RTB Radio News
Chautauqua
Monday – Friday 6:00 a.m.
On the Edge – Nonfiction by Nate Silver, 2024. A thought-provoking examination of how society has become increasingly divided between the risk-tolerant and the risk-averse. Read by Jeffrey Weihe. 23 broadcasts; begins Monday, June 1. – L. Listen to a promo of On the Edge.
Past is Prologue
Monday - Friday 11:00 a.m.
History Matters – Nonfiction by David McCullough, 2025. A collection of thought-provoking essays that affirms the value of history, how we can be guided by its lessons, and the enduring legacy of American ideals. Read by Holly Sylvester. 7 broadcasts; began Thursday, May 28. Listen to a promo of History Matters.
The Highest Calling – Nonfiction by David M. Rubenstein, 2024. A look at the American presidency featuring interviews with living American presidents, top historians, and journalists. Read by Jim Tarbox. 24 broadcasts; begins Monday, June 8. Listen to a promo of The Highest Calling.
Bookworm
Monday – Friday 12:00 p.m.
Fifteen Wild Decembers – Fiction by Karen Powell, 2025. A fictional dive into the tragic yet productive lives of the three Brontë sisters and their brother, Branwell. Read by Carol McPherson. 11 broadcasts; began Monday, May 18. Listen to a promo of Fifteen Wild Decembers.
The Magician of Tiger Castle – Fiction by Louis Sachar, 2025. A modern fantasy classic of forbidden love, a crumbling kingdom, and the unexpected magic all around us. Read by Jim Tarbox. 9 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, June 2. Listen to a promo of The Magician of Tiger Castle.
Canticle – Fiction by Janet Rich Edwards, 2025. A young woman’s religious obsession in thirteenth-century Bruges affects those around her and highlights a tumultuous moment of great change for common people. Read by Carol McPherson. 14 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, June 15. Listen to a promo of Canticle.
The Writer's Voice
Monday - Friday 1:00 p.m.
A Change of Habit – Nonfiction by Sister Monica Clare, 2025. The soulful, hilarious memoir of a chronic people pleaser who surprised everyone in her life by abandoning an unfulfilling career and marriage to join a convent—and learned how much we stand to gain when we fully embrace our authentic selves. Read by Therese Murray. 10 broadcasts; begins Monday, June 1. Listen to a promo of A Change of Habit.
The Place of Tides – Nonfiction by James Rebanks, 2025. The author reflects on a life-changing summer spent on a remote island off the coast of Norway, where his only companion was an old woman who practiced the ancient tradition of collecting eiderdown from birds that nest on this remarkable landscape each year. Read by Carol McPherson. 9 broadcasts; begins Monday, June 15. Listen to a promo of The Place of Tides.
Coming Up Short – Nonfiction by Robert B. Reich, 2025. A compelling memoir of growing up in a baby-boom America and clear-eyed chronicle of the culture, politics, and economic choices that have landed us where we are today. Read by Pat Ocken. 14 broadcasts; begins Monday, June 29. – L. Listen to a promo of Coming Up Short.
Choice Reading
Monday - Friday 2:00 p.m.
Escaping Limbo – Fiction by Mike F. Elliott, 2025. A young boy struggles to weather his own family tragedies while attempting to save his best friend from an abusive father in this coming-of-age story. Read by Robb Empson. 9 broadcasts; began Thursday, May 21. – L. Listen to a promo of Escaping Limbo.
The Book of I – Fiction by David Greig, 2025. A bloody and beautiful sojourn to a Scottish island in the year 825. Read by Rick Seime. 5 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, June 3. – L. Listen to a promo of The Book of I.
Ashes to Ashes – Fiction by Thomas Maltman, 2025. A small-town Minnesota teenager vows to make his family whole again in the wake of multiple tragedies, during a year in which his community is roiled by strange religious and mythological events. Read by John Schmidt. 9 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, June 10. – L. Listen to a promo of Ashes to Ashes.
Heart the Lover – Fiction by Lily King, 2025. A love triangle among young literati has a long and complicated aftermath in this novel of desire, friendship, and the lasting impact of first love. Read by Pat Muir. 7 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, June 23. – L, S. Listen to a promo of Heart the Lover.
Afternoon Report
Monday – Friday 4:00 p.m.
The Mission – Nonfiction by Tim Weiner, 2025. A history of the modern CIA, reaching from 9/11 to today’s secret battles with Russia and China, concluding with the Agency's own fight for survival under the current president of the United States. Read by Jack Rossmann. 18 broadcasts; began Tuesday, May 11. Listen to a promo of The Mission.
Fight Oligarchy – Nonfiction by Bernie Sanders, 2025. A powerful reiteration of principles—and some fresh ideas—from the longest-serving independent in congressional history. Read by Robb Empson. 3 broadcasts; begins Thursday, June 4. Listen to a promo of Fight Oligarchy.
Summer of Our Discontent – Nonfiction by Thomas Chatterton Williams, 2025. An incisive, culturally observant analysis of the evolving mores, manners and taboos of social justice orthodoxy, which has profoundly influenced how we think about diversity and freedom of expression, often with complex or paradoxical consequences. Read by Stevie Ray. 10 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, June 9. – L, R. Listen to a promo of Summer of Our Discontent.
Money, Lies, and God – Nonfiction by Katherine Stewart, 2025. A citizen's guide to the anti-democratic MAGA far right in America. Read by John Potts. 13 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, June 23. Listen to a promo of Money, Lies, and God.
Night Journey
Monday – Friday 7:00 p.m.
The Queen of Fives – Fiction by Alex Hay, 2025. A mysterious heiress sets her sights on an illustrious family, but nothing is quite what it seems in Victorian London high society. Read by Michele Potts. 11 broadcasts; began Wednesday, May 20. – S. Listen to a promo of The Queen of Fives.
Pariah – Fiction by Dan Fesperman, 2025. An adrenaline-fueled thriller about a disgraced comedian-turned-politician who takes on the role of a lifetime: infiltrating a corrupt Eastern European country to spy on their brutal dictator. Read by John Gunter. 15 broadcasts; begins Thursday, June 4. – L. Listen to a promo of Pariah.
Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell – Fiction by Nicholas Meyer, 2024. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson cross the Atlantic at the height of World War I in pursuit of a mysterious coded telegram in this new mystery. Read by Charles Gould. 8 broadcasts; begins Thursday, June 25. Listen to a promo of Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell.
Off the Shelf
Monday – Friday 8:00 p.m.
The Imagined Life – Fiction by Andrew Porter, 2025. A taut, elegiac novel about a man trying to uncover the truth about the father who left him behind. Read by Paul Ranelli. 9 broadcasts; began Wednesday, May 27. – L. Listen to a promo of The Imagined Life.
Playworld – Fiction by Adam Ross, 2025. A teen actor in 1980 Manhattan grapples with the consequences of fame, his eccentric family, and the advances of a family friend. Read by Carl Voss. 21 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, June 9. – L, S, V, R. Listen to a promo of Playworld.
Potpourri
Monday – Friday 9:00 p.m.
The Bible Says So – Nonfiction by Dan McClellan, 2025. A biblical scholar confronts misconceptions about the Bible. Read by Joanne Turner. 12 broadcasts; began Monday, May 18. Listen to a promo of The Bible Says So.
Bookshop – Nonfiction by Peter Miller, 2024. An affectionate and engaging history of the American bookstore and its central place in American cultural life. Read by Roger Sheldon. 13 broadcasts; begins Wednesday, June 3. – L. Listen to a promo of Bookshop.
Girl On Girl – Nonfiction by Sophie Gilbert, 2025. An essential cultural criticism of how the last three decades of movies, music, and media have written the story for women. Read by Parichay Rudina. 12 broadcasts; begins Monday, June 22. – L, S, V. Listen to a promo of Girl on Girl.
Good Night Owl
Monday – Friday 10:00 p.m.
The Devils – Fiction by Joe Abercrombie, 2025. An epic fantasy featuring a notorious band of anti-heroes on a delightfully bloody and raucous journey. Read by Dan Sadoff. 29 broadcasts; began Wednesday, May 13. – L, V, G. Listen to a promo of The Devils.
One of Us – Fiction by Dan Chaon, 2025. A playfully macabre and utterly thrilling tale about orphaned twins on the run from their murderous uncle who find refuge in a bizarre traveling carnival. Read by Andrea Bell. 12 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, June 23. Listen to a promo of One of Us.
RTB After Hours
Monday – Friday 11:00 p.m.
Unloved – Fiction by Peyton Corinne, 2025. A tutor and hockey player forge an unexpected bond that slowly turns into a life lesson in the healing quality of love. Read by Karen Ray. 16 broadcasts; began Monday, May 25. – L, S. Listen to a promo of Unloved.
The Love Haters – Fiction by Katherine Center, 2025. A closed-door rom-com about a video producer who fakes being a swimmer for a career-making, high-stakes job in Key West profiling a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. Read by Claudia Waring. 16 broadcasts; begins Tuesday, June 16. Listen to a promo of The Love Haters.
Weekend Books
Your Personal World (Saturdays at 1 p.m.) presents How to Get Along with Anyone by John Eliot & Jim Guinn, read by Stevie Ray.
For the Younger Set (Sundays at 11 a.m.) presents Codebreaker by Jay Martel, read by Pat Ocken.
Poetic Reflections (Sundays at noon) presents Best American Poetry 2025 by David Lehman, read by Dan Sadoff.
The Great North (Sundays at 4 p.m.) presents The Scenic Route by Arnold R. Alanen, read by Yelva Lynfield.
Abbreviations
V – Violent content
R – Racial epithets
L – Strong language
G – Gory descriptions
S – Sexual situations
All listings are US Central Time (CT)
Missed a Book Broadcast?
If you’ve missed a broadcast of a book, you can access it for two weeks following its original broadcast in our online weekly program archive. For help accessing the archive, please contact Ronnie Washington at 651.539.1424 or SSB.Equipment@state.mn.us.