NPR's Book of the Day Folgen

Crystal Harris was only 21 when she entered the Playboy mansion for the first time. Within a few days, the college student moved in. She later married Hugh Hefner, and stayed by his side until his death in 2017. In her new memoir, Only Say Good Things, Hefner looks back on the paradox of sexual freedom and strict rules she lived by at the mansion. She tells NPR's Michel Martin how her perspective on love, liberation and control has changed since she left. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's never too early for spooky season. Today, we've got two horror books that explore relationships, cynicism and arrogance. First, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Rachel Harrison about Black Sheep, which follows a disillusioned protagonist grappling with religious fanaticism and family ties when she returns to the Satanic community she was raised in. Then, Jenny Kiefer discusses her novel This Wretched Valley, which takes inspiration from the Dyatlov Pass Incident to put an influencer and Ph.D. students at odds with nature.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

More than a decade ago, former NPR host Michele Norris started the Race Card Project. It was a simple premise: She asked people to send in six words that summarized their thoughts on race. Now, hundreds of thousands of submissions later, Norris expands on some of those opinions and experiences in the new book, Our Hidden Conversations. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about the context behind some of the submissions — like "I wish he was a girl" — and the way feeling "invisible" has changed in recent years.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy