Arts & Life

In 1921, my grandmother moved from the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan to Rochester, New York to get married. There she lived until her death at age 109, outlasting my mother by eight years.

Nana lived in a high rise close to Mom's childhood home, a home I came to know after Mom died. Rochester was a stark and lonely place for me.

Brit Bennett's first novel, The Mothers, was the sort of smashingly successful debut that can make but also possibly break a young writer by raising expectations and pressure. Four years later, her second, The Vanishing Half, more than lives up to her early promise. It's an even better book, more expansive yet also deeper, a multi-generational family saga that tackles prickly issues of racial identity and bigotry and conveys the corrosive effects of secrets and dissembling.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Americans are suddenly consumed with multiple crises. Even before the outbreak of social unrest following yet another African American's death in police custody, the ravages of COVID-19 and economic free fall had disrupted the national life.

All of which means conditions are ripe for President Trump to assume more power and move closer to the status of autocratic ruler, says New Yorker writer Masha Gessen in a new book Surviving Autocracy.

Copyright 2020 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.

TERRY GROSS, HOST:

One of the characters that comes to the fore in the second half of Brit Bennett's new novel, The Vanishing Half, is a young actress named Kennedy Sanders. She's an attractive blonde pushing 30, who, after years of trying to make it in the serious theater, lands a role on a soap opera.

Bennett writes that when Kennedy calls her parents to tell them about her big break, she assures them that "There was nothing wrong with melodrama, . ... In fact, some of the greatest classic actresses — Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo — trafficked in it from time to time."

This year my grandfather turned 90 and my family planned to celebrate with a big birthday bash. It's not often that my whole family comes together, and I was excited. But then the coronavirus pandemic came. My grandparents isolated at home, the birthday party got canceled and a general anxiety about the health of the older generation exploded all over the world.

A picture is worth a thousand words in Meryl Wilsner's debut novel, Something to Talk About.

A queer romance set in Hollywood, Something to Talk About aims its spotlight at love in the workplace in a story that draws much of its plot from newspaper headlines (and the tabloids).

Rutger Bregman begins his new book Humankind: A Hopeful History with what he calls this "radical idea" that most people deep down are pretty decent.

Bregman is a historian and writer for The Correspondent in the Netherlands and author of the previous bestseller Utopia for Realists.

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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

A friend and I were talking the other day about having our kids at home all the time, and yes, we complained about messes and fights (I mean, MESSES AND FIGHTS), and about how many snacks they seem to need, and the endless dirty dishes and laundry, etc., etc. Why rehash it all when you surely understand what I mean?

But as we were talking, we came upon something else: We are grateful.

Actor and comedian Ramy Youssef started his career in New York City's comedy scene. He frequented stand-up showcases, performed sketch comedy and took acting classes before landing his first major role in the Nick At Nite sitcom See Dad Run. He later had a recurring role in the USA Network drama Mr. Robot. In 2019, his hour long stand-up special titled Feelings premiered on HBO.

Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite) and Jackie Kashian (The Jackie and Laurie Show) update the titles of Shakespeare plays as search engine-friendly, clickbait-y headlines.

Heard on QuaranTV: Ramy, Space Force And Lady Dynamite.

Comedians Maria Bamford and Jackie Kashian join musician Jonathan Coulton for a game that ruins bands by adding an extra letter to form a new name. Coulton discovers the game's concept is a little hard to explain.

Heard on QuaranTV: Ramy, Space Force And Lady Dynamite.

Space Force stars Roy Wood Jr. and Jimmy O. Yang guess their way through this game about some of the smallest things in the world.

Heard on QuaranTV: Ramy, Space Force And Lady Dynamite.

Comedians Roy Wood Jr. (The Daily Show) and Jimmy O. Yang (Silicon Valley) take a deep dive into the world of quarantine-era celebrity tutorials.

Heard on QuaranTV: Ramy, Space Force And Lady Dynamite.

Part 1 of the TED Radio Hour episode Reinvention.

Imagine surrounding yourself with images and sounds, in order to set old ideas in a new context. OK Go's Damian Kulash describes the process that has inspired the band's hits and viral videos.

About Damian Kulash

Addiction is often a family affair. Sometimes those growing up in families with addiction overcome their circumstances and find a sustainable way to be a person in the world. Sometimes they don't.

Mikel Jollett did.

Copyright 2020 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.

DAVE DAVIES, HOST:

Check the hashtag #quaranzine on social media and you'll see thousands of mini books — called zines — that people are making to document their lives in the pandemic.

Read the comic to find out how you can make one yourself — including how to fold your zine and what to write about. All you'll need is a sheet of paper, a pen, 30 minutes and a little creativity.