History & Society : NPR

The comic teamed up with a sociologist to write an overview of dating and relationships. His book explains online dating's paradox of choice and how we're all like a song by hip-hop artist Flo Rida.

A dedicated group of fathers in Los Angeles is working to help neighborhood dads do better by their children and their community.

Journalist Rinker Buck had a crazy idea — and a brother with a knack for driving mules. His new memoir recounts what happened when the two very different men set off in a covered wagon.

Former president Jimmy Carter was one of the youngest ex-presidents ever when he left office in 1981. His new memoir, A Full Life, looks back at his years of public service, in and out of office.

"Good people with the best of intentions ... can get things terribly, terribly wrong," says legal scholar Adam Benforado. His book, Unfair, explores the intrinsic flaws of the American justice system.

Coates writes about race and social issues for The Atlantic. His new book, Between the World and Me, brings to bear his fear that his life and the lives of his loved ones might end unnaturally.

Wonder Woman's creator had a few secrets of his own. Historian Jill Lepore describes William Moulton Marstothe's unusual life in The Secret History of Wonder Woman. Originally broadcast Oct. 27, 2014.

Children of the Stone tells the story of a rock-throwing Palestinian teen's journey to found a music school. NPR's Lynn Neary speaks with Ramzi Aburedwan and author Sandy Tolan.

Growing up in Baltimore, the writer faced threats from both the streets and the police. His book, Between the World and Me, is an open letter to his teenage son.

In the 1983 game, the Yankees were holding a trump card: an obscure rule that turned the Royals' game-winning home run into a game-loser, inspiring one of the most epic tantrums in baseball history.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed racial discrimination in voting. But author Ari Berman says a 2013 Supreme Court ruling blocks the act's enforcement — and opened the door for new restrictions.

American sex laws have not always kept pace with society's changing standards. In The Boundaries of Desire, Eric Berkowitz explores how the legal system has addressed sex in the last century.

Mona Eltahawy says as a female in Saudi Arabia you have two options: "To lose your mind or become a feminist." Rafia Zakaria says it's crucial to reclaim the identity of the modern Muslim woman.

Joe Domanick's Blue traces the history of the Los Angeles police and the shift away from a "disastrous policy" of using military-style tactics. The author shares lessons for departments nationwide.

Ronnie Greene's new book explores a case dating back to the days after Hurricane Katrina, when New Orleans police officers shot six unarmed civilians on the Danziger Bridge in East New Orleans.

Attorney Bryan Stevenson represents those who have been abandoned. His clients include abused and neglected children and people on death row. Originally broadcast Oct. 20, 2014.

As Indians struggled to break free of Britain, more than 2 million signed up to fight with the Allies, the largest volunteer force in the world. Raghu Karnad unearths the story in The Farthest Field.

David Vine's new book argues that the hundreds of U.S. bases in other countries come at a high cost, both at home and abroad. He suggests reducing such bases and increasing diplomatic engagement.

Hermann Simon's mother lived as a Jew in Berlin during World War II. Through cunning and disguise, Marie Jalowicz Simon managed to evade the Nazis right under their noses.

A new book details that the women were not personal friends, but they were strong allies on the Supreme Court bench, especially in the legal fight for women's equality.

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