With each annual crop of new nonfiction, teens have the opportunity to discover and explore new disciplinary worlds. Tune in to hear about an array of recently-published nonfiction titles that will engage teens in learning about history, science, economics, and medicine. You'll hear about junk food and advertising, the atomic bomb and civil rights, bird watching and volcanoes – books written in a variety of formats for a variety of teen readers.

In this episode, you'll hear about books in a range of genres that give teens insight into the social and political conditions young people face around the globe. Together they offer a sustained look at war, poverty, and the struggle for human rights, but they also speak volumes about ordinary people and their capacity for hope and resilience.

Life stories are books that trace defining moments and turning points in people's lives. By exploring how individuals overcome obstacles and discover their passions – or fall prey to mistakes and inner demons – life stories illustrate how human beings navigate the complexities of living. Tune in to hear about a variety of life stories – some that celebrate lives of success, others that mourn lives tragically lost or wasted.

While all YA authors focus in some way on the process of young people coming of age, very few do so with the depth and versatility you will find in the novels of Patricia McCormick. Tune in to hear the story behind her latest novel, Never Fall Down, the harrowing and heartbreaking account of Khmer Rouge survivor Arn Chorn-Pond.

Books featuring teens as change agents call attention to young people who are lobbying for change in their schools, communities, and the larger world. Tune in to hear about teens who work for change by participating in political campaigns, defying social hierarchies, and even going to war.

Hear about an amazing range of books that explore history, including works of fiction as well as non-fiction, biographies, graphic novels, verse novels, and investigative journalism.

If there is anyone in the world of children's and young adult literature who could be described as a living legend, it's Walter Dean Myers. Tune in to hear how his own experiences as a reader have shaped his approach to storytelling, what he seeks to offer young people through his writing, and the thinking behind a select handful of his novels – books that incorporate concepts as varied as magical realism, the social contract, and oral histories with our nation's war veterans.

Students compose a multigenre paper, modeled after the Delany sister's autobiography, Having Our Say, that includes the autobiographical narrative essay as well as an informational nonfiction piece.