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Talking Volumes

Talking Volumes is an annual event series featuring notable authors in conversation about their new books. Presented by MPR News and The Minnesota Star Tribune. 

A Muslim in rural Minnesota talks about how to 'Love Thy Neighbor'
After Donald Trump's election, Dr. Ayaz Virji started giving talks to mostly white, Christian audiences in rural Minnesota to try to dispel misconceptions about Muslims. He faced a lot of backlash.
'Angola Janga' tells the story of Brazil's runaway slave communities
Marcelo D'Salete's powerful graphic novel chronicles the mocambos, communities of runaway slaves that flourished in the jungles of 17th century Brazil, and all the lives they touched, slave and free.
An 'absolutely wonderful' novel of hidden identities
"The Elegance of the Hedgehog" follows two characters in a fancy French apartment building who keep their true selves hidden.
'Recursion' is a puzzle box of time travel, memory and death
Blake Crouch's new book reads like a relative of those late night college conversations about Big Questions. Here, the question is, if you could live your life over again, but differently, would you?
A very happy 50th birthday to 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'
Will author and artist Eric Carle's famously peckish creation be munching his way through some birthday cake? (Along with the salami, the pickle, the watermelon and the slice of Swiss cheese.)
'Unraveling' sings a cohesive, unsettling song
Brian Evenson's new collection brings together stories that have appeared in literary fiction, speculative fiction and horror publications -- and yet they flow together into a disturbing whole.
Intelligence Squared: Should you love your enemies?
Think about your most deeply held political belief. Could you love someone who adamantly and passionately disagreed with it? In this special episode, host John Donvan sits down with Arthur Brooks, one of America's leading political thinkers, to discuss a bold premise: loving your enemies.