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Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller

Minnesota Public Radio

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

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01:01:30

What being a mailman taught Stephen Grant about work,...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/08/29

Stephen Grant was laid off from his job at a boutique marketing agency in March 2020, right when COVID took the world hostage. Newly diagnosed with cancer, he needed health insurance, fast — plus, he was the primary financial supporter of his wife and daughters. Which is how he found himself becoming a mail carrier, back in his hometown in rural Appalachia. It was a tough transition. Grant was bad at his job — “deeply incompetent,” he writes in his new memoir, “Mailman.” He is shaken by his

00:53:24

Be there pirates? The true story of Capt. Kidd

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/08/22

In the seas off Madagascar, Nova Scotia and even Connecticut, the siren call of buried riches has lured treasure hunters and adventurers over many a century. Many seek the wealth Capt. Kidd accrued during years of pirating and then had to hide when his arrest was imminent. In popular lore, Capt. Kidd’s name is synonymous with the fearsome, ruthless privateers of the pirate age. But the truth about William Kidd is more nuanced — and interesting. Historian Samuel Marquis, who is also William

00:54:54

‘A Marriage at Sea’ by Sophie Elmhirst

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/08/15

Maralyn and Maurice Bailey were always a little unconventional. Maurice was a loner, precise. Maralyn was extroverted and energetic. But when they married in the 1960s, they both felt they had found their person. Together, they dreamed of running away from their ordinary lives — of selling everything and sailing the world. And in 1972, they made it happen. They set course for a fresh start in New Zealand and left England in a 31-foot yacht. All went well until they reached the Pacific,

00:57:36

Vampires and a happy ending: Three Minnesota romance...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/08/08

If you’re a romance reader, you won’t be surprised to hear that romance is the biggest genre in publishing. Nearly 40 million romance novels were sold in 2024. Books range from flirty (fade to black) to downright steamy (open door), with myriads of subgenres and tropes to choose from. (Rom-com! Paranormal romance! Historical fiction!)So this week, Big Books and Bold Ideas host Kerri Miller sits down with three Minnesota romance experts to talk about romance writing and reading today. She

00:51:33

Lonely people find connection in ‘The Satisfaction Café’

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/08/01

Is loneliness something that happens when you’re not looking? And if so, could meaningful connection be found in a simple but purposeful café, where the lonesome are paired with the perfect partners for deep conversation? That’s the fantasy at the heart of Kathy Wang’s new novel, “The Satisfaction Café.” It follows Joan who starts the book as a Chinese graduate students in California in the 1970s. But her life quickly turns, as revealed on page one, when Wang writes: “Joan had not thought

00:51:22

New England noir chills and thrills in 'The House on...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/07/25

The setting for Dwyer Murphy’s new book, “The House on Buzzards Bay,” is classic New England noir: A large and ancient house along the coast is inherited by protagonist Jim, who decides to use it to host his college friends for a summer reunion, hoping to reignite their bonds. But nothing is quite as it seems.Both the house and the group are out of sorts. One friend mysteriously disappears. The town deals with a series of break-ins. Jim starts to feel like the energy in the house is off —

00:49:53

Joy Harjo bends time with her poetry to honor her...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/07/18

Honoring the dead by washing the body is a ritual nearly as old as humankind. Jews observe taharah, rooting the practice in Ecclesiastes: “As we come forth, so we shall return.” In Islamic tradition, washing the deceased as an act of devotion and love.Joy Harjo, former poet laureate and citizen of the Muscogee Nation, expected to honor her mother’s death and life by washing her body, but as she reveals in the introduction to her new book, the ritual didn’t happen — leaving her to wander

00:50:45

A new cross-county memoir: ‘The Last American Road Trip’

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/07/11

When Sarah Kendzior packs up her family for a road trip across America, she makes sure her kids keep their eyes wide open. She wants them to see this country’s wonders and its flaws. Her new memoir, “The Last American Road Trip,” recounts the dozens of drives they’ve taken since 2016. They leave their home in Missouri and crisscross the country, even as earth-shaking events remake it. Along the way, she disentangles venerated American ideals from the mythology of American exceptionalism

00:51:32

The shadow fighters of the Civil War

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/07/04

To mark Independence Day, Big Books and Bold Ideas is airing an encore presentation of Kerri Miller’s conversation with historian Patrick O’Donnell about his 2024 book, “The Unvanquished.”The Civil War is remembered for its sweeping battles: Gettysburg, Atlanta, Antietam. Less known are the small troops of men, enlisted by both sides, to fight far from the battlefields.These ruthless soldiers relied on stealth to sneak behind enemy lines — often wearing their opponent’s uniform — and

00:55:25

'Behind the Red Velvet Curtain'

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/06/27

Joy Womack made history when she became the first American to join Russia’s famed Bolshoi Ballet Theater. But getting there was a journey that took a grueling physical and emotional toll. Her new memoir, “Behind the Velvet Red Curtain,” written with MPR News journalist Elizabeth Shockman, is an intimate retelling of what happened when Womack moved to Moscow at age 15 to train under Russian greats and immersed herself in ruthless competition, obsessive training and tenacity in the face of

00:50:48

In ‘Sleep,’ Honor Jones examines the paradox of...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/06/20

Honor Jones’ debut novel, “Sleep,” begins in the damp undergrowth of a blackberry bush, where main character Margaret is playing a game. It’s a quintessential childhood moment that ends with trauma that marks her forever. But like many kids, Margaret doesn’t quite know how to hold this painful thing, and the adults in her life are no help. So she stuffs it and believes it will stay buried, where it can harm no one.And then she becomes a mother. Jones asks many psychological questions in

00:51:34

Neuroscientist Emily Falk links choice to change in...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/06/13

If you’ve spent time this week doomscrolling on your phone — even though you know it’s not good for you, that it ramps up anxiety and you’d be better off taking a walk or just going to bed — Emily Falk’s new book is for you. “What We Value” is a peek behind the mental curtain. Why do our brains intend one thing and do another? Why is lasting change, even desired change, so hard? Neuroscientist Falk says it’s because our gray matter is silently making value calculations, which don’t always

00:51:18

Amanda Nguyen shares how her sexual assault propelled...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/06/06

Amanda Nguyen was aiming for the stars when she was accepted as a student at Harvard. She dreamed of becoming an astronaut. But in her senior year of college, she was raped. That propelled her into a public role as activist to change an infuriating gap in the law when it comes to rape survivors. “When I found out that my rape kit could be destroyed, untested, in six months — even if the statue of limitations was 15 years — I felt like that was against everything I was taught about the

00:51:51

‘Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine’ talks about bars,...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/05/30

A neighborhood bar is a peculiar thing. The people who frequent it develop a rapport, a kind of familiarity that makes them feel ownership. But time rolls on, and no place is untouched by the changes it brings — not the bar nor the people in it. Texas native Callie Collins knows a thing or two about bars. That’s why she set her newest novel, “Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine,” in an Austin saloon, circa 1970s Texas. The story unfolds from three different viewpoints: the lead guitarist of

00:55:15

Karen Russell blends history and fantasy in her new...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/05/22

How do you carry someone else’s memory — both in body and in mind? The prairie witch in Karen Russell’s fantastical new novel, “The Antidote,” describes it as a pressure and a weight. She has the ability to receive the memories of her fellow citizens in a small failing town in Nebraska, which offers relief to anyone who feels like their pasts are too heavy to bear. “Whatever they can’t stand to know,” she says, “the memories that make them chase impossible dreams, that make them sick with

00:37:00

Shigehiro Oishi says a ‘psychologically rich life’ is...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/05/16

For many people, a good life is a stable life — a life that’s predictable and filled with purpose. For others, happiness the point. They embrace moments of bliss and satisfaction. But what about a life that’s focused on curiosity, exploration and a variety of experiences that broaden our world? University of Chicago psychology professor Shigehiro Oishi says that’s a psychologically rich life — and in his new book, “Life in Three Dimensions,” he argues that a psychological rich life is just

01:29:16

Talking Volumes: Peter Geye on ‘A Lesser Light’

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/05/08

“A Lesser Light” is Minnesota writer Peter Geye’s sixth novel, and he says he couldn’t have written it earlier in life. The story revolves around a cold and often hostile marriage. It’s 1910, and husband Theodulf is the newly commissioned caretaker of a grand lighthouse situated on the treacherous shore of Lake Superior. His new bride, Willa, has been forced into the marriage by her scheming mother after a family tragedy. The terrain is brooding, the climate unforgiving. Maybe no surprise,

00:52:57

What our 'good boys' can teach us about living a good...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/05/02

We could learn a lot from the good boys (and girls) in our life. That’s the main thesis of philosopher Mark Rowlands new book, “The Word of Dog.” He says out loud what many dog owners secretly wonder: Is my dog a better person than me? And while Rowlands certainly agrees that humans remain top of the intellectual pyramid, he does theorize that our canine companions inhabit the world in a uniquely uncomplicated way. “Although dogs have no idea what philosophy is,” he writes, “they live the

00:51:45

‘Fewer Rules, Better People: The Case for Discretion’

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/04/25

Rules are good. Discretion is better. So argues philosophy professor Barry Lam in his new book, “Fewer Rules, Better People.” While Lam acknowledges law as the backbone of society, he says America has forgotten the good of discretion. Be it a sports referee, a parent, a police officer or a prosecutor, decision makers need the freedom to exercise discernment about how the rules get applied. Lam joins Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas for a philosophical and practical

00:53:40

Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein’s new book looks at...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/04/18

“The story of America in the 21st century is the story of chosen scarcities.” So begins “Abundance,” the new book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson that has politicos abuzz. In it, they argue that progressives have created a culture of scarcity the last few decades, especially when it comes to solving America’s thorniest problem, like homelessness, housing affordability and green energy. The solution, they say, is to face up to the failures of liberal policies, no matter how well intended,

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Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller

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