{"book":{"book":"This Cursed Beautiful Land","author":"Evan Gershkovich","publicationYear":2026,"description":"Today’s episode features memoirs by two men whose incarceration became international headlines. Evan Gershkovich is an American journalist who spent 16 months in a Russian prison. Two years after his release, his new memoir This Cursed Beautiful Land details the time he spent listening, observing and writing while detained. Gershkovich spoke with Morning Edition’s Leila Fadel about adjusting to life after his release. Then, Mahmoud Khalil describes his detention by ICE as a combined Palestine, First Amendment and immigration case. He spoke with Fadel about his new memoir No Land to Stand On","image":"https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2160x2160+0+0/resize/3000/quality/66/format/jpg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F99%2Fec%2F62bf0e154dc6a129437c56dbd8f9%2Fe714b035-dde0-4ac3-bab9-698ce236f652.jpg","date":"2026-10-30"}}