The Rolling Stones and Soundgarden are two of the most influential bands in the history of rock – and two new books tell their stories. The Rolling Stones by Bob Spitz is a history of the band, but also of drugs, women and feuds. In today’s episode, the author gives Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan a behind-the-scenes look at songs like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and “Gimme Shelter.” Then, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil joins Morning Edition’s A Martínez for a conversation about A Screaming Life, which tells the story of the band from its roots in Seattle’s grunge scene.

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Laverne Cox became a breakout TV star at 40 with a starring role in Orange Is the New Black. Since then, she’s become an advocate and role model for trans people, which she says means “invit[ing] people to see trans people as human beings.” In today’s episode, Cox joins All Things Considered’s Ailsa Chang for a conversation about her new memoir Transcendent. They discuss Cox’s childhood in Alabama, how reading Walden provided her with important language and what it was like to find creative success later in life.

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Author Tessa Yang describes her The Jellyfish Problem protagonist as an "introverted, know-it-all dork." In the novel, Jo, a marine biologist, gets a call from her unrequited college crush, Nadia, who has a request. Nadia lives on a remote island, where they’re having a problem with a giant creature. Can Jo help? In today’s episode, Yang speaks with NPR’s Elissa Nadworny about similarities between Jo and the story’s central monster – and whether this book makes a good beach read.

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Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut believes there is a “spiritual rot” festering in the country – and he wants the left and right to come together to resolve it. His new book Crisis of the Common Good argues the United States worships profit over people. In it, he takes aim at corporations, billionaires and super PACs. In today’s episode, he speaks with Morning Edition’s Leila Fadel about addressing financial inequality in the United States and what Democrats can learn from Donald Trump about messaging.

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Novelist Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, The Circle) has a new novel out: Contrapposto. It’s a decade-spanning romance of sorts, between two devoted creatives whose careers in the art world bring them together and tear them apart — repeatedly. As Cricket and Olympia navigate their relationship, the age-old question remains: what is art, really? In today’s episode, Eggers joins NPR’s Ailsa Chang to discuss Contrapposto, the inspiration behind the book, and how Eggers himself approaches the ‘meaning’ of art. 

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In the new novel They All Fall in Love at the End, polyamory is the topic at hand — primarily what it offers the protagonist and how she navigates a world where open relationships are not the norm. The End of Romance tells a story quite the opposite: A woman becomes opposed to romance altogether after leaving an abusive marriage. Today’s episode features conversations with the authors of both books. First, Haili Blassingame discusses They All Fall in Love at the End with NPR’s Juana Summers. Then, Lily Meyer joins NPR’s Elissa Nadworny for a conversation about The End of Romance and its exploration of the “anti-romance” plot.

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How does a nationwide revolution affect the individual lives of its citizens? In the midst of the latest conflict in Iran, journalists Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati set out to answer this question by charting Iran’s history since its 1979 revolution. The product is Stolen Revolution, a collection of accounts from six Iranians — each with their own perspective on Iran and its past, present, and future. In today’s episode, Torbati joins NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly to discuss the book, and how joy survives in the shadow of statewide oppression.

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In 2022, journalist Carlos Barragán moved to Lagos, Nigeria to investigate a cybercrime network of text-based internet phishing, also known as “sweetheart scams." He found that a small band of young men known as the “Yahoo Boys” were creating fake avatars to lure American victims into online romances — a 21st-century iteration of the Yahoo email scams from the 1990s. Barragán, who wrote about his discoveries in The Yahoo Boys, joined NPR’s Eyder Peralta to discuss the new book, and why these cybercriminals are not actually “masterminds of the universe playing with your minds.” 

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R.F. Kuang’s fantasy novel Katabasis, first published in 2025, is out in paperback. The book is about two rival doctoral students studying magic at Cambridge University. Together, they travel to hell to rescue their recently deceased thesis advisor. Last year, Kuang joined NPR’s Emiko Tamagawa for a conversation about the novel at a live event in Boston. They spoke about Kuang’s rigorous approach to the study of magic, how the author sees herself (and her husband) in Katabasis’ protagonists, and the myth of the male genius in academia.

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A few years ago, Theo Baker – then a student at Stanford University – joined the school newspaper and broke a story that forced the university president to resign. Marc Tessier-Lavigne, he uncovered, had overseen several labs in which researchers had falsified results. His new book How to Rule the World documents power and corruption at Stanford, colored by mansion parties, slush funds, and tech executives in competition to be the first to invest in young talent. In today’s episode, Baker speaks with NPR’s Steve Inskeep about his reporting.

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Novelist Ann Patchett has written about things as wild as hostage takeovers, fairy tales, and betrayed magicians’ assistants. But her new novel Whistler turns down the stakes to focus on the quieter complexities of human relationships. Today’s episode features two conversations between Ann Patchett and NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly. First, Patchett talks about Whistler and how it embraces the act of aging among past and present loved ones. Then, we revisit Patchett’s 2023 reflection on Tom Lake, a novel born from her serendipitous visits to the Michigan fruit farms she calls “a world like no other.”

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