Culture

Book Review: ‘On Air,’ by Steve Oney

Published

12 months ago

March 11, 2025

But even before NPR’s first decade was over, its lack of political, socioeconomic and racial diversity was apparent. “Young, brainy, upper-middle-class, politically liberal, artistically adventurous and typically white, the NPR archetype was taking shape,” Oney writes. In cramped edit booths, staffers cut lines of cocaine and engaged in trysts.

Oney celebrates the culture of free-spiritedness, but as NPR matured, that culture’s blind spots became painfully evident. Most prominent is race. “On Air” devotes many pages to recounting the resentment Black and Hispanic journalists faced from white colleagues who considered them incompetent, unlikable or a poor fit — notably Adam Clayton Powell III, who was hired as director of NPR News in 1987 and fired less than three years later, and Juan Williams, an iconoclastic Black commentator whose ouster from NPR in 2010 precipitated another crisis.

Williams had told Bill O’Reilly on Fox News that he felt “nervous” seeing airplane passengers in traditional Muslim attire while flying, remarks that stoked liberal outrage. But his haphazard dismissal only fanned the flames. An investigation by an outside law firm found that Williams was given little rationale for being let go, and prompted the resignation of NPR’s top news executive at the time, Ellen Weiss. Then, as the scandal seemed to be blowing over, the right-wing provocateur James O’Keefe released hidden-camera video showing NPR’s chief fund-raiser slamming conservatives. The C.E.O., Vivian Schiller, formerly a digital executive at The New York Times, was forced out.

The Juan Williams debacle, Oney writes, was “arguably the opening battle of the conflict that would define America during the early decades of the 21st century — the culture wars.” By 2011, NPR was being roasted even by allies like Barack Obama — at a now notorious White House Correspondents’ Dinner where he also mocked Trump.

A second blind spot is age. Although the word “boomer” appears only once in the book, NPR’s ongoing struggles stem in part from its singular identification with its founding cohort. A “collectivist mentality” and college radio sensibility, as Oney describes it, have made the network particularly difficult to manage, “less a business than a dysfunctional family,” plagued by leadership turnover. Oney likens NPR in its early days to a “troubled kid” with “a chip on its shoulder.” That may once have been charming, but now the kid is a senior citizen who won’t get out of the way.

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Culture

Try This Quiz on Thrilling Books That Became Popular Movies

Published

4 days ago

February 23, 2026

Press Room

Try This Quiz on Thrilling Books That Became Popular Movies

Welcome to Great Adaptations, the Book Review’s regular multiple-choice quiz about printed works that have gone on to find new life as movies, television shows, theatrical productions and more. This week’s challenge highlights thrillers first published as novels (or graphic novels) that were adapted into popular films. Just tap or click your answers to the five questions below. And scroll down after you finish the last question for links to the books and their screen versions.

Culture

Test Your Knowledge of the Authors and Events That Helped Shape the United States

Published

2 weeks ago

February 16, 2026

Press Room

Test Your Knowledge of the Authors and Events That Helped Shape the United States

Welcome to Lit Trivia, the Book Review’s regular quiz about books, authors and literary culture. In honor of Gen. George Washington’s birthday on Feb. 22, this week’s super-size challenge is focused on the literature and history related to the American Revolution. In the 10 multiple-choice questions below, tap or click on the answer you think is correct. After the last question, you’ll find links to exhibits, books and other materials related to this intense chapter in the country’s story, including an award-winning biography of the general and first U.S. president.

Culture

Video: How Much Do You Know About Romance Books?

Published

2 weeks ago

February 13, 2026

Press Room

Video: How Much Do You Know About Romance Books?

Let’s play romance roulette. No genre has dominated the books world in the last few years. Like romance, it accounts for the biggest percentage of book sales, their avid fan bases. Everyone has been talking about romance as a Book Review editor and as a fan of the genre myself, I put together a to z glossary of 101 terms that you should know if you want to understand the world of romance are cinnamon roll. You may think a cinnamon roll is a delicious breakfast treat, but in a romance novel, this refers to a typically male character who is so sweet and tender and precious that you just want to protect him and his beautiful heart from the world. Ooh, a rake. This is basically the Playboy of historical romance. He defies societal rules. He drinks, he gambles. He’s out on the town all night and is a very prolific lover with a bit of a reputation as a ladies’ man. FEI these are super strong, super sexy, super powerful, immortal, fairy like creatures. One of my favorite discoveries in terms that I learned was stern brunch daddy. A lot of daddy’s usually a male love interest who seems very intimidating and alpha, but then turns out to be a total softie who just wants to make his love interest brunch. I think there’s a misconception that because these books can follow these typical patterns, that they can be predictable and boring. But I think what makes a really great romance novel is the way that these writers use the tropes in interesting ways, or subvert them. If you can think of it, there’s probably a romance novel about it. Oops, there’s only one bed. This is one of my personal favorite tropes is a twist on forced proximity. Characters find themselves in very close quarters, where inevitably sparks start to fly. Why choose is the porkulus dose of the romance world. Sometimes the best way to resolve a love triangle is by turning it into a circle, where everyone is invited to play. Oops, we lost one spice level. There’s a really wide spectrum. You can range from really low heat or no spice, what might also be called kisses. Only then you start to get into what we call closed door or fade to Black. These books go right up to the moment of intimacy, and then you get into what we call open door, which is more explicit. And sometimes these can get very high heat or spicy and even start verging into kink. There’s one thing that almost every romance novel has in common. It’s that no matter what the characters get up to in the end, it ends with a happily ever after. I say almost every romance novel. Sometimes you’re just happy for now.