Books & Literature

John Cage reads from his "Empty Words" works and discusses his effort to create a "non-syntactical language."

Fresh Air broadcasts a lecture by John Barth. Barth explains the craft of writing and reads from his new novel, Letters.

Fresh Air broadcasts a lecture featuring poet Dennis Brutus, who reads his works and explains his literary influences and the experience of being a writer in South Africa during apartheid.

John Dean, former White House Counsel for Richard Nixon, discusses his new book "Blind Ambition" and the Watergate scandal.

Poet Adrienne Rich reads selections of her work.

Novelist and dog expert Robert Calder joins the show to discuss his book "The Dogs," dog behavior, and the relationship between humans and dogs.

Yugoslavian journalist, critic, and feminist Slavenka Drakulic (SLA-vinka DRA-coo-lich). Her new book of essays is "How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed," (published by Norton & Co.)

Whitworth, who died March 8, worked at The New Yorker from 1966 to 1980, as both a writer and editor, and later served as editor-in-chief of The Atlantic Monthly. Originally broadcast in 2001.

In her new book, Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable, Joanna Schwartz examines the legal protections — including qualified immunity and no-knock warrants — that have protected officers from the repercussions of abuse.

Stewart's back as Jean-Luc Picard in season 2 of the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Picard. "I am not averse to risk-taking and I don't judge myself," he says. Originally broadcast July 2, 2020.

Novelist Judith Viorst has written humorous books for children and for adults and is also a contributing editor to Redbook. Viorst spent years studying at the Psychoanalytic Institute in Washington, D. C. before writing her new book, "Necessary Losses." The non-fiction work's subject is coping with loss.

Science fiction novelist Douglas Adams has recently released a sequel to his book A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He has also garnered acclaim for the original novel's BBC Radio adaptation, which he also writes.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews a new travel memoir that features tigers and moments of painful change and solitude and listening.

Gonzo journalist Frank Owen, author of Clubland: The Fabulous Rise and Murderous Fall of Club Culture, has turned his attention to the history of the drug methamphetamine — and he went on a four-day meth binge as part of his reporting. The book is titled No Speed Limit: The Highs and Lows of Meth.

Journalist Arnaud de Borchgrave co-wrote a spy-thriller novel called The Spike, which draws on his experience as a foreign correspondent. He talks about the role intelligence agencies often play in the world of journalism.

Susan Burton writes about her experiences with anorexia and compulsive eating in the new memoir Empty. She says the title of the book was inspired by the feeling she chased for so many years.

Green's YA novel, Turtles All The Way Down, has been recently adapted to film. Green described living with OCD, and how "one little thought" could take over his mind, in this 2017 interview.

Didion, who died Dec. 23, was known her cool, unsentimental observations. Her books include Slouching Towards Bethlehem and The Year of Magical Thinking. Originally broadcast in 1987 and 2005.

Annie Liontas experienced three brain injuries in the span of one year, which led to dizziness, memory fog and anger — and impacted Liontas' marriage and sex life. Their memoir is Sex with a Brain Injury: On Concussion and Recovery.

Romance novelist KENNEDY RYAN. She's the first Black author to win the RITA, romance's highest honor, and she's published more than 20 novels in a little over a decade. She came to fiction after careers in journalism and autism advocacy, and she's known for love stories that center on the people the genre has often left out. Her bestselling novel Before I Let Go is being adapted for Peacock. Her latest, Score, follows two former college sweethearts reunited while making a film about the Harlem Renaissance.