Feb 05 Watch 5:47 Iranian American writer discusses new novel about struggling with survivor’s guilt By Jeffrey Brown, Anne Azzi Davenport, Alison Thoet, Alexa Gold In 1988, amid the Iran-Iraq war, the U.S. military accidentally shot down an Iranian commercial passenger jet, killing all 290 people aboard. That real-life tragedy sets in motion the fictional events in the new novel “Martyr!” a young Iranian American… Continue watching
Jan 24 Watch 7:34 New book ‘Madness’ documents the racism of a Jim Crow-era mental health facility By Amna Nawaz, Stephanie Kotuby, Satvi Sunkara, Alexa Gold Crownsville Hospital in Maryland was one of the last segregated mental asylums in the country. Thousands of Black patients came through the overcrowded, understaffed hospital and many died there. NBC News correspondent Antonia Hylton began looking into the facility a… Continue watching
Dec 30 Watch 5:58 What to know about Iowa’s ban on school books, LGBTQ+ topics halted by a judge By Lisa Desjardins, Kaisha Young, Andrew Corkery A federal judge in Iowa has temporarily blocked key parts of a state law that would ban books from school libraries if they depicted a “sex act.” The law also bars teachers from discussing gender identity and sexuality before seventh… Continue watching
Dec 19 Watch 7:45 Church leader hopes hand-written and illustrated Bible can heal religious divides By Fred de Sam Lazaro, Simeon Lancaster When the printing press was invented nearly 600 years ago, it put an end to centuries of hand-written manuscripts in which scribes, mostly in monasteries, tediously wrote and illustrated sacred texts, such as the Bible. Fred de Sam Lazaro revisits… Continue watching
Dec 15 Watch 8:26 Critics discuss their favorite books of 2023 By Jeffrey Brown, Anne Azzi Davenport, Alison Thoet With the holidays upon us, you may be hunting for gifts for book lovers in your life. To help narrow down the list, Jeffrey Brown speaks to two NewsHour regulars for our arts and culture series, CANVAS. Continue watching
Dec 15 Here’s a dozen books from 2023 you should read, critics say By Jeffrey Brown, Anne Azzi Davenport, Alison Thoet As the year comes to a close, we’re sitting down with book critics to discuss some of the best books released in 2023. NPR’s Fresh Air book critic Maureen Corrigan and New York Times books editor Gilbert Cruz share their… Continue reading
Dec 14 Watch 7:24 Rush frontman Geddy Lee reflects on his music and life in a new memoir By Lisa Desjardins, Courtney Norris, Ethan Dodd The Canadian band Rush achieved big success across 40 years, from the 70s into the 2000s, driven by musicianship and eclectic, lyrical content. After the death of drummer Neil Peart in 2020, singer and bass guitarist Geddy Lee stepped away… Continue watching
Nov 26 Paul Lynch wins Booker Prize with ‘Prophet Song,’ novel set in dystopian version of Ireland By Jill Lawless, Associated Press Irish writer Paul Lynch won the Booker Prize for fiction on Sunday with what judges called a “soul-shattering” novel about a woman’s struggle to protect her family as Ireland collapses into totalitarianism and war. Continue reading
Nov 10 Watch 7:45 ‘Invisible Generals’ chronicles little-known history of 1st Black U.S. generals By Geoff Bennett, Stephanie Kotuby, Satvi Sunkara A new book explores and honors the legacy of two exceptional American veterans whose contributions have gone largely unknown, until now. In “Invisible Generals,” author Doug Melville recounts his family history and tells the barrier-breaking stories of the country’s first… Continue watching
Nov 06 Watch 6:21 New book ‘This is War’ offers unique lens on the impact of war By Amna Nawaz, Teresa Cebrián Aranda Corinne Dufka spent more than two decades documenting human rights abuses when she led the West Africa division at Human Rights Watch. In the 1980s and ‘90s, she covered some of the world's most brutal conflicts as a war photographer. Continue watching