Épisodes

  • ‘Long Way Down’ and ‘The Hate U Give’ are modern classics about gun violence

    ‘Long Way Down’ and ‘The Hate U Give’ are modern classics about gun violence
    Sep 19 2025
    The final episode in our Back to School series focuses on two contemporary books that tell stories about gun violence. First, Jason Reynolds’ 2017 novel in verse Long Way Down centers on a moment of decision that occurs when a teenage boy is on his way to avenge his brother. In today’s episode, Reynolds speaks with NPR’s David Greene about avoiding one-dimensional characters and promoting literacy. Then, Angie Thomas’ 2017 debut The Hate U Give is about a girl who attends school in a neighborhood that’s very different from where she lives. In an interview with NPR’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Thomas discusses codeswitching and combatting the “ghetto girl” stereotype.


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    15 min
  • What Toni Morrison learned from revisiting five of her most-read novels

    What Toni Morrison learned from revisiting five of her most-read novels
    Sep 18 2025
    Arguably, no high school reading list is complete without one of Toni Morrison’s books. In today’s episode, we look back at a 2004 conversation between the author and NPR’s Renee Montagne, who visited Morrison to talk about a new paperback re-release of five of her novels. The interview focuses on Morrison’s perspective on hauntings, apparitions and ghosts, including the way Morrison’s late father helped her complete Song of Solomon.


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    10 min
  • Sandra Cisneros’ ‘The House on Mango Street’ was born from a feeling of displacement

    Sandra Cisneros’ ‘The House on Mango Street’ was born from a feeling of displacement
    Sep 17 2025
    Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street is a series of vignettes drawn from the experiences of a Mexican-American girl living in Chicago. Since its publication in 1983, it’s become required reading for high school students across the country. In today’s Back to School episode, we revisit a 2009 conversation between the author and NPR’s Renee Montagne, which recognized the book’s 25th anniversary.


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    8 min
  • In her translation of ‘The Odyssey,’ Emily Wilson aimed for ‘a crystalline clarity’

    In her translation of ‘The Odyssey,’ Emily Wilson aimed for ‘a crystalline clarity’
    Sep 16 2025
    In 2017, Emily Wilson became the first woman to translate Homer’s The Odyssey into English – more than three millennia after the epic’s inception. In the second installment of our Back to School series, Wilson talks with NPR’s Lauren Frayer about how she approached aspects of her translation, including social hierarchies and Homeric epithets.


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    10 min
  • Jhumpa Lahiri says the phrase ‘Interpreter of Maladies’ came to her in grad school

    Jhumpa Lahiri says the phrase ‘Interpreter of Maladies’ came to her in grad school
    Sep 15 2025
    It’s Back to School week at NPR’s Book of the Day, which means we’re looking back at interviews with authors who may have shown up on your high school syllabus. First, Jhumpa Lahiri debuted her short story collection Interpreter of Maladies in 1999. In the title story, an American family visits India and their guide develops an infatuation with the wife. In today’s episode, Lahiri speaks with NPR’s Liane Hansen about the inspiration behind the book’s title, the author’s relationship with speaking Bengali, and Lahiri’s experience writing a story from a male perspective.


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    11 min
  • ‘2024’ and ‘From the Clinics to the Capitol’ dissect opposing political movements

    ‘2024’ and ‘From the Clinics to the Capitol’ dissect opposing political movements
    Sep 12 2025
    Today’s episode features two books that dissect very different case studies in politics: Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign and the anti-abortion movement. First, in July 2024, Harris’ presidential campaign launched like a rocket – but it seemed to stall shortly after. 2024 goes behind the scenes of the Harris team as they leapt into the race months before the election. In today’s episode, NPR’s Scott Detrow speaks with two of the book’s authors, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf, about how Harris’ inner circle saw crucial campaign moments. Then, Carol Mason’s new book From the Clinics to the Capitol breaks down the political strategy of the anti-abortion movement. In today’s episode, she speaks with NPR’s Sarah McCammon about ties between the movement and white nationalism.


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    19 min
  • In Meg Medina’s new young adult novel, a 13-year-old girl becomes a sea ghost

    In Meg Medina’s new young adult novel, a 13-year-old girl becomes a sea ghost
    Sep 11 2025
    Meg Medina’s new young adult novel begins with a fall: Graciela, a 13-year-old-girl, is blown off a cliff and sucked into the bottom of the sea. A century later, she awakens and her afterlife begins. Most of the characters in Graciela in the Abyss are ghosts and spirits, but Medina says the story is really about life. In today’s episode, she joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on the author’s “graveyard” of ideas, death as a constant, and her role as the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.


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    8 min
  • ‘Misbehaving at the Crossroads’ is a lesson in the complexity of reconciliation

    ‘Misbehaving at the Crossroads’ is a lesson in the complexity of reconciliation
    Sep 10 2025
    In her first nonfiction book Misbehaving at the Crossroads, Honoree Fanonne Jeffers weaves together history, political commentary and poetry that centers Black women. The poet and novelist’s essays explore what it’s like to occupy an intersectional identity while excavating the past. In today’s episode, Jeffers speaks with NPR’s Juana Summers about how writing this book led to a surprising reconciliation within her family.


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    9 min