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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.

arts books

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00:54:35

Tracy K. Smith prescribes poetry as a balm to our...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2026/02/20

When Tracy K. Smith was named U.S. Poet Laureate in 2017, the country was in a fragile place. In her new book, Smith writes that, by then, “we’d come to find ourselves in a climate of language — I’d call it a national vocabulary — grounded in fear, derision, and the notion of an intractably divided nation.”But Smith believes that poetry rises above the grim jargon. In “Fear Less: Poetry in Perilous Times,” she describes poetry as a vehicle equipped to transport us beyond facts and figures

00:48:32

Cognitive scientist Maya Shankar on 'The Other Side...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2026/02/13

Change is inevitable. But that doesn’t stop us from fearing it. We fear the uncertainty. We fear the pain. We fear who we might become. But cognitive scientist Maya Shankar says — while understandable — that’s the wrong posture. In her new book, “The Other Side of Change,” Shankar invites us to shift how we view life’s curve balls. What if curiosity was stronger than fear? What if we saw upheaval as an opportunity to reimagine ourselves? On this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, Shankar

00:53:48

'Moby-Dick' is recast with a woman at its center in...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2026/02/06

It takes courage to reimagine a classic. Xiaolu Guo was drawn to Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick,” from the first time she read it in her native Chinese. The writing was lyrical — hard to translate — and the descriptions of sailing were dense. But the symbolism of the great white whale and the sea-faring captain obsessed with revenge captivated her. Her new novel is a retelling of this classic with a young girl at its center. Protagonist Ishmaelle goes to sea, disguised as a boy, in a

00:52:27

A journalist uncovers her family secret: They were...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2026/01/30

“You have a good life,” her aunt said. “You don’t want to ruin it with the past.”Those words were deeply unsettling to journalist Christine Kuehn. She always suspected there was more to her paternal family history. Her father was kind but evasive, and her aunt flat out refused to discuss it. But no one would talk. Then she got a letter from a screenwriter who asked if her family could be the same Kuehns who spied on Pearl Harbor for the Nazis and shared intel with the Japanese. When she

00:56:46

An aspiring novelist faces off against a spiteful and...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2026/01/23

When an aspiring novelist moves into an apartment above a famous author, the younger writer thinks it’s a sign that literary stardom is right around the corner.He’s partly right. But his luck is about to turn in ways he can’t expect.Matthew Pearl, himself an award-winning author, writes what he knows in his new novel, “The Award” — which is why the book swerves into some wildly dark places. He returns to Big Books and Bold Ideas this week to talk with Kerri Miller about the absurdity of the

00:53:00

Made to mingle: Why your brain is happier with friends

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2026/01/16

When MPR News host Kerri Miller travels to small towns around Minnesota for her Rural Voice series, she hears over and over again about the crisis of loneliness and social isolation. People say that even in communities where they know everyone, it’s easy to feel adrift.It’s no surprise to neuroscientist Ben Rein, who studies the inner workings of the human brain. He writes in his new book that our brains have been shaped for social contact, both inside and out. When we don’t get enough

00:53:34

Jen Hatmaker rises from the ashes in 'Awake'

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2026/01/09

Only one day after Jen Hatmaker discovered her husband of 26 years was having an affair, her intuition lead her to dissolution, not restoration. In an early chapter of hew new memoir, Hatmaker writes: “What instinct drove me to an attorney instead of back to a marriage therapist? I was acting purely on intuition — which I only figured out later is the most trustworthy character in the play.” Learning to listen to and trust her “inner knowing” is just one powerful lesson Hatmaker learned in

00:51:34

The best and most surprising Big Book shows of 2025,...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2026/01/02

Big Books and Bold Ideas host Kerri Miller interviews a lot of authors over the course of a year. But some conversations stand out for being especially fascinating, delightfully fun or unexpectedly candid.Last week, we unveiled three of Miller’s top five favorites from 2025. This week, the final two — plus one surprise. 2025 Best Book Roundups MPR News staff picks The 43 best books MPR News staff read in 2025 From NPR Hunker down with these 13

00:50:30

The best and most surprising Big Book shows of 2025,...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/12/26

Big Books and Bold Ideas host Kerri Miller interviews a lot of authors over the course of a year. But some conversations stand out for being especially fascinating, delightfully fun or unexpectedly candid. So this week and next, Miller and producer Kelly Gordon share their favorite, most surprising shows from the last 12 months. This week’s conversations include authors: Sarah HooverCharles BockFabienne Josaphat Stay tuned for the final two favorites of 2025 — and a bonus surprise — next

00:50:40

The delight — and potential downfall — of the modern...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/12/19

Dictionary.com’s word of the year isn’t really a word — it’s a number that went viral on TikTok. The selection caused a ruckus among lexicographers. But editors argued that social media is a major force in creating new words these days, and the whole point of choosing a word of the year is to “reveal the stories we tell about ourselves and how we've changed.”It’s no surprise to author Stefan Fatsis, who chronicles the rise of the modern dictionary in his new book, “Unabridged: The Thrill of

00:51:02

Looking for a chill? 'The Unveiling' is spooky,...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/12/12

Bad omens abound. But it’s not enough to dissuade 13 tourists on a luxury cruise to Antarctica — including protagonist Striker, a Black film scout on the ship to search for a location to shoot a movie about Ernest Shackleton — from a kayak excursion on a chilly Christmas Eve. As the group paddles past towering icebergs and desolate landscapes, a sense of unease gives way to full on dread. And then it all goes terribly awry. “Antarctica is the land of illusion,” writes author Quan Barry

00:54:04

Catherine Newman’s witty, warm and wary Rocky returns...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/12/05

In Catherine Newman’s bestselling novel, “Sandwich,” main character Rachel (nicknamed Rocky), her unflappable husband and newly adult kids decamp to a ramshackle cottage in Cape Cod for a week of sprawling on the sand, late night swims and lazy mornings. Rocky’s aging parents join them halfway through. It sounds perfect — and in many ways, it is. But as anyone who’s ever take a family vacation knows, complicated feelings get stirred up when you spend 24 hours a day with the people you love

00:51:02

Mary Lucia shares it all in 'What Doesn’t Kill Me...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/11/28

For 17 years, Mary Lucia was the voice of The Current, MPR’s music-first radio station. Her afternoon drive shifts were beloved for their rock-and-roll vibes, unpredictable humor and human connection. But then a stalker exploited Lucia’s on-air vulnerability, and everything changed. In her new memoir, “What Doesn’t Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate To,” Lucia tells the full story of how she dealt with escalating harassment in private while she tried to maintain a very public

01:13:38

Talking Volumes: Kate Baer asks 'How About Now'

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/11/21

Kate Baer wore sequins to Talking Volumes.It was a fitting close to the 2025 season — and not-so-subtle reminder that today is all we are promised. Might as well wear the sequins. Talking Volumes: Kate Baer Baer’s latest book of poetry, “How About Now,” captures the mundane beauty of what it means to be a modern woman in midlife. She writes of shifting roles and shifting bodies, of the joy she finds in her family —

00:51:06

Oyinkan Braithwaite talks curses, karma and the power...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/11/14

Curses have long animated literature. Cassandra labors under a curse in “The Iliad.” Although her prophecies are true, she is never believed. Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” endure the curse of a tragic fate, predetermined, in part, because their families despise each another. In Oyinkan Braithwaite’s long awaited second novel, “Cursed Daughters,” generation after generation of women are cursed to lose their true loves. This week on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Kerri Miller welcomes

00:54:40

The Minnesota author whose book inspired the movie...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/11/07

“Nuremberg” opens in the spring of 1945. Hitler is dead. Many of his henchmen have died by suicide, have been arrested or have fled. The world is just beginning to grapple with the horrors committed by the Third Reich. Hermann Göring, Hitler’s second in command, is arrested by American troops in Austria, who discover him heading west in a convoy of family and friends. Ostensibly, he intends to surrender to the Allies. The film tells the story of the American lead prosecutor, Robert

01:42:59

John Grisham talks justice, his new book and why he...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/10/31

The Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul was packed with John Grisham fans on Thursday, Oct. 23, when the prolific author made his debut at Talking Volumes. Host Kerri Miller started the night by asking the audience and then Grisham himself to confirm or deny a series of facts. Does Grisham breed champion sheepdogs at his home in Virginia? Has he been knighted? Does he write a sizzling sex scene for each of his books, just to prove that he can — only to take it out before he sends the manuscript

00:53:46

Anna North's new novel sees an ancient body as sacred...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/10/24

The two women at the center of Anna North’s new novel, “Bog Queen,” are separated by time but inexorably bound. One is a druid who lived during the Iron Age. The other is the modern forensic scientist who is called upon to investigate the druid’s perfectly preserved body after it is unearthed from a British bog. Agnes is drawn to the mystery and even sacredness of her work. Who was this woman, and how is her body still telling her story? But it is, as we say today, complicated. Should

01:24:56

Talking Volumes: Misty Copeland on ballet, ‘Bunheads’...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/10/17

Even before Misty Copeland became the first Black woman to be named a principal dancer at the illustrious American Ballet Theatre, she electrified the world of ballet. A prodigy who didn’t start dancing until she was 13, she grew up in a transient and often chaotic home. But after she was discovered in a Boys & Girls Club in Los Angeles by a ballet teacher who wanted to expose more kids to the art form, she quickly shot into the national spotlight. As a teen, she studied at the

00:41:06

Kate DiCamillo marvels at 25 years of 'Because of...

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller ·

2025/10/10

Twenty-five years ago this fall, a generation of readers met 10-year-old India Opal Buloni and her loveable, scruffy dog, Winn-Dixie — so named because Opal found the canine while he was causing chaos in the produce aisle of the local grocery store.Winn-Dixie transformed Opal’s life, as only a dog can do. And their story changed those who read it, as only a book can do.“Because of Winn-Dixie” received a Newbery Honor the year it was published — a significant award for a debut children’s

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