RTB Radio News
Season's Greetings
As the days grow short and we embrace winter and the new calendar year, let us celebrate our relationships with our families, friends, communities, cultures, and nature. May we all be filled with joy, love, and harmony this holiday season!
Holiday Programming
Please join us at Radio Talking Book for our traditional holiday programming broadcasts, beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 24, with regular programming resuming at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, December 26.
Here are December's book offerings from the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network:
Chautauqua
Monday – Friday 6:00 a.m.
Abundance – Nonfiction by Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson, 2025. A paradigm-shifting call to renew a politics of plenty, face up to the failures of liberal governance, and abandon the chosen scarcities that have deformed American life. Read by Yelva Lynfield. 12 broadcasts; begins Monday, December 1. Listen to a promo of Abundance.
The Certainty Trap – Nonfiction by Ilana Redstone, 2024. A tour de force that makes a case for intellectual humility, pluralism, and holding ideas provisionally about complex issues. Read by Peter Danbury. 10 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, December 17. Listen to a promo of The Certainty Trap.
Past is Prologue
Monday - Friday 11:00 a.m.
Vertigo – Nonfiction by Harald Jähner, 2024. A dramatic and consequential history of Germany’s short-lived experiment with democracy between the world wars, when vibrant cultural experimentation collided with political and economic turmoil. Read by John Gunter. 18 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, November 26. Listen to a promo of Vertigo.
Embers of the Hands – Nonfiction by Eleanor Barraclough, 2025. A history of the Viking Age, from mighty leaders to rebellious teenagers, told through their runes and ruins, games and combs, trash and treasure. Read by Carol McPherson. 13 broadcasts; begins Monday, December 22. Listen to a promo of Embers of the Hands.
Bookworm
Monday – Friday 12:00 p.m.
Lone Dog Road – Fiction by Kent Nerburn, 2025. A coming-of-age novel about two young Lakota brothers who journey across the Dakota plains to replace a broken sacred pipe—a story of resilience, connection, and spiritual discovery. Read by Stuart Holland. 18 broadcasts; begins Monday, November 10. Listen to a promo of Lone Dog Road.
Time of the Child – Fiction by Niall Williams, 2024. A compassionate, life-affirming novel about the Christmas season that transforms the small Irish town of Faha. Read by Jack Rossmann. 14 broadcasts; begins Monday, December 8. Listen to a promo of Time of the Child.
Sing To Me – Fiction by Jesse Browner, 2025. After the fall of Troy, an eleven-year-old boy sets off for the razed city when his father and sister vanish into the war zone. Read by Paul Ranelli. 7 broadcasts; begins Monday, December 29. Listen to a promo of Sing To Me.
The Writer's Voice
Monday - Friday 1:00 p.m.
The Elements of Marie Curie – Nonfiction by Dava Sobel, 2024. A luminous chronicle of the life and work of the most famous woman in the history of science. Read by Therese Murray. 11 broadcasts; begins Monday, November 17. Listen to a promo of The Elements of Marie Curie.
Penman of the Founding – Nonfiction by Jane E. Calvert, 2024. The biography of a lesser-known Founding Father, a contrarian patriot who supported abolitionism and women’s rights. Read by Stevie Ray. 26 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, December 2. Listen to a promo of Penman of the Founding.
Choice Reading
Monday - Friday 2:00 p.m.
Mona Acts Out – Fiction by Mischa Berlinski, 2025. A novel about acting and telling the truth, about how we play roles to get through our days, and how the great roles teach us how to live. Read by Cintra Godfrey. 11 broadcasts; begins Monday, December 1. – L. Listen to a promo of Mona Acts Out.
A Christmas Duet – Fiction by Debbie Macomber, 2024. A solo holiday trip inspires one woman to rediscover her passion—and remember that, sometimes, duets are more fun—in this romantic Christmas novel. Read by Holly Sylvester. 7 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, December 16. Listen to a promo of A Christmas Duet.
A Forty Year Kiss – Fiction by Nickolas Butler, 2025. A small-town story about one couple's second chance at love, forty years after their divorce. Read by Tom Speich. 9 broadcasts; begins Monday, December 29. – L. Listen to a promo of A Forty Year Kiss.
Afternoon Report
Monday – Friday 4:00 p.m.
The Siren's Call – Nonfiction by Chris Hayes, 2025. An ambitious analysis of how the trivial amusements offered by online life have degraded not only ourselves, but also our politics. Read by Holly Sylvester. 12 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, November 25. Listen to a promo of The Siren's Call.
The End of Race Politics – Nonfiction by Coleman Hughes, 2024. A case for a colorblind approach to politics and culture, warning that the so-called ‘anti-racist’ movement is driving us—ironically—toward a new kind of racism. Read by Stevie Ray. 7 broadcasts; begins Thursday, December 11. Listen to a promo of The End of Race Politics.
Bone of the Bone – Nonfiction by Sarah Smarsh, 2024. A collection of brilliant and provocative essays by one of the most important commentators on America’s class problem. Read by Judy Woodward. 12 broadcasts; begins Monday, December 22. – L. Listen to a promo of Bone of the Bone.
Night Journey
Monday – Friday 7:00 p.m.
A Long Time Gone – Fiction by Joshua Moehling, 2025. In the dark, icy heart of a Minnesota winter, Deputy Ben Packard embarks on a mission to uncover the truth about his brother’s childhood disappearance. Read by Paul Ranelli. 11 broadcasts; begins Thursday, November 20. – L. Listen to a promo of A Long Time Gone.
Where They Last Saw Her – Fiction by Marcie R. Rendon, 2024. A compelling mystery of a Native American woman who learns of the disappearance of one of her own and decides enough is enough. Read by Karen Ray. 10 broadcasts; begins Monday, December 8. – L. Listen to a promo of Where They Last Saw Her.
The Turtle-Jack Killings – Fiction by Glenn Ickler, 2025. Journalists are targeted by a killer in this Minnesota-set thriller. Read by Pat Ocken. 9 broadcasts; begins Monday, December 22. – L. Listen to a promo of The Turtle-Jack Killings.
Off the Shelf
Monday – Friday 8:00 p.m.
The Mighty Red – Fiction by Louise Erdrich, 2024. A story of love, natural forces, spiritual yearnings, and the tragic impact of uncontrollable circumstances on ordinary people’s lives. Read by Michelle Juntunen. 14 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, November 12. – L. Listen to a promo of The Mighty Red.
Lazarus Man – Fiction by Richard Price, 2024. A group portrait of Harlem residents in the aftermath of a five-story tenement collapse in 2008 that mysteriously changes the life of a survivor. Read by Stuart Holland. 14 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, December 2. – L. Listen to a promo of Lazarus Man.
Intermezzo – Fiction by Sally Rooney, 2024. Two brothers—one a lawyer, one a chess prodigy—work through the death of their father, their romantic lives, and their even more tangled relationship with each other. Read by Carl Voss. 15 broadcasts; begins Monday, December 22. – L, S. Listen to a promo of Intermezzo.
Potpourri
Monday – Friday 9:00 p.m.
The Name of This Band Is R.E.M. – Nonfiction by Peter Ames Carlin, 2024. How four college-town scenesters became unlikely million-sellers and the center of the ’90s zeitgeist. Read by Jill Wolf. 16 broadcasts; begins Monday, November 17. – L. Listen to a promo of The Name of This Band Is R.E.M.
Heartbreak is the National Anthem – Nonfiction by Rob Sheffield, 2024. An intimate look at the life and music of modern pop’s most legendary figure, Taylor Swift. Read by Laura Young. 7 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, December 9. – L. Listen to a promo of Heartbreak is the National Anthem.
Sick Houses – Nonfiction by Leila Taylor, 2025. An exploration of the architecture of haunted houses, uncanny domestic spaces, and how the horror genre subverts and corrupts the sanctity of home. Read by Holland Richner. 7 broadcasts; begins Thursday, December 18. – G. Listen to a promo of Sick Houses.
The Long Run – Nonfiction by Stacey D’Erasmo, 2024. A rich meditation on the artist’s life and work over time. Read by Pat Ocken. 7 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, December 31. – L, S. Listen to a promo of The Long Run.
Good Night Owl
Monday – Friday 10:00 p.m.
Service Model – Fiction by Adrian Tchaikovsky, 2024. A pair of out-of-place survivors go on a satirical journey to replace what they lost when human civilization collapsed around them in this clever postapocalyptic adventure. Read by John Holden. 16 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, November 19. – L. Listen to a promo of Service Model.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls – Fiction by Grady Hendrix, 2025. Hung out to dry by the elders who betrayed them, a squad of pregnant teens fights back with old magic. Read by Pat Muir. 16 broadcasts; begins Thursday, December 11. – G. Listen to a promo of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls.
RTB After Hours
Monday – Friday 11:00 p.m.
The Tearsmith – (re-broadcast) Fiction by Erin Doom, 2024. A dark, sexy, haunting novel of two aching young adults who are taken in by the same family and forced to reckon with a destructive love that could be the undoing of them both. Read by Michelle Juntunen. 24 broadcasts; begins Monday, November 3. – L, S, V. Listen to a promo of The Tearsmith.
Love You a Latke – Fiction by Amanda Elliot, 2024. A struggling coffee-shop owner and her most cheerful customer fake a relationship for Hanukkah in this cozy contemporary romance. Read by Yelva Lynfield. 13 broadcasts; begins Monday, December 8. Listen to a promo of Love You a Latke.
rekt – Fiction by Alex Gonzalez, 2025. A disturbing examination of toxic masculinity and the darkest pits of the Internet, about a young man’s algorithmic descent into depravity in a future that’s nearly here. Read by Paul Ranelli. 11 broadcasts; begins Monday, December 29. – L, S, V, G, R. Listen to a promo of rekt.
Weekend Books
Your Personal World (Saturdays at 1 p.m.) presents The Joy of Connections by Dr. Ruth Westheimer, read by Yelva Lynfield; followed by How Sondheim Can Change Your Life by Richard Schoch, read by Stuart Holland.
For the Younger Set (Sundays at 11 a.m.) presents Humphrey and Me by Stuart H. Brady, read by Jack Rossman.
Poetic Reflections (Sundays at noon) presents You Can Be The Last Leaf by Maya Abu Al-Hayyat, read by Pat Muir; followed by Short Film Starring My Beloved's Red Bronco by K. Iver, read by Laura Young – L
The Great North (Sundays at 4 p.m.) presents Hidden History of Twin Cities Sports by Joel Rippel, read by John Gunter; followed by Perpich: A Minnesota Original by Ben Schierer, read by Michelle Juntunen.
Abbreviations
V – Violent content
R – Racial epithets
L – Strong language
G – Gory descriptions
S – Sexual situations
All listings are US Central Time (CT)