RTB Radio News
The October 2025 book offerings from the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network:
Chautauqua
Monday – Friday 6:00 a.m.
The Forgotten Sense – Nonfiction by Jonas Olofsson, 2025. A fascinating exploration of our most essential yet least understood sense, smell—enabling us to appreciate food and drink, warning us of dangers, and even influencing who we fall in love with. Read by Yelva Lynfield. 11 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, October 1. Listen to a promo of The Forgotten Sense.
Is Anyone Listening? – Nonfiction by Denise L. Herzing, 2024. A deep dive into the many ways animal species communicate with their kin, their neighboring species, and us. Read by Lannois Neely. 11 broadcasts; begins Thursday, October 16. Listen to a promo of Is Anyone Listening?
Past is Prologue
Monday - Friday 11:00 a.m.
A Great Disorder – Nonfiction by Richard Slotkin, 2024. A look at the myths that have shaped American identity that reveals how they have brought us to the brink of an existential crisis today. Read by Jack Rossmann. 24 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, September 2. Listen to a promo of A Great Disorder.
How the World Made the West – Nonfiction by Josephine Quinn, 2024. An award-winning Oxford history professor makes a forceful argument that the West is, and always has been, truly global. Read by Dan Sadoff. 19 broadcasts; begins Monday, October 6. Listen to a promo of How the World Made the West.
Bookworm
Monday – Friday 12:00 p.m.
Three Days in June – Fiction by Anne Tyler, 2025. A socially awkward mother of the bride navigates the days before and after her daughter's wedding. Read by Yelva Lynfield. 7 broadcasts; begins Monday, September 29. Listen to a promo of Three Days in June.
Daodejing – Nonfiction by Laozi, 2023. A transformative new edition of Taoism’s central text that overturns its reputation for calming, gnomic wisdom, revealing instead a work of “philosophical dynamite.” Read by Philip Lowry. 3 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, October 8. Listen to a promo of Daodejing.
The Mesmerist – Fiction by Caroline Woods, 2024. A charitable residence for women in 19th-century Minnesota is at the center of a murderous mystery where three very different women must work together to stop a killer. Read by Carol McPherson. 11 broadcasts; begins Monday, October 13. Listen to a promo of The Mesmerist.
Another Man in the Street– Fiction by Caryl Phillips, 2025. A hypnotic, heartbreaking novel about the immigrant experience and the high price of attempting to reinvent oneself. Read by Tom Speich. 7 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, October 28. Listen to a promo of Another Man in the Street.
The Writer's Voice
Monday - Friday 1:00 p.m.
The Genius of Judy – Nonfiction by Rachelle Bergstein, 2024. An intimate and expansive look at Judy Blume’s life, work, and cultural impact, focusing on her most iconic—and controversial—young adult novels. Read by Pat Kovel-Jarboe. 9 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, September 23. Listen to a promo of The Genius of Judy.
Making It So – Nonfiction by Patrick Stewart, 2023. The renowned and bestselling memoir from iconic, beloved actor and living legend, Sir Patrick Stewart. Read by Jim Ahrens. 16 broadcasts; begins Monday, October 6. Listen to a promo of Making It So.
Ingenious – Nonfiction by Richard Munson, 2023. The dramatic story of an ingenious man who explained nature and created a country: Benjamin Franklin. Read by Stevie Ray. 9 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, October 28. Listen to a promo of Ingenious.
Choice Reading
Monday - Friday 2:00 p.m.
Big Time – Fiction by Rus Bradburd, 2025. A hilarious and thought-provoking satire of college sports money mania at American universities. Read by Paul Ranelli. 10 broadcasts; begins Monday, September 29. – L, S. Listen to a promo of Big Time.
A Great Marriage – Fiction by Frances Mayes, 2024. When a perfect wedding is called off just days before the big event, it raises two questions: What makes a great marriage, and what do wedding vows really mean? Read by Cintra Godfrey. 12 broadcasts; begins Monday, October 13. – L. Listen to a promo of A Great Marriage.
See Friendship – Fiction by Jeremy Gordon, 2025. A poignant and funny novel about grief, loneliness, memory, and the unique existential questions inherent to the digital age. Read by Stuart Holland. 11 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, October 29. – L. Listen to a promo of See Friendship.
Afternoon Report
Monday – Friday 4:00 p.m.
Autocracy, Inc. – Nonfiction by Anne Applebaum, 2024. An alarming account of how autocracies work together to undermine the democratic world, and how we should organize to defeat them. Read by Stevie Ray. 7 broadcasts; begins Monday, September 29. Listen to a promo of Autocracy, Inc.
Erasing History – Nonfiction by Jason Stanley, 2024. A global call to action that reveals the far right’s efforts to rewrite history and undo a century of progress on race, gender, sexuality, and class. Read by John Potts. 6 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, October 8. Listen to a promo of Erasing History.
Limitarianism – Nonfiction by Ingrid Robeyns, 2024. An original and galvanizing indictment of the world’s uber-rich that boldly argues for a cap on wealth from the philosopher who coined the term "limitarianism.” Read by John McClure. 12 broadcasts; begins Thursday, October 16. Listen to a promo of Limitarianism.
Night Journey
Monday – Friday 7:00 p.m.
Tiger Claw – Fiction by Michael Allan Mallory, 2024. A Minnesota-set police procedural thriller with plenty of kung fu to boot. Read by Tom Speich. 10 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, September 23. – L. Listen to a promo of Tiger Claw.
What Happened to Nina? – Fiction by Dervla McTiernan, 2024. A young Vermont woman goes missing and her boyfriend is the prime suspect. Read by Holland Richner. 12 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, October 7. – L, V. Listen to a promo of What Happened to Nina?
The President's Lawyer – Fiction by Lawrence Robbins, 2024. A Washington, DC litigator is hired to defend his best friend, the former President of the United States, against a murder charge in this sensational thriller. Read by Pat Ocken. 10 broadcasts; begins Thursday, October 23. – L, S. Listen to a promo of The President's Lawyer.
Off the Shelf
Monday – Friday 8:00 p.m.
The Empusium – Fiction by Bret Olga Tokarczuk, 2024. Set in a sanitarium on the eve of World War I, this masterwork probes the horrors that lie beneath our most hallowed ideas. Read by Rick Seime. 12 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, September 17. Listen to a promo of The Empusium.
The Throne – Fiction by Franco Bernini, 2024. A historical novel recounting the enigmatic life of Niccolò Machiavelli, revealing the complex man behind the infamous political strategist. Read by Gary Rodgers. 15 broadcasts; begins Monday, October 6. – S, V, G. Listen to a promo of The Throne.
Small Rain – Fiction by Garth Greenwell, 2024. A medical crisis brings one man close to death―and to love, art, and beauty―inspiring a meditation on a vital life in this profound and luminous novel. Read by Don Lee. 12 broadcasts; begins Monday, October 27. – L, S. Listen to a promo of Small Rain.
Potpourri
Monday – Friday 9:00 p.m.
London – Nonfiction by Paul Knox, 2024. A lively new history of London told through twenty-five buildings, from iconic Georgian townhouses to the Shard. Read by Pat Kovel-Jarboe. 13 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, October 1. Listen to a promo of London.
Gobsmacked! – Nonfiction by Ben Yagoda, 2024. A spot-on guide to how and why Americans have become so bloody keen on Britishisms—for good or ill. Read by Jan Anderson. 10 broadcasts; begins Monday, October 20. Listen to a promo of Gobsmacked!
Good Night Owl
Monday – Friday 10:00 p.m.
Butcher – Fiction by Joyce Carol Oates, 2024. An extraordinary and arresting novel about a women’s asylum in the nineteenth century, and a terrifying doctor who wants to change the world. Read by Pat Muir. 14 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, September 30. – S, V, G. Listen to a promo of Butcher.
An Instruction in Shadow – Fiction by Benedict Jacka, 2024. The ultra-rich control magic—the same way they control everything else—but Stephen Oakwood may just beat them at their own game in this exhilarating contemporary fantasy. Read by Carol McPherson. 11 broadcasts; begins Monday, October 20. – L. Listen to a promo of An Instruction in Shadow.
RTB After Hours
Monday – Friday 11:00 p.m.
Four Weekends and a Funeral – Fiction by Ellie Palmer, 2024. When Alison finds the right guy at the dead wrong time, a little white lie spirals out of control creating a romantic comedy. Read by Holland Richner. 11 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, September 17. – L. Listen to a promo of Four Weekends and a Funeral.
I’m a Fan – (re-broadcast) Fiction by Sheena Patel, 2022. A debut novel about a young British woman, power, intimacy, and the internet. Read by Cintra Godfrey. 7 broadcasts; begins Thursday, October 2. – L, S, V. Listen to a promo of I'm a Fan.
Phantasma – Fiction by Kaylie Smith, 2024. A seductive fantasy adventure where there are only two rules to the game: Stay alive. And don’t fall in love. Read by Julia Brown. 15 broadcasts; begins Monday, October 13. – L, S, V, G. Listen to a promo of Phantasma.
Weekend Books
Your Personal World (Saturdays at 1 p.m.) presents Fight Right by Julie and John Gottman, read by Dan Sadoff.
For the Younger Set (Sundays at 11 a.m.) presents Fetching Dreams by Mary Bleckwehl, read by Brenda Powell.
Poetic Reflections (Sundays at noon) presents Incandescent by Emilie Buchwold, read by Joseph Papke; followed by [Elipses] by Fady Joudah, read by Peter Danbury.
The Great North (Sundays at 4 p.m.) presents Too Much Sea for Their Decks by Michael Schumacher, read by Nancy Johnson.
Abbreviations
V – Violent content
R – Racial epithets
L – Strong language
G – Gory descriptions
S – Sexual situations
All listings are US Central Daylight Time (CDT)