Is there an adult out there who has not, in a moment of fatigue, insomnia, or on a particularly hard day at work, looked around at their life and asked, “Is this it? Is this what I want my life to be?”  Even people who have plenty of money and status and work in their industry of choice may find themselves fantasizing about a job that engages their spirit. A new book from the School of Life series sets out a practical guide to negotiating the myriad choices, overcoming the fear of change, and finding a career that has meaning. Roman Krznaric is a founding member of the school of life.

Battle of the Nations is an international event held annually since 2009 – this year in the medieval walled city of Aigues-Mortes in the south of France.  About five-hundred men from twenty-two countries competed in what is part historic re-enactment, and part full contact sport.  Wearing full medieval armor and using blunted period weaponry, participants hack, slash, and wrestle opponents to the ground.  Jaye Brooks was there – he’s executive officer for team USA and the Armored Combat League.

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Cannibalism at Jamestown: Experts at Preservation Virginia, the Colonial Williamsburg

The story of the development and deployment of the atomic bomb is generally told as a narrative driven by powerful men like Oppenheimer, Truman, and Stimson, operating at the highest levels of government. What few people know is how many women played a crucial role – albeit unknowingly – in one of the most significant turning points in history. Denise Kiernan interviewed several women who worked in Oak Ridge, Tennessee – a secret, government-built town created as part of the Manhattan Project. Their stories, combined with detailed reporting, come together in her new book called The Girls of

Shirley Falls, Maine is one of those New England towns with a strong memory of the way things used to be…before the mills closed, before the mall went up across the river…before so many residents moved away. It’s the fictional town left behind by a pair of brothers in The Burgess Boys, a new novel by Elizabeth Strout, who won the Pulitzer prize for fiction for Olive Kitteridge. The story centers on Jim and Bob Burgess, brothers whose lives are imprinted by a childhood tragedy in very different ways.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s most celebrated novel, in which Ms. Bennet discovers her true love in a man she first sees as an adversary. Pride and Prejudice has spurred countless adaptations, films, and even a zombie parody…but now Austen is getting new attention not for her romantic prose, but for her strategic thinking. Joining us is Jennifer Schuessler with the New York Times, who recently covered the publication of the book, Jane Austen, Game Theorist, written by UCLA political scientist Michael Chwe.

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We may associate canes with old age and physical

The moniker Lady Lamb the Beekeeper came to Mainer Aly Spaltro in a dream, and has been popping up on marquees up and down the East coast ever since. Not to mention online, where we read reviews of her captivating – almost spellbinding --  live performances and steady output of original, idiosyncratic music that we’re calling a mix between Feist and Nirvana.  Ripely Pine is her first studio album, and has already been featured by Time Magazine and NPR setting Lady Lamb well on her way to becoming a national name.

Check out Lady Lamb the Beekeeper performing live in NHPR's Studio D (Title

"Dare Me" is a new and much buzzed about book by Megan Abbott. The cheerleaders at Sutton Grove High have more to think about than their spray tans. Their pretty, hard-driving coach holds the squad in her thrall. She has less control over her own life, which opens up a dark tale of jealousy, physical and psychological abuse, and a mysterious death.

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VIDA, an organization for women in the literary arts, recently released a series of charts illustrating the results of “VIDA Count 2012”…that’s a tally of male and female book reviewers at major publications --  including The Atlantic,