James McBride won the National Book Award for "The Good Lord Bird," his novel about the abolitionist John Brown. He explains why he doesn't like most fictional portraits of slavery and how he tried to tell a different story.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Kelly Lambert tells Anne Strainchamps about her brain research into how using both hands on crafts projects can be as beneficial to the body as taking psychoactive medication.
Punk legend Patti Smith. 40 years ago, she came out with the seminal punk album Horses –with cover photo by her friend and lover Robert Mappelthorpe.
Jonatha Brooke is a singer and songwriter who was invited by Woody Guthrie's daughter to visit her famous father's archives and use some of his unpublished material. The result is an album called "The Works."
If you think the American middle class has it bad, consider life in debt-ridden Italy or Greece. Best-selling financial writer Michael Lewis portrays the downfall of several European countries with his usual verve, in Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World.
Acclaimed novelist Martin Amis talks about growing up as the son of another famous novelist — Kingsley Amis.
When he was a young professor, philosopher Mark Rowlands adopted a wolf named Brenin, who turned into his constant companion. He reflects on the life lessons he learned from Brenin.
Cissy Chandler was 18 years older than her husband, which he may or may not have ever known.
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