‘Friends with Words’ is a book about language, from word origins to regional dialects

Today’s episode features two books that dissect very different case studies in politics: Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign and the anti-abortion movement. First, in July 2024, Harris’ presidential campaign launched like a rocket – but it seemed to stall shortly after. 2024 goes behind the scenes of the Harris team as they leapt into the race months before the election. In today’s episode, NPR’s Scott Detrow speaks with two of the book’s authors, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf, about how Harris’ inner circle saw crucial campaign moments. Then, Carol Mason’s new book From the Clinics to the Capitol breaks down the political strategy of the anti-abortion movement. In today’s episode, she speaks with NPR’s Sarah McCammon about ties between the movement and white nationalism.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Meg Medina’s new young adult novel begins with a fall: Graciela, a 13-year-old-girl, is blown off a cliff and sucked into the bottom of the sea. A century later, she awakens and her afterlife begins. Most of the characters in Graciela in the Abyss are ghosts and spirits, but Medina says the story is really about life. In today’s episode, she joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on the author’s “graveyard” of ideas, death as a constant, and her role as the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In her first nonfiction book Misbehaving at the Crossroads, Honoree Fanonne Jeffers weaves together history, political commentary and poetry that centers Black women. The poet and novelist’s essays explore what it’s like to occupy an intersectional identity while excavating the past. In today’s episode, Jeffers speaks with NPR’s Juana Summers about how writing this book led to a surprising reconciliation within her family.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Raja teaches philosophy to high schoolers and shares an apartment with his 82-year-old mother, Zalfa. Rabih Alameddine explores their relationship – and other forms of intimacy – in his new novel The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother). In today’s episode, the author joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about Raja’s self-deprecation, Zalfa’s relationship with another older woman, and Alameddine’s mother’s memory loss.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Tamara Yajia’s memoir Cry for Me, Argentina describes a chaotic upbringing between Argentine and American cultures. A big focus of the memoir is her “insane” family, who exposed Yajia to a high level of sexual openness, including group excursions to Buenos Aires’ red-light district. In today’s episode, the writer speaks with NPR’s Ailsa Chang about her mixed experience as a childhood performer, a formative moment involving Madonna’s “Like a Prayer,” and the way humor has “kept [her] alive.”To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Two children’s books were brought to life by close collaborations, one between longtime friends and another that began with a chance encounter. First, Papilio follows an adventurous caterpillar through different stages of metamorphosis, each written and illustrated by three friends: Ben Clanton, Corey R. Tabor, and Andy Chou Musser. In today’s episode, the authors speak with NPR’s Scott Simon about how they made each section of the book their own. Then, author Andrea L. Rogers and illustrator Rebecca Kunz met by chance at the Cherokee National Holiday. Their book, Chooch Helped, went on to win the 2025 Caldecott Medal. In today’s episode, they talk with NPR’s Scott Simon about writing a sibling story.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Artem is a 12-year-old Ukranian boy who likes to spend summer days on his grandfather’s sunflower farm swimming with his younger brother, Yuri. But one night in February 2022, they hear sirens and bomb blasts – and soon, they’re fleeing war. Sam Wachman’s debut novel The Sunflower Boys was inspired by his ancestral ties to Ukraine and his experience volunteering with Ukrainian children. In today’s episode, he joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about national history, the boys he tutored, and the sense of mission behind his writing.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For Martha Barnette, griping about grammatical pet peeves is one of the least interesting ways to talk about language. Instead, the co-host of the radio show “A Way with Words” says she’d rather think about word origins, regional dialects, slang, or that phrase your grandma used to say. Her new book Friends with Words is full of surprising facts about language. In today’s episode, she talks with Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd about the “spark word” that launched her language journey, some of her favorite etymologies, and why people hate the word moist.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Author Kate Riley says her book Ruth was partly based on her year spent living in an insular religious community. The debut novel explores what it’s like to live in a world without total access to information, despite the protagonist's intense curiosity. In today’s episode, Riley speaks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about the Peace Church tradition, how her interior life shaped the novel, and why this might be Riley’s first and last book.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When poet Raymond Antrobus was 6 years old, he learned he was deaf. His new memoir The Quiet Ear describes living in a world of in-betweenness, straddling intersections of race, class, hearing and deafness. In today’s episode, Antrobus joins NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly for a discussion that touches on his connection with the creative deaf community in London, his dad’s DJ sets, and differences between British and American Sign Language.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy