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Terry Tempest Williams on why women with big ideas get labeled 'crazy'

Wild Card with Rachel Martin

Terry Tempest Williams on why women with big ideas get labeled 'crazy'

Terry Tempest Williams often writes about what is easy to overlook – the “holy ordinary” as she calls it. Whether it's the beauty and plight of the natural world, or the silence and struggle of a loved one. She talks to Rachel about why women with big ideas get labeled “crazy” and how she tries to emulate her late mother. 

Wild Card with Rachel Martin-07.09.2026

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The book cover of "The Good Divorce" by Karen McNenny is on the left, and her portrait is on the right. The cover and photo are placed over a light blue collage background.

Karen McNenny is a certified divorce coach, certified co-parenting specialist and author of the book The Good Divorce: How to End Your Marriage Without Ending Your Family. Wiley/Jossey-Bass/NPR, Nicole Wickens/NPR hide caption

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Wiley/Jossey-Bass/NPR, Nicole Wickens/NPR

Your Life Kit for love and relationships

What a divorce coach wishes couples knew before ending a marriage

Divorce is a tool, not a weapon, says Karen McNenny, author of a new book on the subject. She explains how to end a marriage while protecting your family and your mental health.

You know the Mayflower. What about the White Lion? Here's the story of 'Two Ships'
Penguin Random House

Review

Book Reviews

You know the Mayflower. What about the White Lion? Here's the story of 'Two Ships'

David S. Reynolds' book examines the twin legacies of the Mayflower, which carried the Pilgrims to Plymouth in 1620, and the White Lion, which brought the first enslaved Africans to Virginia in 1619.

FA: Book Review: Two Ships

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Kennedy Ryan's latest novel, Score, follows two former college sweethearts reunited while making a film about the Harlem Renaissance.

Kennedy Ryan's latest novel, Score, follows two former college sweethearts reunited while making a film about the Harlem Renaissance. 2 PM Sharp hide caption

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2 PM Sharp

Author Interviews

In Kennedy Ryan's romance, happily-ever-after is for everyone

The romance books Ryan read growing up rarely included characters who looked like her. Now she deliberately centers people the genre has left out, including Black, Indigenous and queer women.

FA: Kennedy Ryan

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Laverne Cox attends the world premiere of Apple's Outcome at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on April 6, 2026 in New York City.

Laverne Cox says that even from a young age, there was "always music in my head." Her new memoir is called Transcendent. She's shown above in New York in April 2026. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images hide caption

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Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Author Interviews

Laverne Cox wrote her memoir because 'one more human story out there can help'

For more than a decade, actor Laverne Cox been one of the most visible trans women in America. But the Orange Is the New Black star says she spent most of childhood keeping herself hidden.

FA: Laverne Cox

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Alan Greenspan and Ayn Rand are pictured in the Oval Office on Sept. 4, 1974, after Greenspan's swearing in as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors.

Alan Greenspan and Ayn Rand are pictured in the Oval Office on Sept. 4, 1974, after Greenspan's swearing in as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors. David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images/Hulton Archive hide caption

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David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images/Hulton Archive

Did you know? Alan Greenspan and Ayn Rand were close friends

One of the most intellectually important relationships in the life of the late Fed chair Alan Greenspan was with his close friend, the formidable novelist and libertarian thinker Ayn Rand.

Former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan delivers the keynote address at the IMF Statistical Forum/Statistics for Policy Making in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 18, 2014. Greenspan died on Monday at age 100.

Former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan delivers the keynote address at the IMF Statistical Forum/Statistics for Policy Making in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 18, 2014. Greenspan died on Monday at age 100. Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Obituaries

Alan Greenspan, the legendary former Federal Reserve chair, dies

During his chairmanship, Greenspan was celebrated as possibly the best central banker in history. But later, his reputation was tarnished by the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Longtime Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan dies at 100

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Since leaving office, former Vice President Mike Pence founded the policy and advocacy organization Advancing American Freedom.

Since leaving office, former Vice President Mike Pence founded the policy and advocacy organization Advancing American Freedom. Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption

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Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Author Interviews

Former Vice President Mike Pence believes Washington is more 'swampy' under Trump

Former Vice President Mike Pence outlines his vision for conservative ideology in his new book What Conservatives Believe.

Former Vice President Mike Pence talks about his book, 'What Conservatives Believe'

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Judy Blume says she's done writing: '50 years is enough!'

Scott Simon talks with author Judy Blume at the Santa Fe International Literary Festival in May. Tira Howard Photography./Courtesy Santa Fe International Literary Festival hide caption

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Tira Howard Photography./Courtesy Santa Fe International Literary Festival

Culture

Judy Blume says she's done writing: '50 years is enough!'

Judy Blume wrote her last book more than a decade ago. At the Santa Fe International Literary Festival, NPR's Scott Simon talked to Blume about her long career and why she doesn't miss writing.

JUDY BLUME

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Author Interviews

How the 1874 Freedman's Bank collapse connects to economic disparities we see today

In Savings and Trust, historian Justene Hill Edwards tells the story of the Freedman's Bank, which was created for formerly enslaved people following the Civil War. Originally broadcast Nov. 7, 2024.

How the 1874 Freedman's Bank collapse connects to economic disparities we see today

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Jane Yolen in 1989.

Jane Yolen in 1989. Denver Post/AP hide caption

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Denver Post/AP

Obituaries

For author Jane Yolen, no word was too big for a children's book

Yolen, who authored The Devil's Arithmetic and the picture book Owl Moon, was an author's author — known for gathering loved ones in her Massachusetts home and collaborating with her friends and family.

Remembering Jane Yolen, who authored more than 450 books

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U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., attends a rally opposing the SAVE America Act outside the U.S. Capitol on March 18 in Washington.

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., attends a rally opposing the SAVE America Act outside the U.S. Capitol on March 18 in Washington. Heather Diehl/Getty Images hide caption

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Heather Diehl/Getty Images

Author Interviews

Faith's role in U.S. politics 'requires humility,' not certainty, says Sen. Warnock

Michel Martin speaks with Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia about his new book, "The Crooked Places Made Straight: Reflections on the Moral Meaning of America."

Sen. Warnock's new book calls on U.S. to commit to a greater moral imagination

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Eddie Glaude Jr. speaks in Philadelphia on March 1, 2023.

Eddie Glaude Jr. speaks in Philadelphia on March 1, 2023. Lisa Lake/Getty Images hide caption

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Lisa Lake/Getty Images

Author Interviews

As the U.S. turns 250, this historian has blunt advice: 'America has to grow up'

In America, U.S.A., Princeton historian Eddie Glaude Jr. looks at the country through the lens of its previous anniversaries and centennials. "The divided soul of the nation is in full view," he says.

FA: Eddie Glaude

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If you plan to catch up on reading this summer, start with these 3 books
W. W. Norton & Company; Farrar, Straus and Giroux; W. W. Norton & Company

Review

Book Reviews

If you plan to catch up on reading this summer, start with these 3 books

Summer is the perfect time to go back to great books that whizzed by in spring, including The Family Man, by James Lasdun, The Hill, by Harriet Clark and A Beautiful Loan, by Mary Costello

FA: Book Review: Summer catch up

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Author Interviews

Remembering French-Iranian artist and writer Marjane Satrapi

Satrapi's groundbreaking graphic novel Persepolis introduced readers to life in Iran during the Islamic revolution and the Iran/Iraq war. She died June 4, 2026. Originally broadcast June 2, 2003.

FA: Marjane Satrapi

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