{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260406T231758Z","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5M46DKT?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"B0B5M46DKT","authors":["Ari Shapiro","HarperOne"],"book_id":"9780063221345","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780063221345","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780063221345.jpg?v=20260406T231758Z%3A2026-04-06T23%3A17%3A58Z","description":"INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “ The Best Strangers in the World is a witty, poignant book that captures Ari Shapiro’s love for the unusual, his pursuit of the unexpected, and his delight at connection against the odds.”—Ronan Farrow, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and New York Times -bestselling author of Catch and Kill and War on Peace From the beloved host of NPR's All Things Considered, a stirring memoir-in-essays that is also a lover letter to journalism. In his first book, broadcaster Ari Shapiro takes us around the globe to reveal the stories behind narratives that are sometimes heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking, but always poignant. He details his time traveling on Air Force One with President Obama, or following the path of Syrian refugees fleeing war, or learning from those fighting for social justice both at home and abroad. As the self-reinforcing bubbles we live in become more impenetrable, Ari Shapiro keeps seeking ways to help people listen to one another; to find connection and commonality with those who may seem different; to remind us that, before religion, or nationality, or politics, we are all human. The Best Strangers in the World is a testament to one journalist’s passion for Considering All Things—and sharing what he finds with the rest of us.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780063221345","publication_date":"20230321","publisher":"HarperCollins","slug":"the-best-strangers-in-the-world","subtitle":"Stories From a Life Spent Listening","title":"The Best Strangers in the World"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"PER008010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Radio History","score":0.7422,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS037080","confidence_band":"medium","label":"21st-Century History","score":0.7317,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"ART015020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"American Art","score":0.7247,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"PER008010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Radio History","score":0.7422,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS037080","confidence_band":"medium","label":"21st-Century History","score":0.7317,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"ART015020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"American Art","score":0.7247,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"BIO025000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Lives in Journalism","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"BIO031000","confidence_band":"high","label":"LGBTQ+ Lives","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"BIO037000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Jewish Lives","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS049000","confidence_band":"high","label":"History Writing","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS066000","confidence_band":"high","label":"LGBTQ+ History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"MUS055000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Music Writing","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PER008010","confidence_band":"high","label":"Radio History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"POL034000","confidence_band":"high","label":"POLITICAL SCIENCE / Peace","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Radio History","score":0.7422,"slug":"radio-history"},{"label":"21st-Century History","score":0.7317,"slug":"21st-century-history"},{"label":"American Art","score":0.7247,"slug":"american-art"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Radio History","Good for readers interested in short stories","Good for fans of Memoir"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["A. Brad Schwartz"],"book_id":"9780809031641","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780809031641.jpg?v=20260406T231758Z%3A2026-04-06T23%3A17%3A58Z","score":13.781,"title":"Broadcast Hysteria","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780809031641"},{"authors":["Sherill Tippins"],"book_id":"9780544334472","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780544334472.jpg?v=20260406T231758Z%3A2026-04-06T23%3A17%3A58Z","score":11.727,"title":"Inside the Dream Palace","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780544334472"},{"authors":["David Browne"],"book_id":"9780306827631","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780306827631.jpg?v=20260406T231758Z%3A2026-04-06T23%3A17%3A58Z","score":11.4593,"title":"Talkin' Greenwich Village","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780306827631"},{"authors":["Adam Higginbotham"],"book_id":"9781501134630","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781501134630.jpg?v=20260406T231758Z%3A2026-04-06T23%3A17%3A58Z","score":10.7062,"title":"Midnight in Chernobyl","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781501134630"},{"authors":["Danny Trejo","Donal Logue"],"book_id":"9781982150839","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781982150839.jpg?v=20260406T231758Z%3A2026-04-06T23%3A17%3A58Z","score":10.607,"title":"Trejo","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781982150839"},{"authors":["Joshua Hammer"],"book_id":"9781476777412","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781476777412.jpg?v=20260406T231758Z%3A2026-04-06T23%3A17%3A58Z","score":10.5638,"title":"The Bad-ass Librarians of Timbuktu","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781476777412"},{"authors":["A Full 45-Person Cast","Garrett M. Graff","Holter Graham","Simon & Schuster Audio"],"book_id":"9781501182211","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781501182211.jpg?v=20260406T231758Z%3A2026-04-06T23%3A17%3A58Z","score":10.3901,"title":"Only Plane in the Sky","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781501182211"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:history"],"label":"History","score":0.9238,"slug":"history"},{"evidence_refs":["phrase_map_match"],"label":"Book Club","score":0.0914,"slug":"book-club"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:biography books"],"label":"Biography","score":0.088,"slug":"biography"},{"evidence_refs":["phrase_map_match"],"label":"Short Stories","score":0.0624,"slug":"short-story"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: History, Book Club, Biography.","Reading lane: Radio History and 21st Century History.","Publisher: HarperCollins."]},"llm_signals":null,"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":false,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":0,"goodreads_ratings_count":6748,"goodreads_reviews_count":913,"quality_score":0.9463}}