Terry Gross

Swarns' new book — The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church — expands on that article. It tells the story of the Church's history of enslavement in America, while illustrating the consequences by focusing on generations of one family that had several members among those 272 people sold by the Church in 1838.

Cooper was birdwatching in Central Park in 2020 when a white woman falsely accused him of threatening her. His book chronicles life as a Black birder, gay activist and Marvel comics writer and editor.

Weil, who died June 1, spoke to Fresh Air in 2000, along with her husband and writing partner Barry Mann. Mann described her as a "very organized" writer, who stuck with a verse until it was complete.