Books

Pooja Bavishi shares frozen treats from her South Asian-inspired cookbook 'Malai'

Leila Fadel

Mansee Khurana

Adriana Gallardo

NPR's Leila Fadel visits Pooja Bavishi, the author of Malai, a South Asian-inspired frozen desserts cookbook, at her D.C. shop where they sample ice cream and make their own treat.
'Buffy' podcasters built a community — and they didn't let divorce break it

Alan Yu

Buffering the Vampire Slayer podcasters Jenny Owen Youngs and Kristin Russo write about their community of fans, and how it help them keep working together after a split, in Slayers, Every One of Us.
Do what you can. A new kids' book shows how even 'The Littlest Drop' helps

Samantha Balaban

A brave hummingbird does what she can to fight a fire in Sascha Alper's new book. It was one of the last projects illustrator Jerry Pinkney worked on before he died. His son Brian finished it for him.
10 emerging writers win Whiting Awards

NPR Staff

The awards, which come with a $50K purse, have helped launch the writing careers of many now well-known authors, including Colson Whitehead, Ocean Vuong, Alice McDermott and Jia Tolentino.
Education

'The Great Gatsby' turns 100. What's it like teaching it today?

Andrew Limbong

F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel has spent years on high school reading lists. How are literature professors teaching it today? And do students still find it relevant?
100 years later, 'The Great Gatsby' still speaks to the troubled dream of America

Maureen Corrigan

Great works of art are great, in part, because they continue to have something to say to the present: They're both timebound and timeless. And, boy, does Gatsby have something to say to us in 2025.
Politics

Biden's closest advisers were in 'denial' about his decline, 'Uncharted' author says

Terry Gross

Author Chris Whipple says Biden's family and closest advisers operated in a "fog of delusion" regarding his ability to serve another term: "There's no doubt that they were protecting the president."
5 buzzy books out this week that look inward

Colin Dwyer

A number of books out this week — a tale of tribal politics, a close-focus mystery, measured criticism and a unique relationship — are tied up in answering the question: How do we define ourselves?
Most Americans want to read more books. We just don't.

Andrew Limbong

When we worry about the declining rates of literacy and a lack of reading skills, it's often about children. But how often are adults reading these days? And what are we reading? A new NPR/Ipsos poll finds out.
Politics

'All Boys Aren't Blue' tops the ALA's list of most challenged books

Andrew Limbong

Organized pressure groups, not individual parents, are leading the fight to remove books from shelves, according to a new report from the American Library Association.