Singer-songwriter Neko Case of The New Pornographers band has just released a memoir titled The Harder I Fight the More I Love You. While the book touches on her time with the Canadian indie-rock group, Case's memoir focuses more on her upbringing – she opens up about her complex relationship with her mother, who faked her own death when Case was young. In today's episode, Case speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about tracing her own family history, allowing room for rage, and seeing forgiveness not as an act, but an organic state of being.

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In 1917, Lev Bronshtein – also known as Leon Trotsky – spent 10 weeks in exile in New York City. The Russian revolutionary hoped to spark a socialist revolution in the United States, but found disappointment when American workers didn't respond the way he had hoped. Trotsky's time in New York is the subject of Robert Littell's latest novel, Bronshtein in the Bronx. In today's episode, Littell talks with NPR's Scott Simon about the author's family connection to the revolutionary, his decision to name Trotsky's conscience in the book, and the violence of revolution.

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In Ali Smith's Gliff, two children wake up to find that someone has painted a red line around their home. They've been marked "unverifiable" and they're at risk of being captured. The dystopian near-future in which they live is a world of government surveillance and environmental destruction – and one without libraries. In today's episode, Smith talks with NPR's Scott Simon about the authoritarian themes in her novel. They discuss what makes authoritarianism feel attractive and safe, Smith's former career as an advertising copywriter, and the connection between slogans and tribalism.

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As a cable news host, MSNBC's Chris Hayes is in the attention business. But in today's interview, he says that he often feels like he's chasing rather than directing his audience's focus. In his new book, The Sirens' Call, Hayes argues that attention has become the information age's most finite resource, with damaging consequences for our politics, lives and collective alienation. In today's episode, Hayes joins NPR's Steve Inskeep for a conversation about the difference between attention and information, President Trump as a symbol of the attention economy, and whether MSNBC is struggling to maintain its audience.

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The authors of two nonfiction books say they were moved to change the world after finding inspiration in nature. First, Robin Wall Kimmerer's book The Serviceberry explores themes including economies of abundance and reciprocity in the natural world – similar to those addressed in her hit book Braiding Sweetgrass. In today's episode, Kimmerer joins NPR's Ari Shapiro for a conversation that touches on biomimicry, little free libraries, and what nature can teach us about human economies. Then, we hear from author Trish O'Kane. She says she didn't pay much attention to nature until Hurricane Katrina destroyed her home. Shortly after, she heard the call of a red cardinal, which launched her interests in ornithology and education. Her memoir Birding to Change the World draws connections between the world of birds and the author's own political activism. In today's episode, O'Kane talks with Here & Now's Robin Young about her early forays in ornithology, finding news in our backyards, and a special program of bird-related songs based on the book.

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Cecilia, the main character in Olivia Abtahi's The Interpreter, wears an oversized green suit and tie. She's a kid, but she also works as a translator and interpreter for her immigrant parents. Whether at the DMV, the doctor's office or the mechanic, she's there to help out with cultural translation. The story, illustrated by Monica Arnaldo, is based on Abtahi's own experience growing up with an Iranian father and an Argentine mother who both spoke English, but sometimes needed support with cultural nuance. In today's episode, Abtahi speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about how translation is a full-time, adult job that can place a lot of pressure on young children. They also discuss the filial duty that first-generation kids sometimes feel and the importance of depicting the parents in the book with dignity.

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At age 36, actor Naomi Watts visited her doctor in hopes of starting a family. Instead, she was told that she was close to menopause. She says she felt panicked and alone, despite the fact that tens of millions of women experience menopause each year. In a new book, Dare I Say It, Watts tries to open what she sees as a closed conversation around aging. Her advice-based book covers her own fertility story, her experience with menopause symptoms, skincare, nutrition and more. In today's episode, Watts speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about learning to be her own advocate at the doctor's office, hormone replacement therapy, and returning to herself in this new chapter of life.

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In 2021, Andy Corren published an obituary for his late mother in The Fayetteville Observer. "A plus-sized Jewish lady redneck died in El Paso on Saturday," he wrote. His colorful, candid remembrance went viral on Twitter, and now Corren has expanded the tribute into a memoir. Dirtbag Queen recounts the author's experience of growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, with a single, Southern, unconventional mother of six children. In today's episode, Corren speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about the bowling alley that anchored the author's childhood, nights spent in the city's red-light district, and being raised in his mother's image.

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Betty Shamieh was the first Palestinian American playwright to have a play produced off-Broadway. She describes her debut novel, Too Soon, as a "Palestinian American Sex and the City." The novel follows three Palestinian American women across generations as they navigate love and identity. In today's episode, Shamieh speaks with NPR's Pien Huang about using comedy as a way to humanize characters who may be dehumanized in the real world, the 10 year writing process for the book, and how she didn't necessarily want to write it, but she knew she had to.

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Grady Hendrix is one of the biggest names in horror fiction today. He's published 11 horror novels and won a Bram Stoker Award for his non-fiction book on the history of horror fiction. In this episode, we revisit a 2021 conversation between Hendrix and former NPR host Audie Cornish about his book Final Girl Support Group with a discussion on society's obsession with violence and its perpetrators, rather than the victims. Then, we hear Hendrix speak with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about his latest novel, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, and some of the real life horrors faced by women in history.

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