NPR's Book of the Day Folgen

Actor Rainn Wilson says he's "always identified as being a dork and a misfit and an outsider." In fact, he says that's probably why he found so much success playing Dwight Schrute in The Office. But in real life, Wilson attributes his dorkiness to how uncool it was to be "the God guy" in the New York acting scene, causing him to shy away from it. In his new book, Soul Boom, he details the monumental role spirituality now plays in his life. He tells NPR's Rachel Martin about his journey back to his faith, and why he feels it should be a guiding force in solving the world's problems.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Miles Morales, the beloved protagonist of Jason Reynolds' Spider-Man novel, is back. And this time, he's dealing with in-school suspension for challenging his history teacher at an elite Brooklyn private school. But between writing poetry about his new crush and saving the world, the young, Black and Puerto Rican superhero also stumbles into some major themes about racism and censorship. Reynolds tells NPR's A Martinez how his newest novel is a response to the book bans taking place across the country – and how he wishes it didn't have to be.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For poet Camille Dungy, environmental justice, community interdependence and political engagement go hand in hand. She explores those relationships in her new book, Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden. In it, she details how her experience trying to diversify the species growing in her yard, in a predominantly white town in Colorado, reflects larger themes of how we talk about land and race in the U.S. In today's episode, she tells NPR's Melissa Block about the journey that gardening put her on, and what it's revealed about who gets to write about the environment.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy