John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men plays critical role in Texas death penalty

Global Politics

Since 2002, U.S. states have been prohibited from executing people who are mentally retarded. Defining who fits that standard, though, has been left to the state. In Texas, the definition is based on a character in a book — though that may be changing.

Classic book ‘Of Mice and Men’ under scrutiny in Turkey

Arts, Culture & Media

Calls to Censor ‘Of Mice and Men’ in Turkey

Arts, Culture & Media

Where’s the Great Art from the Great Recession?

Your Comments: Can You Go Home Again?

The World

Travels with Charley: Monterey

Arts, Culture & Media

John Steinbeck was nearing 60 when he decided to go on a road trip around the country with his poodle. That trip turned into his last major book, Travels with Charley. Fifty years later, we’ve been revisiting Steinbeck’s stops to see how life in America has changed. We wind up the trip in Steinbeck’s home […]

The World

Travels with Charley: Spokane

Arts, Culture & Media

In Washington State, on the western edge of the Rocky Mountains, John Steinbeck met a young man passionate about theater and hairdressing – and the kid’s furious father. Steinbeck wrote about the encounter in Travels with Charley. Fifty years later, in Spokane, we meet a proudly gay hairdresser and theater director. And we hear his […]

The Living on Earth Almanac

This week, facts about…the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, as documented in John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” and in songs by Woody Guthrie.

The World

Sardines in Literature

As John Steinbeck’s popular novel Cannery Row turns fifty in 1995, reporter Bill Drummond explores the author’s passion for marine biology, and the ecological warning contained in this book. Steinbeck’s widow says her husband was among the first to foretell the collapse of California’s sardine fishery.

The World

Sardines in Literature

As John Steinbeck’s popular novel Cannery Row turns fifty, reporter Bill Drummond explores the author’s passion for marine biology, and the ecological warning contained in this book. Steinbeck’s widow says her husband was among the first to foretell the collapse of California’s sardine fishery.