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Maggie O'Farrell's new novel confronts a parent's worst nightmare: The loss of a child. In this case, it's Hamnet, the real-life son of William Shakespeare, whose death may have inspired Hamlet.

At stake is whether Louisiana will now have its first African-American chief justice. Justice Bernette Johnson was elected in 1994 to a special seat created to remedy racial disparities. Now, there's a conflict over whether she is actually the longest-serving justice, and therefore entitled to be the chief.

Both Republicans and Democrats think they can capture about a dozen state legislative chambers in next week's election, meaning there could be little net change in control. But there may be no state that the GOP is eyeing as eagerly as Arkansas, which is the lone Democratic holdout in the Deep South.

Explaining country music takes some time — it’s got a long history and draws from a myriad of sources. Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show starts here,…

Jordan Peele discusses his new film in which he addresses the politics of race. It's about an African-American man meeting his white girlfriend's family for the first time and the horror that ensues.

The Suitsactress is also a humanitarian activist. She's a self-described foodie with two rescue dogs. And she says she never reads the press coverage of her relationship with Prince Harry.

If the history of thermodynamics can teach us anything, it is that modest entropy reversals have not taken us back in time at all. But it is more fun to think otherwise, says guest Jimena Canales.

A visual testimony of the nuptials of Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.

Great poetry almost never leads to great paychecks. Even award-winning poets need to pay the bills. Many teach, but others are doctors, scientists, lawyers, undertakers or even market analysts. In celebration of National Poetry Month, writer David Orr takes a look at the secret lives of poets.

As much of the country shivers in the grip of a nasty winter, NPR movie critic Bob Mondello ponders cinematic heat — the movies that smolder, swelter and sizzle no matter what the mercury says.

As the host of a weekly public radio program pairing conversation and duet performances, McPartland brought many jazz greats to an audience of millions. For more than 40 years, she offered an intimate perspective on the elusive topic of improvisation.

Scientists are learning what artists have already figured out: there's money out there. Specifically, there's money among the users of the Internet, and they are willing to donate it for what they consider to be good causes.

The new system North Carolina uses to process Medicaid payments is still a nightmare for many providers. That's one of several controversies that…

The comedy Austenland rightly pokes fun at Americans' ideas about the British, says critic Ella Taylor. She says the line between high and low culture in England has always been a bit hazy.

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Rep. Sean Maloney of New York, a Democrat on the House Intelligence committee, who participated in Wednesday's public impeachment hearing.

There's nothing quite like a football tailgate, where fans turn parking lots into open-air living rooms and serve food to strangers who share the same passion for the hometown team.

Did you know that the average American drinks 22.7 gallons of coffee a year? Or that watermelons are vegetables? Kee Malesky does. For 20 years, Malesky, NPR's longest-serving librarian, has done the research to keep us all accurate. She compiles her favorite bits of "inessential knowledge" in a new book.

Longtime New Yorker Gay Talese has written the introduction to a new book of photographs of New York that is titled New York: 365 Days. The collection of photos came from The New York Times archive and spans more than a 100 years.

The Tragedy of Arthur, the new novel by Arthur Phillips, tells the story of a con man, his son and an undiscovered work by William Shakespeare. Phillips speaks to Scott Simon about fraud and family drama.

Passing along a book that no one has heard of is like telling a really good secret. NPR's Barrie Hardymon recommends a hot Southern thriller, a scathing evisceration of the newspaper biz, a slightly ridiculous, totally gratifying romance, and one extra gem that's been hiding in plain sight.