Lifestyle
Sunday Puzzle: Roman numeral 9
On-air challenge
Today’s theme is the Roman numeral 9. Every answer is a word, name, or phrase ending in the letters -IX. (Ex. Religious cross –> CRUCIFIX)
1. Something added at the start of a word to make a new word
2. Largest city in Arizona
3. Popular streaming service
4. Number of letters in the alphabet
5. The composer Mendelssohn’s first name
6. Keanu Reeves film with three sequels
7. Shape of a DNA molecule
8. 1960s-’70s TV detective series starring Mike Connors
9. Snack consisting of granola, dried fruit, and nuts
10. “Purple Haze” guitarist
11. Longtime queen of the Netherlands
12. Throw away
13. Fancy synonym for “long-winded”
14. Something added on at the end of a book
Last week’s challenge
Last week’s challenge came from Mike Reiss, who’s a showrunner, writer, and producer for “The Simpsons.” Think of a famous singer. Replace the last three letters of the first name with an E. Also replace the last three letters of the last name with an E. The result will be a world-famous location. What singer is this?
Challenge answer
Whitney Houston, White House
Winner
Dan Dabrowski of Alexandria, Virginia.
This week’s challenge
This week’s challenge comes from Joel Moorhead, of Downers Grove, Ill. Think of a word that means exceptionally good. Add two letters at the end of to make a word that means the exact opposite. What words are these?
If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Thursday, October 16 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.
The American Library Association’s list of the most frequently challenged books of 2025 includes Sold by Patricia McCormick, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer: A Memoir.
American Library Association
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American Library Association
The American Library Association has released its annual list of the most commonly challenged books at libraries across the United States.
According to the ALA, the 11 most frequently targeted books include several tied titles. They are:
1. Sold by Patricia McCormick
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
3. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
4. Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
5. (tie) Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
5. (tie) Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
7. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
8. (tie) A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
8. (tie) Identical by Ellen Hopkins
8. (tie) Looking for Alaska by John Green
8. (tie) Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Many of these individual titles also appear on a 2024-25 report issued last October by PEN America, a separate group dedicated to free expression, which looked at book challenges and bans specifically within public schools.
The ALA says that it documented 4,235 unique titles being challenged in 2025 – the second-highest year on record for library challenges. (The highest ever was in 2023, with 4,240 challenges documented – only five more than in this most recent year.)
According to the ALA, 40% of the materials challenged in 2025 were representations of LGBTQ+ people and those of people of color.
In all, the ALA documented 713 attempts across the United States in 2025 to censor library materials and services; 487 of those challenges targeted books.
According to the ALA, 92% of all book challenges to libraries came from “pressure groups,” government officials and local decision makers. While 20.8% came from pressure groups such as Moms for Liberty (as the ALA cited in an email to NPR), 70.9% of challenges originated with government officials and other “decision makers,” such as local board officials or administrators.
In a more detailed breakdown, the ALA notes that 31% of challenges came from elected government officials and and 40% from board members or administrators. In its full report, the ALA states that only 2.7% of such challenges originated with parents, and 1.4% with individual library users.
Fifty-one percent of challenges were attempted at public libraries, and 37% involved school libraries. The remaining challenges of 2025 targeted school curriculums and higher education.
The ALA defines a book “ban” as the removal of materials, including books, from a library. A “challenge,” in this organization’s definition, is an attempt to have a library resource removed, or access to it restricted.
The ALA is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to American libraries and librarians.
Promo image with Phil Pritchard, Alzo Slade, and Peter Sagal
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Bruce Bennett, Arnold Turner, NPR/Getty Images, NPR
This week, Phil Pritchard, NHL’s Keeper of the Stanley Cup, joins us to about taking the cup jet-skiing and panelists Alonzo Bodden, Adam Burke, and Dulcé Sloan beef with the Pope and get misdiagnosed.
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