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Vannak Prum was forced to work on a Thai fishing boat for three years before he escaped by jumping overboard. With little oversight, rogue captains buy men like Prum from traffickers and use them to plunder the fishing grounds of surrounding nations. One expert calls it "a perfect storm of slavery and environmental degradation."

Fermentation guru Sandor Katz returns to Fresh Air for a lively discussion about cured meats, cheeses — and some fermented beverages (notably wine and beer).

Jess Walter's latest novel spans decades and traverses the Atlantic to create a kaleidoscopic collection of "beautiful ruins." Characters include a hotelier, a young script reader and real-life movie star Richard Burton. NPR's Maureen Corrigan says the book is a "literary miracle."

For the past 80 years, the Man of Steel has endured in books, movies, radio serials, comic books and cartoons. "Americans embrace Superman partly because he captured so many things that are part of our psyche and part of our sense of ourselves," says biographer Larry Tye.

For author Meg Wolitzer, John Neufeld's 1969 novel Lisa, Bright and Dark opened the door to more intense reads on mental illness. Has a book you've read ever acted as a gateway to harsher, truer or more literary novels? Tell us in the comments.

Jarhead author Anthony Swofford's second memoir recounts a war much closer to home — a private one waged with his father in the years following the success of his book.

In Barack Obama: The Story, journalist David Maraniss chronicles the president's "classic search for home." Maraniss says Obama's young life was defined by his experience of being an outsider — a feeling that stayed with him well into early adulthood.

Lynn Neary talks to three critics about books you shouldn't miss. One critic says it's a particularly rich literary summer because in election years, publishers release the juiciest books before fall.

In Richard Ford's latest novel, retired school teacher Dell Parsons reflects on the summer when his parents — two unlikely criminals — robbed a bank and shifted his young life from Montana to Saskatchewan, where he was taken in by a murderous fugitive.

Henry Hill, the mobster-turned-informant portrayed by Ray Liotta in the film Goodfellas, died Tuesday at age 69. Author Nicholas Pileggi talks about the colorful figure he profiled in the 1986 book Wiseguy, which became the basis for Goodfellas.