Terry Gross

In The Splendid And The Vile, author Erik Larson details the British prime minister's first year in office, during which England endured a Nazi bombing campaign. Originally broadcast March 30, 2020.

COVID-19 has transformed home life — turning kitchen tables into home offices and classrooms and putting a spotlight on the countless household tasks typically performed by women. Brigid Schulte says the pandemic has laid bare the "grotesque inequality" that exists within many families. Schulte is the director of the Better Life Lab, a work-life, gender equity and social policy program at the New America think tank.

In a new book, Dark Mirror, Barton Gellman writes about his relationship with Edward Snowden and the high-stakes reporting that ultimately garnered him, Poitras and Greenwald a Pulitzer Prize.

Dan Harris says he's taken to saying, "if you're not anxious right now, you're not paying attention." Thru his daily online coronavirus meditations, he's been trying to help people quiet their anxiety with meditation and mindfulness techniques. Dan Harris wrote a memoir about how meditation helped calm the negative voices in his head, and he has an app.

At the height of his fame, Martin shifted his focus from stand-up to acting and writing. He called his memoir, Born Standing Up, a biography of "someone I used to know." Originally broadcast in 2008.

John Barry, author of the 2004 book, The Great Influenza, draws parallels between today's pandemic and the flu of 1918. In both cases, he says, "the outbreak was trivialized for a long time."

David Fajgenbaum was diagnosed with Castleman disease as a medical student. In Chasing My Cure, he recounts crowd-sourcing his own treatment with a global network of doctors, scientists and patients.

Writer Michael Arceneaux has a tongue-in-cheek message for young people right now: "Please don't be as much of a mess as I was."

In her New York Times Magazine article, Emily Bazelon says it's estimated that it would take $4 billion to properly run the election in November; Congress has allocated only $400 million.