NPR's Book of the Day Folgen

In her new novel Loot, Tania James writes of a 17-year-old woodworker who's commissioned to build a tiger automaton for the Indian ruler Tipu Sultan in the 18th century. The story is inspired by the real-life Tippoo's Tiger, one of the most famous sculptures in London's Victoria and Albert Museum. James' tale of colonization, war, love and art stretches across India and Europe – and as she tells NPR's Ari Shapiro, it continues to raise questions about historical artifacts and who should own them.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Today's episode features interviews with two highly accomplished artists who've written graphic memoirs about the intricacies of growing up as young men of color in the U.S. First, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Darrin Bell about The Talk, which chronicles how Black parents speak to their kids about race and policing, and how he experienced that as a son and a father. Then, NPR's Scott Simon asks Edel Rodriguez about Worm, which follows his family's journey from Cuba to Miami on the Mariel boatlift, and how it shaped his feelings towards Donald Trump.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The new novel and National Book Awards finalist by Justin Torres, Blackouts, blurs the line between fiction and history to bring marginalized queer narratives to life. In today's episode, Torres speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about how he was inspired by the work of lesbian archivist and researcher Jan Gay — but when he hit a dead end trying to learn more about her, he used fiction to fill in the gaps. Torres also discusses blacking out text to get rid of the pathologization of LGBTQ people in testimonials, and finding new meaning in the remaining words.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy