Heavy snow and difficult travel expected again, heaviest snow in southern Minnesota

Here’s the MPR News programming plan for Friday, Dec. 5, on the radio and on 

. Missed a live show? Follow the links below to find our show archives and podcast feeds. And for daily news updates straight to your inbox every weekday morning, 

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The spotlight is on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as the country tries to understand a double boat strike in the Caribbean, and the Pentagon says Hegseth could have endangered troops with the Signal chat. Plus: President Trump spouts hateful language about Somalis, as an immigration crackdown rolls out in Minneapolis and New Orleans. It’s the Friday News Roundup: next time on 1A. 

New details emerge on the boat strikes in the Caribbean: who gave what orders?  This week on the Friday News Roundup, the world reacts to what’s happening with Venezuela. Plus: attempts at a peace deal for Ukraine fail, and what a one-way reopening of the Rafah crossing means for people in Gaza. Rounding up the news, next time on 1A.

11 a.m. —  Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller

Catherine Newman's witty, warm and wary Rocky returns in 'Wreck'

In Catherine Newman’s bestselling novel, “

,” 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 taken a family vacation knows, complicated feelings get stirred up when you spend 24 hours a day with the people you love the most. Rocky is devoted to her family, almost compulsively. She’s also super annoyed with them, thanks to the dark cloud of perimenopause that hangs over her every day. But that doesn’t stop her from gushing over them, from worrying about them, or from making countless hysterical observations about the achingly beautiful gift of life.

We get to revisit Rocky in Newman’s new novel, “

,” along with the rest of the crew (minus one). Like “Sandwich,” the title does double duty. “Wreck” is set two years after “Sandwich.” Rocky is navigating the chaos of adult children who move back home while also caring for her father, who temporarily resides under her roof. A growing awareness of mortality causes her to fixate on a tragic accident that happens nearby, while an unexplained rash tries to take over her body.

Newman brings her own take on her beloved characters to Big Books and Bold Ideas this week. She and host Kerri Miller talk about Rocky’s new penchant for weepiness, the payment that comes due in our bodies as we age and how to recognize and appreciate a golden time when you’re in it. 

“Left, Right & Center” is KCRW’s weekly politics show where we take on the tough, divisive issues you’re afraid to talk about with your own family. Host David Greene, along with a rotating cast of left and right panelists, reviews the week’s news from Congress, the White House, and Donald Trump’s administration.

Covering the outer reaches of space to the tiniest microbes in our bodies, Science Friday is the source for entertaining and educational stories about science, technology, and other cool stuff.

Here’s a look at MPR News upcoming programming plan for the radio and on the stream. 


What's on the radio Friday, Dec. 5

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