effective ways to gain publicity for their cause. Carr-Gomm investigates how this use of something as natural as nakedness actually gets under our skin and evokes complicated and complex emotional responses.
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.
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
