× PROTECT MY PUBLIC MEDIA: Today, PBS and NPR stations across the country are asking you to tell your elected officials how much public media means to you. Find out more.
  1. Radio
  2. Books

More Books Stories

"New Mexico I-10 mile marker 16 Eastbound. A freshly painted shrine for Rafael and Luis, the Virgin watches me through the plexiglas from her post between the crosses marking the passage of these two travelers, the paint is so fresh the dirt is still blue. It’s good to know you are loved." - Jesse Sensibar

Signs of life and death along southwestern highways

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Tucson restaurant history, becoming a goat, and looking back at Dr. Martin Luther King's visits to Tucson.
Dr. Mae C. Jemison during her 1992 mission as crew member on the space shuttle Endeavor.

Dr. Mae C. Jemison: "Living Deeply and Looking Up"

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Artists wish UA students good luck during finals week; Exploring Persian fairy tales and women in mythology; Adiba Nelson on the challenges of being a mom.
1,100 backpacks represent the number of college students who died by suicide in 2018. This event was designed to raise awareness about mental health and encourage suicide prevention.

Can 1,000 Empty Backpacks Save Lives?

Also: How Pima County could pay for newly opened migrant shelters; Bridging cultural divides with the Persian language; Tucson author Janni Lee Simner reads from her new book.
Guatemalan father with his 5 year old daughter. It took father and daughter almost two weeks to get to the Arizona border. They are asylum seekers staying at a temporary shelter opened by the City of Tucson to relieve the overflow of migrants at Tucson shelters. (April 18, 2019)

The City of Tucson Offers Hope to Migrants in Need

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Go backstage at Tucson High Magnet School to preview "Our Border Town"; Tucson poet laureate TC Tolbert receives grant from the Academy of American Poets; And, what would you do with the blessing of extra time to be alive?
Ilse Salas, star of director Alejandra Márquez Abella's film "Las Niñas Bien", part of the 2019 Tucson Cine Mexico Film Festival.

Preview Tucson Cine Mexico 2019!

Also: March is National Kidney Month, hear the story of a Tucson woman whose family is coping with a serious hereditary kidney disease; and how Edie Jarolim found family history next door to Sigmund Freud.
The main cast of "American Mariachi" at the start of the play, still learning the ropes.

Music from the Heart in "American Mariachi"

Also on Arizona Spotlight: How NAMI and the Mission Garden are growing wellness in Tucson; and author Alice Hatcher reads her "Love Letter to My Library"
Radiant Gesture (2013) Joanna Frueh, photographed by Frances Murray, from "Unapologetic Beauty"

Discovering "Unapologetic Beauty"

Also on Arizona Spotlight: An artist finds her dream job in the wilderness; and, part 2 of a discussion on "The Insect Apocalypse".
Author, poet and regular NPR commentator Kwame Alexander.

Kwame Alexander's Love Affair with Words

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Charles J. Babbitt's new guide for birding in Arizona; and, what's happening to planet Earth's insects?
Myriam Moscona's parents were born in Bulgaria and settled in Mexico after World War II.

Sephardic Jews and Their Language Inspire Mexican Writer

Myriam Moscona focuses on her heritage and the language of her elders: Ladino, also called Judeo-Spanish.
"Hold On To Your Weaves" (2018) / photograph by Kennady Schneider

#Black - Exploring Identity with Photography

Also on Arizona Spotlight: A "Go Fund Me" campaign for the border wall; An author's journey in search of her Sephardic Jewish heritage; and the world debut of the play "The Hall of Final Ruin."
Lerua's moved from 4th Avenue to Broadway Boulevard in 1941. It closed in February of 2019 due to the impending construction project to widen Broadway that will require the building's demolition.

Tucson Restaurant Legacies

Also on Arizona Spotlight: How national civility is being re-invigorated 8 years after a Tucson tragedy; how Tucson was once a stand-in for Las Vegas; and Adiba Nelson considers the many special kinds of "Black Love".
Arizona lawyer, senator, governor, and state supreme court justice Ernest W. McFarland (1894 - 1984).

"Call Him Mac": The Political Legacy of Ernest W. McFarland

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Bobcats in the Backyard; Making Music in the Name of Literacy; and a Taste of Vegan Mexican Food
Thomas Thwaites' documents his quest to take a break from being a human in his book "Goatman". Photograph by Tim Bowditch.

Becoming a Goat?

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Trials begin for "No More Deaths" volunteers; How photographing Bears Ears National Monument became a passion for a retired astronomer; and remembering when Martin Luther King, Jr. visited Tucson.
Actor and playwright Jim Brochu portrays actor and artist Zero Mostel in "Zero Hour".

Exploring "Zero Hour", and the Rebellion of Zero Mostel

Also on Arizona Spotlight: A family separated for 6 years by the U.S. / Mexico border; Gary Paul Nabhan on "Food from the Radical Center"; and the Zoppè Family Circus legacy.
"New Mexico I-10 mile marker 16 Eastbound. A freshly painted shrine for Rafael and Luis, the Virgin watches me through the plexiglas from her post between the crosses marking the passage of these two travelers, the paint is so fresh the dirt is still blue. It’s good to know you are loved." - Jesse Sensibar

Signs of Life and Death Along Southwestern Highways

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Commemorating the Powell Expedition 150 years later; The Kindred launch "One Book, One Community", and Rollies Mexican Patio's homegrown cuisine.
Angie Dickinson at Old Tucson Studios during the filming of "Rio Bravo" in 1959.

Return to Rio Bravo

Also on Arizona Spotlight: How the Kino Border Initiative is aiding migrant families; Tucson mystery writer bases novel around opioid addiction; and remembering filmmaker Nicolas Roeg.

Selected Archive Filters

Books
Back to Top
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona