Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller

Minnesota Public Radio

4.4 (188)
BOOKS
UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Where Readers Meet Writers. Conversations on books and ideas, Fridays at 11 a.m.

6 DAYS AGO

Richard Powers brings to life the death of the world’s oceans in ‘Playground’

In his 2019 Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, “The Overstory,” Richard Powers imagines a world where only a few acres of virgin forest remain on the continent. A group of strangers band together to protect those few remaining trees, and in the process, discover the trees are communicating with each other. Powers’ new novel, “Playground,” turns the same eye to the planet’s oceans. As he tells Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, his hope is that the power of storytelling will animate humans to behold the sea with fresh wonder — and act to preserve it before it’s too late. “These last three novels of mine are attempts to find ways of telling stories that challenge that separateness or sense of entitlement,” he says, “that sense that we are the essential and perhaps the only interesting game in town and that everything else is a resource for our project.” Guest: Richard Powers is the author of fourteen novels, including “The Overstory,” “Bewilderment” and “Orfeo.” His new book is “Playground.” Subscribe to Big Books and Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS or anywhere you get your podcasts. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.

51 min
NOV 1

Talking Volumes: Kate DiCamillo

Beloved children’s author Kate DiCamillo published three new books this year: “Ferris,” “Orris and Timble: The Beginning,” and “The Hotel Balzaar.” She has two more coming next year — plus 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of the book that started it all, “Because of Winn-Dixie.” She is a prolific writer, a lifelong reader and a delightful human. Which made her the perfect guest to close out Talking Volumes celebratory 25th season on Tuesday, Oct. 29. Talking Volumes: Kate DiCamillo No stranger to the stage at the Fitzgerald Theater, DiCamillo came with stories and quips. She and host Kerri Miller talked about the impact of Winn-Dixie on DiCamillo’s life, what she knows now that she didn’t know then, and how stories can change your life. It was an evening full of wonder and laughter. Singer-songwriter Humbird was the special musical guest. Click here.

1h 48m
OCT 25

Unsung Americans with Minnesota‘s own Sharon McMahon

You might know Katharine Lee Bates wrote the poem that eventually became the song, “America the Beautiful,” after she visited the top of Pike’s Peak in Colorado and was overcome by its beauty. But did you know she grew up a precocious youngest child in a family that struggled after the death of her father? And that she was a budding feminist who chafed at menial tasks like sewing and wished for nothing more than to be a scholar? And did you know she was only ever paid $5 for the song that would become America’s unofficial national anthem? It’s another example of an ordinary person whose contributions to our country’s legacy are extraordinary. That’s a class of people government teacher Sharon McMahon finds especially compelling. In her new book, “The Small and Mighty,” she highlights unsung Americans who changed history but didn’t make it into the textbooks (often, “because they weren’t a white man,” she reminds her readers). It’s a take fans of her podcast, “Here’s Where It Gets Interesting,” will find familiar. A former government and law teacher, McMahon lives in Duluth. But she burst onto the national stage in 2020 when she took to Instagram to combat misinformation she saw swirling on social media after the election. Her direct yet amiable style garnered her account, @sharonsaysso, more than a million followers, who now look to her for historical and current event facts and context. This week on Big Books and Bold Ideas, McMahon joins host Kerri Miller to talk about “The Small and the Mighty,” why history matters more than ever, and how her belief in everyday Americans influencing democracy animates all her work.

57 min
OCT 18

American democracy requires that we ’be architects, not arsonists’

As we approach Election Day, Big Books and Bold Ideas returns to our Americans and Democracy series. Here are some of the question we’re confronting. How nimble and flexible and resilient is our democracy? What is required of Americans to build and support a healthy democracy? Do we still want it? Eboo Patel writes in his book, “We Need to Build,” that a fresh manifesto for a new era in America could sound like this: “We, the varied peoples of a nation struggling to be reborn, are defeating the things we don’t like by building the things we do.” It’s a realistic but hopeful take from a man who is considered by many to be an expert on how to tolerate and even celebrate differences in a pluralistic society. During his conversation with host Kerri Miller, Patel admits he was a fire-breathing activist when he was young, more inclined to burn the whole system down. But after years of working with Americans of different beliefs, he says, he has come to value being more of “an architect than an arsonist.” “You don’t create societies by burning things down,” he says. “You create societies by building things.” It’s a provocative, thoughtful and inspiring discussion that will linger long past the results of this election. Guest: Eboo Patel is the founder and president of Interfaith America, an organization that supports religious diversity. His most recent book is “We Need to Build: Field Notes for a Diverse Democracy.”

52 min
OCT 11

Novelist Kevin Barry writes an Irish western with ‘The Heart in Winter’

It’s a winter night when we first meet Tom Rourke. He’s penning love letters, preening in mirrors, pushing dope, partaking of booze, singing and flirting and fighting. It's just another night in Butte, Montana, for the feckless young Irishman. And no one writes the Irish quite like Kevin Barry. Barry’s new novel, “The Heart in Winter,” is his first set in America. But true to form, it features the Irish. That’s because, in the 1890s, Irish immigrants by the thousands descended upon the tiny frontier town of Butte to work the copper mines — a historical nugget Barry learned in 1999. 'The mind of Irish author' Kevin Barry lives in a hilariously malevolent world As he told host Kerri Miller, at the time, he thought to himself: “My God, this is a Western but it's a Western with County Cork accents. I’m in. This is my book.” He immediately hopped on a plane to Montana, where he was welcomed warmly. Butte remains proud of its Irish heritage. And he went back to Ireland and wrote something like 100,000 words. But, he said, “I knew even as I was writing it, it was all dead on the page. It just wasn't coming to life for me, because I didn't have the characters yet. I didn’t have the people of the novel yet, and those took their sweet time. It took another 22 years and six books later before my characters finally appeared to me.” What finally appeared on the page was a savagely funny and romantic tale of two young lovers on the run from a cuckolded husband’s goons. On this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, Barry joins Miller to talk about the entwined histories of America and Ireland and how he deftly uses comedy to combat a sense of fatalism. He also shares his experience narrating his own audiobooks, which he finds crucial for refining his stories. Guest: Kevin Barry is the author of many books, including “Night Boat to Tangier” and “Beatlebone.” His new novel is “The Heart in Winter.” Subscribe to Big Books and Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS or anywhere you get your podcasts. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.

30 min
OCT 4

Talking Volumes: Louise Erdrich on ‘The Mighty Red’

Louise Erdrich is, without a doubt, a beloved writer. The Minnesota Native American author has won nearly every literary award out there — including a Pulitzer for “The Night Watchman” and a National Book Award for “The Round House” — and her stories captivate, haunt and delight millions of devoted readers. She can accept the praise. But the title beloved? She’s not into it. That’s just one of the many stories that unspooled over the course of Erdrich’s conversation Tuesday night on stage with MPR News host Kerri Miller for Talking Volumes. Talking Volumes: Louise Erdrich on ‘The Mighty Red’ Talking Volumes: Louise Erdrich In front of a sold-out crowd, Erdrich talked about how growing up in the Red River Valley — where her new novel, “The Mighty Red,” is set — shaped her, why writing villains is a particular kind of torture and how the relatable and generous relationship between Crystal and Kismet in “The Mighty Red” was influenced by her own experience raising four daughters. And oh yes. Why she squirms at “beloved.” It’s a funny, surprising, candid and warm conversation, the third in the 2024 Talking Volumes season. Powwow singer Joe Rainey was the musical guest. There’s one Talking Volumes event left: Another Minnesota author, Kate DiCamillo, will join Miller on Oct. 29 for the finale of the 25th anniversary season. Tickets are available here.

1h 31m
SEP 27

Talking Volumes: Alice Hoffman on ’When We Flew Away’

Novelist Alice Hoffman’s new middle grade book, “When We Flew Away,” imagines Anne Frank’s life before her family was forced into hiding. She joined MPR News host Kerri Miller on stage for Talking Volumes to talk about the emotional arc of re-creating Frank’s too-short life.

1h 16m
SEP 24

Rural Voice: How rural communities thrive as immigrants put down roots

Immigration is a hot topic this election year, and many Minnesota communities are asking questions about how to face the challenges and opportunities immigrants bring. That’s why MPR News host Kerri Miller traveled to Worthington for the final Rural Voice town hall of the 2024 season. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Nobles County, where Worthington is located, is Minnesota’s most rapidly diversifying county. In 2020, the county’s population was 43 percent people of color, up from two-thirds white in 2010. Much of that diversity comes from immigrants who move to southwest Minnesota for job opportunities. And while there have been setbacks, Worthington has worked hard to incorporate the new residents into their community. Rural Voice in Worthington What have Worthington residents learned? How can other rural communities ensure everyone thrives as immigrants put down roots? That was the topic of lively discussion at the Rural Voice town hall, held at Forbidden Barrel Brewing Company on Thursday night. Leaders from Worthington’s various immigrant communities shared what’s worked — and what hasn’t. And longtime Worthington residents discussed how the community has made conscious efforts to be welcoming and inclusive — while admitting they still have work to do. Rural Voice in Worthington If you missed any of the other Rural Voice discussions, you can find them all on the MPR News website. The season kicked off at the State Fair, where rural community leaders pondered the challenges and rewards of living in rural Minnesota. Miller then traveled to Red Wing to talk about how to grow civic-minded communities and to Detroit Lakes to discuss conservation-driven agriculture. The season finished in Worthington.

1h 11m

See All (157)

4.4

out of 5

188 Ratings

Informative and a joy to listen to

09/21/2017

Thunderforge

The topics are varied, the guests are wonderful, and the callers provide new perspectives that expand the discussion. A wonderful podcast for anyone who wants to expand their understanding on complex ideas.
Happy to have this podcast

Feb 11

e85gal

I miss hearing Kerri Miller more often. And Tom Weber too. I do like Angela Davis’ show but also miss the former hosts.
Insightful and well read

11/09/2021

APFineday

Thanks so much for the insightful questions and conversation which are based on the perceptions of well read and thoughtful readers
defund MPR

07/22/2021

MnReview

biased leftist garbage, these democrat activists need to be defunded