Looking back at the career of the banished baseball star.

An amateur sleuth in a series opener whodunnit.

Are we taking freedom for granted?

The former Poet Laureate of South Carolina now resides in Springfield, Ohio.

A true crime story in which the murder weapons were little slips ofpaper.

This work of fiction is based upon real events that took place during the five years between 1916 and 1921.

A legendary punk band that came out of Yellow Springs.

Remembering some influential Americans from a century ago.

We live in a society that is awash in communications, much of it misdirected. We are engulfed: emails, texts, advertising, billboards, and every other variety of communication in a visual and audio assault that is endless. In this sea of blather how do we get our messages through to the intended recipients? Well, that's definitely a question that millions of people are pondering every day.

A Daytonesque debut novel by a long-time Daytonian.

Do you believe in God? Or, do you have doubts?

The return of a heroic hit man.

Of the interviews that I did with Thomas Moore, I think this one might be my favorite.

Is there an art to happiness?

Exploring the miracle of open adoption.

This British sex scandal happened almost four centuries ago.

Discussing visual images on the radio can present a splendid challenge.

This new crime series features a private eye and is set in New Jersey.

A sitting Montgomery County, Ohio, judge speaks out about injustices in our court system.

Remembering one of our foremost oceanic experts.

How have things been going lately with your inner critic?

This crime series features a county sheriff in rural Nevada.

Remembering the clown prince of political incorrectness.

This highly anticipated fantasy prequel is finally out in the world.

This fictional "Broiler" is a noir sizzler.

An environmentalist who explored environmental themes in his novels.

A 1960s Peace Corps volunteer revisits his two years spent in southern Africa.

Revisiting a discussion on spirituality which took place 22 years ago.

A debut novel inspired by the author's family history.

This memoir is filled with hard earned wisdom.

A former Montgomery County prosecutor has published his first novel.

A conversation with my favorite social media influencer.

The numbers don't lie, James Lee Burke is my favorite guest.

A father, a son, and a posthumous quest for connection.

One of the greatest exploration feats ever was the first circumnavigation of the globe.

A three dimensional book from 2007 has gotten transformed into a podcast.

A noir romance set in a place a lot like Dayton, Ohio.

This is the long anticipated sequel to "Shades of Grey."

Our deep connections with the planet and our profound disconnections with reality.

A serial killer, a true crime writer, and a true crime podcaster collide.

Have you been accused of splitting hairs? That is nothing compared to the follicles being severed in this bizarre story collection.

Revisiting the O.J. Simpson civil trial.

A memoir that reads like poetry.

This captivating crime novel is set in the Columbus area.

Poems that sparkle and shimmer.

An interview with a man who is truly a legend.

A memoirist looks back at growing up in Dayton during the 1950s and 1960s.

This is a truly spectacular novel.

Closing out National Poetry Month with more poems.

When you talk to your pets do you use funny voices? Admit it!

Pete Rose: the bigger the star, the harder the fall.

Opening National Poetry Month with some poetry.

A novel inspired by an explosive issue.

A conversation with a gifted poet who left us far too soon.

This author had been on my bucket list.

They bought a house in Sicily for only one euro. It was a bit more than they bargained for.

26 years between interviews and worth the wait!

Talking Bob Dylan...

This mystery novel won an Edgar Award forty years ago.

A former federal prosecutor shared his intimate knowledge of our justice system.

Jo Ann Kiser began working on this novel over fifty years ago.

A long-time local educator publishes his most autobiographical novel.

The WWII thriller is set in Boston.

Another poet Conrad had to corner.

This crime novel is smoking hot.

Conversations with two Edgar Award nominees for Best Novel.

A new story collection from one of our finest writers.

A retired veterinarian has published his first book.

How our treatment of animals is adversely impacting the climate here on earth.

Thomas Perry adds yet another novel to his impressive body of work.

After publishing 41 novels James Lee Burke has a new story collection, his third.

Remembering the tragic loss of a brother.

An interview with Gwen Agna.

Shining a light on some great Bosnian writers.

A thrilling and epic adventure story set in Africa in 1935.

Looking back at 30 years of author interviews.

A conversation with Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer.

The statistics will shock you. The reality is sobering.

This is podcast number 1000. Thank you. Scroll away for many more...

American history and the freedom to be funny.

A dreamy conversation with the New Yorker Cartoonist Roz Chast.

A Book Nook flashback to the year 2008.

The second installment in a sizzling new series.

What turned Lee Harvey Oswald into a killer? Was it his mother?

One of our greatest living crime novelists wrote a memoir about his ambulatory passions.

An urban historian examines rural America.

A classic interview with the late Tony Horwitz.

This book went straight to #1.

How do we listen? Can we ever listen enough?

Indigenous women were going missing in Oklahoma in this thriller set in 2008.

Amy Rigby returned to the program to discuss her fantastic music memoir.

The author of "Under the Tuscan Sun" returned to the program for the sequel.

When dealing with the changing climate we have a choice: work with nature, or against it.

Ten years ago Bill Bryson made his final appearance on the program.

Vick Mickunas interviews Tom Schaefer to find out what the connection is between poet Emily Dickinson and an island off the coast on Maine.

Chris Woodyard's fascination with death has filled her life.

John Scalzi's latest book, "Starter Villain," is another superb example of why Scalzi has become one of the best selling science fiction writers on the planet.

A writer's loss of confidence in his own work inspired this amazing novel.

A debut novel that got a lot of attention.

Shuly X. Cawood returns with her latest poetry collection.

Barbara Winslow chronicled the women's liberation movement in Seattle.

Ragnar Jónasson returned to the program with a novel he co-wrote with the Prime Minister of Iceland.

This book contains a fictional account of the final days of the Russian monarchy.

Detailing the rise and fall of the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.

Ann Cleeves returned to the program with her latest book in the Matthew Venn series.

We dug up this interview with Chris Woodyard that we made when she was out publicizing her book "Ghost Hunter's Guide to Haunted Ohio."

Another conversation with the effervescent Kathleen Rooney.

Katrina Kittle returned to the program with her heart warming new novel.

Before there was ever a public broadcasting system in the USA there were "educational" broadcasters.

Erin Flanagan wrote a novel about a really creepy friendship. So good.

A cautionary tale of two brothers who lost a lot of money gambling.

Joe R. Lansdale returned to the program after a long hiatus.

An eminent Scottish poet remembers his childhood in this brilliant memoir.

M. Ruth Myers returned to the program to introduce the first book in her new series.

Adrian McKinty returns with a new Sean Duffy book and reissues of all the others.

The British tabloids have developed an unsavory reputation. Sandie Jones has written a mystery that reveals the sinister inner workings of that world.

Thriller author Reed Farrel Coleman talks about his latest series, Sleepless City.

The Mick Hardin series keeps rolling right along through the hills of Kentucky.

Laura Lippman's latest novel will leave readers breathless.

This author believes Theodore Roosevelt was one of our greatest presidents.

Book number #15 in the popular crime fiction series set in Ohio Amish country.

Nobody has made more appearances in the Book Nook than James Lee Burke.

This history of chimney sweeping in the United States was written by a guy I have known since high school.

Just over a century ago hardly anybody in America knew how to swim.

A veteran Time Magazine reporter's first book was a biography of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

The history of presidential impersonation is a fascinating one.

Wally Lamb was one of the hottest authors on the planet when he made his first appearance on the program.

Melissa Adelman just published her first novel and this is an impressive debut.

The first ever radio appearance by an author who has just published her first book.

Unveil author interview tales and indulge in Block's incredible storytelling. A must-read for mystery enthusiasts.

The day the author of Ruby Fruit Jungle came to Yellow Springs, Ohio.

S.A. Cosby is one of the hottest authors in the crime fiction universe.

Remembering a former classmate named Philip Gerard.

Artificial Intelligence, threat? Or promise? And other brainy topics.

The brave young woman who battled the Nazi death machine.

Brendan Slocumb wedded his passion for music with a love for detective stories while imagining this dynamic novel.

The little known story of the remarkable U.S. Senator who protected the birds.

Jonathan Raban was one of the great travel writers, although he despised the term.

My final conversation with the author of "Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?"

Frank Bill has written a gritty fictional homage to his father who served in the Vietnam War.

Martha Moody made her first appearance on the program for her debut novel, which became a best seller.

David Jacob Kramer's book "Heads Together" tells the story of the Underground Press Syndicate, a network of underground newspapers that flourished in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

This history of feminism in the "heartland" is really the history of the feminist movement in the Dayton area a half century ago.

April is National Poetry Month. We began the month with poetry and we are ending it the same way.

Did you know about the woman who became a Pope during the Middle Ages? I didn't think so, please check out this interview.

Rachel Eve Moulton returned to her hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio and the program to record an in-person interview while she was back.

An interview with a physician who is a legendary story teller.

An author transforms his family history into a compelling multi-generational fictional saga.

In 1995, it took almost ten minutes for a crippled commuter flight to finally come to ground. Plenty of time for those on board to ponder their fates.

Podcast intro: Looking back a few centuries at the phenomenal story of porcelain and how it was so treasured then that they once called it "white gold."

A poetry collection that has sprung forth from the annual Solstice poetry readings at Glen Helen in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Terry Brooks came out to Yellow Springs 26 years ago to talk about his best-selling Shannara books.

Remembering the biographer Donald Spoto who died in February. The author of 29 books, this was his only appearance on the program.

Beth Macy keeps spreading the gospel of harm reduction.

If I had to compile a list of favorite guests to interview this author would be very high on my list.

Remembering the late Harold Bloom who was once called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world."

We are taking the Book Nook on the road for an event at Edison State Community College in Piqua, Ohio on Wednesday, April 19.

A conversation with the actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, and novelist — John Sayles.

One of the most deeply personal and powerful memoirs you'll ever read.

Some politicians like to talk about how their states should secede because these politicians disagree with the U.S. government. In Cathy Haustein's 'Unstable States" series one state, Iowa, has done exactly that.

Vick Mickunas' first interview with the Irish writer Nuala O'Faolain was truly memorable.

Tiffany McDaniel returned to the program to discuss the novel she has based upon the stories of some actual unsolved murders of women in Ohio.

How did Edgar Allan Poe die? We cannot be sure, but there are some theories...

Prolific horror writer Stephen Graham Jones returned to the show to discuss the second book in his Indian Lake trilogy.

The enduring wisdom of a farmer named Gene Logsdon.

21 years ago Silas House made his first appearance on the program to talk about Clay's Quilt, his first novel. He's back again to tell us about his latest, Lark Ascending.

Merging one man's wonderful music and autobiographical fiction into a special radio program.

This new essay collection contains humor and pathos and medical digressions. Also, pranks with pizzas.

Some interviews really hold up over the years. Aaron Lynch was predicting the future.

Reading books is a voyage of discovery. Every week I endeavor to discover something new to me.

Astrea Taylor returned to the program to talk about her fifth book whichshe co-wrote with Jason Mankey.

The Sherlock Holmes detective novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle have spawned new generations of books that continue to feature that intrepid sleuth.

Twenty-one years ago an eminent historian published a biography of General George Patton then popped into the Book Nook to discuss it.

Charles Cumming returned to the show to talk about the first two books in his new series of espionage novels.

Peter Blauner returns to the Book Nook.

Vick Mickunas takes a look back at some of his favorite interviews from 2022.