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John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, visits modern-day Venice, where he finds a rich cast of characters and tries to unravel the mystery behind a 1996 fire that wiped out the city's last opera house.

Joan DeJean, author of The Essence of Style: How the French Invented High Fashion, Fine Food, Chic Cafes, Style, Sophistication, and Glamour!, aims to prove that almost everything we think of as glamorous can be traced back to the 1600s and the tastes of French monarch Louis XIV.

Writers and gardeners Ross Gay and Tess Taylor and about what gardens and poetry can bring — including the reminder to breathe and nourish the body and soul.

Alexandra Lange's new book has insights on the influence of school and classroom design on children's learning throughout history.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with envoys assigned to LGBTQ issues – the U.S.'s Jessica Stern, Italy's Fabrizio Petri and Argentina's Alba Rueda – about whether life is improving for queer people globally.

NPR's Scott Simon talks to Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche about their new album Cruel Country, and about writing songs with uncomfortable truths.

On Oct. 3, 1951, one of Major League Baseball's greatest moments took place. In the bottom of the 9th inning, the New York Giants beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 5-4, winning the National League Pennant. Batter Bobby Thomson's three-run homer became legendary. Deborah Amos talks to writer Joshua Prager, who reveals that the Giants had an unusual home-field advantage.

Scott Simon talks with Mickey Rapkin about his new book, "Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory," which weaves together the drama of three groups trying to claim glory without instruments.

William Hague is the shadow foreign secretary of Britain's Conservative Party, and was once head of the party. Since leaving full-time work in politics, he's been writing political biographies. The latest is called William Wilberforce: The Life of the Great Anti-Slave Trade Campaigner. Scott Simon speaks to the author about how Wilberforce's personality and religious faith informed his anti-slavery activism.

Hidden Kitchens travels to the Louisiana State Penitentiary and the world of unexpected, below-the-radar, down-home convict cooking at the Angola Prison Rodeo. The event, which draws thousands of spectators, features traditional dishes prepared and sold by inmates at the prison farm.