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The Thread from MPR News

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'Dark Towers' exposes chaos and corruption at the bank that holds Trump's secrets
New York Times financial editor David Enrich details, in a new book, Deutsche Bank's quest to become the world's largest bank — and how its corporate culture led to countless scandals.
In 'Counterpoint' Bach helps an art critic mourn a mother whose criticism lingers
The Washington Post's Philip Kennicott suffered his mother's harsh words and actions throughout childhood. His book is partly a need to acknowledge her "sadness and anger and unaccountable rages."
Uber whistleblower takes on Silicon Valley, armed with Stoic philosophy
In 2017, Susan Fowler published a blog post that revealed Uber's misogynistic corporate culture — and helped change the world. In her memoir, she urges readers not to see her as a victim.
Minnesota photographer captures hockey rinks, the calm before the game
The pictures are just of the arena, without any skaters or crowds. “I wanted to show off the character of these places without people being distracted by people in the stands or what's going on in the game,” said Matthew Jasper. His new book, “Home Ice,” features 72 of the couple hundred ice rinks in Minnesota.
Author P. Carl on 'Becoming a Man'
For 50 years, author P. Carl lived as a girl and queer woman before transitioning to become a man. Carl joins us to discuss his experiences and what he’s learned about gender, masculinity and inequality in the United States along the way.
In 'The Only Child,' the thrills might be lost in translation
Mi-Ae Seo's novel has a great premise: “The Bad Seed” meets “The Silence of the Lambs.” But this tale of a psychologist and her creepy stepdaughter is hampered by its structure and stilted, strange prose.
'The Boatman's Daughter' dips her toes in horror, crime and poetry
Andy Davidson's novel follows a young girl who scrapes a living working for local criminals along an Arkansas river — but its crime story bumps up against horror in a strange yet seamless fashion.
Steve Inskeep on ‘Imperfect Union’
The NPR host’s new biography of Jessie and John Fremont details why one of America’s original power couples is still relevant to national politics today.