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The Thread's 2016 season of author interviews has been announced: Four writers will bring discussions of science, faith and family to the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, beginning in February.

 for the individual events, detailed below. MPR News host Kerri Miller will host each discussion.

Feb. 24: Eula Biss and Michael Osterholm on vaccines, immunity and public health

Eula Biss' "On Immunity" sparked conversations across the country when it hit shelves. It was named a best book of the year by The New York Times, Publisher's Weekly, NPR's Science Friday and more.

Eula Biss is the author of "Notes from No Man's Land," winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism, and "The Balloonists." Her essays have appeared in the Believer and Harper's. She teaches at Northwestern University and lives in Chicago.

Michael Osterholm is the former Minnesota state epidemiologist and current Regents Professor, McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, a professor in the Technological Leadership Institute, College of Science and Engineering, and an adjunct professor in the Medical School, all at the University of Minnesota.

This event is presented in partnership with Graywolf Press and the College of St. Benedict.

April 5: On Being's Krista Tippett on "Becoming Wise"


What has Krista Tippett learned from 13 years of interviewing scientists, theologians, poets, activists and more? She shares her experiences in her new book, "Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living."

Krista Tippett is a journalist and former diplomat. She has created, hosted and produced the popular public radio program Speaking of Faith, now On Being, since it began as an occasional feature in 2000, before taking on its current form as a national weekly program in 2003. 

She came up with the idea for Speaking of Faith while consulting for the internationally renowned Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research at Saint John's Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minn.

May 9: National Book Award winner Louise Erdrich on "LaRose"

Louise Erdrich, who won the 2012 National Book Award for Fiction for "The Round House," returns with a new novel, "LaRose," this spring. 

Louise Erdrich is the author of 14 novels, a volume of short stories, several books of poetry and a series of children's books. She lives in Minnesota and is the owner of Birchbark Books, a small independent bookstore.

June 10: Mary Roach on the curious science of war

Best-selling author Mary Roach explores the science of keeping human beings intact, awake, sane, uninfected and uninfested in the bizarre and extreme circumstances of war in her latest book, "Grunt."

Mary Roach is the author of "Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War", "Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void," "Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex," "Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife" and "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers." 

Her writing has appeared in Outside, Wired, National Geographic, and the New York Times Magazine, among others. She lives in Oakland, Calif.

Arts and Culture

The Thread® - Books and Literary News

MPR News Staff

Author

Four writers will bring discussions of science, faith, fiction and family to the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, beginning in February.

The 2016 line-up of The Thread author discussions

The Thread Live: 2016 authors announced

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