NPR's Book of the Day
NPR
300 episodes
In need of a good read? Or just want to keep up with the books everyone's talking about? NPR's Book of the Day gives you today's very best writing in a snackable, skimmable, pocket-sized podcast. Whether you're looking to engage with the big questions of our times – or temporarily escape from them – we've got an author who will speak to you, all genres, mood and writing styles included. Catch today's great books in 15 minutes or less. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including sponsor-free listening for Book of the Day.
Episodes page 2 of 6
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Chang-Rae Lee on whether his new novel 'A Tender Age' is autobiographical
Chang-Rae Lee’s new novel is filled with some of his own memories, like worrying about being picked last for dodgeball and sizing up his fellow Asian American classmates to determine who was most “foreign.” Lee says,…
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'New York Times' obituarist Sam Roberts says he writes about life – not death
Sam Roberts says when people find out what he does for work, they tend to shrink away. Roberts is a veteran obituarist for The New York Times. But the writer says he writes about life – not death. His new memoir Are…
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In 'Daytona Teddy Riggs,' a former high school football star enters a downward spiral
Daytona Teddy Riggs is a former high school football star from a wealthy oil and gas family. But in his 20s, he enters a downward spiral as he seeks to become the World’s Strongest Man. Daytona Teddy Riggs follows this…
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Former U.S. Mexico ambassador Ken Salazar on new memoir and "crisis" at the border
Ken Salazar's personal and political life have been defined by the U.S.-Mexico border. The fifth-generation Mexican American has served as a U.S. senator, secretary of the interior and ambassador to Mexico. His new…
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Journalist Jodi Kantor and happiness expert Arthur Brooks on how to find purpose
Journalist Jodi Kantor and Harvard happiness expert Arthur Brooks are both out with new books about identifying and cultivating meaning in one’s life. Brooks says he wanted to write The Meaning of Your Life after…
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In 'The Foursome,' conjoined twins marry two sisters — and that's just the beginning
In 1839, conjoined twins and famous showmen Chang and Eng Bunker — native to Thailand, then called Siam — took a break from touring, settled in North Carolina, bought a slave plantation, and married two American…
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Andy Weir reveals his fun and frantic creative process behind 'Project Hail Mary'
In Project Hail Mary, amateur astronaut Ryland Grace must travel light years from Earth to save humanity from a dying Sun. The stakes are high, to say the least. But author Andy Weir was intentional about centering…
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'The Correspondent' is an epistolary novel, but can letters tell the whole story?
Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent became a runaway hit for its exploration of a life told through letters. When readers meet Sybil Van Antwerp she’s in her 70s, and she takes readers on a journey through her various…
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'This is Where the Serpent Lives' is a sprawling debut novel set in modern Pakistan
Author Daniyal Mueenuddin hit the ground running with his debut novel, This is Where the Serpent Lives. Set in modern Pakistan, the story spans generations and explores class, corruption, and crime — themes that…
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'Cloudthief' and 'Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep' are novels that center tech
Today’s episode features two novels with tech at the center. Climate journalist Nathaniel Rich’s Cloudthief is the story of a hacker and a journalist who team up to rob a data center in Oklahoma. Rich spoke with Here &…
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In 'Hinterlands,' Hannah Lucinda Smith warns not to overlook conflict at the fringes
Hannah Lucinda Smith is a veteran foreign correspondent. Her new book Hinterlands explores whether hidden conflicts unfolding in little-noticed border areas might be shaping a new world order. In today’s episode, she…
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Authors Annie Hartnett and Kevin Wilson on writing road trip novels
By chance, authors Annie Hartnett and Kevin Wilson published road trip novels last year within just a few weeks of each other. The Road to Tender Hearts follows a 67-year-old man, his estranged daughter and his newly…
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Political strategist Ben Wikler on how Democrats can regain ground
As Democrats struggle to revive their party, democratic strategist Ben Wikler has advice to share. Wikler was chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin from 2019-2025. And the key, he says, is to focus on the whole…
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'Etna' author Paul Yoon on narrating war through a dog's eyes
Etna is a dog living in a fictional, coastal country on a farm with his mom and siblings. Then, one day, he’s scooped up by a mysterious woman who enlists him for war. The new novel Etna is narrated through the dog’s…
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'Torched' and 'Wildfire Days' look at California's wildfires from the front lines
This summer, wildfires have swept across Europe, Northern Africa, Canada and the U.S. – and today’s episode features firsthand accounts of deadly fires in California. In Torched, CBS News correspondent Jonathan…
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Robinne Lee's 'Crash Into Me' portrays middle age as complicated – and sexy
Robinne Lee’s first novel, The Idea of You, was a big hit. It tells the story of a single mother who begins a romance with a much younger man, the lead singer of a fictional boy band. In Lee’s latest novel, Crash Into…
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'Sex Diaries' author says people are becoming more empowered in their relationships
Sex Diaries is a weekly column in New York Magazine, collected and edited by Alyssa Shelasky, that has featured headlines like “The Musician Ghosting His Dates” or “The Woman Cheating With Her Ex.” Now, Shelasky has…
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In 'I Made You Up Inside My Head,' the stories of three strangers become intertwined
I Made You Up Inside My Head is Marta Pérez-Carbonell’s debut novel. In the book, three strangers have a surprise encounter on an overnight train. A woman named Alicia meets Terence and Mick. One of them is a writer at…
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Sen. Raphael Warnock argues that progressives should bring spirituality to politics
Before Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, became the state's junior U.S. senator, he was selected to serve as senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. His new book, The Crooked Places Made…
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Novels by Ben Reeves and Matt Haig look at life through the eyes of death (literally)
Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. Two new novels use death to shed new light on life, but…
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'The Friend' author Sigrid Nunez is out with a new collection of short stories
Sigrid Nunez – author of novels like The Friend and What Are You Going Through – is out with a new collection of short stories. It Will Come Back to You features characters like a middle-age daughter coping with her…
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ESPN soccer correspondent Julien Laurens on why Kylian Mbappé is “wired differently”
French footballer Kylian Mbappé was one of the World Cup's biggest stars this summer, despite France's loss to Spain in the semifinals. ESPN soccer correspondent Julien Laurens has written a new book called Kylian…
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Author Tana French on the best summer reading set in Ireland
In preparation for an upcoming trip to Ireland, All Things Considered host Mary Louise Kelly has been tearing through Tana French's books. French is the queen of Irish crime fiction and has authored the popular Dublin…
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Colson Whitehead on 'Cool Machine,' the final in his Harlem Trilogy series
Ray Carney is a furniture salesman in Harlem with a long-running side hustle. Colson Whitehead’s Harlem Trilogy follows the character as he descends into crime across decades in a rapidly changing New York. Cool…
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In 'The Great Wherever' and 'Country People,' city dwellers try out rural life
In two new novels, city folk are thrown into life in the country. The Great Wherever is a multigenerational story told through ghosts. A woman living in Washington, D.C. learns she’s inherited her father’s share of a…
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Deb Haaland on 'A Voice Like Mine' and her candidacy for governor of New Mexico
Deb Haaland’s ancestors, who were Pueblo Indians, were the first inhabitants of New Mexico – and she’s had a number of firsts herself. In 2018 she was one of the first two Native women elected to Congress, and then in…
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'The Delivery' is a horror novella about a family's mysterious AI assistant
After a couple suffers a tragedy, they receive a mysterious and exclusive offer for a humanoid AI companion that knows everything about them. At first, Mr. Man is a godsend for their home, but then it begins to…
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Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy on why he "stays up at night" worrying about politics
Dave Portnoy, the polarizing social media personality and founder of Barstool Sports, has published a memoir. In Cancel Me If You Can, he writes about building a media empire – but also about his role as a political…
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In Celeste Ng’s new novel 'Our Missing Hearts,' a boy searches for his missing mother
Celeste Ng – author of titles like Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere – says she begins her writing process by envisioning an image, then investigating something she doesn’t understand. Her new…
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'The Shampoo Effect,' 'The Revelation of Dionne Daphne' are marked by big surprises
In two new novels, characters with glamorous lives have their routines disrupted by shocking news. The Shampoo Effect is a story about an extremely close friend group living in a small seaside town. In today’s episode,…
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Mary Beard's 'Talking Classics' examines our obsession with the ancient world
Why are we obsessed with the ancient world, even the most ordinary parts of it? Mary Beard tackles that question in her new book Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old. Her personal interest in antiquity began with a…
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Artist and activist Ai Weiwei on political censorship in the West
In 2008, artist and activist Ai Weiwei clashed with the Chinese government over its response to the deadly Sichuan earthquake. The government had censored information about the death toll, so Ai Weiwei launched a…
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Mike Pence's 'What Conservatives Believe' critiques the second Trump administration
Former Vice President Mike Pence is out with a new book that includes critiques of the second Trump administration and the populist right. What Conservatives Believe, Pence says, was inspired in part by Barry…
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Jonathan Jakubowicz says he wanted to write a book Venezuelans couldn't resist
Filmmaker Jonathan Jakubowicz says he turned to fiction because he could no longer make movies in Venezuela after being exiled. In 2016, he published the blockbuster hit The Adventures of Juan Planchard, a novel about…
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'Kin' and 'When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky' fictionalize the Jim Crow South
As we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., we’re revisiting author interviews on important books about American history. Today’s episode features two novels that fictionalize the Jim Crow South. Author…
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Eddie Glaude on the tension at the center of America's milestone birthdays
As we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., we’re revisiting author interviews on important books about American history. In Eddie Glaude’s new book, the Princeton professor says the United States has a…
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Revisiting the story of the American Revolution with Rick Atkinson
As we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., we’re revisiting author interviews on important books about American history. In today’s episode, author and journalist Rick Atkinson speaks with Weekend…
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'America's Founding Son' documents John Quincy Adams' influential post-presidency
As we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., we’re revisiting author interviews on important books about American history. Bob Crawford of the Avett Brothers has a second career as a writer. In today’s…
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Norah O'Donnell’s 'We the Women' pays tribute to U.S. history's female heroes
As we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., we’re revisiting author interviews on important books that speak to American history. In today’s episode, journalist Norah O’Donnell joins NPR’s Mary Louise…
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What to read this summer, according to our NPR colleagues
Summer can be a great time to catch up on reading. If you’re looking for recommendations, the NPR Books team is out with a list of some of our staff’s favorite reads of 2026 so far. In today’s episode, NPR’s Elissa…
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Judy Blume says she doesn't miss writing … but she’s very glad she wrote
Over 50 years, Judy Blume wrote an incomparable set of books for young readers, including Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret, Deenie, Tiger Eyes, Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing and Blubber. But she doesn't write…
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In 'Names Have Been Changed,' a criminal on the run confesses her story on a podcast
Ophir led an unremarkable life until her best friend pulled her into the scam. After 10 years on the run from the Singapore police, she’s assumed new identities, losing sight of herself along the way. She decides to…
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A new book argues Elon Musk is the architect of a new world view
A new book argues that Elon Musk has an influence in the 21st century similar to what Henry Ford had in the 20th. He's not just a businessman, but the architect and proponent of a world view. Historian Quinn Slobodian…
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Tom Perrotta’s novel 'Ghost Town' revisits a New Jersey childhood from a bygone era
In Tom Perrotta’s new novel, a successful writer named Jimmy Perrini is invited to return to his hometown in suburban New Jersey. The invitation takes him back to a difficult summer when he was in eighth grade and had…
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New biographies recount how The Rolling Stones and Soundgarden changed rock music
The Rolling Stones and Soundgarden are two of the most influential bands in the history of rock – and two new books tell their stories. The Rolling Stones by Bob Spitz is a history of the band, but also of drugs, women…
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Laverne Cox on her childhood, 'Walden' and her new memoir 'Transcendent'
Laverne Cox became a breakout TV star at 40 with a starring role in Orange Is the New Black. Since then, she’s become an advocate and role model for trans people, which she says means “invit[ing] people to see trans…
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In 'The Jellyfish Problem,' an introverted scientist is called in to help an island
Author Tessa Yang describes her The Jellyfish Problem protagonist as an "introverted, know-it-all dork." In the novel, Jo, a marine biologist, gets a call from her unrequited college crush, Nadia, who has a request.…
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Sen. Chris Murphy wants the left and right to fix the country’s 'spiritual rot'
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut believes there is a “spiritual rot” festering in the country – and he wants the left and right to come together to resolve it. His new book Crisis of the Common Good argues…
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In 'Contrapposto,' the meaning of love and the meaning of art go hand-in-hand
Novelist Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, The Circle) has a new novel out: Contrapposto. It’s a decade-spanning romance of sorts, between two devoted creatives whose careers in the art world…
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Two romance books give opposite takes on love, relationships and the absence of both
In the new novel They All Fall in Love at the End, polyamory is the topic at hand — primarily what it offers the protagonist and how she navigates a world where open relationships are not the norm. The End of Romance…
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