All Episodes
Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller — 170 episodes
Author Edwidge Danticat examines what it means to live after trauma in 'Dèy'
A new coming-of-age novel by Chang-rae Lee examines how we become who we are
What makes something invasive? A new book explores that, and environmental loss
Paul Yoon's novel 'Etna' is told from a dog's point of view, thanks to Oscar
In search of true wilderness with Cal Flyn
Naturalist Robert Macfarlane on the wonder — and warning — of birds
Our road trip series concludes with 'The Last American Road Trip'
Lauren Hough road trips across America and finds a 'Monster of a Land'
Big Books and Bold Ideas hits the road. First stop: 'The Road to Tender Hearts'
The extraordinary American history behind the very first baseball All-Star Game
Aired grievances: Robert Parkinson on forefathers' frustrations in 'Tyrants and Rogues'
Emma Straub celebrates the pleasure of fandom in 'American Fantasy'
Maggie O'Farrell pulls from the mythology of her own family for 'Land'
Ann Patchett lauds the romance of friendship in 'Whistler'
Is Medea misunderstood?
Kate Bowler is not living her best life — and she's OK with that
Kelly Yang's 'The Take' is an anti-aging thriller
'Five Weeks in the Country' with Charles Dickens and Hans Christian Anderson
Family matters when it comes to books
Lush nature and fathomless loss coexist in 'Under Water'
In 'Good People,' the story depends on who's telling it
Minnesota bestseller Abby Jimenez on the sweet and spicy genre of romance
Tayari Jones on female friendships, divergent bonds and 'Kin'
Presidential historian Jeffrey Engel on executive power and the current state of democracy
Daisy Hernandez on the many layers of 'Citizenship'
Louise Erdrich seduces with 'Python's Kiss'
Looking for grace in ‘The Glorians’
How ancient stones helped megalith-hunter Fiona Robertson stay grounded through grief
Daniyal Mueenuddin pulls from his life for an upstairs-downstairs novel set in Pakistan
Between a rock and adulthood: Risk and reward in Gabriel Tallent's novel 'Crux'
Tracy K. Smith prescribes poetry as a balm to our wounds in 'Fear Less'
Cognitive scientist Maya Shankar on 'The Other Side of Change'
'Moby-Dick' is recast with a woman at its center in 'Call Me Ishmaelle'
A journalist uncovers her family secret: They were spies for the Nazis
An aspiring novelist faces off against a spiteful and famous author in 'The Award'
Made to mingle: Why your brain is happier with friends
Jen Hatmaker rises from the ashes in 'Awake'
The best and most surprising Big Book shows of 2025, part two
The best and most surprising Big Book shows of 2025, part one
The delight — and potential downfall — of the modern dictionary
Looking for a chill? 'The Unveiling' is spooky, discomforting literary horror
Catherine Newman’s witty, warm and wary Rocky returns in ‘Wreck’
Mary Lucia shares it all in 'What Doesn’t Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate To'
Talking Volumes: Kate Baer asks 'How About Now'
Oyinkan Braithwaite talks curses, karma and the power to change fate in 'Cursed Daughters'
The Minnesota author whose book inspired the movie 'Nuremberg'
John Grisham talks justice, his new book and why he doesn't write sex
Anna North's new novel sees an ancient body as sacred treasure in 'Bog Queen'
Talking Volumes: Misty Copeland on ballet, ‘Bunheads’ and what comes next
Kate DiCamillo marvels at 25 years of 'Because of Winn-Dixie'
Talking Volumes: Patricia Lockwood's new novel is a COVID-induced fever dream
Patrick Ryan's 'Buckeye' is a sweeping drama set in a small town in Ohio
Kerri Miller talks with David French about politics, democracy and 'the exhausted majority'
Journalist Brian Goldstone talks about America's homeless problem in his new book
Talking Volumes: Stacey Abrams talks about democracy, the power of of reading and her new novel, 'Coded Justice'
Mike Osterholm reflects on lessons from the pandemic in 'The Big One'
What being a mailman taught Stephen Grant about work, belonging and going the extra mile
Be there pirates? The true story of Capt. Kidd
‘A Marriage at Sea’ by Sophie Elmhirst
Vampires and a happy ending: Three Minnesota romance buffs discuss how the genre is changing
Lonely people find connection in ‘The Satisfaction Café’
New England noir chills and thrills in 'The House on Buzzards Bay'
Joy Harjo bends time with her poetry to honor her mother's death
A new cross-county memoir: ‘The Last American Road Trip’
The shadow fighters of the Civil War
'Behind the Red Velvet Curtain'
In ‘Sleep,’ Honor Jones examines the paradox of parenthood
Neuroscientist Emily Falk links choice to change in ‘What We Value’
Amanda Nguyen shares how her sexual assault propelled her to activism in new book
‘Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine’ talks about bars, the blues and belonging
Karen Russell blends history and fantasy in her new novel
Shigehiro Oishi says a ‘psychologically rich life’ is important to consider in his new book
Talking Volumes: Peter Geye on ‘A Lesser Light’
What our 'good boys' can teach us about living a good life
‘Fewer Rules, Better People: The Case for Discretion’
Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein’s new book looks at ‘failed liberal policies‘
Eric Puchner’s new novel circles around a love triangle that spans a lifetime
Chris Bohjalian's new novel about the Civil War sees the humanity in our enemies
When the world is underwater, what will we save? A new dystopian novel explores the answer
This author witnessed South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation hearings. Years later, she wrote about it
'The Trouble of Color: An American Family Memoir'
Health psychologist explains how to change your mindset and embrace winter in new book
Novelist Geraldine Brooks reflects on the abrupt loss of her husband in her new memoir
Lindsay Chervinsky’s new book ‘Making the Presidency’ teaches us about the past and present
Valentine’s Day special: Unpacking all kinds of love in literature
Fabienne Josaphat’s ‘Kingdom of No Tomorrow’ explores gender equality in the Black Panthers
In her new memoir, Sarah Hoover offers an unflinching take on the first year of motherhood
Histories collide at the dawning of a new age in ’The New Internationals’
On the brink of the inauguration, historians reflect on America's trajectory
Naturalist Robin Wall Kimmerer on her new book, ‘The Serviceberry’
Why some college students aren’t reading books
Christopher Bollen unleashes ‘Havoc’ with his new thriller
A bereaved single father navigates a new path forward in ‘I Will Do Better’
In her new book, journalist Brigid Schulte asks what if work wasn’t such a grind?
The gut's curious history
Dr. Marty Makary on medicine's blind spots
Helen Scales advocates for the ocean in ‘What the Wild Sea Can Be’
Richard Powers brings to life the death of the world’s oceans in ‘Playground’
Talking Volumes: Kate DiCamillo
Unsung Americans with Minnesota‘s own Sharon McMahon
American democracy requires that we ’be architects, not arsonists’
Novelist Kevin Barry writes an Irish western with ‘The Heart in Winter’
Talking Volumes: Louise Erdrich on ‘The Mighty Red’
Talking Volumes: Alice Hoffman on ’When We Flew Away’
Rural Voice: How rural communities thrive as immigrants put down roots
Talking Volumes: Edwidge Danticat on ‘We’re Alone’
Rural Voice: How to sustainably grow regenerative agriculture in rural Minnesota
William Moyers shares his journey to sobriety in new memoir
Rural Voice: How to build more civic-minded communities
Margaret Renkl on ‘The Comfort of Crows’
Rural Voice at the Minnesota State Fair
Jo Hamya ambushes everyone in ‘The Hypocrite’
How to defeat 'The Age of Grievance'
Author A.J. Jacobs attempts a year of living constitutionally
‘Grown Women’ tackles the complicated wounds in mother-daughter relationships
Claire Messud’s new novel in inspired by her own family’s history
‘Get Out’ meets ‘The Stepford Wives’ in Nicola Yoon’s new thriller
Rachel Khong’s ‘Real Americans’
The shadow fighters of the Civil War
Minnesota author Tai Coleman on families, hope and surviving America while Black
Can you create your own luck?
Samira Ahmed on ‘This Book Won't Burn’
Talking Volumes: Leif Enger on ‘I Cheerfully Refuse’
Alua Arthur says facing death is the key to living well
Lea Carpenter explores what happens when the business of spying gets personal
Lydia Millet writes a devotion to the species disappearing from our planet
Minnesota’s best writers on Big Books and Bold Ideas
Author Jamie Figueroa on reclaiming an identity her mother tried to shed
Alexandra Fuller on ‘the braid, the spiral, the knot of grief’
Don Winslow’s final chapter as a novelist
The feminists who built America
Can the fabric of a friendship be rewoven?
Kao Kalia Yang channels her mother in the memoir ‘Where Rivers Part’
What the deepest ocean reveals and how to save it
How memory works
Tommy Orange’s new ‘Wandering Stars’ traces a long trail of trauma and belonging
A prescription to modernize public health
Heather Cox Richardson on 'Democracy Awakening'
Memorable moments with women of faith
Family lore becomes rich historical fiction in 'The Storm We Made'
How women of the CIA changed history
Tracy K. Smith delivers a plea for the American soul
Can higher education be saved from itself?
The inside story of the government’s search for alien life
Three historians and authors reflect on this American moment
How a pastor's faith survived 'Beautiful and Terrible Things'
Can a 5,000-mile journey help a mother and son survive their differences?
Poet Major Jackson on writing poetry that connects
Rethinking roads
Decoding the 'familect'
Safiya Sinclair liberates herself in 'How to Say Babylon'
Kerri Miller and two book lovers share their favorite books of 2023
Tour the galaxy with the 'Bad Astronomer'
Talking Volumes: Margaret Renkl on 'The Comfort of Crows'
A hard look at gun violence in 'The Bodies Keep Coming'
Talking Volumes: Viet Thanh Nguyen on being 'A Man of Two Faces'
'Land of Milk and Honey' depicts a future without the pleasure of food
Talking Volumes: Ann Patchett on 'Tom Lake'
A young girl runs from Jamestown in Lauren Groff's new book, 'The Vaster Wilds'
Talking Volumes: Abraham Verghese on 'Covenant of Water'
Healing from trauma in the northern Wisconsin woods
Minnesota novelist Julie Schumacher on 'The English Experience'
Nostalgia becomes a weapon in the sci-fi thriller 'Prophet'
Novel asks: ‘What if your two favorite people hate each other with a passion?’
Christian Cooper on what it means to be a Black man in the natural world
Minnesota's supper clubs set the table for a delicious family drama
Luis Urrea's new novel is inspired by his mother's wartime experiences
In 'Shy,' a troubled teenage boy gets a last chance
'Of White Ashes' brings the WWII Japanese-American experience to life
Rachel Louise Snyder's memoir is as beautifully complex as her life.