Two new books ask: What would you do if you encountered alien life?

About this episode

The episode explores fictional and nonfictional perspectives on alien life through discussions with authors Steven Rowley and Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Today on the show: Fictional and nonfictional takes on extraterrestrial life. Steven Rowley’s new novel Take Me With You is about a man whose husband is abducted by aliens. The author says the premise stemmed from one he often discusses with his own husband: If you had the chance to be taken by aliens, would you go? In today’s episode, Rowley speaks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about the novel’s “willing hitchhiker.” Then, Neil deGrasse Tyson talks with NPR’s Scott Simon about his new book, Take Me to Your Leader , which is a practical guide to – and exploration of – alien encounters. 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/bookoftheday See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

People in this episode

Hosts: Ayesha Rascoe, Scott Simon

Guests: Steven Rowley, Neil deGrasse Tyson

Topics covered

• alien life
• extraterrestrial encounters
• fiction
• nonfiction
• abduction
• literature

Keywords

• alien encounters
• extraterrestrial life
• abduction
• science fiction
• literature

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Take Me With You, Take Me to Your Leader

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