Search results for

Elif Batuman has sung the praises of "long novels, pointless novels," and she puts her money where her mouth is with The Idiot, a tale of youthful confusion that can be both boring and beautiful.

A Swedish billionaire wants you to think of a better way to run the world — and get rid of problems like violence and extreme poverty.

The wearing of the red honors the patron saint of Sicily. But the real celebrating centers around extravagant altars filled with traditional food, religious symbols and tributes to loved ones.

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro about his role on the House Intelligence Committee, which will hold a hearing Monday on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

More Americans are no longer affiliated with a religious institution. Peter Beinart of The Atlantic tells NPR's Scott Simon how that rise in secularism contributed to the rise of Donald Trump.

CIA archivist Nicholas Reynolds discusses his new book, Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy: Ernest Hemingway's Secret Adventures. It describes Hemingway's relationship with Soviet intelligence.

After a cold week on the East Coast, Peter Oudemans, a plant pathologist at Rutgers University, explains how our changing climate is changing agriculture and the back garden.

You can't go to Texas without trying the barbecue. Franklin BBQ is one of the most famous barbecue spots in Austin, where the typical wait in line can last five hours and seems to never die down.

Dear Sugar Radio is a podcast offering "radical empathy" and advice for the lost, lonely and heartsick. Today the hosts hear from a gay man who is married to a woman and doesn't know what to do.

Legendary musician Chuck Berry helped defined early rock 'n' roll has died. He was 90. NPR guest host Ray Suarez speaks with Rolling Stone music critic Peter Guralnick about his life and influence.