Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller (Minnesota Public Radio)
Explore every episode of Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller
| Pub. Date | Title | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Sep 2022 | From the archives: Lauren Groff discusses 'Matrix' at Talking Volumes | 01:04:50 | |
Maggie O’Farrell’s last novel, “Hamnet,” the fictional story of William Shakespeare’s son who died at age 11, was an international best-seller. Her new novel, “The Marriage Portrait” also delves into history. O’Farrell was struck by Robert Browning’s poem, “My Last Duchess,” which itself was inspired by a painting of a young Italian woman who died in 1561, at the age of 16, just a year after she was married to the Duke of Ferrara. But did she die? Or was she poisoned? “The Marriage Portrait” reminded us of Lauren Groff’s 2021 hit, “Matrix,” set in medieval France. So for this week’s deep track, we thought we’d bring you the Talking Volumes interview MPR News host Kerri Miller did with Groff on the stage of the Fitzgerald Theater last year, where Groff describes the history, the art and the music that inspired her writing. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 20 Sep 2022 | Minnesota author Peter Geye on his new book 'The Ski Jumpers' | 00:51:32 | |
John Bargaard — the central character of Peter Geye’s new novel — possesses powerful muscle memory from his days as a ski jumper. He remembers the intensity of focus, the feeling of flying through the air, the shattered glass moment of landing. But he’s just been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, and he faces the real prospect that his memories — and the secrets he harbors — will dim with his future. That’s the launching point of “The Ski Jumpers,” Geye’s latest book. Like many of his earlier works, this one is set in Minnesota, with winter as a backdrop to many pivotal scenes. But unlike books like “Wintering” and “Northernmost,” this one is personal. MPR News host Kerri Miller talks with Geye about what makes “The Ski Jumpers” so intimate to him on a special Big Books and Bold Ideas. Hear why this book took decades for Geye to write, how his own history of ski jumping inspired him and why the central questions of this book are the gateway to Geye’s truest religion. Guest:
Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 23 Sep 2022 | How art and poetry inspired Maggie O'Farrell's new novel | 00:51:19 | |
Lucrezia de’ Medici was only 13 when she was forced to marry Alfonso II d’Estej, the Duke of Ferrara; just 15 when she joined the court of her new husband. By age 16, she was dead. Only her officials portraits survive her. Many years later, Robert Browning wrote a poem based on one of those paintings, which loosely fictionalizes the short marriage of Lucrezia and the possibility that she was murdered by her husband. Maggie O’Farrell goes one step further, and imagines the young girl’s whole life, including the short time she spent as a wife in 16th century Italy. In O’Farrell’s new novel, “The Marriage Portrait,” Lucrezia knows her sole job is to produce an heir for the duke. But when no heir is forthcoming, and the duke grows increasingly unsatisfied, she worries that he might kill her to make way for someone more fertile. Could she be right? Or is her bored and quick mind simply connecting dots that aren’t there? “The Marriage Portrait” deftly tells Lucrezia’s story through her own lens and perspective. This week, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, MPR News host Kerri Miller spoke with O’Farrell about what inspired her to write the novel, why even her villains are complex, and how she intends to give women silenced by history their voice back. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 27 Sep 2022 | From the archives: Emily Bernard and the complexity of being a black woman in America | 00:30:24 | |
As a child, Emily Bernard worried she was not black enough. As an adult, she wonders whether she's too black for America today. Her new book is built on that kind of nuance. "Black is the Body" is a collection of first-person essays that explore vast themes like race, identity and trauma — through the personal details of her own life. She was born in the South, lives now in the Northeast, and is married to a white man. "Blackness is an art, not a science," writes Bernard. "It is a paradox: intangible and visceral; a situation and a story." She believes that approaching these volatile topics through stories, not lectures, will create a safe place that nurtures vulnerability — and vulnerability is needed for true understanding. MPR News host Kerri Miller spoke with Bernard in 2019 about the complexity of being black in America today. It’s a fitting prelude to this week’s upcoming Big Books and Bold Ideas conversation with Boyah J. Farah about his journey from a refugee camp in Somalia to the United States, which he details in “America Made Me a Black Man.” Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 30 Sep 2022 | Boyah J. Farah on how America made him a Black man | 00:51:32 | |
Boyah J. Farah spent his earliest years in Somalia, surrounded by family and feeling free. War shattered that idyllic state, and forced his mother to walk her children to safety at a refugee camp in Kenya and eventually, to a new life in a suburb outside of Boston. It was traumatic, but Farah was grateful for the respite. Since a young boy, he had been infatuated with America, and now he was here, where the grass seemed to be miraculously short without the intervention of goats, and the houses were equipped with both cold and hot water. His family assimilated. He didn’t think much about his skin color. As an immigrant and English-language learner, he already knew he was different. He experienced freedom again once he started to drive. But that transition also revealed America’s racist underbelly. In his new, poetic memoir, "America Made Me a Black Man,” Farah recounts his frustration at learning that in America, Black people are never really free. On this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, Farah joined MPR News host Kerri Miller to share stories about his nomadic journey, why he continues to both adore and be vexed by America, and how his mother’s belief in the power of words shaped his life. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 07 Oct 2022 | The best of Minnesota writers on stage for Talking Volumes | 00:51:18 | |
Writers come to the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul from all over the world for Talking Volumes. The experience is always intimate and energetic. But hometown authors might have the most fun. For this special edition of Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller takes a look back at some of her favorite on-stage conversations with Minnesota writers. They include Dessa, who appeared at Talking Volumes in 2018 to talk about her memoir, “My Own Devices,” William Kent Krueger, who was the finale guest in 2021, and Kate DiCamillo, who also appeared in 2021 and brought the house down several times with her witty banter. You can still get tickets to the 2022 season of Talking Volumes. Karen Armstrong kicked it off in September. Coming up later this month and in November: Celeste Ng, Dani Shapiro and Ross Gay. Guests:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 14 Oct 2022 | Fresh takes on American history from three authors | 00:52:23 | |
Who decides history? What gets passed on, and what gets passed over? That is the question that historians are always plumbing. On this week’s special edition of Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller replayed portions of conversation she’s had with writers who’ve drawn indelible portraits of American history. You’ll hear Stacy Schiff, whose 2015 book “The Witches” delves into what really happened during the Salem Witch Trials. There’s also David Wright Faladé, who novelized the true story of an all-Black brigade during the Civil War that was commanded by a formerly enslaved man. And finally, the incomparable Ron Chernow, who was at Talking Volumes in 2017 to talk about his book, “Grant” — but Miller couldn’t resist asking about “Hamilton,” his book that inspired Lin Manuel Miranda’s hit musical. Guests:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 21 Oct 2022 | 'Should I sacrifice my life to live half American?' | 00:51:39 | |
In January 1942, a young Black man from Kansas wrote a letter to the editor of the Pittsburgh Courier, the nation’s largest Black newspaper at the time. He poignantly asked the questions that many Black men also asked while serving in a segregated military during World War II. “Should I sacrifice my life to live half American?” wrote James G. Thompson. “Will things be better for the next generation in the peace to follow? Would it be demanding too much to demand full citizenship rights in exchange for the sacrificing of my life? Is the kind of America I know worth defending?” That letter echoed in the mind of historian Matthew Delmont. The title of his new book, “Half American” was inspired by Thompson’s letter. In it, he painfully recounts what Black service members of the day faced as they fought in a segregated military. During World War II, Black Americans were inspired by the idea of a double victory — to defeat not only the fascism abroad, but also racism at home. But the idea of equality was dismissed by many in leadership, who saw the cry as radical and even seditious. Friday, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller spoke with Delmont about how Black men and women fought for that double victory, why Black Americans saw World War II coming before white Americans did, and how what we acknowledge — or ignore — in history shapes our world today. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 26 Oct 2022 | From the archives: Author Sarah Broom at Talking Volumes 2020 | 00:49:50 | |
In 2020, author Sarah Broom joined the pandemic season of Talking Volumes by talking via Zoom with host Kerri Miller about her book “The Yellow House.” The memoir, which speaks poignantly of the pull of home and family against the backdrop of a shotgun house in New Orleans East, was hailed as both brilliant and haunting. Enjoy this interview as you get ready for this coming Friday’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, which will feature novelist Celeste Ng on stage at the Fitzgerald Theater for the latest Talking Volumes conversation. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 28 Oct 2022 | Talking Volumes: Celeste Ng on 'Our Missing Hearts' | 01:13:23 | |
Celeste Ng’s “Little Fires Everywhere” was a best-selling novel, even before it became a hit series for Hulu. Her new novel, “Our Missing Hearts,” is also receiving critical acclaim. It delves into the power of intellectual freedom in an authoritarian world and the strong bonds of family in a society steeped in fear. This week, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, you’ll hear Ng on stage at the Fitzgerald Theater with host Kerri Miller for the second Talking Volumes event of 2022. They were joined by musical guest, Meghan Kreidler. | |||
| 01 Nov 2022 | From the archives: Dani Shaprio ponders marriage in 'Hourglass' | 00:50:56 | |
Dani Shapiro uses her memoir, "Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage" as a way to explore the motivations behind marriage. "When I was writing 'Hourglass' I thought of it as an inquiry," Shapiro said to MPR host Kerri Miller during a 2017 conversation. Shapiro was thoughtful in her characterization of her marriage, but not dishonest. Her husband is also a writer, and she reported that she would read him pages of her manuscript every day. One day, he said to her, "I'm an OK guy, but you're not being hard enough on me." And she knew exactly what he meant. "I knew he was right. I was being too careful. I was being circumspect, and circumspect does not make for good literature ever," said Shapiro. Enjoy this throwback conversation between Shapiro and Miller as you prepare for this Friday’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, which will feature Shapiro on stage for Talking Volumes, discussing her new novel, “Signal Fires.” Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 04 Nov 2022 | Talking Volumes: Dani Shapiro on 'Signal Fires' | 01:23:33 | |
Dani Shapiro knows a thing or two about family secrets. Her early novels center around identity and family history. Her 2019 memoir, “Inheritance,” beautifully chronicles what happened after she discovered, at age 54, that the man she considers her dad was not her biological father. That discovery spawned a popular podcast that just kicked off its eighth season, “Family Secrets,” which features guests who’ve also stumbled across a family secret. So it naturally flows that her new novel, “Signal Fires,” returns the to same theme. This time, a secret both bonds and cripples an entire family. Shapiro skillfully follows the Wilf’s outward success and inward disintegration as she hops through time, playing with ideas of change, shame, grief and interconnectedness. Those same themes anchor the discussion she and MPR News host Kerri Miller had at Talking Volumes. Shapiro was on stage at the Fitzgerald Theater on Oct. 28 for a thoughtful and insightful conversation about regret, shame, seasons of life — and how she has become a beacon for secrets of all kinds. Also on stage for this third Talking Volumes event: musical guest Jourdan Myers. Guest:
To listen to a lightly edited version of the Talking Volumes conversation, use the audio player above. You can also watch the full event via the embedded video, or look for it on YouTube. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 11 Nov 2022 | Talking Volumes: Ross Gay on 'Inciting Joy' | 01:09:32 | |
Poet Ross Gay believes in joy. But he pays careful attention to how one defines that word. It is not simply happiness or delight, he says in his new book “Inciting Joy.” Rather, it is what grows from the fertile soil of breaking and belonging. It is the light that emanates from us when we help each other carry our sorrows. In his book, Gay writes, “What if joy is not only entangled with pain, or suffering, or sorrow, but is also what emerges from how we care for each other through those things?'“ Gay was in St. Paul in early November to talk with MPR News host Kerri Miller for the finale of the 2022 Talking Volumes season. The evening also featured music from Minneapolis artist MAYYADDA. Guest:
NOTE: The audio and video above contain explicit language. To listen to a lightly edited version of the Talking Volumes conversation, use the audio player above. You can also watch the full event via the embedded video, or look for it on YouTube. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 15 Nov 2022 | From the archives: Jessie Burton paints Dutch Golden Age in 'The Miniaturist' | 00:40:33 | |
Jessie Burton's first book, "The Miniaturist," was an international best-seller and set her on the road to continued success with novels “The Muse” and “The Confession.” Her latest book, “The House of Fortune,” is a companion novel to “The Miniaturist.” This Friday on Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller will talk with Burton about that book. In the meantime, enjoy this 2014 conversation from the archives, when the pair discuss “The Miniaturist,” and Burton’s meteoric rise to book stardom. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 18 Nov 2022 | Jessie Burton returns to family secrets in Amsterdam with 'The House of Fortune' | 00:56:02 | |
When “The House of Fortune” opens, Nella Brandt is 37. Almost 20 years have passed since we first met her in “The Miniaturist,” Jessie Burton’s wildly popular first book. But not much has changed. Nella still lives in the house she inherited from her dead husband. Many of the same characters inhabit her world — with one addition. Her niece, Thea, is grown and turning 18. And Nella has pinned all her hopes on Thea marrying well. The irony is thick, although Nella doesn’t see it. Nella herself was married off at age 18, leading to the scandal that enthralled readers in “The Miniaturist.” What will happen this time? Will Nella revisit that sin on her headstrong niece? Or will Thea’s own secrets collide with the family’s? It’s a delicious return to austere but wealthy 18th century Amsterdam, told through Burton’s sensual lens. This Friday on Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller sat down with Burton and talked about what it’s like to write a sequel and how looking back is often the key to moving forward. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 29 Nov 2022 | From the archives: David Treuer on 'The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee' | 00:42:04 | |
This month, Graywolf Press republished author David Treuer’s first novel, “Little.” Originally printed in 1995, when Treuer wasn’t yet 30, “Little” tells the story of a Native American family struggling with loss, poverty and prejudice. What does Treuer think about his debut novel now, 27 years after it was published? MPR news host Kerri Miller will talk with him about that on this Friday’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. In the meantime, enjoy this 2019 conversation from Miller and Treuer about his award-winning book, “The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee.” Treuer wrote it as a response to Native American history too often being told through a tragic lens. Instead, in “The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee,” Treuer traces Native American history, from the Battle of Wounded Knee to the present, with a focus on transformation in each new era. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 02 Dec 2022 | David Treuer on the republishing of his first novel, 'Little' | 00:53:26 | |
Thirty years ago, David Treuer was a young writer, taking classes at Princeton University, far from his home on the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota. He was eager to polish his craft — and maybe a little brash. In 1995, a few months before he turned 25, Graywolf Press published his first novel. Now, decades later, Graywolf is rereleasing that book, “Little.” In the introduction, Treuer — now a widely respected, award-winning author — reflects on his writing roots and how both he and his work have changed over the years. This Friday, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, MPR News host Kerri Miller chatted with Treuer about what he’s learned. What does he know now that he didn’t know when “Little” was first released? What does he think about his younger self? And how does he view the burgeoning field of Native writers and books today? Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 06 Dec 2022 | From the archives: John Tierney on the science behind willpower | 00:45:47 | |
Why do we do what we don’t want to do? And why can’t we make ourselves do what we want? Humans have puzzled over this one for ages. But science is starting to clear a window into the motives and biology behind self-control. Science journalist John Tierney teamed up with psychologist and researcher Roy F. Baumeister in 2011 to write about it in their book “Willpower.” For this week’s archive broadcast, you’ll hear a conversation between Tierney and MPR News host Kerri Miller from early 2012 where they talk about how to understand this coveted human virtue. It hints at the discussion coming this Friday on Big Books and Bold Ideas — a chat with cognitive behaviorist and former professional poker player Annie Duke about the science of quitting. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 09 Dec 2022 | Annie Duke on how to get better at quitting | 01:02:43 | |
When faced with a tough situation, do you walk away? Or do you press on? Most of us are inclined to stay the course. After all, quitting — especially in American culture — is seen as a character defect. But Annie Duke thinks that’s wrong. Her new book, “Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away,” is a guidebook for learning how and when to quit. She explores the psychology and social forces that keep us stuck in bad situations for too long — and what we lose when we equate quitting with failure. Don’t miss MPR News host Kerri Miller’s conversation with Duke, a cognitive behaviorist who learned a thing or two about quitting during her years as a professional poker player on this Friday’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 13 Dec 2022 | From the archives: What can dogs teach us about aging? | 00:43:17 | |
Many dog owners get to enjoy knowing their pet from puppyhood to maturity. Turns out, that life cycle also has a lot to teach us. New research that looks at how dogs age finds parallels between dogs and their human companions. For example, dogs are squirrelly when they are young and calm as they enter midlife. Changes to canine DNA mirror the changes in our own. Could our best friends teach us how to age better — and maybe even live longer? That was the central question MPR News host Kerri Miller discussed with researchers at the Dog Aging Project on her daily show back in November of 2020. This Friday, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, she’ll look at the other end of a dog’s life, when she talks with canine researcher Alexandra Horowitz about her new book, “The Year of the Puppy.” Guests:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 16 Dec 2022 | Canine psychologist Alexandra Horowitz on her book 'The Year of the Puppy' | 00:51:15 | |
If you want to know canine psychologist Alexandra Horowitz’ best advice for training a puppy, it can be summed up in one sentence: “Expect that your puppy will not be who you think, nor act as you hope.” That truth — which can both delight and confound new puppy caretakers — is at the center of her new book, “The Year of the Puppy.” A longtime researcher of canine behavior, Horowitz realized she had never examined those critical first months of a dog’s life. So in 2020, she started to observe litters from birth on. When the pandemic shut down the world, she brought one of those puppies into her already animal-centric home — and almost immediately had second thoughts. But adapting to Quiddity, their new pup, gave her fresh insight into doggie development. Ultimately, it reinforced her belief that human companions need to respect and enjoy these creatures that live with us but are fundamentally different. If all we do is focus on how to train the puppy, we miss them becoming themselves. This is a can’t-miss conversation between MPR News host and dog lover, Kerri Miller, and Horowitz. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 23 Dec 2022 | Jane Smiley on her new novel, 'A Dangerous Business' | 00:51:22 | |
“Between you and me, being a woman is a dangerous business.” So says Madam Parks to young Eliza Ripple, who is now working as a prostitute in Gold Rush-era California after her brutish husband was killed in a bar fight. Eliza knows this truth all too well. But instead of letting that truth paralyze her, she leans into the danger that freedom brings. When some of her fellow working girls go missing, Eliza and friend Jean take it upon themselves to investigate the murders — a mystery the male authorities in Monterey are content to ignore. Jane Smiley’s newest novel, “A Dangerous Business,” is murder mystery lite, topped with a hefty dollop of feminist energy. Both Smiley and her heroines are inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” but unlike Poe, Smiley gives her characters a delightful sense of possibility. This week, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, MPR News host Kerri Miller talked with Smiley about the California landscape that so often gives shape to her books , how her discovery of the an obscure religions group influenced this story, and how movement unknots problems, both in writing and in life. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 30 Dec 2022 | Formative characters: Three Minnesota authors share their favorites | 01:02:51 | |
Big Books and Bold Ideas is usually the show where readers meet writers. But for this final show of 2022, we decided to do something unexpected. Instead of talking to writers about books they wrote, we asked them about their favorite literary characters someone else wrote. It’s an assignment these Minnesota authors took seriously, and their selections both surprised and delighted host Kerri Miller. She also asked each author to recommend their favorite book of 2022, so get your “need to read” list ready! Guests:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 06 Jan 2023 | Online disinformation expert Joan Donovan on the power of memes | 00:54:38 | |
Do you recognize a meme when you see one? Online disinformation expert Joan Donovan defines memes as pithy words or images — like “Black Lives Matter” or “Build That Wall” — that contain a coded meaning. They often work as badges of identity, and they can be powerful shortcuts to provoking an emotional response in the viewer. And thanks to the internet, they’re more influential than ever. Her new book, “Meme Wars,” details how memes and the online communities that produce them intensify the culture wars, erode trust in institutions, and even drive acts of violence, like the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. On the anniversary of that attack, MPR News host Kerri Miller talks with Donovan about the history of memes in America, how various conspiracy theorists use them to advance their ideologies, and how the current power of memes threatens to undermine democracy. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 13 Jan 2023 | Joanna Quinn on her best-selling novel 'The Whalebone Theatre' | 00:54:44 | |
When we first meet Cristabel, the heroine of Joanna Quinn’s debut novel, “The Whalebone Theatre,” she is only three. But she is already sure of herself, in the pure and defiant way that young children often are. She knows she was born to be a leader. But how does she get there? That’s the story at the heart of Quinn’s delightful book, which follows Cristabel and her half-siblings as they grow up on the family’s lush estate in 1920s England. The grownups are dizzy with relief that World War I has ended, so they mostly exist in a haze of alcohol and amusements. The children are mostly left to themselves. That’s how they end up staging their own theater, in the skeleton of a beached whale, which provides a backdrop and a direction to their young lives. When World War II breaks out, Cristabel and her siblings, now grown, find themselves in a more serious production: playing roles in the allied military effort. And they don’t know how this story ends. Quinn’s novel takes us from seaside England to occupied Paris, from the height of luxury to the horrors of war. “The Whalebone Theatre” was an instant best seller in the U.K., and a New York Times best seller. This week, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, she joined host Kerri Miller to talk about the insightfulness of children, how art helps us to recognize ourselves, and why — despite the glamour — she would not want to live in 1920s England. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 17 Jan 2023 | From the archives: Mary Doria Russell on what really happened at the O.K. Corral | 00:35:00 | |
Everyone's heard the story of the shootout at the O.K. Corral. It's been immortalized in over 40 feature films and written about in 1,000 books. But Mary Doria Russell refused to accept the story as we know it. Her 2015 novel novel digs for truth in the conflict that made Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday household names. While researching “Epitaph,” Russell tracked down diaries, census records and first-hand accounts of the O.K. Corral shootout. “It has been simplified and scrubbed up and changed and ultimately you have fiction based on fiction based on fiction,” Russell told host Kerri Miller. “What I was trying to do was get back to the real people, peel away the mythology, find the core of historical truth and work with that instead of just accepting the way it had been portrayed in movies for years." It’s a fascinating conversation from our archives, one that we hope will whet your appetite for another book that dives into the true story of the American West. This Friday on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Miller talks with Katie Hickman, whose new book “Brave Hearted” tells tales of women of the American West. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 20 Jan 2023 | Author Katie Hickman on the women of the American West | 00:59:55 | |
The American West wouldn’t have been settled without the women who braved the frontier. Katie Hickman’s new history, “Brave Hearted: The Women of the American West” uncovers their stories. But she doesn’t stop at the white women settlers who traveled by wagon or on foot. Drawing on diaries, letters and memoirs, she also brings to life Black enslaved women who went west with their master’s families, Chinese women who were brought by sex traffickers to the West Coast, and the Native American women who called the West home long before any settlers arrived. Hickman paints colorful and dramatic accounts of these women’s lives with a novelist’s eye for detail. This week, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, she talked about her research with host Kerri Miller, shared some of the stories she uncovered and offered important correctives about what really happened during the largest mass migration in American history. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 24 Jan 2023 | From the archives: Naima Coster on her novel 'What's Mine and Yours' | 00:49:03 | |
When a racially segregated community is suddenly forced to integrate high schools, it inextricably intertwines families on opposite sides of the divide. How two of those families navigate the chaos — and its ripple effects for years to come — is at the heart of Naima Coster's novel, “What's Mine and Yours.” Coster joined MPR News host Kerri Miller for the season finale of the 2021 Talking Volumes series, Talking Race. We hope it will whet your appetite for Miller’s conversation with Clint Smith this coming Friday, when they will talk about his book, “How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America.” Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 27 Jan 2023 | Clint Smith on how to reckon with slavery as America's original sin | 00:56:15 | |
What does it mean to stand on the soil where enslaved people lived, worked and died — and to see, surrounding it, monuments to the people who did the enslaving? That’s the question at the heart of Clint Smith’s book, “How the Word Is Passed.” After a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee came down in his hometown of New Orleans, Smith began a quest to understand America’s historic and contemporary relationship to slavery. He did that by visiting sites like Monticello Plantation, where Thomas Jefferson wrote about freedom while enslaving hundreds, and Blandford Cemetery, where 30,000 Confederate soldiers are buried, and shared his powerful reflections in his book. “How the Word Is Passed” was a New York Times bestseller, the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award of Nonfiction and one of the New York Times Best Books of 2021. Now out in paperback, “How the Word Is Passed,” invites us to be honest about America’s history, and to reckon with how slavery’s legacy still shapes us today. This is a can’t miss Big Books and Bold conversation between Smith and MPR News host Kerri Miller Smith as they talk about his book, his reflections on America and how current events echo those of the past. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 31 Jan 2023 | From the archives: Anatoly Liberman on familial language | 00:49:53 | |
Is there a word or phrase that you grew up with, something you felt was unique to your family? Maybe it was an expression your parents or grandparents used to show affection or describe frustration, only to eventually discover it had foreign origins? Or perhaps you still wonder where it came from? Borrowed words have flooded most languages, including English. In August 2021, Anatoly Liberman, beloved etymologist and professor of languages at the University of Minnesota, joined MPR News host Kerri Miller to explore the roots of familial words. In that interview, he mentioned he had just finished a dictionary of idioms. That book finally published in January 2023. This Friday on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Liberman is back with Miller to discuss it. In the meantime, enjoy this joyous conversation about familiar words from our archives. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 03 Feb 2023 | Anatoly Liberman on the origins of English idioms | 00:53:23 | |
Modern English loves an idiom. We use them all the time. “Take the cake.” “Eat crow.” “Deader than a doornail.” “By hook or by crook.” “Cut the mustard.” “Left in the lurch.” But do we really know what they mean? That was University of Minnesota linguistics professor Anatoly Liberman’s question when he set out to write a dictionary of common English language idioms. His new book, “Take My Word For It,” is the first truly all-encompassing etymological guide to both meanings and origins of idioms that surround us every day. Liberman is a favorite guest on Kerri Miller’s show, and this week, he returns to talk about the history of idioms, both popular and obscure. It’s not rocket science, but it is a delightful and engaging conversation that will leave you feeling as right as rain. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 14 Feb 2023 | From the archives: Shannon Gibney on 'Dream Country' | 00:35:08 | |
Minneapolis author Shannon Gibney made a splash with her first novel, "See No Color," drawn from her life as a transracial adoptee. It won the 2016 Minnesota Book Award for Young People's Literature. She returns to writing about her own life in her just released memoir, “The Girl I Am, Was and Never Will Be.” But this a memoir unlike most. Gibney calls it speculative fiction. It explores both her life as it was — and as it might have been, had she not been adopted by a white family. It’s a unexpected and enterprising way to wrestle with life’s “what ifs.” Gibney and host Kerri Miller will talk about it on this Friday’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. While you wait, enjoy this conversation from the 2018 archives, when Gibney had just published her second book, "Dream Country.” It traces the oft-neglected history of free Blacks and former enslaved people who sailed back to Africa to colonize what is now known as Liberia. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 17 Feb 2023 | Minnesota author Shannon Gibney on her new speculative fiction memoir | 00:50:45 | |
Minneapolis author Shannon Gibney made waves in 2015 when she published her novel, “See No Color.” The experiences of main character Alex Kirtridge — a Black girl adopted by a white family — were partially informed by Gibney’s own life as a transracial adoptee. Gibney returns to her own story with her new memoir, “The Girl I Am, Was and Never Will Be.” But this time, she mines different timelines — that of her own life, growing up as a mixed race adoptee in Ann Arbor, Mich. — and an alternate reality where her biological mom doesn’t give her up, and Shannon Gibney grows up as Erin Powers, the name she was given at birth. Race, identity and adoption are powerful themes in what she calls a '“speculative memoir.” This week on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Gibney joins host Kerri Miller to talk about why she chose this genre to tell the parallel stories of her life, and how she filled the holes in her history that adoption left behind. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 22 Feb 2023 | From the archives: Emily St. John Mandel on her smash book 'Sea of Tranquility' | 00:46:03 | |
Each year, there are a few new books that reduce readers to a frenzy before the words even arrive at the printing press. Such is the case for the “Age of Vice” by author Deepti Kapoor, one of the most anticipated books of 2023. This Friday, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, MPR News host Kerri Miller will talk with Kapoor about her crime novel that has been described as “dazzling,” with “echoes of ‘The Godfather’.” In the meantime, enjoy this conversation between Miller and an author who wrote one of the most anticipated books of 2022, Emily St. John Mandel. Her novel, “Sea of Tranquility,” is a sequel of sorts to her hit 2014 book, “Station Eleven.” Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 24 Feb 2023 | Deepti Kapoor on her much anticipated novel 'Age of Vice' | 00:51:30 | |
It’s being compared to “The Godfather” and “Gatsby” — high praise for a young writer. But MPR News host Kerri Miller says Deepti Kapoor’s new novel is worth the accolades. “Age of Vice” is set in modern day India, a country changing so quickly, few can stay balanced. It follows a young man who grew up destitute, sold into a life of servitude to pay family debts. His life changes forever when he meets Sunny Wadia, the conflicted, playboy heir of a well-known crime family. The story swerves from India’s misty, mountain villages to noisy, vibrant cities, with characters that embody the nation’s extremes. This Friday, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, MPR News host Kerri Miller talked with Kapoor about gangster capitalism in India, about ill-fated love, and about what honor and nobility mean in a time of intense change. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 03 Mar 2023 | Historian Natalia Mehlman Petrzela on America's obsession with fitness | 00:57:17 | |
Historian Natalia Mehlman Petrzela was a self-proclaimed bookish kid growing up in the 1990s. She didn’t exercise, she didn’t play sports and she loathed physical education at school. But that changed when she first stepped into a group exercise class. “When I walked in there, I discovered there was something called fitness,” she tells host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. “Pretty quickly I realized this is not only better than PE, I love this. I don’t just tolerate it.” So began a shift within Petrzela. She started to move her body and like it. She became a fitness instructor and taught classes, even as she ended up working in academic. And as a historian, she couldn’t help but look around her secondary world and wonder: How did this fitness culture come to be? Her new book, “Fit Nation,” is the result of digging in to that question. The book charts the evolution of our collective attitudes toward exercise. From body builders on the beach in the 1940s, to Jack LaLanne introducing exercise to housewives in the 1950s, from Jane Fonda and Jazzercise to the current Peloton mania, Petrzela shows how working out went from a bizarre pastime to being an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. She also reveals the double-edged sword beneath it all — how exercise can be both empowering and elitist at the same time. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 10 Mar 2023 | New author Jamila Minnicks on the resilience and history of all-Black towns | 00:54:01 | |
Many Americans are unaware that all-Black enclaves popped up and even flourished during the early 20th century. They did so by following the conviction that “separate but equal” was the only way for Black Americans to stay safe and thrive. But as Jamila Minnicks points out in her gorgeous debut novel, “Moonrise Over New Jessup,” that belief was challenged by the Civil Rights movement, which championed equality more than separation. It’s a fictionalized account of one such town, set in Minnicks’ native Alabama, and ends up being both a celebration of Black joy and an examination of the opposing viewpoints about the end of segregation in America. This Friday, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Minnicks joined host Kerri Miller to talk about the history of all-Black towns, why she wanted to tell their stories and how “separate but equal” was both a gift and a blow. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 14 Mar 2023 | From the archives: Ross Gay on 'Inciting Joy' | 01:10:11 | |
Poet Ross Gay believes in joy. But he pays careful attention to how one defines that word. It is not simply happiness or delight, he says in his new book “Inciting Joy.” Rather, it is what grows from the fertile soil of breaking and belonging. It is the light that emanates from us when we help each other carry our sorrows. Gay was in St. Paul in November of 2022 to talk with MPR News host Kerri Miller for the finale of the 2022 Talking Volumes season. The evening also featured music from Minneapolis artist MAYYADDA. Enjoy that conversation as an appetizer to what’s coming this Friday, when Miller talks with psychologist and professor Dacher Keltner about his new book that delves into the impact of another universal emotion — awe. Guest:
To listen to a lightly edited version of the Talking Volumes conversation, use the audio player above. Note that it does contain some explicit language. You can also find the video on YouTube. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 17 Mar 2023 | Professor Dacher Keltner on the significance of awe | 00:57:38 | |
When was the last time you felt awe? For many of us, awe is the result of an experience in nature. Or maybe it’s due to a sudden chill up the spine as you listen to music or read a poem. It might be what happens when you witness selflessness or uncommon kindness in another human being, or something as simple as listening to a child laugh as they lose themselves in play. Whatever the source, and no matter the culture, Dacher Keltner says the feeling is the same across humankind. Awe produces a humbling and inspiring emotion in our bodies when we encounter something mysterious that transcends our understanding of the world. A researcher and professor of psychology, Keltner has spent the last few years studying awe and how it moves us. He used unconventional and imaginative methods to measure how awe shrinks a person’s sense of self. He’s talked to countless people about their experiences of awe. And he’s searched for it himself, after the death of his beloved brother. This Friday, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Keltner joined host Kerri Miller to talk about his new book, “Awe.” They delve into his research, talk about how music triggers wonder, and discuss how awe can help us lead healthy and happy lives, both individually and collectively. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 24 Mar 2023 | Paul Harding explores the archetype of displacement in 'This Other Eden' | 00:58:10 | |
Paul Harding says it’s no accident that the residents of the small interracial community he imagined for his new book are uprooted from their island home at the same time as the first International Eugenics Congress was being held in London. In fact, learning about the conference inspired him to write his book. The seeds of “This Other Eden” are planted in the true story of Malaga Island, an isolated island off the coast of Maine that was one of the first racially integrated towns in the northeastern United States. Populated by Native Americans, freed slaves and European Americans, the inhabitants led a sheltered — some would say naïve — life, unaware of the uniqueness of their situation. Their community was shattered in 1911, when Maine government officials inspected the island and found the mixed races offensive. All 47 residents of Malaga were evicted, and some were rehoused in institutions for the "feeble-minded." Maine publicly apologized for this deed in 2010. But the real-life story inspired Harding to imagine what it would have been like for the inhabitants to be displaced from their own private Eden, even as the world debated how to cull the weak from the herd, and who is worthy of salvation. Displacement is an archetype, Harding told MPR News host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. The Israelites were forced out of Egypt, humanity out of the Garden of Eden. “It’s essentially human,” he says, “as old as humanity but also as contemporary as this morning.” Who gets to decide the norms? If some groups live on the margins, who set the boundaries? Don’t miss this thoughtful and introspective conversation. Guests:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 28 Mar 2023 | From the archives: Diana Abu-Jaber on 'Birds of Paradise' | 00:33:35 | |
Author Diana Abu-Jaber returns to MPR News this week. Friday’s Big Books and Bold Ideas will feature a conversation between host Kerri Miller and Abu-Jaber about her latest novel, “Fencing with the King,” a book set in Jordan that explores family dynamics and inheritance. It’s not the first time Abu-Jaber and Miller have talked. For this week’s blast from the past, enjoy their 2011 discussion about “Birds of Paradise,” which NPR named one of the top books of that year and won a 2012 Arab-American National Book Award. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 31 Mar 2023 | Diana Abu-Jaber on family myths and inheritance | 00:51:30 | |
Diana Abu-Jaber’s family has deep roots in Jordan. Her father came to America after a failed marriage proposal — an act of “revenge immigration,” she laughs. And while he lived in the U.S., married here and raised a family here, his never truly left his homeland behind. Growing up in a thoroughly Jordanian household within an American context shaped Abu-Jaber’s life. She traveled to Jordan with her family and was often startled to discover hidden aspects to her father during her visits. It was this mix of identity and heritage, of belonging to a culture or land that one can no longer possess, that inspired her latest novel, “Fencing with the King” — so named because she learned, later in life, that her father was once a favorite sparring partner with the king of Jordan. “It’s like he had a before and after life,” she tells MPR News host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. “Dad was trained to spar with King Hussein, and this was something he never talked about when we were growing up. I didn’t even know he knew how to fence until I was an adult.” Her book vividly takes readers on a journey to the modern day Middle East, where questions of displacement and reclamation, of family identity and inheritance linger. Join Abu-Jaber and Miller for a conversation about homeland, myths and legacy on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 07 Apr 2023 | Erica Berry on what wolves teach us about fear | 00:51:46 | |
Once you start looking, wolves are everywhere. A wolf plays the the villain in “Little Red Riding Hood” and “The Three Little Pigs.” The boy who cried wolf is ultimately destroyed by his lie. A person who isolates from society is called a “lone wolf.” A dangerous mob is named a “wolfpack.” And of course, the animals themselves are both feared and admired. Wolves have intrigued writer Erica Berry since she was a child growing up in Oregon, where the animals enjoyed an uneasy truce with ranchers. But she believes wolves are more than what they seem — that we project our fears onto them and make them symbols of everything that terrifies us. Her new book, “Wolfish,” examines that premise, and it’s the perfect launch of Animal Month here on Big Books and Bold Ideas. Don’t miss this thoughtful conversation between MPR News host Kerri Miller and Berry as they talk about why our culture sees wolves as a threat, and how getting close to the wolf could help us transform our fears. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 11 Apr 2023 | From the archives: Underwater nature photographer David Doubilet | 00:49:31 | |
Renown underwater photographer David Doubilet has been donning a mask and flippers and descending into what he calls “the secret garden of the sea” since he was 12. What he saw there captivated him and eventually fueled his career. He’s photographed powerful sharks, brightly colored fish, the splendor of the coral reefs and the destruction caused by warming oceans. He’s published 12 books chronicling his work and he regularly contributes to National Geographic. In 2006, Doubilet visited Minneapolis to showcase his work and stopped by MPR News’ St. Paul studios to chat with host Kerri Miller about his passion. We are reviving the conversation now to continue our celebration of April as Animal Month on Big Books and Bold Ideas. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 14 Apr 2023 | Veterinarian Karen Fine on the special role pets play in our lives | 00:56:42 | |
It helps for a veterinarian to be an animal lover. It doesn’t help for her to be allergic to cats. But Karen Fine didn’t let that stop her. Nor was she cowered by the fact that, in the 1980s, when she went to vet school, almost all the students were male. She followed in her physician grandfather’s path and became a veterinarian who made house calls, “laid hands” on her patients and always took time to listen — both to the pets and the caretakers. Fine’s new book, “The Other Family Doctor” is a collection of stories she amassed while practicing veterinary medicine. But it also functions as a memoir. She weaves in tales of her own pets: the birds, cats, and dogs who have taught her that caring for the animals in our lives can teach us to better care for ourselves. Join MPR News host Kerri Miller as she talks with Fine about pets, mindfulness and how even vets struggle with knowing when it’s time to say good-bye. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 21 Apr 2023 | Encore presentation: Science journalist Ed Yong on how animals sense the world | 00:51:30 | |
All animals use their senses to perceive the world, humans included. But not every animal senses the same thing. In Pulitzer prize-winning science journalist Ed Yong’s 2022 book, “An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us,” he explores the way each species sees the world through its own sensory lens and explains why those differences should both delight and humble us. “Senses always come at a cost,” Yong writes. “No animal can sense everything well.” MPR News host Kerri Miller spoke with Yong last year about his research. It’s a fascinating conversation that we thought deserved an encore, since this April, we are celebrating animals at Big Books and Bold Ideas. Don’t missing Yong sharing stories about why jumping spiders have eight eyes, how octopus arms operate without the brain, why Morpho butterflies have ears on their wings — and why we should gently resist the tendency to view other animals’ senses through the limited view of our own. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 25 Apr 2023 | From the archives: Insect expert Marla Spivak on how to save the bees | 00:11:57 | |
Insects — or the lack thereof — are the focus of this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. On Friday, host Kerri Miller will talk with environmental journalist Oliver Milman about how the silent collapse in global insect populations is disrupting many of our most important ecosystems. Here in Minnesota, bees are the insects whose absence is most keenly felt. Back in 2013, University of Minnesota entomologist Marla Spivak talked with Miller about what she was seeing. But she also gave advice about how to help the bees: Plant flowers. “We really have a flowerless landscape out there, and bees need flowers for good nutrition,” Spivak said. “If bees have good nutrition, and a lot of pollen and protein coming in and nectar coming in, they're better able to fight off these diseases. And it helps them detoxify some of the pesticides. We really need bee-friendly flowers out there, everywhere.” Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 28 Apr 2023 | Environmental journalist Oliver Milman on why you should care about 'The Insect Crisis' | 00:51:58 | |
April is Animal Month on Big Books and Bold Ideas. But this time, we’re not talking about dogs, monkeys or bats — but bees, beetles and butterflies. It might not seem like it on a summer night in Minnesota — when mosquitos are swarming your campfire — but Earth’s kingdom of insects is diminishing so rapidly, scientists have declared it a crisis. In 2019, a report in published in Biological Conservation found that 40 percent of all insect species are declining globally and a third of them are endangered. The reasons why are myriad. And while it might be tempting to hope for a planet without wasps that sting and roaches in the kitchen, journalist Oliver Milman says human beings would be in big trouble without insects. Bugs play critical roles in pollinating plants, breaking down waste and laying the base of a food chain that other animals rely on — including us. This week, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller talked with Milman about his new book, “The Insect Crisis.” They explored what’s causing the decline and what can be done about it — and discuss some fun facts about insects, too. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 05 May 2023 | How dogs become themselves and other wonders of puppyhood | 00:53:03 | |
If you want to know canine psychologist Alexandra Horowitz’ best advice for training a puppy, it can be summed up in one sentence: “Expect that your puppy will not be who you think, nor act as you hope.” That truth — which can both delight and confound new puppy caretakers — is at the center of her 2021 book, “The Year of the Puppy.” A longtime researcher of canine behavior, Horowitz realized she had never examined those critical first months of a dog’s life. So in 2020, she started to observe litters from birth on. When the pandemic shut down the world, she brought one of those puppies into her already animal-centric home — and almost immediately had second thoughts. But adapting to Quiddity, their new pup, gave her fresh insight into doggie development. Ultimately, it reinforced her belief that human companions need to respect and enjoy these creatures that live with us but are fundamentally different. If all we do is focus on how to train the puppy, we miss them becoming themselves. It’s a fascinating and validating conversation, so we pulled it from the archives for an encore performance during our spring member drive. Don’t miss this conversation between Horowitz and fellow dog lover, MPR News host Kerri Miller. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 12 May 2023 | 'Symphony of Secrets' is an ode to music stolen and composers erased | 00:57:13 | |
In his new novel, “Symphony of Secrets,” Brendan Slocumb once again tucks a mystery inside a musical thriller. But underscoring the plot are some big questions about our culture. Whose music gets heard and honored? Who gets to claim the ownership and rewards of a song? And who gets to tell the story of how that music came to be? Slocumb’s protagonist is Bern Hendricks, a musicologist thrilled to be given the chance to authenticate a just discovered opera, attributed to his musical hero, Frederick Delaney. But as he investigates the long missing masterpiece, Hendricks uncovers the true source of Delaney’s genius — a neurodivergent Black woman named Josephine Reed, who was never credited for her work. Will he be able to right history’s wrongs? Or will the powerful musical establishment erase Reed’s genius a second time? Slocumb’s debut novel, “The Violin Conspiracy,” was a book club favorite. This week, Slocumb returned to Big Books and Bold Ideas to talk with MPR News host Kerri Miller about the messy ways music is written and how to decipher the line between borrowed and stolen. Guest:
Use the audio player above to listen to the conversation. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 16 May 2023 | From the archives: 'CatStronauts' author Drew Brockington blasts off into fun | 00:31:16 | |
Cats are known to like their space. But outer space? That we didn’t learn until Minneapolis author and illustrator Drew Brockington’s put a crew of feline scientists on a rocket in his 2017 book, “CatStronauts: Mission Moon.” Turns out, Waffles, Blanket, Pom-Pom and Major Meowser are capable and witty astronauts, adapt at both saving the universe and delighting kids with their antics. Brockington’s graphic novels have won acclaim and fans across the galaxy. Last week, Brockington (and Waffles) joined MPR News host Kerri Miller for a special family edition of Talking Volumes. You’ll hear that conversation on Friday’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. Until then, enjoy this blast from the past, when Brockington first talked with Miller about how his love of space fueled the series and what humans can learn from his intrepid kitty crew. Guest:
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 19 May 2023 | Drew Brockington takes fans into 'meowter' space at Talking Volumes | 01:03:22 | |
Cats … in space? It’s not a crazy notion for fans of Drew Brockington’s “CatStronauts,” who’ve devoured his graphic novels the way pilot Waffles eats a tuna fish sandwich. After six books detailing the adventures of Waffles, Blanket, Pom-Pom and Major Meowser, Brockington recently launched a prequel series detailing the kittenhood adventures of siblings Waffles and Pancakes. How did they end up wanting to be catstronauts? At a special Talking Volumes in Rochester, Minn., earlier this month, Brockington told MPR News host Kerri Miller about the “Waffles and Pancakes” books and why he first decided to send cats to outer space in the first place. Waffles also made a surprise appearance and took questions from kids in the audience. This is a show that will leave everyone “feline” good. Guest:
You can listen to the full conversation using the audio player above, or watch a video of the interview by clicking play on the main image. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 26 May 2023 | Journalist Jeff Sharlet on America's slow civil war | 00:56:26 | |
When Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene proposed the United States would benefit from a “national divorce,” many scoffed and labeled her statements as incendiary pot-stirring. Journalist Jeff Sharlet was not one of them. After traveling the country for more than a dozen years, reporting on the intersection between religion and far-right politics, he believes remarks like Rep. Greene’s should be taken seriously and at face value. His latest book, “The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War,” details what he found as he traveled through states like Wisconsin and Nebraska, talking to ordinary people who love fishing and their neighbors — and also believe another civil war is inevitable and even necessary to correct decades of “immoral decadence.” MPR News host Kerri Miller talks with Sharlet about his reporting on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. It’s a sobering conversation about the people Sharlet met and the undercurrent of fascism he sees rippling across the country. Guest:
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| 30 May 2023 | From the archives: William Kent Krueger on 'Lightning Strike' | 00:52:40 | |
Minnesota writer William Kent Krueger is a fan favorite, thanks largely to his series of crime novels featuring private investigator Cork O'Connor. Krueger joined host Kerri Miller in Duluth earlier this week for a special spring edition of Talking Volumes. You’ll hear that conversation on Friday. So it’s only fitting that this week’s archive is Krueger’s last appearance on the Talking Volumes stage. He was at the Fitzgerald Theater in 2021 to discuss his book, “Lightning Strike.” Guest:
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| 02 Jun 2023 | Minnesota writer William Kent Krueger on the importance of place | 01:26:27 | |
Minnesota author William Kent Krueger has written 19 books that star his primary protagonist, private investigator Cork O’Connor. But just as central to his writing is the landscape of Northern Minnesota. It’s more than a setting. It’s a character. “I write profoundly out of a sense of place,” Krueger told MPR News host Kerri Miller at a special spring Talking Volumes earlier this month. “When I used to teach writing, I taught place as character. Place is one of the most important and versatile characters in any story.” Don’t miss this warm and revealing conversation between Miller on Krueger, recorded on stage at The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth. They talk about the development of O’Connor as an Irish-Ojibwe man, how Anishinaabe mythology shaped Krueger’s writing and why he believes mysteries should not be underestimated as classic literature. Krueger also shares the jaw-dropping prologue for his next stand-alone novel, “The River We Remember,” which comes out later this year. Miller and Krueger were joined on stage by musical guests Clancy Ward and Kyle Orla. Guest:
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| 09 Jun 2023 | What it really means to be all-American | 00:57:55 | |
Joe Milan Jr.’s debut novel, “The All-American,” is about immigration — but it’s not a story about what it means to leave a foreign land and start over in America. Instead, it’s about what it means to leave America, unwillingly, and start over in a foreign land. Milan’s protagonist, 17-year-old Bucky Yi, knows nothing about his birth country of South Korea. Raised in rural Washington, he has only one goal — to become a college football player. But when he tangles with local law enforcement, and his adoptive mom can’t produce proof of U.S. citizenship, Bucky is deported to a country where he knows no one and can’t speak the language. He has to tap into his inner running back to deal with situations both extreme and familiar to any young person on the cusp of adulthood. Is he Korean, or American? Is he Bucky, or Beyonghak? Is he a boy, or a man? Does he want to go home? Or has he made a new home? This Friday, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Milan joined MPR News host Kerri Miller to talk about his book, his own identity conundrum, what it means to embody American values, and how football ties it all together. Guest:
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| 23 Jun 2023 | Women bootleggers in the time of Prohibition | 00:51:30 | |
Editor’s note: This program was originally preempted by breaking news coverage. The post has been updated to reflect the new broadcast date. Jeannette Wells’ 2009 memoir “The Glass Castle” has been a New York Times bestseller for more than eight years. The movie adaptation starring Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts also won awards. Her much-anticipated new book, “Hang the Moon,” is worth the wait. Set in 1920s rural Virginia, it centers on young Sallie Kincaid whose daddy runs the county where they live. Sallie wants to go into the family business, which includes running moonshine. But is she ready to fight through the conflict that awaits her? This week, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Wells joined MPR News host Kerri Miller to talk about the relative morality of Prohibition in America. “In my neck of the woods, rural Virginia, whiskey making had long been a tradition,” says Wells. ”What Prohibition did was turn this money-making operation, that for many was the only cash crop they had, into something illegal. It turned law-abiding folk into outlaws.” Wells also talked with Miller about how the era mirrors the tumultuousness of America today. Guest:
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| 30 Jun 2023 | A historical swashbuckler from author David Grann | 00:53:22 | |
The latest book from journalist and bestselling author David Grann details the true story of a 1741 shipwreck that he believes has "surprising resonance … with our own contemporary, turbulent times.” When a squadron of ships left England in the fall of 1740, with secret hopes of capturing a Spanish galleon filled with gold, they had little idea what might befall them. They were overloaded with men, many who were old and infirmed. They were equipped with rudimentary navigation tools. And none of them had ever sailed around Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America, which we now know is one of the most treacherous seas on the planet. The disastrous voyage ended with a shipwreck off the coast of Patagonia. But the story only deepens there. The cadre of men who survived faced starvation, murder and mutiny while trying to find a way home. And once they get there, the competing stories of what really happened on the island transfixed a nation. As he did in his previous best sellers, “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “The Lost City of Z,” Grann recounts this true story with vivid detail. On this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, he told host Kerri Miller that, far from being just a swashbuckling tale, the story of The Wager echoes themes we grapple with today, like the dangers of imperialism and the war over truth. Guest:
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| 07 Jul 2023 | Rachel Louise Snyder's memoir is as beautifully complex as her life. | 01:06:00 | |
“Cancer took my mother. But religion would take my life.” So writes journalist Rachel Louise Snyder in her new memoir, “Women We Buried, Women We Burned.” It recounts with brutal honesty how the death of her mother upended her previously peaceful world, launching her father into a new marriage within the confines of a strict, fundamentalist Christianity. Violence and rage became her new norm, until she was kicked out at age 16 for refusing the obey the many rules her father imposed. But that dark moment turned out to be a gift. Snyder found support in unlikely places and forged a new path, one where light and dark coexist and where forgiveness is not synonymous with exoneration. This week, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Snyder joins MPR host Kerri Miller to talk about her journeys. They discuss how the prosperity gospel dismantles human agency, how her work investigating violence led her to think about her own, and how travel can heal past wounds and open up new vistas. Guest:
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| 14 Jul 2023 | 'Of White Ashes' brings the WWII Japanese-American experience to life | 00:51:46 | |
When Ruby Ishimaru and her family are sent away from Hawaii to a mainland internment camp in 1942, Ruby packs her treasures — photographs, seashells and the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder. She finds comfort in Laura’s adventures even as she and her family are thrust into the frightening unknown. On the other side of the world, the unknown is also baring down on Japan, where young Koji Matsuo watches the country rally for war from his home in Hiroshima. When Ruby and Koji eventually meet in California, their love story begins. But can their traumas be overcome? It’s a question familiar to author Kent Matsumoto, who together with his wife, Constance, mined his own family history to tell the stories of Ruby and Koji. Their new novel, “Of White Ashes,” tells a fictionalized version of his parents experiences in World War II. Destined to become a classic in the classroom, it artfully depicts the frustration of American citizens being incarcerated by their own country and the horrors of the atomic bomb. MPR News host Kerri Miller was joined by the Matsumotos on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, to talk about how they did their research, their realizations and their hopes for “Of White Ashes.” Guests:
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| 21 Jul 2023 | In 'Shy,' a troubled teenage boy gets a last chance | 01:01:23 | |
Shy, the teenage boy at the heart of Max Porter’s latest novel, defies classification. He is moody and violent, traits which heartbreak his mother and get him sent to the Last Chance boarding school. He is also sensitive and vulnerable, a boy who seems to be missing a layer of skin to protect himself from the world’s hypocrisy and starkness. This paradox is at the heart of “Shy” — and in fact, the heart of most teenagers. Porter took pains to not describe Shy’s inner world but to transcribe it. His novel is a collection of jumbled thoughts, inner speak, lyrics and beats from the night Shy attempts to escape the boarding school. Like a cut, “Shy” stings and reminds us we are alive. Don’t miss this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, when host Kerri Miller talks with Porter. It’s a conversation that ranges from parenting teenage boys to junglist music, to the importance of literacy and the essentialness of trees. Guest:
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| 28 Jul 2023 | Luis Urrea's new novel is inspired by his mother's wartime experiences | 00:54:29 | |
Until writer Luis Alberto Urrea inherited his mother’s journals, he knew very little about what she’d seen and done in World War II. He knew she served on a team of Donut Dollies, women who volunteered with the Red Cross to provide mobile food, entertainment and comfort to U.S. servicemen station on many European battlefronts. But he didn’t know she’d been on the front lines in one of the most ferocious battles, or that the nightmares she suffered her whole life stemmed from her experiences there. Like many people who’ve lived through extreme trauma, his mother mostly avoided the topic while she was alive. As Urrea combed through her journals and scrapbooks after her death, he encountered a woman who was marked by her time serving as a Donut Dolly in the war. His new novel, “Good Night, Irene” is not a biography of his mother, but it is inspired by her courage and experiences. This Friday, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Urrea joined MPR News host Kerri Miller to tell stories about his mother and her fellow Donut Dollies. It’s a conversation about the power of friendship, the trauma of war, and why laughter might be the most important human quality. Guest:
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| 04 Aug 2023 | Minnesota's supper clubs set the table for a delicious family drama | 00:51:45 | |
J. Ryan Stradal knows supper club culture. Growing up in Hastings, Minn., his family milestones were marked by dressing up, sitting in a leather booth at the Wiederholt's Supper Club, picking at a relish tray and watching the grown-ups enjoy a brandy Old Fashioned. He even worked at a supper club across the river, in Prescott, Wisc., where he went behind the double-swinging doors and had his views about restaurant work forever changed. So it is with a deep sense of fondness, with a side of realism, that his latest novel centers around a supper club in the fictitious northern Minnesota town of Bear Jaw. Main character Mariel has inherited the Lakeside Club from her grandparents and is wrestling with its future — and her own. Meanwhile, her husband stands to take on his own family’s restaurant legacy, a growing chain of family diners. Which future will they pursue? And will old family wounds deepen in the process, or be healed? This week on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Stradal joined host Kerri Miller in the studio to trade stories about their own experiences with the supper club scene. They also talked about the purpose and value of nostalgia and how Stradal works to balance sentimentality with reality in his writing. Guest:
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| 10 Aug 2023 | Christian Cooper on what it means to be a Black man in the natural world | 00:56:18 | |
Christian Cooper’s visibility as a lifelong birder exploded after a woman in Central Park refused to leash her dog and reported, wrongly, that she was being threatened. Three years later, Cooper is out with a powerful new memoir and a National Geographic TV show he hopes will attract more people of color to the world of bird-watching. Don’t miss this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, when Cooper talks with host Kerri Miller about how a self-described nerdy gay kid from Long Island fell in love with our feathered friends and how the incident that pushed him into the national spotlight distracts from what he sees as the bigger issues. He also shares stories about his work as a Marvel comics writer and has a few tips for want-to-be birders. Guest:
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| 18 Aug 2023 | Novel asks: ‘What if your two favorite people hate each other with a passion?’ | 00:55:26 | |
A pair of best friends determine to leave behind their conservative families and societal expectations, and live by a new motto: By Myself, For Myself. What happens when one of those friends marries, and the other friend sees the new husband as a betrayal of their values? That’s the premise behind British-Nigerian author Ore Agbaje-Williams debut novel, “The Three of Us.” The story plays out on a single wine- and whiskey-soaked afternoon, when the wife, husband and best friend Temi toy with the fine line between compromise and betrayal when it comes to themselves and the people they love. On this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, Agbaje-Williams joins MPR News host Kerri Miller to discuss the power of female friendships, why her story had to unfold in a single afternoon, and how love and loyalty can shape our lives. Guest:
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| 01 Sep 2023 | Nostalgia becomes a weapon in the sci-fi thriller 'Prophet' | 00:56:26 | |
The first time Helen Macdonald and Sin Blaché met, it was to finish the book they had been cowriting for a year. Macdonald, author of the best-selling “H is for Hawk,” and Blaché, an artist living in Ireland, first met online. During the COVID lockdowns, bored and restless, they started to play with the idea of writing a book together. Chapters began to fly digitally over the Irish Sea. What resulted is “Prophet,” a fast-paced techno-thriller that centers around a lethal mystery: Someone has developed an aerosol that can weaponize nostalgia, bringing people’s happiest memories to life only to have them be killed by it. ‘Prophet’ doubles as a queer odd-couple romance, thanks to the main characters, whom Blaché and Macdonald fondly call “our terrible men.” Adam is a gruff American super solider, and Rao is a former British intelligence officer who has a gift for telling when people are lying — unless that person is Adam. On this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, MPR News host Kerri Miller talks with Macdonald and Blaché about why cowriting a book online turned out to be a raucous, joyful thing and how their shared love for tropes and pop culture influenced the book. Guests:
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| 08 Sep 2023 | Minnesota novelist Julie Schumacher on 'The English Experience' | 00:54:52 | |
Jason Fitger is not a likeable character. A creative writing professor at the fictitious Payne University, an aptly named small liberal arts college in the Midwest, Fitger is cantankerous and acid-tongued, beleaguered and inappropriate. He doesn’t really like students — and he doesn’t like England, which is where he has been pressured into leading a study abroad program. The students on the tour are equally hapless. For the most part, this is their first trip away from home. One believes they are actually going to the Caribbean. And another remarks that she has never left her cat. Someone writes in his application that he is “a business major … for obvious reasons. There are no jobs out there for people who just want to read.” It’s enough to push Professor Fitger to the brink — and that is the story told in “The English Experience,” Minnesota novelist Julie Schumacher’s final book in the trilogy that follows Fitger’s academic misadventures. This week, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Schumacher joined host Kerri Miller in the studio for a rollicking and candid conversation about how Schumacher channels Fitger, why she hopes he’s likeable in spite of all his faults, and the frustrations she shares with him about the future of academia. Guest:
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| 15 Sep 2023 | Healing from trauma in the northern Wisconsin woods | 00:48:30 | |
Carol Dunbar didn’t set out to be an writer. For more than a decade, she was an actress based in the Twin Cities. She told stories by embodying them. But then she and her husband — also an actor — decided to leave it all behind. They moved off the grid, to rural Wisconsin, so her husband could handcraft furniture. It was there, while learning to split wood and pump water and raise two toddlers in the midst of the chaos, that Dunbar came to the stunning conclusion that she was a storyteller — just one who had been working in the wrong art form. So she began to write. Her first book, “The Net Beneath Us” won the Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award and told the story of a young woman learning to live close off the land in Wisconsin after her husband has a logging accident. Her new novel, “A Winter’s Rime,” is also set in northern Wisconsin and plays with truths Dunbar has learned firsthand about PTSD, healing and place. This week’s Big Book and Bold Ideas features a conversation between host Kerri Miller and Dunbar. They talk about how the rural north woods influence Dunbar’s writing, how both her books are informed by her own story and why learning to forgive one’s self might be the key to redemption. Guest:
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| 22 Sep 2023 | Talking Volumes: Abraham Verghese on 'Covenant of Water' | 01:44:09 | |
When Dr. Abraham Verghese released his debut novel in 2009 it was an literary marvel. “Cutting for Stone” captivated readers, sold more than 1.5 million copies in the U.S. alone and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for two years. Readers had to wait 14 years for another book by Verghese, but by all accounts, his new novel was worth the wait. Oprah Winfrey named it a book club pick, called saying it was “one of the best books I’ve read in my entire life — and I’ve been reading since I was three!” Talking Volumes with Abraham Verghese, ‘The Covenant of Water’ It was a pleasure to have him kick off the 2023 season of Talking Volumes. Dr. Verghese joined host Kerri Miller on stage at the Fitzgerald Theater the evening of Sept. 14 and talked about redemption, inspiration, how his “day job” as a doctor informs his writing (and vice versa) and why his belief in the essential goodness of humanity is core to his novels. Their conversation was complimented by Kerala folk music played by local musician Nirmala Rajasekar, who was joined onstage by one of India’s premier percussionists, Thanjavur Murugaboopathi. Guest:
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| 29 Sep 2023 | A young girl runs from Jamestown in Lauren Groff's new book, 'The Vaster Wilds' | 00:51:30 | |
Lauren Groff’s new novel, “The Vaster Wilds,” begins in the bleak winter of 1609, when the residents of the early American colony of Jamestown are diseased and starving. A young servant girl, who was brought to the new world by a prosperous and indifferent family, decides to run from the desolation. But she leaves Jamestown not knowing her direction, her surroundings or even her name. Can she survive the untouched wilderness? Groff says her new book is haunted by climate change — the fact that we, as a species, are also running into the vast unknown. But like her unnamed protagonist, she finds moments of ecstasy in the starkness of nature, times when she sees her own body experience euphoria in the midst of pain. This week, Groff joined host Kerri Miller on Big Books and Bold Ideas for a conversation about “The Vaster Wilds.” Like her other books, this one plays with themes of feminism, religion and morality, and she dives into all those topics. But she also reveals how many covers she and her publishing house went through before they settled on the one that was printed, and how many books she’s writing right now, simultaneously. Guest:
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| 06 Oct 2023 | Talking Volumes: Ann Patchett on 'Tom Lake' | 01:50:59 | |
Ann Patchett is a perennial favorite at Talking Volumes. So it’s no surprise that she sold out the Fitz for her conversation with host Kerri Miller on Sept. 28. What ensued was a raucous two hours of honest conversation. Just a few of the topics they covered: Ann’s “shiny new attitude” about book tours, how to be a feminist while still making dinner every night, why Ann keeps a drawer stocked with $20s in her desk and — last but certainly not least — Ann’s new novel, “Tom Lake.” Don’t miss this lively exchange, which includes music by singer-songwriter Sarah Morris and closes with a special guest appearance by the author to whom Ann dedicated “Tom Lake” — Minnesotan Kate DiCamillo. Guests:
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| 20 Oct 2023 | 'Land of Milk and Honey' depicts a future without the pleasure of food | 00:48:00 | |
In C Pam Zhang’s dystopian not-too-distant future, the planet is covered in a crop-killing smog. Food as we know it is rapidly disappearing to be replaced by a gray, mung bean flour. Zhang’s protagonist, a young unnamed Asian chef, decides to flee her dreary career and lies her way into becoming the head cook at a mountaintop research community, where the sky is still clear and the uber-rich work to recreate and hoard the world’s biodiversity. The prose in “Land of Milk and Honey” is as rich and sensual as a good meal. But it is the constant trade-offs made by the chef that keep the book evolving. This week, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller sat down with Zhang to talk about what moved her to write this book, how her faith background informs her view of science and why she moved from California to New York City during the pandemic. Guest:
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| 27 Oct 2023 | Talking Volumes: Viet Thanh Nguyen on being 'A Man of Two Faces' | 01:34:13 | |
Viet Thanh Nguyen has a critical mind. He’s critic of populist politics. He’s a critic of history. He’s a critic of the country where he was born, Vietnam, and he’s a critic of the country he calls home, the United States. He’s even a critic of his own memories. But Nguyen says his captious lens isn’t meant to blister. It’s simply meant to reveal truth. And if you write truthfully, you will likely offend. Talking Volumes with Viet Thanh Nguyen Nguyen joined host Kerri Miller on stage at the Fitzgerald Theater for the third conversation in the 2023 Talking Volumes season. Their discussion was candid and eloquent, poignant and funny, as they talked and shared photos from Nguyen’s new memoir, “A Man of Two Faces.” Photos Shared at Talking Volumes They were joined by musician D’Lourdes, who sang two songs off their new EP, “softer, for now.” Guest:
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| 03 Nov 2023 | A hard look at gun violence in 'The Bodies Keep Coming' | 00:51:00 | |
On July 7, 2016, a Black gunman ambushed Dallas police officers working a peaceful protest, shooting 14 and killing five. The trauma surgeon who worked to save many of those officers — Dr. Brian H. Williams — made headlines when he spoke at a press conference after the incident. In an emotional moment, he confessed his complicated feelings as a Black man in America to the mix of race, policing and guns. “I want the Dallas P.D. to also see me, a Black man, and understand that I support you, I will defend you, and I will care for you,” he said. “But that doesn't mean that I do not fear you,” he added. “That doesn’t mean that if you approach me I will not immediately have a visceral reaction and start worrying for my personal safety.” It was that moment that catapulted Dr. Williams into the national spotlight and pushed him to offer a diagnosis on a system that is failing almost everyone. This week on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Dr. Williams talks with MPR News host Kerri Miller about that fateful day in Dallas. They also talk about what led him to medicine in the first place, the systemic racism he witnessed in the health care field and why he still believes healing is possible. Guest:
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| 10 Nov 2023 | Talking Volumes: Margaret Renkl on 'The Comfort of Crows' | 01:41:23 | |
The season finale of Talking Volumes brought author and columnist Margaret Renkl to Minnesota, hours after the first snow carpeted our Northern landscape. She declared it “magical” — a theme familiar to those who’ve read her New York Times columns or her new book, “The Comfort of Crows.” In it, the self-described backyard naturalist details what she saw in her Tennessee half-acre backyard over the course of 52 weeks. She laughs at the bumblebees and fusses over foxes. She laments the absence of birds and butterflies that used to be proliferate. But she also refuses to give in to despair. For those of us paying attention, she told MPR host Kerri Miller, it would be “easy for the grief to take over.” “But what a waste it would be if we did that,” she added. “If it’s true, that we’re going to lose all the songbirds — at least the migratory ones — how much more are we obliged to notice them and treasure them while we have them?” Don’t miss this warm and candid conversation about the gift of nature, the solace of observation and the gospel Renkl finds in her own backyard. Musical guest The Dollys rounded out the evening. Guest:
Use the audio player or video player above to listen to the conversation. Don’t miss a conversation! Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Love books? Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. | |||
| 17 Nov 2023 | Tour the galaxy with the 'Bad Astronomer' | 00:51:45 | |
Can you imagine a day when families visit the moon for summer vacation? When travel to see Saturn’s rings up close is a romantic getaway? When humans living on Mars schedule tours of Olympus Mons — a volcano roughly the size of Arizona? The day is coming. But since it’s not possible quite yet, the would-be space traveler can do the next best thing: Take the scenic route through the galaxy with astronomer and science communicator Philip Plait in his new book, “Under Alien Skies.” Written as a lively adventure through the cosmos, Plait uses both the latest scientific research and a lively imagination to transport readers to ten of the most astonishing sights space has to offer. This week on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Plait joined host Kerri Miller to give listeners a personal tour through the galaxy. Guest:
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| 08 Dec 2023 | Rethinking roads | 00:49:05 | |
To humans, roads are so ubiquitous, they are almost invisible. They crisscross every continent and allow for travel, exploration and connection. But to wildlife, roads are dangerous divisions of habitat. Around a million animals are killed by cars every day. Roads change migration patterns, cut off animals from their food sources and create noise so loud that it drowns out the ability for some animals to communicate with each other or hunt their prey. But road ecologists are working on solutions. In his new book, “Crossings,” Science Journalist Ben Goldfarb lays out the repercussion of roads and invites us to rethink their design. For example, California is planning to build a literal animal crossing over Highway 101, to allow safe passage for a variety of creatures. Goldfarb joined host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas to share what he learned when he started to research road ecology and how scientists are using innovative solutions to minimize the damage roads cause. Guest:
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| 15 Dec 2023 | Poet Major Jackson on writing poetry that connects | 01:11:11 | |
Members of MPR and supporters of The Slowdown came together in mid-October to celebrate poetry with Major Jackson. The poet was in the Twin Cities to speak at the Twin Cities Book Festival, which is where he also learned that The Slowdown — a daily poetry podcast that he hosts — had won the prestigious Signal Award for Best Daily Podcast of 2023. It was on that jubilant note that he spoke with host Kerri Miller about his love for the art form of words. In the past, he has said that he finds “the writing of a poem a kind of plunging, a willful dive below the surface of who I am.” During their conversation, Jackson explored those ideas with Miller. He spoke about how to avoid solipsism when writing poetry, how his childhood faith taught him the musicality of words and why it’s crucial that poetry be a mode of inquiry, not a collection of answers. Guest:
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| 01 Dec 2023 | Safiya Sinclair liberates herself in 'How to Say Babylon' | 00:51:16 | |
To the strict Rastafari father of Jamaican poet Safiya Sinclair, Babylon was not just an ancient city. It was a symbol for corruption, for wickedness, for decadence and depravity. And it was everywhere. So he kept his family tightly controlled, separate from outside influences that could contaminate. It was in that environment that Sinclair first grew and then stifled. Her father’s Rastafari faith was all-encompassing. While her mother taught her the music of nature and encouraged her to read, her father became obsessed with keeping his daughters pure. So they had few friends or hobbies, outside of schoolwork. Sinclair dreaded adolescence, when she knew menstruation would make her unclean. She grudgingly kept her dreadlocks — a symbol of Rastafari piety — and chafed under her father’s gospel that good Rasta women are submissive and quiet. But Sinclair found her voice in poetry. In her new memoir, “How to Say Babylon,” Sinclair recounts her journey from a subdued and sheltered daughter into a strong and self-assertive woman. This week on Big Book and Bold Ideas, Sinclair joined host Kerri Miller to talk about the perils of fundamentalism and patriarchy, in all its forms, and how she wrote a memoir about her childhood that both honors her family and her own truth. Guest:
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| 07 Dec 2023 | Decoding the 'familect' | 00:48:09 | |
What word or phrase conjures immediate understanding in your family — but puzzled looks from everyone else? In one family, pizza crust is known as “pizza bones.” In another, children who weren’t allowed to say fart were instructed to use the word “foof” instead. This Thursday, MPR News host Kerri Miller talked about “familect” with word wizard Anatoly Liberman. Guest:
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| 01 Dec 2023 | Kerri Miller and two book lovers share their favorite books of 2023 | 00:47:52 | |
What book did you read this year that you immediately recommended to all your friends? That was the topic MPR News host Kerri Miller tackled Monday at 9 a.m. for a special live edition of her regular Friday show, Big Books and Bold Ideas. Instead of chatting with an author, Miller took calls and chatted with Glory Edim, the founder of Well-Read Black Girl, and Julie Buckles, the owner of Honest Dog Books in Bayfield, Wis. Before the show, we asked our social media followers what their favorite books of the year were and the top responses were: “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus, “Tom Lake” by Ann Patchett and “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver. Kerri’s picks
Julie’s picks
Glory’s picks
Caller’s picks
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| 22 Dec 2023 | Can a 5,000-mile journey help a mother and son survive their differences? | 00:52:15 | |
For years, author Jedidiah Jenkins and his mother, Barbara, have flirted with the idea of a cross-country road trip together. The goal: to retrace Barbara’s route across America which she walked with her husband, travel writer Peter Jenkins, in the 1970s. But there is one problem: they have wildly disparate world views. Barbara is a baby boomer who lives in rural Tennessee. She supports Trump, listens to conservative media and is a deeply passionate evangelical Christian. Jedidiah is almost the opposite. He’s a gay man, who lives on the West Coast and is politically progressive. But they love each other. And Jedidiah is keenly aware of his mother’s age and the passing of time. So they set off on their joint adventure, hoping for fresh insight into the complex questions many are asking today: How do we stay in relationship when it hurts? When are boundaries needed? Is it possible to love someone who disagrees with you on almost everything? This week on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Jedidiah Jenkins joined host Kerri Miller for a thoughtful, funny and reflective conversation about mothers, nuance and the key ingredient needed to stay in painful relationships. Guest:
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| 29 Dec 2023 | How a pastor's faith survived 'Beautiful and Terrible Things' | 00:51:15 | |
“Here is the world,” writes theologian Frederick Buechner. “Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.” Those words rooted Amy Butler through some of the darkest moments of her life. As Butler slowly embraced her call to be a pastor, she was rejected by her conservative evangelical family, who doesn’t believe women should be in pastoral roles. She was the first woman ever appointed to lead the historic Riverside Church in New York City, but the challenges of breaking the “stained glass ceiling” almost caused her to lose her faith. In her new memoir, “Beautiful and Terrible Things,” Butler takes us inside her life story. She covers joyful and painful moments, including the loss of a child, her unexpected divorce and the hardships of being a woman in ministry. But ultimately, as she tells MPR News host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, she found that vulnerability is worth it. Butler writes in the introduction, “The invitation to become who we’re meant to be happens at the intersection of human pain and divine hope, and almost always in the context of relationship.” Guest:
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| 05 Jan 2024 | Three historians and authors reflect on this American moment | 00:52:00 | |
This year, Big Books and Bold Ideas is introducing an occasional series that will feature books on democracy. That series begins as we mark the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection. To gain context, we invited three historians and authors from different regions of the country to reflect on this American moment. Can history be a guide to where we are? Do we have the chaos and divisiveness we deserve? How do we approach what comes next with clarity and perspective? Guests:
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| 12 Jan 2024 | The inside story of the government’s search for alien life | 00:51:30 | |
Are you convinced the U.S. government knows more than it will reveal about UFOs? After doing a deep dive into the history, journalist Garrett Graff is too. But he doesn’t think the cover-up is a necessarily hiding alien life. “There are two obvious cloaks of secrecy that surrounds the government cover-up of its understanding of what UFOs and UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena) are today,” Graff tells MPR News host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. “One level is we don’t know what level of public UFO sightings are our own government’s secret development projects.” “The other is that … some chunk of UAPS are advanced adversary technology being tested against us — drones from other countries. So the military doesn’t want to say what it’s detected lest it give away too much.” But is there alien life? Graff feels certain there is. He just doesn’t see proof that it’s visiting earth. His new book looks at the history of UFO sightings in the United States, including the large reports of flying saucers after WWII, UFO conspiracy theories after Watergate and the U.S. government’s efforts in recent years to engage in more open dialogue about extraterrestrial life. Guest:
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| 19 Jan 2024 | Can higher education be saved from itself? | 00:58:18 | |
Americans’ faith in the value of higher education is faltering. Unlike our global peers, the U.S. is seeing a steady decline in college enrollment and graduation rates, especially among young men. Since 1992, the sticker price for four-year private colleges has almost doubled and more than doubled for four-year public colleges, even after adjusting for inflation. Student debt is paralyzing. And Gen Z is watching. About half believe a high school diploma is sufficient to “ensure financial security.” What can higher education do? Macalester College President Emeritus Brian Rosenberg has some thoughts — but he admits, many in academia won’t like them. His provocative new book is “Whatever It Is, I’m Against It: Resistance to Change in Higher Education,” and he joins host Kerri Miller this week for a discussion that names those things. Is it possible for colleges and universities to stay relevant and adapt to a changing world? Guest:
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| 26 Jan 2024 | Tracy K. Smith delivers a plea for the American soul | 00:51:30 | |
Tracy K. Smith is known for her powerful poetry. She's a Pulitzer Prize winner and former U. S. Poet Laureate. Yet her newest book, “To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soul,” is memoir — a classification she initially resisted. But as she tells MPR News host Kerri Miller, she eventually saw that her own story is a kind of microcosm of America’s story. It’s a meditation on who we’ve been, who we are and who we want to become. On this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, Smith joins Miller to expand on the ideas in her latest work, as it examines the nature of power, freedom, race, prayer, her parent’s lives, her own drinking and what she calls "the conundrum of history.” Guest:
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| 02 Feb 2024 | How women of the CIA changed history | 00:53:31 | |
Women spies pop up in Hollywood movies all the time. But as Liza Mundy’s new book reveals, it took determined persistence, personal risk and a lot of sacrifice for women to be welcomed as CIA operatives. “The Sisterhood” is a meticulously researched, seven-decade history of women who worked behind the scenes at America’s premier foreign intelligence agency. Mundy details how women opened up new avenues of recruiting for assets, formed a team that uncovered a Russian mole operating within the agency and rooted out where Osama bin Laden was hiding. She joined host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas to share stories of the women who fought through blatant sexism to became some of the CIA’s most ingenious operatives. Guest:
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| 09 Feb 2024 | Family lore becomes rich historical fiction in 'The Storm We Made' | 00:51:30 | |
Choices made in a moment reverberate for generations, despite best intentions. Vanessa Chan adeptly explores this concept in her debut novel, “The Storm We Made” — a work of historical fiction set in her home country of Malaysia, which was inspired by stories her grandmother would tell. The main character is Cecily, a discontented housewife in 1930s Malaya, who is charmed into becoming a spy for the Japanese during the British occupation. She is increasingly disillusioned with the colonizing force and intrigued by a vision of “an Asia for Asians.” But her decisions ripple through the lives of her children in unforeseen and disastrous ways. Chan doesn’t judge. “Morality is very much dependent on circumstances,” the author tells host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. “You cannot tell when faced with survival whether or not you’ll be as heroic or as cowardly as you think you’re going to be.” Tune in this week for a warm conversation about roots, family lore and unanswered questions. “I wrote about the ambiguity of right and wrong when survival is at stake,” Chan says in her forward. “I wrote because, at the end of the day, remembering is how we love.” Guest:
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| 16 Feb 2024 | Memorable moments with women of faith | 00:52:14 | |
MPR News host Kerri Miller has never skirted the topic of faith. On her former weekday show, she regularly dialoged with leaders like Jenan Mohajir from Interfaith America, activist and author Anne Lamott, theologian Jemar Tisby, Sister Joan Chittister, and evangelical disrupter Rachel Held Evans. She even did a year-long series with women from a variety of faith backgrounds in 2019. So it seemed fitting, during the 2024 winter member drive, to return to this theme and remember a few of the best conversations. Included are portions of Miller’s recent discussion with Pastor Amy Butler, who penned the memoir, “Beautiful and Terrible Things;” Miller’s 2019 conversation with podcaster Misha Euceph about being Muslim in America; and a snippet of the 2023 Talking Volumes season finale with author Margaret Renkl about why Renkl left the Catholic church of her upbringing and found a new one in nature. | |||
| 23 Feb 2024 | Heather Cox Richardson on 'Democracy Awakening' | 00:51:20 | |
This week, Big Books and Bold Ideas is launching an election year series that asks: What is American democracy in 2024? Americans come to that question with significantly different views. And what American democracy was when this country was founded isn’t necessarily what it is today or what it will be in the future. Democracy is dynamic. Heather Cox Richardson spends a lot of time thinking about democracy. She’s a historian and the force behind the most popular newsletter on Substack, with more than 1.3 million subscribers. In 2023, she released her latest book, “Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America,” which is a reflection on the the evolution of American democracy. On this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, Richardson joined host Kerri Miller to parse the current condition of democracy in America and lay out how the system can be exploited by authoritarians or supported by the populace. Guest:
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| 01 Mar 2024 | A prescription to modernize public health | 00:51:30 | |
In many ways, the COVID-19 pandemic was public health’s finest hour. Millions of lives were saved, thanks to isolation measures. Vaccines were developed in record time. Systems were developed for contract tracing and testing. But it was also an apocalyptic moment for a system under strain. As a result, trust in doctors and scientists has plummeted. A recent Pew Research Center poll found that Americans who say they have a great deal of confidence in scientists dropped from 39 percent in 2020 to 23 percent in 2023. And that decline happened across party lines. What went wrong? How did public health officials alienate a populace they aimed to protect? Can an eroded sense of trust be restored? Dr. Sandro Galea, epidemiologist and dean at the Boston University School of Public Health, seeks to some of those questions in his new book "Within Reason: A Liberal Public Health for an Illiberal Time." Galea joined host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas to share his post-pandemic diagnosis and offer remedies for how public health can transcend absolutism and intolerance in order to promote well-being for all. Guest:
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| 08 Mar 2024 | Tommy Orange’s new ‘Wandering Stars’ traces a long trail of trauma and belonging | 00:49:17 | |
At the center of Tommy Orange’s new novel sits a family nearly destroyed. It’s suffering the long-term effects of government-ordered separation, from decades of displacement and neglect, and from the white American philosophy best summed up by the phrase: Kill the Indian, save the man. It’s a theme familiar to readers who loved Orange’s first novel, “There There.” In fact, “Wandering Stars” functions as both a prequel and a sequel to that best-seller. Orange joined MPR News Host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas to discuss how he weaves stories that are both historical and modern in an attempt to highlight the importance of family and honoring ancestors as a way to rebuild identity and belonging. Guest:
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| 15 Mar 2024 | How memory works | 01:04:10 | |
If you’ve ever struggled to remember where you set down your phone, or how you know the person you just ran into at the grocery store, you’re not alone. Everyday forgetfulness is a part of living — and of aging. But for neuroscientist Charan Ranganath, more compelling than what we remember is why we remember. “The human brain is not a memorization machine; it's a thinking machine,” he writes in his new book “Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory's Power to Hold on to What Matters.” Ranganath, a leading memory researcher, joined MPR News host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas to talk about how memory works (spoiler: we’re not designed to remember everything) and how it shapes who we are today. Guest:
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| 22 Mar 2024 | What the deepest ocean reveals and how to save it | 00:48:28 | |
What do you see, hear and experience when you drop miles into the deepest parts of the ocean? For journalist Susan Casey, it was transformative — even emotional. Her latest book, “The Underworld,” is a homage to the abyss and the scientists who explore it. She also describes her own dives in deep-sea submersibles, through the oceanic “twilight zone,” which is rich with bioluminescent creatures, down to depths of 5,000 meters, where utter darkness still teems with life. Casey joined MPR News host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas to share stories about her dives and what she experienced in the abyss. She also talked about how the deep submersible community reacted to the tragic end of the Oceangate Titan sub last summer (“people were watching the creation of that sub with real fear”) and warns of the growing interest in deep sea mining. Guest:
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| 29 Mar 2024 | Kao Kalia Yang channels her mother in the memoir ‘Where Rivers Part’ | 00:54:12 | |
When Kao Kalia Yang’s mother was a child growing up in Laos, she lived a comfortable life. Her father was a prosperous merchant. She was the only Hmong girl in the village to go to school. She felt valued. The war changed all that. Hunted by North Vietnamese soldiers, Yang’s maternal family had to flee into the jungle and live a desperate existence for years. Eventually, her mother met a boy also in hiding, and they married. She was 16. It was an extraordinary chapter in her mother’s remarkable life. Yet when Yang suggested that she record the full story, her mother doubted anyone would care. Thankfully, Yang persisted. Her new book, “Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother” is one attempt to capture the drama of her mother’s life. From a riverside village in Laos to a bleak refugee camp in Thailand to a new home in St. Paul, Yang tells the story through her mother’s eyes and captures the grief, determination and pride of the immigrant journey. Yang joined host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas to share what it was like to record the unvarnished truth of her mother’s life and why she couldn’t write this book until now. Guest:
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| 05 Apr 2024 | Can the fabric of a friendship be rewoven? | 00:51:30 | |
Myriam J. A. Chancy spent her childhood in Haiti and then moved with her family to Winnipeg. But those island roots shaped who she became and inspired her latest novel, “Village Weavers.” It follows a complicated female friendship that spans decades and countries. Growing up in 1940s Port-au-Prince, Gertie and Sisi are enthralled with each other — until their families discover a secret and force them apart. As girls, they didn’t understand why. But as they grow and weave in and out of each other’s lives, the secrets and lies become a burden to great to carry. Chancy joined host Kerri Miller for this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas to talk about the grief of a ruptured friendship, the love of ancestral lands and how Haiti today bears both the scars and the hopes of its past. Guest:
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| 12 Apr 2024 | The feminists who built America | 00:54:02 | |
Americans overwhelmingly support gender equality. But not as many see themselves as feminists. Elizabeth Cobbs says that’s because we don’t know our history. Her latest book, “Fearless Women,” chronicles how the fight for women’s rights began at the founding of our country, when Abigail Adams urged her husband to “remember the ladies” (and her plea was met with laughter), and continues through today. Cobbs argues that women’s rights and democracy itself are intertwined, that as rights were afforded to women, the country itself became stronger. Each chapter of “Fearless Women” tells the story of women who fought for a new right: the right to learn, the right to speak in public, the right to own property, and the right to vote, among others. It is a timeline of feminism in America. This week, Cobbs joined host Kerri Miller on Big Books and Bold Ideas to talk about the freedom inherent in feminism, why it’s not partisan — despite what some insist — and why many of the women she wrote about in her book have been overlooked by history. Guest:
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| 19 Apr 2024 | Don Winslow’s final chapter as a novelist | 00:51:32 | |
Danny Ryan doesn’t see himself as ambitious — which is surprising, seeing as he’s both stolen and made millions. But in his mind, he’s just an average guy trying to survive in a world that would rather he not. Ryan is the central character of Don Winslow’s sweeping crime trilogy that draws parallels to movies like “The Godfather” and “Goodfellas.” Readers first met Ryan as a mid-level Irish-American mobster in New England in “City on Fire,” which came out in 2022. One year later, Winslow released “City on Dreams,” which follows Ryan to Hollywood. And now, in 2024, Ryan is a Las Vegas casino mogul struggling to leave his life of crime in “City in Ruins.” It brings both the series and Winslow’s writing career to a close. But not before he joins host Kerri Miller one more time on Big Books and Bold Ideas. Don’t miss this warm and intimate conversation that pulls at the fascinating threads of Winslow’s past — including his years spent as a Shakespeare director at Oxford, his stint as a private investigator and his abiding love of Africa. They also talk about how surfing taught Winslow to trust the writing process, why it took him 30 years to write the Danny Ryan series, and why he is confident that “City in Ruins” is his last book. Guest:
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| 26 Apr 2024 | Alexandra Fuller on ‘the braid, the spiral, the knot of grief’ | 00:58:07 | |
Alexandra Fuller’s new memoir begins with the death of her 21-year-old son, Fi, and chronicles her attempts to grieve well in the searing aftermath of his loss. Among other things, that meant acknowledging her kinship with others who had gone before her. In her gorgeous new book, “Fi: A Memoir of My Son,” she writes: “The way a pilot sees wind and clouds, or a sailor reads currents and water, I look unconsciously for stories to remind me where I am, to remind me that, whatever I’m going through, millions have been here before, are here now, will be here again.” She talks about finding solace in that continuity on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. As she tells host Kerri Miller: “As I was running to my son’s body … I knew that I would be ‘over the grief’ when I was able to find gratitude for the grief. I knew I would find out the quality of my God, for real. And I knew I had joined the vast throng of women who had raised me on the Southern African continent who had been here before.” Don’t miss this thoughtful, tender and vulnerable conversation about non-linear grief — grief that is “a braid and a spiral and a knot.” Guest:
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