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Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller

Kerri Miller Podcast Tile
Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller
MPR News

Where readers meet writers, Fridays at 11 a.m. Listen live or stream later on your favorite podcast app.

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Books Coverage: The Thread | About: Kerri Miller

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Talking Volumes: Marlon James on his deeply personal novel ‘The Disappearers’

We launched our new season of Talking Volumes with a book that’s already been declared a masterpiece — Marlon James’ incredible new novel, “The Disappearers.”
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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A new coming-of-age novel by Chang-rae Lee examines how we become who we are

A new coming-of-age novel by Chang-rae Lee examines how we become who we are

There’s something about the first time you leave your parents for summer camp that changes everything. Chang-rae Lee’s new novel, “A Tender Age,” captures one boy’s passage from childhood to adolescence and asks questions about how we become who we are.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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What makes something invasive? A new book explores that, and environmental loss

What makes something invasive? A new book explores that, and environmental loss

A new book by science writer Amy Crawford examines what we call invasive. How do we decide that one plant or one animal is undesirable? It’s more random and less scientific than you might think.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Paul Yoon's novel 'Etna' is told from a dog's point of view, thanks to Oscar

Paul Yoon's novel 'Etna' is told from a dog's point of view, thanks to Oscar

Paul Yoon didn’t know it on the day he and his wife adopted Oscar, a yellow lab puppy, that his world would never be the same. His new novel, “Etna,” grew out of his love affair with his dog.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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In search of true wilderness with Cal Flyn

In search of true wilderness with Cal Flyn

The concept of wilderness is more controversial, more arbitrary and more philosophical than you might imagine. Journalist Cal Flynn pursues the true wild in her new book, “The Savage Landscape.”
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Naturalist Robert Macfarlane on the wonder — and warning — of birds

Naturalist Robert Macfarlane on the wonder — and warning — of birds

Birds are found on every continent on the planet. But their commonness betrays their miraculousness. In his beautiful new book, naturalist Robert Macfarlane, together with artist Jackie Morris, extols the wonder of birds, and laments their loss.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Our road trip series concludes with 'The Last American Road Trip'

Our road trip series concludes with 'The Last American Road Trip'

Sarah Kendzior wanted to show America to her young children. So she and her husband crisscrossed the country to visit national parks and historical sites, even as political upheaval and the pandemic remade the landscape. Her memoir, “The Last American Road Trip,” is the finale to our July road trip series.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Lauren Hough road trips across America and finds a 'Monster of a Land'

Lauren Hough road trips across America and finds a 'Monster of a Land'

If you don’t have an epic road trip planned this summer, come along with Lauren Hough. She drove 14,000 miles across America with her dog Woody Guthrie and wrote about what she saw in her new book, “Monster of a Land: On the Road in Search of a Modern America.”
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Why Americans are reading less — and how to pull out of the reading slump

Why Americans are reading less — and how to pull out of the reading slump

MPR News guest host Kerri Miller talks about what’s behind the decline in reading and why some people say it points to a fundamental shift in how we entertain ourselves, learn and think. Plus listeners share their summer “reach” books.
by Kerri Miller and Maja Beckstrom

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