Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. It's Halloween season, so obviously

we're going to bring you a conversation with The Guy, the preeminent horror writer of our time,

Stephen King. Less obviously, it's also a conversation with his son, Owen, who he collaborated with

back in 2017 to write their book Sleeping Beauties

about a world where women fall asleep and don't wake back up. But first, a mystery thriller

that's a little more down to earth. Megan Miranda recently published her book The Last to Vanish about a

journalist who disappeared on the Appalachian Trail. Now, I've hiked parts of the AT, and I've got to say,

there are times when the sky's kind of gloomy and it's kind of quiet,

and you're just walking and walking and you hear the crunchy footsteps of someone coming up behind you.

It's, you know, kind of scary.

And Piers Ellis and Nad Warnie joined Miranda on a hike,

and they get to talking about

what else running away in the woods.

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.

We're in for kind of an adventure today.

Okay.

You're a game?

I'm game.

...