'Pick a Color' is a novel that takes place over a single day at a nail salon
October 13, 2025
1,032
32
3
3.39%
Search the Record
IndexedEvery word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.
Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line
NPR Podcasts Episodes Around October 13, 2025
See what was published immediately before and after this episode.
10:36Now Playing'Pick a Color' is a novel that takes place over a single day at a nail salon
11:18In her new memoir, Jeannie Vanasco gets 'A Silent Treatment' from her mom
YouTube Description
as posted by the channelNing is the manager of a nail salon where all of the workers wear a nametag with the same name – Susan. Pick A Color takes place over a single day at the salon and it’s the first novel by Souvankham Thammavongsa. In today’s episode, the poet and short story writer speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about Ning’s background as a prizefighter, what Thammavongsa has observed as a salon customer, and the author’s distinction between knowledge and intelligence.
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
See pcm.adswizz.com () for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy ()
Links & Promotions
Guests & Subjects Covered
Sentinel Indexing in Progress
Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.
All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.