Alt.latino guest DJ Eduardo Halfon, author of The Polish Boxer, answers a few questions about literature and the important books in his life. Halfon, who is Guatemalan, recommends Time Commences in Xibalba by Mayan author Luis de Lion for readers looking for a better understanding of his country.

NPR listener Laurel Ruma picked up some odd ingredients during her travels. London-based chef Yotam Ottolenghi helps her concoct recipes with them for Morning Edition's Cook Your Cupboard series.

When Rebecca Posamentier was pregnant with her first child, she visited StoryCorps with her mother, Carol Kirsch. The soon-to-be mother tried to glean all she could about parenting from her own mother, before it was too late.

Researchers at the University of Reading are speculating that today's languages share a common root dating as far back as the last Ice Age. Words like "mother," "man" and "ashes" are categorized as "ultraconserved," meaning they are survivors of a lost language from which many modern tongues are descended.

The writer of Drumline and ATL makes her directorial debut with the new comedy Peeples. It has the backing of hit filmmaker Tyler Perry and features some major stars. Chism talks to host Michel Martin about her career and new film.

A year after publishing her controversial Atlantic story, "Why Women Can't Have It All," Anne-Marie Slaughter talks about her decision to leave the State Department to be at home. Her mother suggests that whether they stay home or work, women today have a much better sense of themselves than did previous generations.

For our series on the Changing Lives of Women, we're asking NPR women about their careers — and inviting you to join the conversation. We asked NPR's Audie Cornish what "having it all" means to her.

Many people are racking their brains to find a Mother's Day gift. But a group of women wrote about gifts their mothers gave them. Their essays are part of the book What My Mother Gave Me: Thirty-One Women on the Gifts That Mattered Most. Host Michel Martin speaks with the editor and a contributor.

Jeffrey Selingo, an editor with The Chronicle of Higher Education, argues that American colleges have lost their way. In College (Un)bound, he describes the challenges facing American higher education and takes a close look at what college students are getting in return for their tuition.

The actor's new film, Love Is All You Need, has him playing a widowed businessman on vacation on the Amalfi Coast. He tells NPR's Audie Cornish it was a role he could identify with.

Unless you have an icebreaker or a helicopter, you'll probably only see this remote Russian nature preserve in photos. It's inhospitable and practically inaccessible, but the island's wildlife — including arctic fox, polar bears and musk oxen — are a strong draw for scientists and photographers.

Television talk show host Wendy Williams is known for pushing the envelope and dishing the dirt on celebs. But her rise to fame wasn't always glamorous. Host Michel Martin speaks with Williams about her career, battle with addiction and new book Ask Wendy.

One expert says the administration is operating drones with a "kill-not-capture" policy, adding that you don't get intelligence from those killed. But there's also a human toll — from the pilots who remotely operate the drones to those people who live in the areas that are targeted.

A dance band called Dur-Dur Band ruled the nightclub scene in 1980s Mogadishu, thanks to a unique sound made possible by access to Western culture and instruments.

When he first moved to Washington, D.C., White House faith adviser Jonathan DuBois had heard people in the nation's capital weren't serious about their religious beliefs. Instead, he found how those in the public eye keep a private faith.

Bill Cheng's debut novel, Southern Cross the Dog, is full of mythical characters who feel like they rose right out of the Mississippi Swamp, and narratives that churn and swirl like the river itself. Cheng calls the novel "a love note to those old blues players."

Omar Deghayes is one of hundreds of former detainees who have been released from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay over the past several years. In his years as a detainee, he went on three hunger strikes and says he understands what current prisoners are going through.

The humorist has made a name as a playwright, novelist, columnist and screenwriter. Now he's turned his attention to the Young Adult market with an update of the Cinderella story — starring a young girl from a trailer park.

The Texas alt-country outfit has been spoofing politics, religion and romance for as long as most Austinites can remember.

Some hold the straight edge of the tortilla chip and dip the point; others do the opposite. But if you're willing to step out of the box, The Sporkful's Dan Pashman has a technique that could help boost the reputation of one controversial chip.