We talk with novelist Terry McMillian, who uses a familiar creative device to help many of her female characters face their fears: reinvention. We saw that play out in her New York Times bestseller "Waiting to Exhale,” and we see it again in her latest novel, "I Almost Forgot About You." 

It's a celebration of writers on today's show! What are you reading? Do you have any good book recommendations for us?

Plus, we revisit a conversation with National Book Award winner Ta-Nehisi Coates, who joined us last year following the publication of his essay in The Atlantic, “The Black Family In The Age Of Mass Incarceration.” In it, Coates traces the history of the criminal justice policy that’s left United States with the world’s largest prison population. We talked with him about the mass incarceration of African-Americans in the US and how it fits in the national conversation over policing, race and policy.

And if some of history's greatest artists could go back in time and redo their work, would they? Screenwriter Karen Hall has spent the last 20 years agonizing over her masterpiece novel, “Dark Debts,” first published in 1996. It’s the story of the devil tormenting a Georgia family and it was an instant success when it came out.  But instead of releasing another novel, she returned to the story with some major plot changes, including a new ending. We talk with Hall about the story that wouldn’t let her go. 

Tags: Terry McMillan  Ta-Nehisi Coates  OST Full Show  Atlanta  Georgia