NPR's Book of the Day Folgen

Donal Ryan's new novel, The Queen of Dirt Island, centers its women characters. He tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly that making the men peripheral wasn't his goal – "it just kind of happened." In today's episode, he explains how a childhood spent listening to his grandmother, sister and neighbors in his mom's kitchen inspired the voices in the book, and why he wrote with a strict word count in mind for each chapter.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Today's episode is a true story that reads like a novel. In 2006, author and labor organizer Saket Soni received a call from an Indian migrant worker. He was one of hundreds of men hired by Signal International to fix hurricane-ravaged oil rigs in Mississippi and asked to pay $20,000 under the impression it would go towards green card expenses. But as Soni explains in his new book, The Great Escape, that was far from the truth. He tells Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about the harsh conditions workers were forced to live in, and how they eventually marched all the way to D.C. to demand justice.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ari Shapiro's voice might be familiar to listeners for a number of reasons. He's one of the hosts of All Things Considered; he also sings and tours with the band Pink Martini, sometimes in places with languages he doesn't speak – as he tells NPR's Steve Inskeep. In today's episode, the NPR journalist talks about his new memoir, The Best Strangers in the World, and opens up about the way he brings his personal experiences to his professional and creative endeavors – from being one of the only Jewish kids in Fargo, MN to covering the Pulse nightclub shooting.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy