MEMETERIA by Thomas May

Arts & Culture Stories from NPR

• 'The Undefeated' Wins Caldecott Medal, While 'New Kid' Picks Up Newbery
  Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson's book won the Caldecott, the top prize for picture books, and Jerry Craft's novel won the Newbery for kids' books.
• 'Fresh Air' Remembers 'PBS NewsHour' Host Jim Lehrer
  Lehrer, who died Jan. 23, was a nightly figure on PBS news for more than three decades, and moderated presidential debates in every election from 1988 through 2012. Originally broadcast in 1988.
• New Book Presents A 'Secret History' Of Nuclear War Planning In America
  In The Bomb, journalist Fred Kaplan reveals how U.S. presidents, their advisers and generals have thought about, planned for — and sometimes narrowly avoided — nuclear war.
• Billie Eilish Sweeps Grammys In Ceremony Clouded By Controversy And Mourning
  In a night when Eilish, the youngest artist to win Album and Record of the year, might have otherwise been the whole story, the Recording Academy could not quite put its recent scandals behind it.
• 'This Isn't New': Questions For Tochi Onyebuchi, Author Of 'Riot Baby'
  Tochi Onyebuchi's slim, devastating novella follows a young man born amidst the chaos of the 1992 Rodney King riots — and his sister, whose terrifying magical powers can't protect him from racism.
• 'Processed Cheese' Is Hard To Love — But Easy To Admire
  Stephen Wright's new novel is a darkly funny satire of American consumer culture, set in a Day-Glo alternate reality that's unsettlingly close to our own. It's an exhausting but unforgettable read.
• 'Franchise' Tracks The Rise And Role Of Fast Food In Black America
  History professor Marcia Chatelain's new book tracks what she calls the hidden history of the relationships between the struggle for civil rights and the expansion of the fast food industry.
• Pain Drives The Creation Of A Sanctuary In 'Remembrance'
  Rita Woods' ambitious novel spans 200 years and multiple storylines — it's a complex story of loss and survival that doesn't always work. But Woods creates memorable characters readers can relate to.
• 'Interior Chinatown' Puts That Guy In The Background Front And Center
  Charles Yu's new novel follows a TV actor who often gets stuck playing generic Asian men. Yu says he was inspired by shows that set episodes in Chinatown — but keep Asian actors in the background.
• 'Night Theater' Is An Intriguing But Uneven Drama
  Vikram Paralkar's novel takes place over one eventful night at a clinic in a small Indian village, where three murdered people confront a doctor; if he can treat their wounds, they'll live again.