Entire staff at federal agency that funds libraries and museums put on leave The staff of the Institute of Museum and Library Services was placed on administrative leave this morning, following a meeting between IMLS leadership and DOGE staff. Andrew Limbong
Memoirist Putsata Reang talks about the 'complicated love' for America, Cambodia, and Ma This is the KUOW Book Club, and we just finished reading "Ma and Me" by Putsata Reang. I'm your club guide, Katie Campbell. Let's get into it. Katie Campbell
Sigrid Nunez's 'The Friend' tells a story of friendship and despair Nunez's 2018 novel won the National Book Award. It's now a film, starring Naomi Watts and Bill Murray, about a woman who inherits a dog after her friend's suicide. Originally broadcast in 2019. Terry Gross
Why Amanda Knox returns to Italy — and how she talks with her daughter about injustice Amanda Knox spent nearly four years in an Italian prison for a murder she didn't commit. After her exoneration, she reached out to the man who prosecuted her case. Knox's new memoir is Free. Tonya Mosley
A glimpse into the newly opened archive of Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne The New York Public Library's Joan Didion archive opens March 26. Here's what you'll find inside. Ana Perez
'Tilt' is the story of an epic journey following a catastrophic quake NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Emma Pattee. Her debut novel, Tilt, is about a devastating earthquake in the Pacific Northwest, and one pregnant woman's quest to get back home after it. Sarah Handel
'Mad House' exposes Congressional disfunction, from petty feuds to physical threats The MAGA-controlled 118th House passed only 27 bills that became law — the lowest number since the Great Depression. Journalists Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater examine the chaos in a new book. Dave Davies
A legal scholar talks about 10 laws he says are 'ruining America' In Bad Law, Elie Mystal argues that our country's laws on immigration, abortion and voting rights don't reflect the will of most Americans, and we'd be better off abolishing them and starting over. Tonya Mosley
'Funny Because It's True' tells the history of satirical paper 'The Onion' NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Christine Wenc, author of the new book Funny Because It's True: How the Onion Created Modern News Satire. Scott Detrow
Witchcraft and reproductive rights: The horror of Grady Hendrix's latest novel "Witchcraft for Wayward Girls" is, in its most basic form, about unwed teenage mothers who are sent away to a "home" in Florida where they find a coven of witches in the woods. That's the short, fun version. Katie Campbell