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In Emily St. John Mandel's novel, Station Eleven, a Shakespearean troupe clings to scraps of civilization after a deadly pandemic. Mandel and NPR's Scott Simon talk about art at the end of the world.

Works of art, in all their variety, afford us the opportunity for boredom — and they do so when everything in our lives mitigates against boredom, says Alva Noë. Maybe this is one of art's gifts.

Illustrator Simon Stålenhag has put together a compilation of short stories to accompany his haunting, gorgeous paintings of an alternate Sweden full of aliens and strange technology. And dinosaurs.

In her new book, Maia Szalavitz presents the view that addiction is a learning disorder. Commentator Alva Noe says if he understands correctly, learning may also play a role in overcoming addiction.

Alva Noë says a new book by David Papineau places the value of sport on our love for cultivating our skillfulness — and because it is joyous and thrilling and hard to develop our physical capacities.

Dana Schwartz is the Twitter whiz behind the @GuyInYourMFA and @DystopianYA accounts, but she stumbles in long form. Her debut novel, And We're Off, is quick and compelling but needs fleshing out.

The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority Board voted 12-2 to start charging the standard fare of $2.25 starting Oct. 1 in response to complaints about the homeless population using the service.

Saariaho, who battled a male-dominated educational system in her native Finland, forged a strong and singular voice in contemporary music.

After a large walkout forced at least a dozen stores to shut down in the Kansas City area, CVS promises change. But critics say the crisis in staffing and unfair pay extends beyond that market.

Nathan Hill's stunning new novel about the stories we tell about our lives and our loves, and how we sustain relationships throughout time, is both funny and heartbreaking, sometimes on the same page.

NPR's Noel King interviews Teresa Danks, a third-grade teacher who begged for school supply money on the side of the road to bring attention to the lack of resources facing educators.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Arthur Reed, also known as Silky Slim. He is the founder of Stop the Killing Inc., the activist group that released the footage of Alton Sterling's killing in Baton Rouge, La. They discuss the role of videos in the effort to document police violence.

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.

In his new book, Chasing the Scream, Johann Hari hasn't quite found the answer, says commentator Alva Noë. But he does succeed in reminding us that there's nothing inevitable about what's next.

Brazil may be known for its beaches and bikinis but it is a conservative and religious country, and apparently getting more so. Artists who tackle issues of sex and gender say they face a backlash.

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with New York Times cybersecurity correspondent Nicole Perlroth about spyware, who is making this technology and how governments are often their biggest clients.

Time is special. How we see it helps determine how we see the rest of the Universe. Physicist Lee Smolin has a new book out that says we've been looking at time the wrong way. Adam Frank digs in and offers his own perspective on Smolin's argument.

Children who are bullied often carry those memories with them for years. In the anthology Dear Bully, young adult fiction writers reflect on the experience of being bullied.

Harlequin editor Patience Bloom maps romance novels onto her own loves in Romance Is My Day Job — from tragic heroes and beta males to the one true Mr. Right. Reviewer Bobbi Dumas says Bloom doesn't quite pull off the romance novel parallel — but most readers will find something to identify with in this brave and likable woman.

In a Pennsylvania district, school board elections have turned from debates about teacher salaries to issues like gender identity policies. At stake is the chance to drastically shape district policy.

At issue were cases that test the ability of public officials to block critics from their "personal" social medial pages, a practice that Donald Trump often engaged in when he was president.

In Pakistan's capital, teenagers in a group called Route 66 get their kicks drag racing illegally on the city's wide avenues. They're worried more about punishment from their parents than from police.

Bogus pornographic images purporting to show pop superstar Taylor Swift have emerged on social media, highlighting a growing challenge to privacy rights.

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Ahmad Husam Ahmad Khalil, the brother of a Palestinian man released from Israeli custody as part of a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas.

In Wuhan, China, most of the millions of people on lockdown have not gotten sick from COVID-19. But worries and isolation can affect their mental health.