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The South and West may become the Rust Belts of the 21st century, according to a new study from the Mortgage Bankers Association. It says the economies in these regions — in places like California and Florida — may never fully recover from the burst of the housing bubble.

It's that time of year again! Susan Stamberg chats with three independent booksellers about their favorite reads of the year, from an atlas of remote islands to a children's book about feminist heroes.

A long-awaited biography examines the life of Justice William J. Brennan Jr. and his influence during 34 years on the Supreme Court. Stephen Wermiel's interviews with Brennan during his lifetime reveal a man who defies the stereotype of the liberal justice trying to impose personal views on the law.

Wendy McClure grew up loving the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder. As an adult, McClure immersed herself in the true stories of Wilder's life, churning butter, eating salt pork, and visiting the tiny, sometimes illegal homes in which the Wilder family lived.

From cellphones to laptops to electric cars, lithium is the metal of choice for battery makers. In his book, Bottled Lightning, Seth Fletcher explores new applications of the light, cheap metal and investigates what he calls the "lithium economy."

In downtown Louisville, Ky., events paid tribute to Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by police last March.

A 1950 law allows the government to award contracts that take priority over all others for national defense. During the pandemic, the law has been used to defend the country against the coronavirus.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton is known for helping to launch the American women's rights movement, but she sometimes also got in the way of that cause. Historian Lori Ginzberg says Stanton often prioritized white, middle-class women over others — and that has had a lasting effect.

Award-winning author Cynthia Rylant's pictures books revolve around children relying on their families for love and support. To write a good children's book, she says, "you have to be a good poet." Her latest book, God Got A Dog, is a collection of poems that only took her a day to write.

India's politics and history play a central role in Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowland. In the Booker Prize-nominated novel, an Indian radical is killed, and his wife and brother start over in America. Lahiri tells NPR's Lynn Neary that the story was inspired by true events, but very unlike her own life.

In his later years, Norman Rockwell lived in the kind of small town you'd expect to see in his paintings. But he didn't move there for its tranquil pastures; he moved for the psychiatric institute where he and his wife sought treatment. In American Mirror, Deborah Solomon looks at the artist's relationship with his psychoanalyst.

NPR's A Martinez talks to Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida, who was part of a group that visited the U.S. southern border on Monday to witness the migrant surge and response first-hand.

Forget what CSI told you about the job: It's less about solving crimes and more about accidents. Judy Melinek hopes to paint a more accurate picture of the profession in her new book, Working Stiff.

In their new book, Peter Finn and Petra Couvee explain the fraught history behind the Russian novel, Doctor Zhivago. And they tell the story of Boris Pasternak, the novel's brave author.

On Tuesday night, finalists for the National Book Awards read from their nominated works at The New School in New York City. The National Book Foundation will announce the winners Wednesday night.

Actor Cary Elwes, best known for his dashing performance as the heroic farm boy Westley in The Princess Bride, has a new book out, full of memories from the cast of the cult classic.

From a cup who dreams of a window seat to a problem-solving owl, Oliver Jeffers' new picture book, Once Upon an Alphabet, gives each letter its own story.

Tweeter-comedian Rob Delaney's new book is a significant departure from the 140-character format that made him famous. The memoir also showcases a more serious side. Delaney talks with NPR's Arun Rath about the struggles with alcoholism and depression that eventually led him to comedy.

A new book collects stories that link clothing with intimacy, emotion and memory: how moms dressed before they had kids, favorite outfits and, of course, garment envy.

The new female Thor has picked up her hammer, but the mainstream comics industry is still experiencing some growing pains as it figures out where women fit in as characters, creators and fans.

The process of becoming a man isn't always an easy one, but poet Saeed Jones says that reading Real Man Adventures by T Cooper, can make the journey more joyful.

In her new book, The Lives of Muhammad, Boston University professor Kecia Ali discusses the different ways that Muslim and non-Muslim biographers have depicted the prophet over the centuries.

As Los Angeles schools work to reopen next month, NPR's A Martinez talks to Superintendent Austin Beutner about what's next for a district where most students are from hard-hit Latino communities.

"I've always wanted to write fiction and nonfiction at the same time," Vollmann says. In recent years he's written nonfiction, but his new work is a collection of stories about love, lust and ghosts.

Kevin McCarthy's trip comes amid a jump in the number of migrants showing up at the border, especially unaccompanied children. Democrats say the GOP lawmakers' visit was a political stunt.