Reader's Corner

Bob Kustra
  • 4.4 (33)
  • Books
  • Updated Biweekly

Welcome to Reader's Corner, a weekly radio show hosted by Boise State University president emeritus Bob Kustra that features lively conversations with some of the nation's leading authors about issues and ideas that matter today. Make a donation to support the Readers Corner podcast today.

  1. 2d ago

    Encore: A Conspiratorial Life: Robert Welch, the John Birch Society, and the Revolution of American Conservatism by Edward H. Miller

    The first full-scale biography of Robert Welch, who founded the John Birch Society and planted some of modern conservatism’s most insidious seeds. Though you may not know his name, Robert Welch (1899-1985)—founder of the John Birch Society—is easily one of the most significant architects of our current political moment. In A Conspiratorial Life, the first full-scale biography of Welch, Edward H. Miller delves deep into the life of an overlooked figure whose ideas nevertheless reshaped the American right.

  2. Sep 19

    "Escape from Kabul: The Afghan Women Judges Who Fled the Taliban and Those They Left Behind" by Karen Bartlett

    "Escape from Kabul: The Afghan Women Judges Who Fled the Taliban and Those They Left Behind" by Karen Bartlett

  3. Sep 12

    "The Return of the Oystercatcher: Saving Birds to Save the Planet" by Scott Weidensau

    The Return of the Oystercatcher by Scott Weidensau explores the recovery efforts that are not only preventing declines in bird population, but helping birds to thrive.

  4. Sep 5

    Encore: The Man Who Broke Capitalism by David Gelles

    New York Times reporter and "Corner Office" columnist David Gelles reveals legendary GE CEO Jack Welch to be the root of all that's wrong with capitalism today and offers advice on how we might right those wrongs.In 1981, Jack Welch took over General Electric and quickly rose to fame as the first celebrity CEO. He golfed with presidents, mingled with movie stars, and was idolized for growing GE into the most valuable company in the world. But Welch's achievements didn't stem from some greater intelligence or business prowess. Rather, they were the result of a sustained effort to push GE's stock price ever higher, often at the expense of workers, consumers, and innovation. In this captivating, revelatory book, David Gelles argues that Welch single-handedly ushered in a new, cutthroat era of American capitalism that continues to this day.

  5. Aug 29

    "The Closing of the Russian Mind: How Putin's Ideology Took the Nation Hostage," by Andrey Kolesnikov

    Our Dear Friends in Moscow follows a group of young Russians, part of an idealisticgeneration who came of age in Moscow at the end of the 20th century – the communist era had just imploded and an exciting and uncertain future lay ahead of them. Initially, the group enjoyed the freedoms of the new era, but the notion that Russia was destined to join the West, and Europe, in a new partnership began to fade.

  6. Aug 22

    "Korean Messiah: Kim Il Sung and the Christian Roots of North Korea's Personality Cult" by Jonathan Cheng

    For nearly eight decades, North Korea has marched defiantly to its own beat, shaking off its Soviet and Chinese sponsors to emerge as the world’s most enigmatic nation—a nuclear-armed state ruled by a dictatorial dynasty. Underpinning the state is a personality cult more soaked in religiosity than those constructed by Stalin or Mao—one that traces its roots back to the Christian fervor of post–Civil War America.

  7. Aug 15

    "Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom," by Ilyon Woo

    Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom is a 2023 non-fiction book by Ilyon Woo that examines the history of the escape of Ellen and William Craft, two 19th-century American abolitionists, from slavery.

  8. Aug 8

    "The Diversity Principle: The Story of a Transformative Idea" by David B. Oppenheimer

    The diversity principle – the idea that people with different backgrounds, identities, and viewpoints produce betterwork – was a core tenet of the first modern research university and the inspiration for John Stuart Mill’s classic treatise, On Liberty. But as a war on diversity upends government, corporate, and education policies, the history of the idea of diversity has never been more important.

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4.4
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About

Welcome to Reader's Corner, a weekly radio show hosted by Boise State University president emeritus Bob Kustra that features lively conversations with some of the nation's leading authors about issues and ideas that matter today. Make a donation to support the Readers Corner podcast today.

Information

  • Creator
    Bob Kustra
  • Years Active
    2006 - 2026
  • Episodes
    518
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Reader's Corner