Two new books add context to changes at federal agencies under the Trump administration. First, Irene Vega interviewed 90 ICE agents over a number of years for her book Bordering on Indifference. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's A Martínez about the frequent tension between agents' professional and personal backgrounds. Then, Tim Weiner's new book The Mission considers how the CIA is reimagining the art of espionage in the modern era. In today's episode, he talks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about what he calls an "ideological purge" at the CIA under President Trump and how technology can make spying more difficult.

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In 2024, ratings for the NCAA women's basketball final topped the men's final by 4 million viewers – and Caitlin Clark was largely responsible. American sports fans fell in love with the athlete and Clark, now with the Indiana Fever, went on to become a star. Christine Brennan's new book On Her Game looks at the athlete's role in U.S. sports and culture. In today's episode, Brennan talks with NPR's Scott Simon about Clark's time playing on a boys' team, conversations about race surrounding her success, and pay disparities between the NBA and WNBA.

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Heart Lamp, this year's International Booker Prize winner, is the first short story collection to receive the award. It is also the first time the prize has been awarded to an author writing in Kannada and a translator from India. The collection tells the stories of women living in southern India against a backdrop of poverty and patriarchal systems. In today's episode, author Banu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi join Here & Now's Asma Khalid to discuss the collection and the impact of the prize.

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In 1972, Maurice and Maralyn Bailey set out from England to sail around the world. Partway through the voyage, a whale knocked a hole in their boat, leaving the couple stranded at sea. A Marriage at Sea, a new book by Sophie Elmhirst, chronicles how the Baileys struggled to survive for months as they awaited rescue. In today's episode, the author speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the Baileys' story.

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Avery Keene has unraveled international conspiracies and investigated mysteries involving the Supreme Court, but now she's focused on what could be a deadly side of artificial intelligence. That's the setup for the novel Coded Justice, the latest legal thriller by Stacey Abrams, former Georgia State Representative and two-time gubernatorial candidate. In today's episode, Abrams joins NPR's Michel Martin for a conversation about the intersection of AI and healthcare, a GOP-led investigation into the New Georgia Project, and how Abrams views her role in politics today.

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Two new books explore how culture shapes our identity. First, Lawrence Burney's essay collection, No Sense in Wishing, is an appreciation of the arts and artists that shaped him as he grew up in Baltimore. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about his influences, from Gil Scott Heron to local Baltimore rappers. Then, Nora Princiotti's Hit Girls takes a serious look at the impact of female pop stars from the 2000s. In today's episode, she talks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about her obsession with millennial pop culture.

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About 20 years ago, Mary Jo Bang read a poem that inspired her to take on a translation of Dante's Divine Comedy. At first, she began with just three lines – but two decades later, she's completed all three parts: "Inferno," "Purgatorio" and "Paradiso." In today's episode, she joins NPR's Ari Shapiro for a conversation about translating Dante into contemporary language, why English is a "rhyme-poor" language, and the parallels between Dante's journey and her own.

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In Mark Kurlansky's novel Cheesecake, a Greek family living on Manhattan's Upper West Side sets out to follow a recipe dating back to ancient Rome. What results is a block-wide battle to make the best cheesecake, set against the backdrop of a quickly-changing neighborhood. In today's episode, Kurlansky talks with NPR's Scott Simon about coming across the oldest written recipe, the food writer's relationship to fiction, and Kurlansky's own favorite cheesecake.

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Palestinian American writer Hala Alyan has a personal history of exile. Over the years, the author and her relatives have been displaced from their homes in Gaza, Kuwait, and Lebanon – and she says it's difficult to fully separate herself from these places. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Leila Fadel about her new memoir I'll Tell You When I'm Home, which contends with themes including exile, infertility, surrogacy, and motherhood.

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Aisling Rawle's The Compound explores reality television as a kind of dystopia. In the novel, a group of men and women live on a compound in the middle of a desert, where they participate in house competitions and vie for personal awards. In today's episode, Rawle joins NPR's Pien Huang for a conversation that touches on binge-watching Love Island as research, how the author came up with The Compound's rules and rewards, and how her characters perceive their own desirability.

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