Terry Gross

Author Ricky Riccardi says Armstrong's innovations as a trumpeter and vocalist helped set the entire soundtrack of the 20th century. His new book about Armstrong's early life is Stomp Off, Let's Go.

Derek Thompson from The Atlantic about his February cover story called "The Anti-Social Century," which looks at how Americans are spending less time with other people. Over the last 20 years, hanging out with others has plunged by more than 20%, choosing me time instead. Now, the problem is that humans by nature are social beings, and the consequences of isolation are stark.

scholar Imani Perry about her new book, "Black In Blues." It's a fascinating meditation on the color blue and how it is intertwined with the concept of Blackness from the dying of indigo cloths in West Africa to Louis Armstrong's question, what did I do to be so black-and-blue? Imani Perry is the National Book Award-winning author of "South To America," as well as several other books including "Looking For Lorraine," which is a biography of the playwright Lorraine Hansberry, and "Breathe: A Letter To My Sons."