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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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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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Big Books and Bold Ideas hits the road. First stop: 'The Road to Tender Hearts'

Big Books and Bold Ideas hits the road. First stop: 'The Road to Tender Hearts'

Big Books and Bold Ideas is embarking on a three-week virtual road trip, talking with authors who’ve written about this scenic, sometimes quirky and often eye-opening way to see America.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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The extraordinary American history behind the very first baseball All-Star Game

The extraordinary American history behind the very first baseball All-Star Game

When MLB’s All Stars take the field in Philadelphia next week, they’ll be carrying on the legacy of the very first “game of the century.” This week, Big Books and Bold Ideas continues its celebration of American history and culture with a look back at the extraordinary history surrounding the first All-Star Game, chronicled in journalist Randall Sullivan’s new book.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Aired grievances: Robert Parkinson on forefathers' frustrations in 'Tyrants and Rogues'

Aired grievances: Robert Parkinson on forefathers' frustrations in 'Tyrants and Rogues'

If you think we’re living in the age of grievance politics, have you seen the Declaration of Independence? Historian and professor Robert Parkinson takes a deep dive into the grievances of America’s forefathers, which he says gives us unique insight into who we were — and who we are today.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Emma Straub celebrates the pleasure of fandom in 'American Fantasy'

Emma Straub celebrates the pleasure of fandom in 'American Fantasy'

Come aboard the American Fantasy, where the (now middle-aged) fans of a (now middle-aged) boy band are congregating to celebrate the (mostly) uncomplicated joys of fandom. It’s a cruise — and a summer beach read — you don’t want to miss.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Ann Patchett lauds the romance of friendship in 'Whistler'

Ann Patchett lauds the romance of friendship in 'Whistler'

Ann Patchett returns to Big Books and Bold Ideas for a boisterous conversation with Kerri Miller about writing a novel within a novel, the romance of friendship and how Kate DiCamillo changed Patchett’s new novel, “Whistler.”
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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