Scott Simon

As a boy, Anton was adopted by a loving, prominent couple. He grows up to be a man of distinction. Then he learns that his adopted dad manipulated his biological mom into giving him up.

Ireland's center-right Fine Gael Party has elected Leo Varadkar as its leader, and therefore next prime minister. He'll be Ireland's youngest leader at 38.

What exactly did President Trump mean by covfefe? Was it a deliberate attempt at a word by POTUS or a simple fudge of the fingers? NPR's Scott Simon has an idea.

President Trump announced the U.S. will exit the climate deal, and there was more news about the Russia investigation. And next week, former FBI Director James Comey testifies before the Senate.

Jem Lester's debut novel follows three generations of men who can't communicate — a grandfather, a father and a profoundly autistic little boy. Lester says he modeled the boy on his own son.

In 1982, NPR's Jazz Alive! recorded a big-band performance led by the inventive bassist at New York's Avery Fisher Hall. Engineer Paul Blakemore has remastered the tapes for a new album.

Following a report on how the media covers President Trump, NPR's Scott Simon muses on whether negative stories about presidents are evidence of bias, or just the natural outcome of reporting news.

A new production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf has been told that the estate of playwright Edward Albee won't allow them to use an African-American actor.

In the game Minecraft, a chocolate chip cookie will tame a parrot, but they're poisonous to the birds in real life. Minecraft has promised to update the game.

Laleh Khadivi's new novel traces the path of a young Muslim man in California, the son of strict Iranian immigrant parents, from his first bong hit at age 14 to his eventual radicalization.

Nearly 50 years after his untimely death, Redding's influence as a spirit of soul music remains. Jonathan Gould, author of a new biography of the singer, explains why.

There are several portraits of former governors who've gone to prison in the Illinois Capitol. NPR's Scott Simon believes Rod Blagojevich, who was impeached, should be among them — with a catch.

Azaria stars in the new IFC show of the same name, about a baseball announcer slowly rebuilding his life and career in the minor leagues after a spectacular on-air meltdown over his wife's infidelity.

Tambor now stars as Maura, a divorced, transgender parent of three in the Amazon series Transparent. He says the opportunity — and the responsibility — of the role have been life changing.

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Frank Farry about the crisis hotline he set up in Bucks County, Pa., for first responders. Farry says PTSD among public safety workers is an overlooked problem.

Celebrated newspaper editor Harold Evans sees a lot of linguistic fog around us: murky words and too much passive voice. His new book, Do I Make Myself Clear? is a passionate call for better writing.

Harvard announced this week that they will no longer charge 50 cents a day for overdue books. Harvard's Steven Beardsley told The Harvard Crimson that overdue book fines are stressing students.

Gere's latest film, Norman, is about a Jewish man who pops up on the streets of Manhattan dropping names, handing out cards and promising to connect people.

Award-winning novelist Penelope Lively hasn't written short stories in decades, but, she says, the form suddenly came back to her, for a collection that ranges from Pompeii to the modern day.

The Glee star was cast in Les Misérables when she was 8 and has been performing ever since. She says her new album, Places, intentionally calls back to her history onstage.