Anna Sale, It's A Free Country political reporter, discusses the contentious special election in NY's 26th district.

The New York Public Library's flagship building on 5th Avenue is celebrating its centennial this weekend. Paul LeClerc, president of the NYPL, talks about the role of the library.

Francine Prose, essayist and author of My New American Life: A Novel, talks about her new novel about a young Albanian woman seeking a new life in post 9/11 New York.

Events: Francine Prose will be reading at Greenlight Bookstore on Friday, May 20th, at 7:30pm.  She will also be interviewed by Leonard Lopate, in addition to reading from her new novel, at the Brooklyn Public Library on Saturday, May 21st at 4:00pm.

Jill Lepore, professor of American history at Harvard, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party’s Revolution and the Battle Over American History, continues her stint as our weekly guest for the month of May. She will discuss how four past historical moments have influenced the present political and social climate in the United States.

Today's historical moment: The Parrot Fever Panic of 1930

Continuing a series of conversations, Brooke Gladstone, host and managing editor of WNYC’s On the Media, talks about her new book, The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media, which is a work of graphic nonfiction illustrated by Josh Neufeld and which explains the history and workings of the media. Today: media machines throughout history.