Mpr News With Kerri Miller

April is Animal Month on Big Books and Bold Ideas. But this time, we’re not talking about dogs, monkeys or bats — but bees, beetles and butterflies. It might not seem like it on a summer night in Minnesota — when mosquitos are swarming your campfire — but Earth’s kingdom of insects is diminishing so rapidly, scientists have declared it a crisis. In 2019, a report in published in Biological Conservation found that 40 percent of all insect species are declining globally and a third of them are endangered. The reasons why are myriad. And while it might be tempting to hope for a planet without wasps that sting and roaches in the kitchen, journalist Oliver Milman says human beings would be in big trouble without insects. Bugs play critical roles in pollinating plants, breaking down waste and laying the base of a food chain that other animals rely on — including us. This week, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller talked with Milman about his new book, “The Insect Crisis.” They explored what’s causing th

Insects — or the lack thereof — are the focus of this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. On Friday, host Kerri Miller will talk with environmental journalist Oliver Milman about how the silent collapse in global insect populations is disrupting many of our most important ecosystems. Here in Minnesota, bees are the insects whose absence is most keenly felt. Back in 2013, University of Minnesota entomologist Marla Spivak talked with Miller about what she was seeing. But she also gave advice about how to help the bees: Plant flowers. “We really have a flowerless landscape out there, and bees need flowers for good nutrition,” Spivak said. “If bees have good nutrition, and a lot of pollen and protein coming in and nectar coming in, they're better able to fight off these diseases. And it helps them detoxify some of the pesticides. We really need bee-friendly flowers out there, everywhere.” Guest: Marla Spivak is an entomologist and Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota speci

All animals use their senses to perceive the world, humans included. But not every animal senses the same thing. In Pulitzer prize-winning science journalist Ed Yong’s 2022 book, “An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us,” he explores the way each species sees the world through its own sensory lens and explains why those differences should both delight and humble us. “Senses always come at a cost,” Yong writes. “No animal can sense everything well.” MPR News host Kerri Miller spoke with Yong last year about his research. It’s a fascinating conversation that we thought deserved an encore, since this April, we are celebrating animals at Big Books and Bold Ideas. Don’t missing Yong sharing stories about why jumping spiders have eight eyes, how octopus arms operate without the brain, why Morpho butterflies have ears on their wings — and why we should gently resist the tendency to view other animals’ senses through the limited view of our own. Guest: Ed Yong is an award-winning s

It helps for a veterinarian to be an animal lover. It doesn’t help for her to be allergic to cats. But Karen Fine didn’t let that stop her. Nor was she cowered by the fact that, in the 1980s, when she went to vet school, almost all the students were male. She followed in her physician grandfather’s path and became a veterinarian who made house calls, “laid hands” on her patients and always took time to listen — both to the pets and the caretakers. Fine’s new book, “The Other Family Doctor” is a collection of stories she amassed while practicing veterinary medicine. But it also functions as a memoir. She weaves in tales of her own pets: the birds, cats, and dogs who have taught her that caring for the animals in our lives can teach us to better care for ourselves. Join MPR News host Kerri Miller as she talks with Fine about pets, mindfulness and how even vets struggle with knowing when it’s time to say good-bye. Guest: Karen Fine is a holistic veterinarian who owned and operated her own house-call practice

Renown underwater photographer David Doubilet has been donning a mask and flippers and descending into what he calls “the secret garden of the sea” since he was 12. What he saw there captivated him and eventually fueled his career. He’s photographed powerful sharks, brightly colored fish, the splendor of the coral reefs and the destruction caused by warming oceans. He’s published 12 books chronicling his work and he regularly contributes to National Geographic. In 2006, Doubilet visited Minneapolis to showcase his work and stopped by MPR News’ St. Paul studios to chat with host Kerri Miller about his passion. We are reviving the conversation now to continue our celebration of April as Animal Month on Big Books and Bold Ideas. Guest: David Doubilet is considered to be one of the best underwater photographers in the world. He’s published a dozen books and and is a frequent contributor to National Geographic. To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR New

Once you start looking, wolves are everywhere. A wolf plays the the villain in “Little Red Riding Hood” and “The Three Little Pigs.” The boy who cried wolf is ultimately destroyed by his lie. A person who isolates from society is called a “lone wolf.” A dangerous mob is named a “wolfpack.” And of course, the animals themselves are both feared and admired. Wolves have intrigued writer Erica Berry since she was a child growing up in Oregon, where the animals enjoyed an uneasy truce with ranchers. But she believes wolves are more than what they seem — that we project our fears onto them and make them symbols of everything that terrifies us. Her new book, “Wolfish,” examines that premise, and it’s the perfect launch of Animal Month here on Big Books and Bold Ideas. Don’t miss this thoughtful conversation between MPR News host Kerri Miller and Berry as they talk about why our culture sees wolves as a threat, and how getting close to the wolf could help us transform our fears. Guest: Erica Berry is a write

Diana Abu-Jaber’s family has deep roots in Jordan. Her father came to America after a failed marriage proposal — an act of “revenge immigration,” she laughs. And while he lived in the U.S., married here and raised a family here, his never truly left his homeland behind. Growing up in a thoroughly Jordanian household within an American context shaped Abu-Jaber’s life. She traveled to Jordan with her family and was often startled to discover hidden aspects to her father during her visits. It was this mix of identity and heritage, of belonging to a culture or land that one can no longer possess, that inspired her latest novel, “Fencing with the King” — so named because she learned, later in life, that her father was once a favorite sparring partner with the king of Jordan. “It’s like he had a before and after life,” she tells MPR News host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. “Dad was trained to spar with King Hussein, and this was something he never talked about when we were growing up. I d

Author Diana Abu-Jaber returns to MPR News this week. Friday’s Big Books and Bold Ideas will feature a conversation between host Kerri Miller and Abu-Jaber about her latest novel, “Fencing with the King,” a book set in Jordan that explores family dynamics and inheritance. It’s not the first time Abu-Jaber and Miller have talked. For this week’s blast from the past, enjoy their 2011 discussion about “Birds of Paradise,” which NPR named one of the top books of that year and won a 2012 Arab-American National Book Award. Guest: Diana Abu-Jaber is an award-winning author and a professor at Portland State University. Her latest book, “Fencing with the King,” was just released in paperback. To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.

Paul Harding says it’s no accident that the residents of the small interracial community he imagined for his new book are uprooted from their island home at the same time as the first International Eugenics Congress was being held in London. In fact, learning about the conference inspired him to write his book. The seeds of “This Other Eden” are planted in the true story of Malaga Island, an isolated island off the coast of Maine that was one of the first racially integrated towns in the northeastern United States. Populated by Native Americans, freed slaves and European Americans, the inhabitants led a sheltered — some would say naïve — life, unaware of the uniqueness of their situation. Their community was shattered in 1911, when Maine government officials inspected the island and found the mixed races offensive. All 47 residents of Malaga were evicted, and some were rehoused in institutions for the "feeble-minded." Maine publicly apologized for this deed in 2010. But the real-life story inspire

When was the last time you felt awe? For many of us, awe is the result of an experience in nature. Or maybe it’s due to a sudden chill up the spine as you listen to music or read a poem. It might be what happens when you witness selflessness or uncommon kindness in another human being, or something as simple as listening to a child laugh as they lose themselves in play. Whatever the source, and no matter the culture, Dacher Keltner says the feeling is the same across humankind. Awe produces a humbling and inspiring emotion in our bodies when we encounter something mysterious that transcends our understanding of the world. A researcher and professor of psychology, Keltner has spent the last few years studying awe and how it moves us. He used unconventional and imaginative methods to measure how awe shrinks a person’s sense of self. He’s talked to countless people about their experiences of awe. And he’s searched for it himself, after the death of his beloved brother. This Friday, on Big Books and Bold Idea

Poet Ross Gay believes in joy. But he pays careful attention to how one defines that word. It is not simply happiness or delight, he says in his new book “Inciting Joy.” Rather, it is what grows from the fertile soil of breaking and belonging. It is the light that emanates from us when we help each other carry our sorrows. Gay was in St. Paul in November of 2022 to talk with MPR News host Kerri Miller for the finale of the 2022 Talking Volumes season. The evening also featured music from Minneapolis artist MAYYADDA. Enjoy that conversation as an appetizer to what’s coming this Friday, when Miller talks with psychologist and professor Dacher Keltner about his new book that delves into the impact of another universal emotion — awe. Guest: Ross Gay is a poet, an essayist, a gardener and a professor. His newest book is “Inciting Joy.” To listen to a lightly edited version of the Talking Volumes conversation, use the audio player above. Note that it does contain some explicit language. You can also find the v

Many Americans are unaware that all-Black enclaves popped up and even flourished during the early 20th century. They did so by following the conviction that “separate but equal” was the only way for Black Americans to stay safe and thrive. But as Jamila Minnicks points out in her gorgeous debut novel, “Moonrise Over New Jessup,” that belief was challenged by the Civil Rights movement, which championed equality more than separation. It’s a fictionalized account of one such town, set in Minnicks’ native Alabama, and ends up being both a celebration of Black joy and an examination of the opposing viewpoints about the end of segregation in America. This Friday, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Minnicks joined host Kerri Miller to talk about the history of all-Black towns, why she wanted to tell their stories and how “separate but equal” was both a gift and a blow. Guest: Jamila Minnicks is a self-declared recovering lawyer turned author. Her debut novel is “Moonrise Over New Jessup.” To listen to the full co

Historian Natalia Mehlman Petrzela was a self-proclaimed bookish kid growing up in the 1990s. She didn’t exercise, she didn’t play sports and she loathed physical education at school. But that changed when she first stepped into a group exercise class. “When I walked in there, I discovered there was something called fitness,” she tells host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. “Pretty quickly I realized this is not only better than PE, I love this. I don’t just tolerate it.” So began a shift within Petrzela. She started to move her body and like it. She became a fitness instructor and taught classes, even as she ended up working in academic. And as a historian, she couldn’t help but look around her secondary world and wonder: How did this fitness culture come to be? Her new book, “Fit Nation,” is the result of digging in to that question. The book charts the evolution of our collective attitudes toward exercise. From body builders on the beach in the 1940s, to Jack LaLanne introducing exerci

It’s being compared to “The Godfather” and “Gatsby” — high praise for a young writer. But MPR News host Kerri Miller says Deepti Kapoor’s new novel is worth the accolades. “Age of Vice” is set in modern day India, a country changing so quickly, few can stay balanced. It follows a young man who grew up destitute, sold into a life of servitude to pay family debts. His life changes forever when he meets Sunny Wadia, the conflicted, playboy heir of a well-known crime family. The story swerves from India’s misty, mountain villages to noisy, vibrant cities, with characters that embody the nation’s extremes. This Friday, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, MPR News host Kerri Miller talked with Kapoor about gangster capitalism in India, about ill-fated love, and about what honor and nobility mean in a time of intense change. Guest: Deepti Kapoor grew up in northern India and worked for several years as a journalist in New Delhi. “Age of Vice” is her second novel, which she wrote from her home in Lisbon. To listen

Each year, there are a few new books that reduce readers to a frenzy before the words even arrive at the printing press. Such is the case for the “Age of Vice” by author Deepti Kapoor, one of the most anticipated books of 2023. This Friday, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, MPR News host Kerri Miller will talk with Kapoor about her crime novel that has been described as “dazzling,” with “echoes of ‘The Godfather’.” In the meantime, enjoy this conversation between Miller and an author who wrote one of the most anticipated books of 2022, Emily St. John Mandel. Her novel, “Sea of Tranquility,” is a sequel of sorts to her hit 2014 book, “Station Eleven.” Guest: Emily St. John Mandel is the best-selling author of five novels, including “Station Eleven” and “The Glass Hotel.” In 2022, she released the best seller, “Sea of Tranquility.” To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to th

Minneapolis author Shannon Gibney made waves in 2015 when she published her novel, “See No Color.” The experiences of main character Alex Kirtridge — a Black girl adopted by a white family — were partially informed by Gibney’s own life as a transracial adoptee. From the archives: Shannon Gibney on 'Dream Country' Gibney returns to her own story with her new memoir, “The Girl I Am, Was and Never Will Be.” But this time, she mines different timelines — that of her own life, growing up as a mixed race adoptee in Ann Arbor, Mich. — and an alternate reality where her biological mom doesn’t give her up, and Shannon Gibney grows up as Erin Powers, the name she was given at birth. Race, identity and adoption are powerful themes in what she calls a '“speculative memoir.” This week on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Gibney joins host Kerri Miller to talk about why she chose this genre to tell the parallel stories of her life, and how she filled the holes in her history that ad

Minneapolis author Shannon Gibney made a splash with her first novel, "See No Color," drawn from her life as a transracial adoptee. It won the 2016 Minnesota Book Award for Young People's Literature. She returns to writing about her own life in her just released memoir, “The Girl I Am, Was and Never Will Be.” But this a memoir unlike most. Gibney calls it speculative fiction. It explores both her life as it was — and as it might have been, had she not been adopted by a white family. It’s a unexpected and enterprising way to wrestle with life’s “what ifs.” Gibney and host Kerri Miller will talk about it on this Friday’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. While you wait, enjoy this conversation from the 2018 archives, when Gibney had just published her second book, "Dream Country.” It traces the oft-neglected history of free Blacks and former enslaved people who sailed back to Africa to colonize what is now known as Liberia. Guest: Shannon Gibney is a writer and a professor of English at Minneapoli

Modern English loves an idiom. We use them all the time. “Take the cake.” “Eat crow.” “Deader than a doornail.” “By hook or by crook.” “Cut the mustard.” “Left in the lurch.” But do we really know what they mean? That was University of Minnesota linguistics professor Anatoly Liberman’s question when he set out to write a dictionary of common English language idioms. His new book, “Take My Word For It,” is the first truly all-encompassing etymological guide to both meanings and origins of idioms that surround us every day. Liberman is a favorite guest on Kerri Miller’s show, and this week, he returns to talk about the history of idioms, both popular and obscure. It’s not rocket science, but it is a delightful and engaging conversation that will leave you feeling as right as rain. Guest:  Anatoly Liberman is a linguist and professor of languages at the University of Minnesota. His new book is, “Take My Word For It: A Dictionary of English Idioms.” To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio

Is there a word or phrase that you grew up with, something you felt was unique to your family? Maybe it was an expression your parents or grandparents used to show affection or describe frustration, only to eventually discover it had foreign origins? Or perhaps you still wonder where it came from? Borrowed words have flooded most languages, including English. In August 2021, Anatoly Liberman, beloved etymologist and professor of languages at the University of Minnesota, joined MPR News host Kerri Miller to explore the roots of familial words. In that interview, he mentioned he had just finished a dictionary of idioms. That book finally published in January 2023. This Friday on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Liberman is back with Miller to discuss it. In the meantime, enjoy this joyous conversation about familiar words from our archives. Guest:  Anatoly Liberman is a linguist and professor of languages at the University of Minnesota.  To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.  Su

What does it mean to stand on the soil where enslaved people lived, worked and died — and to see, surrounding it, monuments to the people who did the enslaving? That’s the question at the heart of Clint Smith’s book, “How the Word Is Passed.” After a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee came down in his hometown of New Orleans, Smith began a quest to understand America’s historic and contemporary relationship to slavery. He did that by visiting sites like Monticello Plantation, where Thomas Jefferson wrote about freedom while enslaving hundreds, and Blandford Cemetery, where 30,000 Confederate soldiers are buried, and shared his powerful reflections in his book. “How the Word Is Passed” was a New York Times bestseller, the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award of Nonfiction and one of the New York Times Best Books of 2021. Now out in paperback, “How the Word Is Passed,” invites us to be honest about America’s history, and to reckon with how slavery’s legacy still shapes us today. This is