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NPR's Wisdom From The Top: 'Machiavelli For Women'
Gallery Books

NPR's Book of the Day

NPR's Wisdom From The Top: 'Machiavelli For Women'

Planet Money's Stacey Vanek Smith has reported on business and the economy for over 15 years now. She told NPR's Guy Raz that over that time, she's seen the same barriers blocking advancement for women in the workplace again and again. Recently, she's started to recognize that a lot of tools to move past those barriers can be found in the work of Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli. Vanek Smith lays out these solutions in her new book, Machiavelli for Women: Defend Your Worth, Grow Your Ambition, and Win the Workplace.

What's making us happy: What to watch, read and listen to this weekend

Alexander Skarsgård stars as Amleth and Anya Taylor-Joy as Olga in director Robert Eggers' Viking epic The Northman. Aidan Monaghan/© 2021 Focus Features, LLC hide caption

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Aidan Monaghan/© 2021 Focus Features, LLC

What's Making Us Happy: Recommendations From 'Pop Culture Happy Hour'

What's making us happy: What to watch, read and listen to this weekend

Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: the trailer for The Northman, the novel The School for Good Mothers and more.

The story of marriage equality is more complicated — and costly — than you remember

Same-sex marriage supporters wear "Just married" shirts while celebrating the U.S Supreme Court ruling regarding same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015 in San Francisco. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Politics

The story of marriage equality is more complicated — and costly — than you remember

Sasha Issenberg, author of The Engagement, a history of marriage equality, says he doesn't see the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges being overturned anytime soon.

The story of marriage equality is more complicated — and costly — than you remember

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Alexi Pappas and Glennon Doyle want you to know it's ok to not be ok
The Dial Press

NPR's Book of the Day

Alexi Pappas and Glennon Doyle want you to know it's ok to not be ok

Both our interviews today deal with the pressures we put on ourselves. First, Olympic runner Alexi Pappas on her memoir, Bravey. On the outside, Pappas was living what looked like a great life; she was breaking Greek Olympic records and her movie got a distribution deal. But, she told NPR's Ari Shapiro, she was still deeply sad. Next, an interview from early in the pandemic when women were disproportionately feeling the burden of our new reality. Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed, told former NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro that "every woman on earth needs to lower her expectations for herself."

You won't want to miss the 10 most popular 'Fresh Air' stories of 2021

The top Fresh Air web stories of 2021 reflect the show's status as a place where artists, authors and journalists speak to the moment. Valerie Macon/AFP; Grace Cary; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Valerie Macon/AFP; Grace Cary; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Author Interviews

You won't want to miss the 10 most popular 'Fresh Air' stories of 2021

Fresh Air

From Dr. Anthony Fauci to Sacha Baron Cohen, the year's most popular Fresh Air web pages reflect the show's strength as a place where artists, authors and journalists speak to the moment.

Healing through poetry in 'Light For The World To See'
Mariner Books

NPR's Book of the Day

Healing through poetry in 'Light For The World To See'

Poet and author Kwame Alexander was feeling the weight of being Black in America last summer and didn't know how to make sense of his feelings. So, he made sense of them through his book of poetry, Light For The World To See: A Thousand Words On Race And Hope. It's three poems on three historic events: the murder of George Floyd, Colin Kaepernick's protests, and Barack Obama being elected president. Alexander told NPR's Rachel Martin he wrote this as a call for Black people to remember their humanity.

'Hamnet' gives life to Shakespeare's little-known son
Knopf Doubleda Publishing Group

NPR's Book of the Day

'Hamnet' gives life to Shakespeare's little-known son

William Shakespeare had a son, Hamnet, who likely inspired one of his most famous plays and who died when he was 11 years old. Novelist Maggie O'Farrell was disappointed that more people weren't familiar with him, so she set out to fix that with her book, Hamnet. O'Farrell wanted to reimagine Hamnet's life, his death, and William Shakespeare's family life. But, she told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly, she had a much harder time writing this book than she thought she would.

'Dwyane' uses photographs to wrap up an illustrious career
William Morrow

NPR's Book of the Day

'Dwyane' uses photographs to wrap up an illustrious career

Dwyane Wade's new memoir is not a traditional one. He wanted to show the reader a lot of his cherished memories instead of just writing about them. His new photographic memoir, Dwyane, visually wraps up his basketball career with a series of pictures from his time at Marquette to his 16 years with the Miami Heat. Wade talked to Here & Now's Tonya Mosely about when he knew it was time to step away from the game he loves.

Still looking for that picture book you loved as a kid? Try asking Instagram

One of many bookshelves in the home of Marie-Pascale Traylor, the artist and former preschool teacher behind the "My Old Books" Instagram account and Etsy shop. She collects vintage children's books and helps people reconnect with their long-lost favorites. Marie-Pascale Traylor hide caption

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Marie-Pascale Traylor

Still looking for that picture book you loved as a kid? Try asking Instagram

Some people spend years or longer trying to track down favorite books from childhood. An Instagram account called My Old Books uses crowdsourcing to make the connection.

In 'All Adults Here,' family is messy
Riverhead Books

NPR's Book of the Day

In 'All Adults Here,' family is messy

Author Emma Straub has written a book about family dynamics and the mess and love that comes with them in All Adults Here. It's no secret that families are complicated. Straub argues a lot of our familial relationships are watching each other grow up and whether or not you allow those you love to grow and change. She told NPR's Scott Simon though that even the bits that aren't perfect are worth loving.

TikTok is driving book sales. Here are some titles #BookTok recommends

People are buying a lot more books these days, in part because the pandemic has trapped everyone indoors with little to do. But among younger readers, another factor is driving sales up: The social-media site TikTok, where users post short videos they create themselves. Michele Abercrombie/NPR hide caption

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Michele Abercrombie/NPR

Book News & Features

TikTok is driving book sales. Here are some titles #BookTok recommends

BookTok — the world of book lovers on TikTok — is becoming a major force in the publishing industry.

TikTok is driving book sales. Here are some titles #BookTok recommends

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Kids need to see themselves reflected in media. Here are some recommendations

A page from the book The Me I Choose to Be by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley with photography by Regis and Kahran Bethencourt. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers hide caption

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Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Arts & Life

Kids need to see themselves reflected in media. Here are some recommendations

We asked children's media experts to recommend their favorite new books, TV shows and video games with characters and storylines representing the diversity of the U.S.

Kids need to see themselves reflected in media. Here are some recommendations

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Snuggle up for the holidays with two NPR favorites
ABACUS (LITT)

NPR's Book of the Day

Snuggle up for the holidays with two NPR favorites

It's the holiday season so we at Book Of The Day wanted to bring you two of our holiday favorites. The first is David Sedaris' Santaland Diaries, which first aired on Morning Edition in 1992 and has been an annual NPR tradition ever since. It's a hilarious recounting of his time as a department store elf named Crumpet. The second is some of our staff here at NPR reading the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, which you might know as The Night Before Christmas. Happy holidays "...and to all a good night!"

Snuggle up for the holidays with two NPR favorites

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Joan Didion: The NPR interviews

Joan Didion arrives at the opening night of The Year Of Magical Thinking, a play based on her memoir by the same name, at the Booth Theatre on March 29, 2007, in New York City. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images hide caption

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Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

Author Interviews

Joan Didion: The NPR interviews

NPR's talks with Didion date back to 1977, where the author described what she meant when she wrote "writers are always selling somebody out" in the introduction of Slouching Towards Bethlehem.

Writer Joan Didion, whose 'electric anxiety' inspired a generation, has died at 87

Author Joan Didion poses for a portrait in her New York apartment on Sept. 26, 2005. Kathy Willens/AP hide caption

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Kathy Willens/AP

Obituaries

Writer Joan Didion, whose 'electric anxiety' inspired a generation, has died at 87

When Didion started writing in the 1960s, she put a certain kind of voice on the page — neurotic, female — that hadn't been there before.

Writer Joan Didion, whose 'electric anxiety' inspired a generation, has died at 87

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