Whether they’ve been cemented in culture since antiquity, since the turn of the 21st century or anytime in between, the traditions and symbols of Christmas, from decorated trees to the Grinch, share a DNA of identity and community.

As we march toward another new year, we put more distance between ourselves and the origins of the traditions many of us hold dear. Fruitcake, gift giving, and hanging ornaments – they’re all a blend of cultural ideas crackling aside the hearty yule log on a holiday hearth.

Writer Roberto Lovato joins Francesca to talk about the need to use the R word: revolutionary!

Las Vegas is many cities to many people, and that’s part of what makes it such a challenge to capture in a book. For many, it exists as much in the past as present. For some, it’s an irresistible canvas on which to paint a dystopian future. Fortunately for us, some very good writers continue to tell the Las Vegas story as they perceive it.

It’s getting cold in Las Vegas, which is nice after that brutal summer. And for many people, reading a good book is the perfect thing to do when it’s this cold out. So today, four local authors and editors are with us to talk about their books, ones we think you really might be interested in.

Growing up in California, the historically most important destination for migrants in the Americas, the Spanish word exodo had a familiar ring. My Salvadoran parents used it to describe their journey along the Pan-American Highway as they left El Salvador for San Francisco in the 1950s. The exodo also included the stories of family members like my cousin Ana, who crossed the border illegally after surviving the perilous train ride from war-torn El Salvador in the 1980s.