Hey, Naino Rau here, producer of NPR's Book of the Day. It's August, and we're taking a little time off.

While we do, we're sharing some of our favorite episodes from this past year. This encore is an episode

that aired back in early February. We're back with new episodes next week.

Hi, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. I think it's pretty widely understood

that when you love someone, you love all of them, right? The good stuff and their faults and

their hurtful behaviors, whatever stuff they had go on in their past that they're still dealing

with and that annoying thing they do on long car rides.

It's a packaged deal and we understand that with people. I think it's a little harder to do

with places. But that's exactly what Imani Perry takes on in her book, South to America,

a journey below the Mason Dixon to understand the soul of a nation. Perry's from Alabama, a place

that has a long, dark, but also beautiful history. And she talked to NPR's Mary Louise

Kelly about shedding romanticism in favor of something a little more complicated, understanding.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors.

On our new show, Sources and Methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people

helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

I say the South, and you think what?

Positive connotation, negative?

Did your mind's eye flit to the bustle of Atlanta, the pooling currents of the Mississippi,

maybe your own grandparents,

...