Shelf Life

The Discovery Channel just started the third season of its hit show "Deadliest Catch," a wild ride with crab fishermen on the Bering Sea. Kai Ryssdal talks with the two stars, brothers Andy and Johnathan Hillstrand.

In their new book, "The Levity Effect," Adrian Gostick and Scott Christopher contend that having a sense of humor in the office can actually help the bottom line. They shared that view with Kai Ryssdal.

Eric Lichtblau, author of "Bush's Law: The Remaking of American Justice," talks with host Kai Ryssdal about the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program and other covert tactics.

Best estimates are that about 15% to 20% of the world's economy happens off the books. Journalist Mischa Glenny takes a tour of the underground economy in his new book, "McMafia." He talks about it with Kai Ryssdal.

A bartender and former high school teacher has won a fiction-writing contest sponsored by Amazon.com and Penguin Books. The competition is part of Amazon's promotion of its new self-publishing business. Lisa Napoli reports.

A new division of publisher HarperCollins is trying to turn the old model of selling books inside out. Jeremy Hobson reports on a new chapter in a struggling industry.

Investor and philanthropist George Soros says the financial system as we know it is broken. He talks with Kai Ryssdal about his new book in which he offers what he calls a new paradigm for the financial markets.

Corporate freelancer Steve Miller's book, "The Turnaround Kid," details some of his adventures working for major American companies. Fortune's Allan Sloan tells Lisa Napoli why it's an atypical business memoir.

This year President Bush proposed a federal budget of more than $3 trillion. Kai Ryssdal talks to Scott Bittle, author of "Where Does the Money Go?," about how taking a closer look at the spending of federal dollars could help avoid future deficits.

Author Alex Frankel wanted to find out what life was like on the other side of the counter. He talks to Scott Jagow about his book, where he shares his experience of joining the working culture of Starbucks, UPS, the Gap and more.