Scott Simon

Every year, the Tiny Desk Contest attracts thousands of unsigned musicians — like powerhouse singer Danielle Ponder. Her entry, "Poor Man's Pain," was inspired by her work as a public defender.

In the upcoming documentary All In: The Fight For Democracy, the voting rights advocate traces the growing challenges many Americans face when trying to cast a ballot.

As sports teams make visible their support for Black Lives Matter, NPR's Scott Simon reflects on the tradition of athletes speaking out on behalf of civil rights and social justice.

Yaa Gyasi's new novel follows a young woman working on a neuroscience PhD who hopes that figuring out the pathways of addiction and depression in mice will help her work through her own feelings.

Author Ibi Zoboi and activist Yusef Salaam, one of the Central Park Five, turn his childhood pain into poetry in this new novel in verse, about a Black teenager convicted of a crime he didn't commit.

NPR's Scott Simon reflects on the life of Susan B. Anthony on the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and questions the need for a posthumous pardon by President Trump.

Nick Gutierrez cleans dorm rooms at the University of California Santa Cruz, and has been doing so for most of the pandemic. He talks about what that's been like, and his concerns for this quarter.

Sal Khan, a pioneer of online learning, says virtual instruction can't replace the real thing. With many schools going virtual this fall, he says building in one-on-one interaction will go a long way.

NPR's Scott Simon muses about a choir that had to stop singing because of the pandemic...so now they hum.

Twenty-six-year old Grammy-winning multi-instrumental composer and prodigy Jacob Collier talks about his new album, Djesse Vol. 3., which features collaborations with Ty Dolla $ign and T-Pain.

Author Madeleine Ryan was diagnosed with autism while she was writing her new novel — she says creating her main character helped her embrace the way she process her own thoughts and feelings.

NPR's Scott Simon remembers Pete Hamill, former columnist for the New York Post and Daily News, who's memoir A Drinking Life told tough truths. Hamill died this week at the age of 85.

Playwright, musician, and author Nate Marshall has a new book of poetry out, called Finna. He says the title comes from the common Southern phrase "fixing to," which is all about what happens next.

Singer, songwriter, and satirist Tim Minchin's new series opens with a bang: A frazzled man is driving an upright piano across the bare Australian landscape when he collides with a mouthy teenager.

Almost a decade ago, Canadian singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards gave up music and opened a cafe called Quitters Coffee. She returns now with Total Freedom, her first album in eight years.

NPR's Scott Simon tells the story of Manny's, a Jewish-style deli in Chicago that's been struggling during the pandemic.

A new documentary catalogs the rise of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Christopher Jackson and other members of the hip-hop group Freestyle Love Supreme in the mid-2000s before they became famous on Broadway.

Researchers have reported that some animals take precautions and keep their distance so they're less likely to be infected by another animal. Scott Simon wonders why some humans won't do the same.

David Mitchell's new novel chronicles the rise and fall of fictional 1960s psychedelic rock band. He says he was drawn to both the music and the "dark magic that was in the air" in that era.

NPR's Scott Simon reflects on the 100th anniversary of the Negro National League as a response to segregation in major league baseball.