NPR's Book of the Day

Two new novels center vital, but unusual connections across age. In The Take, an aspiring writer named Maggie agrees to an outlandish deal with Ingrid, an established Hollywood producer. Author Kelly Yang spoke with NPR’s Ailsa Chang about the medical procedure at the center of the novel, which accelerates Maggie’s aging while reversing Ingrid’s. Then, The Left and the Lucky tells the story of an 8-year-old boy and a man in his 40s who bond one night over a quesadilla. Author and musician Willy Vlautin told NPR’s Scott Simon about his commitment to stories with working-class characters.

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

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Wars in Ukraine and in the Middle East are reshaping global politics. In The Dark Side of the Earth, exiled Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar traces the origins of these conflicts to the end of the Cold War. The book is a history of Russia as seen from Moscow during different moments in the Soviet Empire. In today’s episode, the author talks with NPR’s Nick Spicer about how the Soviet Union’s 1991 collapse was only a temporary win for democracy – and why this theme might resonate with American readers today.

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

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Natalie Heller Mills is a tradwife influencer with 5 million followers. She drinks raw milk, eats farm fresh eggs, and is “perfect at being alive.” But when she wakes up in 1855, the very time period she’s fetishized, she feels afraid – and paranoid that she’s being filmed. In today’s episode, Caro Claire Burke joins NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe for a conversation about the author’s debut novel, Yesteryear. They discuss Natalie as an anti-hero, Burke’s interest in power hierarchies over religion, and how the author pushed the tradwife trend to “its final conclusion.”

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

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Demis Hassabis says when he set up an AI lab in 2010, “no one believed in it.” The Google DeepMind co-founder and Nobel Prize winner is the subject of Infinity Machine, a new biography by Sebastian Mallaby. The book is a portrait of Hassabis, who Mallaby characterizes as a rare competitor across both science and business. In today’s episode, Mallaby speaks with NPR’s Steve Inskeep about Hassabis’ origins as a young chess player, his Einstein-level ambition, and parallels between Hassabis and Robert Oppenheimer.

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

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

In Maria Semple’s new novel, Adora Hazzard works as a moral trainer to the tweens of a wealthy family on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She’s a content, divorced stoic philosopher in her late 50s with a coven of likeminded, middle-aged female friends. But one night at the ballet, she falls into conversation with a stranger and gets seduced by a world of secrecy, black-market art, and international intrigue. In today’s episode, Semple joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about Go Gentle, stoicism, and “getting the party started” in her 50s.

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

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy