Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now

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.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or RSS

Books Coverage: The Thread | About: Kerri Miller

Subscribe to Podcast
Author Katie Hickman on the women of the American West

Author Katie Hickman on the women of the American West

Old West mythology is full of dust-covered cowboys, lonesome gun slingers and gold-seeking prospectors. But if you only know the men’s side of the story, you only know part of it.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
From the archives: Mary Doria Russell on what really happened at the O.K. Corral

From the archives: Mary Doria Russell on what really happened at the O.K. Corral

This week, Big Books and Bold Ideas heads West. Friday, host Kerri Miller talks with Katie Hickman about her new book, which tells the tales of the women of the American West. To get you in the mood, this week’s archive is a conversation between Miller and Mary Doria Russell about her book, “Epitaph,” which investigates what really happened at the O.K. Corral.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Joanna Quinn on her best-selling novel 'The Whalebone Theatre'

Joanna Quinn on her best-selling novel 'The Whalebone Theatre'

This week on Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller talks with the British author whose debut novel took England by storm. “The Whalebone Theatre” tells the story of three children who grow up on a posh seaside estate in the 1920s, and how their imaginations and familial bonds both anchor and inspire their lives.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Online disinformation expert Joan Donovan on the power of memes

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.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Formative characters: Three Minnesota authors share their favorites

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.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Jane Smiley on her new novel, 'A Dangerous Business'

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.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Canine psychologist Alexandra Horowitz on her book 'The Year of the Puppy'

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?
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
From the archives: What can dogs teach us about aging?

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.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Annie Duke on how to get better at quitting

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!
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
From the archives: John Tierney on the science behind willpower

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.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!