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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Online disinformation expert Joan Donovan on the power of memes
Memes have been used since America’s founding to motivate political action. But Harvard researcher and online disinformation expert Joan Donovan says they’ve never been so powerful. Her new book says they even incited the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Formative characters: Three Minnesota authors share their favorites
For the last Big Books and Bold Ideas of 2022, MPR News host Kerri Miller asked three Minnesota writers — Peter Geye, Shannon Gibney and Benjamin Percy — to talk about their favorite literary characters. Their choices were unexpected and delightful.
Jane Smiley on her new novel, 'A Dangerous Business'
Two young prostitutes become uneasy when several women in their dangerous line of work disappear. Jane Smiley’s new novel follows them as they try to solve the murders in 1850s California.
Canine psychologist Alexandra Horowitz on her book 'The Year of the Puppy'
Dog week continues on Big Books and Bold Ideas with a conversation about what canine researcher Alexandra Horowitz learned by observing and then adopting a puppy. What happens during that critical first year of a dog’s life — and how can learning about it help us become better companions and caretakers?
From the archives: What can dogs teach us about aging?
It’s dog week on Big Books and Bold Ideas! This Friday, you’ll hear a conversation between MPR News host Kerri Miller and dog researcher Alexandra Horowitz about her new book, “The Year of the Puppy.” Until then, enjoy this throwback to Kerri’s daily show in 2020 — a discussion about how dogs age and what they can teach humans about aging better.
Annie Duke on how to get better at quitting
On this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas: Why success means quitting more often. Annie Duke writes that we often stay at a job that makes us unhappy or hang onto a relationship that’s going nowhere because we associate quitting with failure. That’s wrong!
From the archives: John Tierney on the science behind willpower
If you like books that delve into fascinating science research, you’re in for a treat this week. Friday, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller talks with cognitive behaviorist and former professional poker player Annie Duke about the science of quitting. We’re teeing it up with another book that looks at why we do what we do: “Willpower,” the 2011 powerhouse work by psychiatrist Roy F. Baumeister and science journalist John Tierney.
David Treuer on the republishing of his first novel, 'Little'
David Treuer’s first novel, “Little,” was republished by Graywolf Press in November. What does Treuer think of his inaugural work now, almost 30 years after it was first released? And how has he grown as both a writer and a person? That’s the conversation on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas with host Kerri Miller.
From the archives: David Treuer on 'The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee'
David Treuer’s first novel, “Little,” is being republished this month by Graywolf Press. MPR News host Kerri Miller will talk to him about that on Friday’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. In the meantime, enjoy this 2019 conversation between the two about Treuer’s award-winning book, “The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee.”