It's been three years since George Floyd's murder. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the former police officers who killed Floyd, but accountability and justice is not always found in state-sponsored violence against Black Americans. In his new book, Break the Wheel: Ending the Cycle of Police Violence, Ellison retraces the case. As he tells NPR's Leila Fadel, the book – and his experience – is also proof that systems can change to prevent future tragedies.

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Today's episode features interviews with two monumental performers. First, Jerry Seinfeld chats with Here & Now's Robin Young about his new book, inspired by his Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee series, and the kinship between performers in that industry. Then, Tom Hanks speaks with NPR's A Martinez about his new novel, The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece, an ode to all the people and effort required to keep the Hollywood gears turning.

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Before author Cassandra Jackson was even born, her father's family suffered a major loss – a car accident that resulted in the deaths of five people, including Jackson's aunt and grandmother. In her new memoir, The Wreck, Jackson attempts to understand the tragedy that shaped her upbringing and dives into the grief she's carried with her for as long as she can remember. In today's episode, she tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe how struggling with infertility triggered her search for answers about her own family's legacy, and what she discovered about segregation and media coverage in the process.

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As a certified personal trainer, Justice Roe Williams knows the benefits of exercising regularly– but as a Black trans man, he's also experienced how the gym can be far from welcoming. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Juana Summers – also a certified trainer – about the new anthology he co-edited, Deconstructing the Fitness Industrial Complex: How to Resist, Disrupt, and Reclaim What it Means to Be Fit in American Culture. Williams and Summers get to talking about how to reimagine accessibility and body positivity in the gym, and why that requires thinking outside the box.

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Early in the novel Yellowface, a prominent Asian-American writer, Athena Liu, dies. Her white friend, who is struggling to break through in publishing and witnesses Athena's accident, then seizes on an opportunity: to pass off Athena's words – and identity – as her own. In today's episode, real life author R.F. Kuang speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about her new book, and how it unravels the messiness of cultural appropriation, the ethics of friendship and the complexities of imperfect characters.

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King:A Life, the new biography by Jonathan Eig, provides a fresh perspective into the life of one of America's most important activists. From his upbringing in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward neighborhood to his path through university and the frontlines of the Montgomery bus boycott, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s career and impact is explained through his faith and relationships. In today's episode, Eig speaks to NPR's Steve Inskeep about how Dr. King rose to prominence at such a young age, and how he maintained his spirituality through deep scrutiny and surveillance.

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Today's episode is about untangling and understanding untold family stories. First, Burkhard Bilger speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about his memoir, Fatherland, which explores his grandfather's role in the Nazi party in Europe. Then, Aaron Hamburger tells NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer about his novel Hotel Cuba, inspired by his grandmother's immigration story from Russia to Cuba on her quest to get to the US.

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Suitcases symbolize a lot for three-time Grammy winner Lucinda Williams. She tells NPR's Juana Summers she keeps a briefcase of musical references to help with her songwriting. In her new memoir, Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You, she also writes about moving from place to place as a child – she'd lived in 12 places by age 18 – because of her father's work. In today's episode, Williams recounts a career full of ups and downs in the music industry, and speaks about how she's returning to music after suffering a stroke in 2020.

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Dating can be difficult and confusing at any age – but especially after the end of a 36-year arranged marriage. The characters of Deepa Varadarajan's debut novel, Late Bloomers, are experiencing that second chance firsthand. Parents Suresh and Lata have just split and are learning to navigate dating online and IRL; their kids are fielding relationship troubles of their own. In today's episode, the author talks to NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer about what it means to find love later in life, and how writing fiction provided her with her own kind of fresh start.

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Matika Wilbur is from the Swinomish and Tulalip tribes in Washington state. In 2012, she left Seattle with one goal: to photograph and interview members of all 562 federally recognized Native American Tribal Nations. The result, Project 562, weaves together nuanced and detailed portraits of Indigenous cultures, both visually and narratively. Wilbur tells NPR's Melissa Block about why she wanted to break away from stereotypical representations of Native Americans, and how she thinks about an Indigenous future.

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