Books

National

Watch: Salman Rushdie on the moment he was attacked on stage, and why he felt lonely

Mary Louise Kelly

Megan Lim

William Troop

Nickolai Hammar

Tsering Bista

Annabel Edwards

Mito Habe-Evans

Salman Rushdie is a storyteller. So when you ask him to describe the day, in 2022, when he was attacked and nearly killed by a young man with a knife, Rushdie paints a vivid picture.
Two nights before the attack, Salman Rushdie dreamed he was stabbed onstage

Terry Gross

Rushdie was onstage at a literary event in 2022 when he was attacked by a man in the audience: "Dying in the company of strangers — that was what was going through my mind." His new book is Knife.
Why Patricia Highsmith's most famous creature, Tom Ripley, continues to fascinate

Carole V. Bell

Sinister and visually stunning, the new Netflix series Ripley reminds us why Patricia Highsmith's book The Talented Mr. Ripley continues to influence popular culture.
A historian's view of 'an extraordinary time capsule of the '60s'

Reena Advani

In her new book, Doris Kearns Goodwin revisits the '60s through her late husband Richard Goodwin's perspective—and her own.
National

Growing up, he struggled to read. Then a young teacher saw his potential

Laura Kwerel

Brigid McCarthy

Juleus Ghunta is a published children's author and award-winning poet. But growing up, he could barely read. That was until a teacher saw his potential.
In 'Like Happiness,' a woman struggles to define a past, destructive relationship

Ilana Masad

Ursula Villarreal-Moura's debut novel movingly portrays its protagonist coming to terms with an imbalanced, difficult, and sometimes harmful friendship that was also a key part of her life for years.
Arts & Culture

San Diego weekend arts events: 'Memory Garden,' Lang Lang, a spring market and more

Julia Dixon Evans

This weekend in the arts: A children's book about gardening, immigration and memory; piano sensation plays Saint-Saëns; a Hitchcock spoof; a big (free) spring market; a new reading series; live music and more.
National

10 writers win 2024 Whiting Awards for emerging authors

Meghan Collins Sullivan

Each writer will receive $50,000 to help support their craft — one of largest awards granted to new authors.
Seizures, broken spines and vomiting: Scientific testing that helped facilitate D-Day

Terry Gross

Biomedical engineer Rachel Lance says British scientists submitted themselves to experiments that would be considered wildly unethical today in an effort to shore up the war effort.
'Magical Overthinking' author says information overload can stoke irrational thoughts

Tonya Mosley

Author and podcast host Amanda Montell says our brains are overloaded with a constant stream of information that stokes our innate tendency to believe conspiracy theories and mysticism.