As 2025 comes to a close, we're revisiting interviews with this year's nominees and winners of some of the biggest prizes in literature. Karen Russell’s novel
The Antidote is set during the Dust Bowl – a period when poor farming practices and drought led to a wave of severe and damaging dust storms. In this bleak setting, we’re introduced to a cast of characters, including a woman who stores other people’s memories and a photographer tasked with documenting the crisis. In today’s episode, Russell speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about the inspiration behind
The Antitode’s core characters, including the work of photographer Gordon Parks and an image that came to Russell as she finished her first novel.
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices:
podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
