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The Interpreter of Maladies author is a successful, Pulitzer Prize-winning English-language writer. But she found writing in Italian gave her true freedom; "Language is a very messy thing," she says.

Elizabeth McKenzie's new novel about the pitfalls of approaching marriage is a sharply written romantic comedy with elements of experimental fiction. Maureen Corrigan calls it "totally endearing."

You forget someone's name, or why you ran downstairs. Your brain is getting older, and the connections are weakening. But research shows the middle-aged brain is actually operating at its peak.

In 13.7 blogger Alva Noë's latest book, he shows that in art, it's our most intimate, lived experience and us as individual world-builders that comes into view, says commentator Adam Frank.

Philosopher Alva Noë discusses what he calls Carlo Rovelli's "readable bestseller" Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, newly translated into English from its original Italian.

Seanan McGuire's new novella takes the classic portal fantasy — a group of kids who stumble into magical worlds and are forever changed — and gives it poignant new life.

Lower-income countries did not get the COVID vaccines they needed. So the World Bank and other partners tapped a South African company to cook up the (undisclosed) recipe for the Moderna mRNA vaccine.

Writer Helen Oyeyemi's new collection features nine stories all linked through the idea of keys that open rooms, doors, even hearts. She says she felt haunted by keys while working on the book.

Author Erika Christakis mounts a spirited defense of a four-letter word that, she says, isn't used nearly enough in early classrooms: play.

Which beer goes with guacamole? How can a brew complement spicy wings? Two craft beer experts share their favorite pairings and help us take our Super Bowl snack game to the next level.

Anthropologist Barbara J. King reviews a new book that suggests domesticating the wolf gave early modern humans an extra edge in hunting that pushed Neanderthals to extinction.

New research shows that teenagers' brains aren't fully insulated, so the signals travel slowly when they need to make decisions. Neuroscientist Frances Jensen, who wrote The Teenage Brain, explains.

Voyage of the Basilisk is the latest book in Marie Brennan's Memoirs of Lady Trent series; critic Genevieve Valentine says if you love dragons like Lady Trent does, now's the time to get acquainted.

Woodson won the National Book Award for young people's literature for her memoir Brown Girl Dreaming. She says that growing up in South Carolina, she knew that the safest place was with her family.

The podcast explores why New York City high schools, particularly that have primarily students of color, lack journalism programs.

Courtney Summers' new YA novel centers on a girl who was raped at a party, and the community that mostly doesn't believe her. Critic Tasha Robinson says the book's portrait of trauma packs a punch.

Philosopher Alva Noë explores ideas in a new book that suggests consciousness and self is best looked at by combining insight from Western science, Indian philosophy and contemplative practices.

In his new book, Kevin Carey envisions a future in which online education programs solve two of colleges' biggest problems: costs and admissions.

Supporters tout the newly approved Classical Learning Test for its focus on a classical education curriculum. But opponents say there's little evidence the CLT is the same quality as the SAT and ACT college entrance exams.

Krakauer's Missoula looks at stories of women who have been sexually assaulted by people they know. He says rape is unlike other crimes because in other crimes, "the victim isn't assumed to be lying."

Saad Hossain's new novel is a wild ride through war, tyranny and the supernatural, set in Baghdad during the U.S. invasion. Critic Daniel José Older praises the book's "poetic and brutal precision."

Cartoonist John Porcellino details a decades-long health struggle in his new graphic memoir. Reviewer Etelka Lehoczky says Porcellino's spare art is a powerful way to engage with the topic of illness.

From an evolutionary standpoint, flavor has long helped define who we are as a species, journalist John McQuaid argues in his new book, an exploration of the art and science of taste.

Price says that in every precinct there's one cop who just can't let go of a case. "They all reminded me of Ahab ... looking for their whales," he says. Price's latest is called The Whites.

Underground cartoonist Guy Colwell's dyspeptic chronicle of the 1970s captures a decade when idealism was out of style. Reviewer Etelka Lehoczky says Colwell's style is uneven but at times beautiful.