Arts & Life Celebrating James Baldwin, on what would have been his 100th birthday One of the most influential writers to emerge during the civil rights era, Baldwin, who died in 1987, spoke to Terry Gross in 1986 about growing up in Harlem and his decision to move to France. Terry Gross
Arts & Life From 'E.T.' to 'Blade Runner,' how the summer of 1982 changed cinema forever In 1982, eight science fiction films were released within eight weeks of each other. In The Future Was Now, Chris Nashawaty chronicles how those movies shaped the genre and the movie industry. Tonya Mosley
Arts & Life Pulitzer Prize-winner Jesse Katz exposes the underside of immigration in LA "The Rent Collectors" by Jesse Katz tells the true story of two botched gang murders, and the immigrants stuck between the police and the gangs that run their downtrodden LA neighborhood. A Martínez
Arts & Life 'Wicked' director Jon M. Chu says creativity isn't magic — it's hard work Chu takes his inspiration from his dad, a Chinese immigrant who worked both the front room and the kitchen of their family-run restaurant: "The guy that in the back of the kitchen, that was my hero." Terry Gross
Arts & Life Director of 'Crazy Rich Asians' Jon Chu on his new memoir NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with film director Jon Chu about his new memoir Viewfinder. Chu is best known for his 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians. Jonaki Mehta Courtney Dorning Ailsa Chang
Arts & Life Expert on dictators warns: Don't lose hope -- that's what they want Autocracy, Inc. author Anne Applebaum says that today’s dictators — including Putin and Xi — are working together in a global fight to dismantle democracy, and Trump is borrowing from their playbook. Tonya Mosley
Arts & Life A comic novel from M.T. Anderson follows a heist to swipe the remains of St. Nicholas A sensitive monk, a charming mercenary, and the contested bones of St. Nicholas: NPR's Scott Simon talks with M.T. Anderson about his rollicking comic novel, "Nicked." Scott Simon
Arts & Life Writer Shalom Auslander catalogs his lifelong battle with self-contempt in 'Feh' Auslander has written for decades about growing up in a dysfunctional household within an ultra-orthodox Jewish community. The title of his latest memoir comes from the Yiddish word for "yuck." Tonya Mosley
Arts & Life Stephen Graham Jones on his novel 'I Was a Teenage Slasher' NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks to author Stephen Graham Jones about his latest novel, "I Was a Teenage Slasher," which tells a gory tale through the eyes of a teenage killer in a small Texan town. Ryan Benk
Arts & Life 'Our Kind of Game': Mysterious page-turner looks at the cracks in suburban life NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks to author Johanna Copeland about her new book, Our Kind of Game, which takes place among the moms of a fancy suburb in Virginia. Megan Lim Justine Kenin Mary Louise Kelly