An interview with Jonathan Blitzer, author of Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here. The book is a vivid portrait of the people whose lives ebb and flow across the U.S. border, and how the immigration crisis shapes American politics and culture.

An interview with Minxin Pei, author of The Sentinel State. The book argues that the endurance of dictatorship in China owes less to advanced technology than it does to the human resources of the Leninist surveillance state.

An interview with Paul Hendrickson, author of the new book, Fighting the Night. The book is a moving story of his father’s wartime service as a night fighter pilot, and the prices he and his fellow soldiers paid for their selfless acts of service.

An interview with Nicholas Shakespeare, author of the new book, Ian Fleming: The Complete Man. The book offers an eye-opening portrait of the mysterious and fascinating man behind James Bond, and his enduring impact.

An interview with David L. Roll, author of the new book, Ascent to Power. The book focuses on the fascinating story behind the most consequential presidential transition in US history, from Roosevelt to Truman.

An interview with David Ignatius, author of the new novel, Phantom Orbit. The book is a thrilling story of espionage against the backdrop of our nation’s renewed interest in space exploration amid geopolitical tumult.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in July 2022. An interview with Peter S. Goodman, author of Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World. The book is must read for anyone concerned about economic justice and the sanctity of representative government.

An interview with Steve Inskeep, author of the new book, Differ We Must. The book is a compelling portrait of Abraham Lincoln’s political acumen in a country divided – and lessons for our own disorderly present.

An interview with Margot Susca, author of Hedged. The book reveals a newspaper industry rocked by an obsession with profit and beholden to private fund interests.

An interview with Amy Gajda, author of Seek and Hide: The Tangled History of the Right to Privacy. The book is an important primer for today’s privacy wars - the surprising history of the right to privacy, and its battle against the public’s right to know.

An interview with Erik Larson, author of the new book, The Demon of Unrest. The book examines the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War.

An interview with Illia Ponomarenko, author of the new book, I Will Show You How It Was. The book is powerful and personal chronicle of the war in Ukraine from the front lines.

An interview with Rob Percival, author of The Meat Paradox: Eating, Empathy, and the Future of Meat. The book offers a vital and nuanced investigation into the current debate around meat.

An interview with Stephen F. Knott, author of Coming to Terms with John F. Kennedy. The book offers a broad view of the young President, and shows how politicians on both sides of the aisle distorted JFK's record for their own purposes.

An interview with Terry Hayes, acclaimed author of the new book, The Year of the Locust. A thriller set in the borderlands of the Middle East, the novel follows a CIA spy as his plans to extract a source are complicated by a powerful adversary.

An interview with Moisés Naím, author of The Revenge of Power: How Autocrats Are Reinventing Politics for the 21st Century. The book examines the future of freedom and how to contain and defeat the autocrats popping up around the world.

An interview with Jonathan Taplin, author of The End of Reality. The book is a scathing critique of the worldview being sold by four American billionaires.

An interview with writer C.J. Box, joining us to talk about his new novel, Three-Inch Teeth. In the book, game warden Joe Pickett contends with a vicious grizzly bear and an ex-convict out for revenge.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in October 2020.

An interview with John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather. The book offers a terrifying account of a colossal wildfire and an exploration of the rapidly changing relationship between fire and humankind.

An interview with Elena Conis, author of How to Sell a Poison. The book tells the tangled story of DDT, a corporate-backed poison that decimated wildlife and left behind toxic bodies.

An interview with Charlotte McConaghy about her new novel, Once There Were Wolves. The book is about the looming threat of environmental collapse and the bold and flawed humans working to avert it.

An interview with Nathan Thrall, author of the new book, A Day in the Life of Abed Salama. The book tells the story of a deadly accident outside Jerusalem that unravels a tangle of lives, loves, and histories over the course of a single day.

An interview with Jonathan Karl, author of Tired of Winning. The book explores how Donald Trump remade the Republican Party in his own image, baggage and all.

An interview with Dana Stevens, author of Camera Man: Buster Keaton, The Dawn of Cinema and the Invention of the Twentieth Century. In the book, Stevens places acclaimed filmmaker Buster Keaton’s unique creative genius in the context of his time.

An interview with Steven Levitsky, co-author of Tyranny of the Minority. The book offers important context for our volatile times and a framework for how to protect our democracy from an authoritarian backlash.

An interview with Steven Levitsky, co-author of Tyranny of the Minority. The book offers important context for our volatile times and a framework for how to protect our democracy from an authoritarian backlash.

An interview with Brendan Slocumb, author of the novel, The Violin Conspiracy. Part literary thriller and part mystery, the book is a gripping coming-of-age story about the love of music and a young man’s resilience.

An interview with Joe Nocera, co-author of The Big Fail. Co-written by Bethany MacLean, the book offers new answers for why and how America become the world leader in COVID deaths.

An interview with Shelley Fraser Mickle, author of the new book, White House Wild Child. The book is a fascinating biography of outspoken first-daughter Alice Roosevelt, sometimes dubbed the Jackie O of the early 20th century.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode first aired in January 2021.

An interview with Brendan Ballou, author of the new book, Plunder. The book offers a powerful expose on the private equity industry – what it is, how it harms businesses and jobs, how the government helps, and how it can be reined in.

An interview with Morvan Lallouet, co-author of Navalny: Putin’s Nemesis, Russia’s Future? The book offers a close look at Alexei Navalny, from his pioneering anti-corruption investigations to his leadership of a political movement.

An interview with Yascha Mounk, author of the new book, The Identity Trap. The book provides a comprehensive account of the origins, consequences, and limitations of so-called “wokeness.”

An interview with Peter Robison, author of Flying Blind: The 737 Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing. The book explores how an industry titan became consumed with the bottom line, leading to a tragedy that endangered countless lives. Note: This is the second of a two-part interview.

An interview with Peter Robison, author of Flying Blind: The 737 Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing. The book explores how an industry titan became consumed with the bottom line, leading to a tragedy that endangered countless lives.

An interview with David McCloskey author of the new thriller, Moscow X. The book centers on a daring CIA operation, which targets Putin’s private banker.

An interview with Tom Wheeler, former FCC chairman and author of the new book, Techlash. With the experiences of the late 19th century’s industrial Gilded Age as a backdrop, Wheeler makes the case for a new vision of digital governance.

An interview with Azeem Azhar, author of The Exponential Age: How Accelerating Technology is Transforming Business, Politics, and Society. The book explores the widening gap between rapidly-expanding technology and our ability to deal with its effects.

An interview with Marc C. Johnson, author of Mansfield and Dirksen: Bipartisan Giants of the Senate. The book highlights two Senate leaders whose commitment to bipartisanship lead to the passage of groundbreaking legislation, even in tumultuous times.

An interview with Stuart A. Reid, author of The Lumumba Plot. The book is a thrilling Cold War account of the U.S.-sanctioned plot to assassinate the democratically elected leader of the newly independent Congo.

An interview with Stuart A. Reid, author of The Lumumba Plot. The book is a thrilling Cold War account of the U.S.-sanctioned plot to assassinate the democratically elected leader of the newly independent Congo.

An interview with Naomi Hirahara, author of the new novel, Clark and Division. Part crime novel, part poignant historical fiction, the book was recently listed as a New York Times Best Mystery Novel of 2021.

An interview with David Neiwert, author of The Age of Insurrection. In the book, Neiwert charts the rise of the far right’s threats against American democracy.

An interview with Sean D. Carberry, author of the new book, Passport Stamps: Searching the World for a War to Call Home. The book is a darkly comic and emotionally-fraught tale of a former NPR journalist who seeks solace in the world’s most dangerous places.

An interview with Mitchell Zuckoff, author of The Secret Gate: A True Story of Courage and Sacrifice During the Collapse of Afghanistan. The book covers the true story of an incredible rescue in the frenzied final hours of the U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan.

An interview with Eric A. Posner, author of How Antitrust Law Failed Workers. The book is a powerful examination of the causes of inequality and wage stagnation in America.

Note: This is part I of a two-part interview, which originally aired in March 2022. An interview with Ryanne Pilgeram, author of Pushed Out: Contested Development and Rural Gentrification in the US West. In the book, a small town weighs the economic compromises of growth in the Rocky Mountain West.

An interview with John Perlin, author of A Forest Journey. Now with a brand new edition, Perlin's book offers a contemporary view of the effects of wood, as used for building and fuel, and of deforestation on the development of civilization.

An interview with Shelby Van Pelt, author of the novel Remarkably Bright Creatures. The book is an exploration of friendship and hope that traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

An interview with Kevin Roose, author of Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation. The book shares the secrets of people and organizations that have survived technological change, and explains how we can protect our own futures.

An interview with James Risen, author of The Last Honest Man. The book examines the fight for democracy by Senator Frank Church, a man at the epicenter of numerous investigations into the abuses of power within American government.

An interview with S. Kirk Walsh author of the bestselling novel, The Elephant of Belfast. Inspire by true events, the book is a moving account of a young zookeeper and the elephant she's compelled to protect during the German blitz of Belfast during WWII.

An interview with Isaac Stone Fish, author of America Second. The book is an exposé of America’s political and business ties to China, often with profound and hidden costs to U.S. interests.with Isaac Stone Fish, author of America Second. The book is an exposé of America’s political and business ties to China, often with profound and hidden costs to U.S. interests.

An interview with Jamie Susskind, author of The Digital Republic. The book is a definitive guide to the great political question of our time: how can freedom and democracy survive in a world of powerful digital technologies?

An interview with Alma Katsu, author of the new thriller, Red London. The book is a race-against-the-clock story, told by a writer with 35 years of expertise in national security.

An interview with Edward Achorn, author of The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention That Changed History. In the book, Achorn offers a behind-the-scenes look at Abraham Lincoln’s history-changing nomination to lead the Republican Party in the 1860 presidential election.

An interview with Steven Feldstein, author of The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance. The book offers a compelling record of how anti-democratic leaders harness powerful technology to advance their political objectives.

An interview with Ilyon Woo, author of Master Slave Husband Wife. The book tells the remarkable true story of Ellen and William Craft, who escaped slavery with Ellen passing as a wealthy, disabled White man and William posing as “his” slave.

Imbolo Mbue's novel, How Beautiful We Were, follows a fearless young woman from a small African village as she starts a revolution against an American oil company.

An interview with Nguyen Phan Que Mai, author of the new novel, Dust Child. The book is a saga about two Vietnamese sisters and two American men, whose lives intersect in surprising ways, set during and after the war in Vietnam.

An interview with David Michaels, author of The Triumph of Doubt. In the book, Michaels details how corrupt science becomes public policy, through the aid of dark money, and where it's happening today.

An interview with Melissa Colasanti, author of the new novel, Call Me Elizabeth Lark. A psychological thriller, the book follows the mysterious reappearance of a woman’s daughter after 20 years.

An interview with Martha C. Nussbaum, author of Justice for Animals. The book offers a revolutionary new theory and call to action on animal rights, ethics, and law.

An interview with Susan Elia MacNeal, author of the novel, Mother Daughter Traitor Spy. The book is inspired by a real-life mother and daughter, who go undercover after stumbling upon a Nazi cell in Los Angeles during the early days of World War II.

An interview with Gilda R. Daniels, author of Uncounted: The Crisis of Voter Suppression in America. The book warns about a premeditated strategy of restrictive laws and deceptive practices that is eroding the very basis of American democracy.

An interview with Alex Bezzerides, author of Evolution Gone Wrong. The book is a fresh and funny examination of the curious ways human beings have beaten the odds as a species.

An interview with Walt Bogdanich, co-author of the new book, When McKinsey Comes to Town. The book offers a portrait of a company whose work has often made the world more unequal, more corrupt, and more dangerous.

An interview with Geoff Dembicki, author of The Petroleum Papers. The book provides a step-by-step account of how we reached this precipice of climate disaster, and the politicians and companies who helped get us here.

An interview with Seth David Radwell, author of American Schism. The book is an enlightened exploration of our history to unite a deeply-divided America.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in July 2021.In his book, Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy, Senate insider Adam Jentleson contends that far from reflecting the Framers’ vision, the Senate has been transformed over the decades by a tenacious minority of white conservatives.

Note: This is the second half of a two-part interview. An interview with Bradley Onishi, author of Preparing for War. The book is an engrossing account of the years-long campaign of White Christian nationalism that led to the insurrection of January 6.

Note: This is the first of a two-part interview. An interview with Bradley Onishi, author of Preparing for War. The book is an engrossing account of the years-long campaign of White Christian nationalism that led to the insurrection of January 6.

An interview with Shannon K. O’Neil, author of The Globalization Myth: Why Regions Matter. The book offers a case for why regionalization, not globalization, has been the biggest economic trend of the past forty years.

The World Turned Upside Down: America, China, and the Struggle for Global Leadership, by Clyde Prestowitz, identifies the challenges China’s growing power poses and how it must be confronted.

Bob Kustra interviews Abdulrazak Gurnah, Nobel Prize winner and author of the novel, Afterlives. The book is a multi-generational saga of displacement, love and loss, set against the brutal colonization of east Africa.

An interview with Connor Sullivan, author of the new novel, Sleeping Bear. In the book, a former Army veteran seeking solitude in the Alaskan wilderness finds herself a pawn in a deadly game with Russia.

An interview with Daniel Golden, author of The Ransomware Hunting Team. The book is a real-life technological thriller about a band of eccentric misfits taking on the biggest cybersecurity threats of our time.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The show originally aired in June 2021. In Jack Devine's newest book, Spymaster’s Prism: The Fight Against Russian Aggression, the legendary CIA spymaster illustrates how Russia’s intelligence activities have continued uninterrupted throughout modern history.

An interview with Dipo Faloyin, debut author of Africa is Not a Country: Notes on a Bright Continent. In the book, Faloyin explores the youth-led cultural and political movements that are defining and reimagining Africa on their own terms.Program note: This is the second half of a two-part interview.

An interview with Dipo Faloyin, debut author of Africa is Not a Country: Notes on a Bright Continent. In the book, Faloyin explores the youth-led cultural and political movements that are defining and reimagining Africa on their own terms.

An interview with John Pomfret, author of From Warsaw With Love. The book tells the epic story of how Polish intelligence officers forged an alliance with the CIA in the twilight of the Cold War.

In his latest book, Proof of Life, Daniel Levin dives deep into a shadowy world where few have access—an underground industry of war where everything is for sale, including arms, drugs, and even people.

This is an encore program which originally aired in December of 2017.

An interview with Gaia Vince, author of Nomad Century: How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World. The book investigates a coming environmental migration, the seismic consequence of our climate crisis that will force us to change where, and how, we live.

An interview with Daniel Yergin, author of The New Map: Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations. The book offers a fresh look at how energy revolutions, climate battles, and geopolitics are mapping our future.

An interview with Amelia Pang, author of Made in China: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Cost of America's Cheap Goods. The book explores ethical consumption and how a cheap price tag typically hides a higher human cost.

An interview with Eric Rauchway, author of Why the New Deal Matters. The book offers a look at how the New Deal fundamentally changed American life, and why it remains relevant today.

An interview with Ben Macintyre, author of the new book, Prisoners of the Castle: An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazis’ Fortress Prison. In the book, Macintyre looks at one of history’s most notorious prisons, and the remarkable cast of POWs who tried relentlessly to escape their captors.

An interview with Nate Schweber, author of the new book, This America of Ours: Bernard & Avis DeVoto and the Forgotten Fight to Save the Wild. In the book, Schweber tells the story of the extraordinary couple who rescued national parks from McCarthyism, and inspired a future of conservation.

An interview with Chris Pavone, author of the thrilling novel, Two Nights in Lisbon. The book is story of a woman under pressure, and what she will resort to when everything is on the line.

An interview with Toya Wolfe, debut author of the novel, Last Summer on State Street. The book is a striking coming-of-age debut about friendship, community, and resilience, set in the housing projects of Chicago.

An interview with Mark Follman, author of Trigger Points: Inside the Mission to Stop Mass Shootings in America. The book casts new light on the behind-the-scenes work being done to predict and prevent mass shootings.

In her bestselling memoir, When Time Stopped: A Memoir of My Father’s War and What Remains, Ariana Neumann offers a moving story of personal discovery and a portrait of living, dying, and surviving in war-torn Berlin. (Program note: This is part one of a two-part interview.)

An interview with Edward H. Miller, author of A Conspiratorial Life: Robert Welch, the John Birch Society, and the Revolution of American Conservatism. In the book, Miller argues that Welch’s paranoid right-wing nativism, dismissed by thinkers like William F. Buckley, gradually moved from the fringe into mainstream conservatism.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in April 2021.

An interview with David Gelles, author of The Man Who Broke Capitalism: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America―and How to Undo His Legacy. In the book, Gelles profiles the man who ushered in a new, cutthroat era of American capitalism that continues to this day

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in March 2021.

An interview with Scott Weidensaul, author of A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds. The book is exhilarating exploration of the science and wonder of global bird migration.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired May 2021.Ty Seidule's book, Robert E Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause, offers a personal challenge to the myths and lies of the Confederate legacy, and explores why some of this country’s oldest wounds have never healed.

An interview with Tom Lin, author of the novel, The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu. A twist on the classic western, it’s a story of one man's quest for redemption in the face of a distinctly American brutality.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode first aired in March 2021.

An interview with Gary Gerstle, author of The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era. The book illuminates how the ideology of neoliberalism became so infused in the daily life of an era.

This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally in March 2021.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. This episode originally aired in February 2021.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in February 2021.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The original episode premiered in August 2020.

An interview with Elie Honig, author of Hatchet Man: How Bill Barr Broke the Prosecutor's Code and Corrupted the Justice Department. In the book, Honig makes the case that Barr trampled the two core virtues that have long defined the department and its mission: credibility and independence.

Note: This is an encore episode of Reader's Corner. The original episode first aired in January 2021.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in December 2020.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in March 2022. This is part II of a two-part interview. An interview with Ryanne Pilgeram, author of Pushed Out: Contested Development and Rural Gentrification in the US West. In the book, a small town weighs the economic compromises of growth in the Rocky Mountain West.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The original aired in November 2020.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The original episode aired in October 2020.

An interview with Andrea Elliott, author of Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival, and Hope in an American City. A stunning debut, the book covers eight formative years in the life of an intelligent and imaginative young girl in a Brooklyn homeless shelter as she balances poverty, family, and opportunity.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in September 2020.

Note: This is an encore edition of our program. The original aired in September 2020.

Growing up on Chicago’s Westside in the 90’s, Arshay Cooper knows the harder side of life. Street corners full of gangs, hallways of his apartment complex haunted by drug addicts, his mother a recovering addict. Arshay spent his school days in the home-ec kitchen dreaming of becoming a chef. And then one day he notices a boat in the school lunchroom, and a poster that reads “Join the Crew Team.”

An interview with Daco Auffenorde, author of the thrilling novel, Cover Your Tracks. The book is a chilling story of love and hate, the devastating power of nature, and the will to survive.

Note: This is an encore edition of our program. The original aired in August 2020.

Note: This is the second half of a two-part interview. This is also an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in December 2021. An interview with Eyal Press, author of Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America. The book offers a groundbreaking and urgent report from the front lines of "dirty work" – the work that society considers essential but morally compromised.

An interview with Eyal Press, author of Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America. The book offers a groundbreaking and urgent report from the front lines of "dirty work" – the work that society considers essential but morally compromised.

Note: This is an encore edition of our program. The original premiered in August 2020.

Note: This is an encore edition of our program. The original episode premiered in July 2020.

Note: This is an encore edition of our program. The original episode aired in June 2020.

An interview with Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, author of The Daughters of Kobani: A Story of Rebellion, Courage, and Justice. The book uncovers a group of women intent on not only defeating the Islamic State but also changing women’s lives in their corner of the Middle East and beyond.

In his new book, World Without Mind, Franklin Foer argues that today’s monopolists are seeking access to every facet of our identities, and influence over every corner of our decision-making.

An interview with Blaine Harden, author of Murder at the Mission: A Frontier Killing, its Legacy of Lies, and the Taking of the American West. The book examines the cost of American expansionism, and the problems that arise when history is only told by the victors.

Note: This is an encore edition of our program. The original episode aired in July 2020.

In 1992, the United States stood at the pinnacle of world power and Americans were confident that a new era of peace and prosperity was at hand. 25 years later, those hopes have been dashed. Relations with Russia and China have soured, the European Union is wobbling, nationalism and populism are on the rise, and the United States is stuck in costly and seemingly endless wars that have squandered trillions of dollars and undermined its influence around the world. And it’s only getting worse.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The original episode first aired in May 2020.

Note: This is an encore episode of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in August 2021. In his latest book, The Ratline: The Exalted Life and Mysterious Death of a Nazi Fugitive, Philippe Sands offers a tale of Nazi lives, mass murder, love, cold war espionage, and a mysterious death in the Vatican.

Note: This is an encore edition of our program that first aired in April 2020.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired June 2020.

Note: This is an encore episode that originally aired in July 2020.

The Idaho Traveler explores the often ignored treasures of small-town Idaho, from historic buildings and sites to the mom-and-pop restaurants that offer the best pie and breakfast in the Gem State. Interviews with long-time residents and newcomers alike illustrate this paean to Idaho and capture the essence of what defines Idaho's unique character.

An interview with Samantha Silva about her latest book, Love and Fury, a moving account of Mary Wollstonecraft, mother to writer Mary Shelley and arguably the world’s first feminist.

This interview was originally broadcast in May, 2020.

This is an encore presentation.

This interview was originally broadcast in September, 2019.

This is an encore presentation.

This is an encore presentation, originally broadcast in November, 2019.

This is an encore presentation.

This is an encore presentation.

In Never Trump authors Robert Saldin and Steven Teles, took a deep-dive into the Never Trump movement, explaining the reasons for the widespread and unprecedented intra-party opposition to Trump, why it took the form it did, and its long-term consequences. Importantly, Never Trump anticipates the impact of the Never Trump network on the future of the Republican and Democratic parties, conservatism, and American politics.

This is an encore presentation.

This is an encore presentation.

This is an encore presentation.

This is an encore presentation.

This is an encore presentation.

This is an encore presentation.

Esi Edugyan is the author of the book, Washington Black. The novel won the prestigious Giller Prize and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The paperback edition of the book is out now.

This is an encore presentation.

This is an encore presentation.

Emily Nemen’s The Cactus League, as the title tells us, is set in the Arizona desert, around Scottsdale, during spring training for major league baseball. The novel is narrated by a sportscaster and while nominally the story of Jason Goodyear, the star outfielder for the fictional Los Angeles Lions, Goodyear’s story is interspersed with the stories of other richly drawn characters -- the batting coach, aging sports agent, the players, owners, ballpark staff and the hangers on.

Imperiled Ocean is an exploration of the earth's last wild frontier, filled with high-stakes stories that explore a vast territory undergoing tremendous change. Journalist Laura Trethewey set out in 2015 on 'an extended listening tour' to hear some of these stories. She learned that for reasons of money… migrants die, cruise ships steer around the law, and plastic is made, sold and discarded faster than it can be collected and disposed of.

This is an encore presentation.

This is an encore presentation

This is an encore presentation.

This is an encore presentation.

This is an encore presentation.

Trump and His Generals is Peter Bergen's riveting account of what happened when the unstoppable force of President Trump met the immovable object of America's national security establishment--the CIA, the State Department, and, above all, the Pentagon. If there is a real "deep state" in DC, it is the national security community, with its deep-rooted culture and hierarchy.

This is an encore presentation.

In America, domestic violence accounts for 15 percent of all violent crime, and yet it remains locked in silence, even as its tendrils reach unseen into so many of our most pressing national issues, from our economy to our education system, from mass shootings to mass incarceration to the #MeToo movement.

This interview was originally broadcast in April, 2019.

A literary thriller, Bearskin is set in the wilds of the Appalachian Mountains. Rice Moore is the caretaker of this nature preserve, a man running from a sordid past, only to face a fresh crime perpetrated in his new stomping grounds: black market bear poaching. With his past transgression gaining on him, Moore goes deep into the woods in his attempt to stop the killings.

Like so many young American couples, Chris Ingraham and his wife Briana were having a difficult time making ends meet as they tried to raise their twin boys in the East Coast suburbs. One day, Chris – in his role as a “data guy” reporter at the Washington Post – stumbled on a study that would change his life. It was a ranking of America’s 3,000+ counties from ugliest to most scenic. He quickly scrolled to the bottom of the list and gleefully wrote the words “The absolute worst place to live in America is (drumroll please) … Red Lake County, Minn.”

In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: "She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her." Their target was Virginia Hall, a Baltimore socialite who talked her way into Special Operations Executive, the spy organization dubbed Winston Churchill's "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare."

This encore interview was originally broadcast in June, 2019.

This interview was originally broadcast in August, 2019.

This interview originally aired in February, 2019.

This encore interview originally aired in February, 2019.

This encore program originally aired in January, 2019.

This encore interview was first broadcast in January, 2019.

Daniel Mason's novel, The Winter Soldier, follows Lucius Krzelewski, a 22-year-old medical student living in Vienna when World War I breaks out. Eager to do his part and allured by the vision of the noble, battlefield medic, Lucius enlists. But when he arrives on the front line, the reality of his situation comes into focus: the other doctors have fled, only a strange and secretive nurse remains, and Lucius has never even held a scalpel. A story of war and family, love and history, The Winter Soldier is a gripping novel equally stocked with mystery, excitement, and a brutal history.

This encore interview originally aired in January, 2019.

Marie Colvin was one of the foremost war reporters of her generation, risking her life covering conflicts in Chechnya, East Timor, Kosovo, and the Middle East. Killed in an artillery attack in Syria in 2012, Colvin left behind a profound record of the victims of wars that she covered, and a reputation as an unflinching and nonconformist reporter.

This encore interview was originally broadcast in October, 2017.

This encore conversation first was broadcast in October, 2017.

The grizzly bear is one of North America’s few remaining large predators. With a diminished range, grizzlies are again spreading across the West. But in the valleys where once they were king, grizzlies are finding the landscape they’d known for eons utterly changed by this millennia’s most dominant animal: humans.

This interview originally aired in November, 2018.

This Reader's Corner interview was originally broadcast in November, 2018.

America’s constitutional system of checks and balances has endured for more than two centuries. This is due, in part, to two unwritten political norms: respectful tolerance between opposing political parties, and a measure of restraint by the administration in power. Yet at contentious times in our history, those guardrails of democracy have been put to the test.

For decades, North Korea has operated as a prime example of a “hermit kingdom” – a nation ruled by a despotic family regime, where propaganda and historical, political, and economic theatre are a daily ritual for the country’s 25 million citizens.

This encore interview originally aired in October, 2018.

Jonathan Evison is a writer whose work frequently appears on the New York Times bestseller list.

This encore Reader's Corner interview first aired in September, 2018.

What if you could take a road trip and visit all your heroes, door-to-door? What if you could share a meal? And what if you could do it right in their own homes? Our guest today embarked on just such a pilgrimage.

This interview was first broadcast in August, 2018.

This encore program originally aired in September, 2018.

This encore interview originally aired in July, 2018.

This encore program was originally broadcast in November, 2016.

This encore Reader's Corner interview originally broadcast in June, 2018.

This interview originally aired in August, 2010.

This encore program originally aired in June, 2018.

The state of public education is a constant concern these days -- for families, for legislators, for teachers and experts. Many are questioning methods embraced by American school systems as we see other countries besting us, particularly in math and science.

When it comes to getting cash to make ends meet, many Americans don’t take their business to the local bank. Instead, they rely on alternative financial systems such as check cashing stores and payday lenders. Despite high interest rates and sometimes exorbitant fees, these services fill a vital need for those living paycheck to paycheck, and who, for a variety of reasons, distrust banks.

Tara Westover grew up in far southeastern Idaho in a landscape familiar to many in the Gem State, a valley dominated by ranches and ringed by mountains. Her daily life, though, was anything but normal.

This encore interview with Nancy Koehn was originally broadcast in March, 2018.

Today we’re continuing our conversation with Scott Eyman about his book Hank & Jim. The book chronicles the long friendship between two Hollywood icons, Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart. Unlike many friendships, theirs wasn’t based on shared beliefs about things like religion or politics. In fact, Stewart was a church-going Republican married to the same woman for 45 years. Fonda was a liberal Democrat and a non-believer who was married five times. Despite these and other differences, Fonda and Stewart found solace in each other’s company. They understood each other on a cellular level and around each other, they could have fun and relax.

Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart are beloved icons of Hollywood’s Golden Age, with careers that spanned decades and movies that still hold up today. They also were best friends who enjoyed spending time together, away from the glitter of their very public lives. With each other, they were simply Hank and Jim, two guys who flew kites, built model airplanes, played elaborate practical jokes on occasion, and didn’t find it necessary to talk about making movies, women, or the world war they both served in.

This encore interview was first broadcast in February, 2018

Today’s mountaineers tackle the world’s tallest peaks with the latest in technical gear – from down suits to nylon ropes and even cell phones. It is a far cry from the 1920s, when the first mountaineers to attempt Mount Everest climbed in hobnail boots, hauled canvas tents and were literally facing the unknown.

A daily battle is raging along the 10th Parallel – the line of latitude 700 miles north of the equator in Africa and Southeast Asia where Islam and Christianity intersect. In this critical geographical band, religious ideologies clash, often erupting into deadly violence as more than half the world’s Muslims and 60 percent of the world’s Christians compete for the souls of the region’s burgeoning population.

The descriptive phrase, “The Wild West,” brings to mind images of gunslingers, dusty miners and pioneering families eager to forge a fresh start in an inhospitable place. But in a new book, journalist Blaire Briody takes us on a tour of America’s contemporary Wild West: the badlands of North Dakota, under which reside an estimated 4.3 billion gallons of recoverable oil, making it the largest oil reserve in the lower 48 states.

This encore program originally was broadcast in March, 2018.

This interview was originally broadcast in January, 2018.

Russia is certainly in the headlines these days – but for the next 30 minutes, we’re setting aside talk of election meddling and diplomats to discuss a work of fiction. The novel, and it’s a bestseller, is A Gentleman in Moscow, and it’s written by today’s guest, Amor Towles.

This interview was originally broadcast in January, 2018.

This encore Reader's Corner interview was originally broadcast in September, 2017.

Our country was founded on the very idea that a free people should not be ruled by kings and queens. That said, there is an undeniable and lasting allure associated with monarchies. And that’s particularly true when it comes to Great Britain.

This is an encore program, originally broadcast in July, 2017.

From the moment we first laid eyes on them, Americans have been captivated by mustangs — with their strength, their determination and their wild nature. They have been featured in countless Western paperbacks, movies and songs through the years, and we’ve named war planes and muscle cars after them.

Sheriff Walt Longmire, his sidekick Henry Standing Bear and the wide open spaces of Absaroka County are the fictional creations of author Craig Johnson – but they also have found their way into popular culture. In addition to the bestselling series of novels, there is a real-life Longmire Days festival that each summer draws thousands of fans to Buffalo, Wyoming; a website where you can purchase Longmire-for-Sheriff bumper stickers and other memorabilia; and a hit Netflix original series starring Robert Taylor as the beloved sheriff.

During the final days of World War II, a group of American soldiers encountered a German spy carrying nothing but photos of beautiful white horses. The story behind those photos was even more surprising. Nearby, on a farm behind enemy lines, the Nazis had stockpiled some of the world’s most valuable horses as part of an ambitious breeding program to develop the perfect war horse. But with the Russian army fast approaching from the east and the Third Reich on the verge of defeat, these precious animals were now in great danger. The German spy had an audacious request: Would the Americans step forward to save them?

This encore program was originally aired in December of 2017.

The turn of the 20th century was a momentous time in U.S. history. After defeating imperial Spain in a brief but consequential war, America had expanded its global reach, with a footprint that stretched from Cuba and Guam to the Philippines. The country was developing and harnessing new technology like no other nation, its economic and diplomatic power was soaring, and it had nudged Europe and Japan toward a collective policy with China that favored U.S. interests.

This program was first broadcast in November, 2017

This episode of Reader's Corner was originally broadcast in June of 2017.

This encore program was originally broadcast in September, 2017.

This is an encore of the program which was originally broadcast in August of 2017.

This interview was originally broadcast in June, 2017.

In 1961, the world watched as tensions flared and the Berlin Wall went up, trapping East Germans inside a Communist regime. What was less well known was what was happening under that wall. Away from the glare of television cameras and public demonstrations, defectors and West Germans engaged in clandestine efforts to build tunnels and help East Germans escape.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the release of Casablanca, perhaps the most beloved of all Hollywood films. Somehow, this love story set in war time seems as relevant today as when it first lit up the silver screen back in 1942. People who’ve never even seen the movie still recognize its famous lines, and references to Casablanca abound in novels, plays, musicals, and other productions.

The war that became known as World War I began over 100 years ago and ushered in a new type of warfare – one built underground, in trenches, instead of above ground, on horses. In his book, To End All Wars, Adam Hochschild brings the war to life in a stark and dramatic new way.

This interview was originally broadcast in May, 2017.

Fifty years after he was assassinated at age 39, Malcolm X remains a controversial and somewhat mysterious figure. During his short but eventful life, he was a minister with the Nation of Islam who went on to found his own mosque, a fiery militant who advocated “any means necessary” to attain racial justice, and a brilliant, charismatic speaker whose legacy is still being determined.

This episode originally was broadcast in March, 2017.

Today we’re featuring a special edition of our show as we remember and honor the remarkable life and legacy of Cecil D. Andrus, who died last week, just one day before his 86th birthday. Governor Andrus was the only Idahoan elected four times as the state’s governor, and he also served as Secretary of the Interior under President Jimmy Carter. He was a lifelong Democrat, but he knew how to work with colleagues of various persuasions to address issues that truly mattered to Idahoans, and to the nation.

At the turn of the 20th century, the most popular entertainment acts in the country were found under the Big Top. The circus offered daring acts of bravery, wild animals, comic antics and the collection of human oddities known as the Freak Show.

With the 2017 total solar eclipse less than two weeks away, excitement is reaching a fever pitch in Idaho and other places across the country where this stunning celestial event will be visible.

This interview was originally broadcast in March, 2017

This program was originally broadcast in March, 2017.

What does it take for someone with seemingly every advantage in life to turn on their friends, their family and their country, all in the name of a cause? Today’s guest, Kati Marton, explores that question in her new book, True Believer: Stalin’s Last American Spy.

Every once in a while, you come across individuals who make you feel better just for having encountered them. As today’s guest, David Brooks, puts it, “They seem deeply good. They listen well. They make you feel funny and valued. They are not thinking about what wonderful work they are doing. They are not thinking about themselves at all.”

This program was originally broadcast in May of 2016

Washington, Lincoln and FDR are revered as leaders who helped shape the course of history. They are often referred to as “great” presidents. But is it possible to have a great president today? And is greatness a quality that Americans even want in their chief executive?

Following one of the most divisive and contentious elections in history, it is easy to say that we are a nation in cultural crisis. But what does that actually mean? In the Rust Belt, as well as in rural Appalachia, it means factories closing and good jobs shipped overseas in less than a generation. It means an uptick in drug abuse and violence in the home, an erosion of the education system and trust in our government, and the disintegration of children’s dreams for a better future than that of their parents.

In our complex and data driven world, scientists are facing a major challenge to understand and document plant and animal species that may be in the process of disappearing. Climate change, habitat fragmentation, pollution and population growth are among the threats that are pushing some species toward extinction. The good news – and we need some good news these days – is that overwhelmed researchers are getting an assist from a growing number of enthusiastic volunteers. Known as citizen scientists, these volunteers are using their eyes, ears, and observations about the natural world to help scientists find answers to critical questions.

This program was originally broadcast in December, 2016.

As anyone with children, or grandchildren, knows, parenting isn’t easy. Children and adolescents are growing up in a complex and connected world where smartphones, video games, organized activities and friends vie for their attention. At the same time, parents aren’t exactly always sure what their job description should be – or how to best nurture their child.

This is an encore of this interview which was first aired in March of 2015.

What’s it like to be an octopus? Is it anything like being a human? Is it even possible to know?

Two hundred and twenty-eight years ago this April, George Washington took the oath of office as the first president of the United States. Since then, 44 Americans have taken that solemn vow, most recently Donald Trump. History has yet to judge our most recent presidents. But as we look farther into the past, which presidents have stood the test of time and are revered today? And which ones are now viewed as less successful leaders, or even as failures?

Domestic terrorism has taken many forms since the horrific events of September 11th. From these disparate acts, a sinister pattern of domestic terrorism has emerged as American Muslim men and women are radicalized from afar by extremist groups like ISIS.

These days, the terrorist organization known as ISIS has much of the world on high alert. How this happened is the subject of a book by today’s guest, Washington Post reporter Joby Warrick.

Novelists do their best to take you inside the worlds they create for their narratives and characters. Matthew Palmer, has lived inside his novels as a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service.

When Sally Ride flew into orbit aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1983, she made history. As the first American woman in space, Ride helped change perceptions about what women could accomplish and inspired a new generation of girls to literally reach for the stars. But Ride was more than an icon for the U.S. space program – she also was a complex, private woman with singular talents and skills, who continued to contribute to science and education until her death from pancreatic cancer in 2012.

At the height of the Cold War, a seemingly unassuming Soviet electronics engineer reached out to several Americans he encountered in Moscow and offered his services. While he was initially ignored, the engineer, Adolf Tolkachev was eventually accepted by the CIA’s Moscow station as a volunteer spy for the United States. Over a number of years, and under the nose of the ever-watchful KGB, Tolkachev passed on highly classified information about Soviet military technology to U.S. intelligence operatives. The documents he shared were of immense strategic value at a time when tensions between the two superpowers were at their peak.

The recent death of Fidel Castro has once again placed Cuba in the spotlight as the world remembers the fiery dictator who sparred with 11 US Presidents, and questions are what lies next for his country.

Owyhee County is Idaho’s second largest county and yet one of its least populated. Despite its emptiness, Owyhee County has a rich history, one that has been thoroughly explored and documented by today’s guest, John Bieter.

In the 1840s, a million Irish citizens died of starvation during what became known as the “Great Hunger.” Taking up the desperate cause of his countrymen was a spirited and wealthy young orator named Thomas Francis Meagher.

Many of us remember reading The Great Gatsby in our high school English class – and not exactly loving it. What was it about this slim novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald that was supposedly so great, we wondered. And more to the point, why had it remained popular while other worthy books had slowly faded away?

Imagine a world where you are driven to work by a driverless car, your morning news is written by a computer, and your lunch is prepared by a robot. In such a world, it would not be a stretch to wonder if humans were about to become obsolete. We’ve already seen this scenario play out in movies and popular novels. But according to today’s guest, there are reasons to worry about how new technologies are reshaping the real world right now.

On a summer morning in July 1915, thousands of poor factory workers lined the Chicago docks, waiting to board ships for the much anticipated annual picnic hosted by Western Electric Company. But as 2,500 passengers flooded aboard the first ship, the SS Eastland, disaster struck. The huge liner flipped onto its side, drowning more than 800 people in the filthy Chicago River, including 22 whole families.

Hot dogs and popcorn under the sweltering summer sun at the local ball park is an image embedded into American culture. But for the players jogging into the dugout, sweat dripping from their caps, baseball is more than just America’s pastime, it’s their career. And it’s a career unlike any other. With 162 regular season games in 182 days, major league baseball places unique demands on the players, their families, and those who work in a variety of roles to support the team.

Today we’re continuing our timely conversation with author Jacob S. Hacker about the changing dynamics between the public and private sectors in driving economic growth, and how those changes are impacting our politics, culture and prosperity.

For much of the 20th century, private and public enterprises worked as both partners and adversaries to drive economic growth in our country. But in recent years, the balance within this so-called “mixed economy” has shifted away from public investment and regulation. Today, the term “Big Government” is widely considered a pejorative – despite the role public institutions have historically played in laying the foundation for social development and prosperity.

Terrie Williams is the author of The Odyssey of KP2: An Orphan Seal, a Marine Biologist, and the Fight to Save a Species. The book, which was Boise State’s Campus Read in the 2014/2015 academic year, tells the story of a monk seal pup who was abandoned on a sandy Hawaiian beach in 2008, and who went on to capture the hearts of locals and tourists alike. When local fishermen objected to the seal’s presence on the beach, officials made an unprecedented decision to move him across the ocean to the lab of Ms. Williams, a marine biologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The belief that with hard work, prosperity and success are open to everyone, is at the heart of our national identity. Yet, according to today’s guest, Robert Putnam, the gap between those who have the chance to forge a better future, and those who are being left behind, is getting wider. As a result “our kids,” America’s poorest among them, are experiencing a transformation of American society that comes at a cost to every one of us.

It’s been more than 70 years since the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, ushering in the end of World War II. Yet true stories such as the one from today’s guest, Pamela Rotner Sakamoto, remind us how much history still has to teach us, and why personal accounts remain so powerful.

On May 1st, 1915, crowds lined New York’s harbor to bid farewell to nearly 2,000 family, friends and crew aboard the world’s fastest civilian liner — the Lusitania. The luxurious British ship was bound for Liverpool, England, more than 3,000 miles away. World War I was entering its 10th month, but civilian ships and their passengers were widely considered off-limits from enemy assault. Although the great liner would pass through waters patrolled by German U-boats off the coast of Britain, few worried about the dangers.

In 1906, an African native known as Ota Benga was displayed in a cage in the monkey house at the Bronx Zoo. Thousands came to view the sensational exhibit. They shouted, pointed fingers, and laughed at the man, who stood 4 feet 11 inches in height and weighed 103 pounds. A sign outside the cage described him as an African Pygmy from the Congo Free State, and announced that he would be exhibited each afternoon during September. An orangutan shared the space with Benga, at times perching on his shoulder. The cage was littered with bones to suggest cannibalism, even though Benga was not a cannibal.

Jonathan Katz talks more about his award-winning book, The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster. Mr Katz was the only full time U.S. news reporter in Haiti when the quake struck. His on-the-ground reporting for the Associated Press helped inform the world about the scope of the disaster, and he stayed in Haiti in the months that followed to document how and why well-meaning world relief efforts fell short.

On a hot January afternoon in 2010, reporter Jonathan M. Katz heard a loud rumbling outside his home in the hills above Port-au-Prince, Haiti. At first, he thought it was a water truck. Then the bed began to vibrate, bottles shimmied on a nearby table, and the floor started to move. The roar increased as the deadliest earthquake in the history of the Western Hemisphere unleashed its full force. Mr. Katz survived. Thousands upon thousands of others were not so lucky.

Every new technology has its critics. Whether it’s a fancy new digital gadget with a seemingly endless number of functions, or an addictive new app for your Smart Phone, the latest and greatest inventions can sometimes give us reason to pause.

A shot fired in the lobby of a Washington, D.C. , train station in 1881 would eventually claim the life of the United States’ 20th president — James A. Garfield. According to author Candice Millard, the assassination also shook the very core of the nation.

Until now, human intelligence has had no rival. But as Artificial Intelligence continues to advance, we should ask ourselves: Can we coexist with computers whose intelligence dwarfs our own?

When Germany invaded its European neighbors in 1940, the United States was a long ways from being prepared. The country’s military resources had been all but drained by the Great Depression. The U.S. army was smaller than that of Belgium’s, a nation that could fit inside Maryland. Military war games were being carried out with broomsticks and eggs in place of guns and grenades, and in at least one instance, a U.S. general was forced to order tank replacement parts from a Sears and Roebuck catalog because the military couldn’t provide the items itself.

Grocery shopping is on almost everyone’s weekly list. For many households, that means driving to the supermarket, or an even larger discount mega-store, and loading our carts to the brim with our favorite brands. But grocery shopping wasn’t always this way. A century ago, small mom-and-pop grocers dotted street corners, staffed by storekeepers who packaged bulk items for customers they knew by name. Today, the retail landscape continues to change, as more of us go online for a variety of purchases.

It’s a scenario familiar to many of us: We go online and search for a product we’re interested in purchasing. Moments later, we click on our favorite news site, only to be bombarded with ads, including some for the product we were just viewing. So how did this happen? And what else might we unwittingly be sharing about our behavior, activities and tastes?

Baseball legends hold a special place in our country’s collective heart. Dizzy Dean, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron are still household names generations after their feats on the baseball diamond made them famous.

This week we are mourning the loss of one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors – George Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy gained world-wide fame for his Oscar-winning role as Dragline in Cool Hand Luke in 1967. Over the course of his long career, he appeared in more than 200 films, including The Dirty Dozen , the Airport series, The Eiger Sanction, Death on the Nile, and as Captain Ed Hocken in the Naked Gun series of the 1980s.

Few would put the name Juan Pujol alongside Eisenhower, Churchill and Roosevelt – the Allied giants of World War II. Yet, this underachieving chicken farmer from Barcelona could very well be the pivotal figure in one of the 20th century’s most important events: the Allied landings in Normandy during the summer of 1944.

Baseball has inspired many works of fiction – including Chad Harbach’s bestselling novel, The Art of Fielding. But while the action is centered around a college team and its star shortstop, Henry Scrimshander, this is much more than a baseball book. The fallacy of perfection, the inevitability of change and the power of friendship are just a few of the multi-layered themes explored in the novel, which is now out in paperback.

With 70 percent of its land owned by the federal government, the Great Basin is known as America’s last frontier. It’s home to ghost towns, endless sagebrush and secretive government test sites. Paradoxically, the Great Basin also is the fastest growing urban region in the United States, thanks to the cities of Boise, Salt Lake City, Reno and Las Vegas that perch on its rim.

On May 30th, 1912, Wilbur Wright died peacefully in his own bed in the family home in Dayton, Ohio. He was 45 years old. The cause of death was typhoid, which he may have contracted from eating tainted clam broth in a Boston restaurant. But Orville Wright and members of the Wright family believed Wilbur’s death was attributable to the stress he experienced fighting their archenemy and main competitor, Glenn Curtiss. In Orville Wright’s mind, Curtiss had killed his older brother.

Those of us who grew up playing the board game “Monopoly” likely remember the thrill of landing on an up-for-grabs Boardwalk or Park Place, and buying the pricey properties with our stash of brightly colored fake money. We might also recall the feeling of trepidation when we landed on those same properties after they had been purchased and improved by someone else, knowing we would have to pay an exorbitant rental fee before we could once again pass “Go” and collect our much-needed $200. But while Monopoly is embedded in our culture, it’s likely that few, if any of us, have given much thought over the years to how this iconic board game came into being.

Leon Panetta’s long service to our country is surely unique in the number of incredibly high level and tough assignments he has held and held to acclaim. A lawyer, he has directed the U.S. office for Civil Rights. He represented his Central California district in Congress for 16 years, rising to the chairmanship of the Budget Committee. He headed the Office of Management and Budget early in Bill Clinton’s presidency, serving later as his Chief of Staff. President Obama brought him back to government first as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and later as Secretary of Defense. Secretary Panetta obviously never feared a challenge.

“Three shots. That’s all it takes to change the course of American history.”

History books are full of stories about the dangers and deprivations endured by soldiers who fought in the Civil War. What may be less well known are the challenges faced by journalists of the day who risked everything to get to the front lines of battle.

For nearly a century, The Bassett Furniture Company was the center of life in the town of Bassett, Virginia, just as its wealthy namesake family was the foundation of the town’s prosperity. But that all changed in the 1980s, when cheaper Chinese products began flooding the American furniture market. The imports threatened the Bassett family legacy, as well as the livelihoods of hundreds of Virginians.

This interview was originally broadcast in July, 2015

This is an encore interview with Matt Richtel. It was originally broadcast in November, 2014.

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan challenged the Soviet Union’s Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.” Two years later, the Berlin Wall was inexplicably opened, allowing East Germans free access to the West for the first time since 1961.

This program was originally broadcast in April of 2015.

This interview was originally broadcast in December, 2013:

This interview for Reader's Corner was originally broadcast in December of 2013:

This interview was originally broadcast in February of 2015

This program was originally broadcast in April, 2015

This interview was originally broadcast in November, 2005.

In 2005, Reader's Corner had the privilege of welcoming author Samuel Pisar to the program. He was one of the youngest survivors of the Holocaust, an adviser to President John F. Kennedy, a friend and admirer of Idaho Senator Frank Church and a world renowned international lawyer. Over the course of an hour – twice as long as the interview was scheduled to last – Dr. Pisar shared stories from his extraordinary life, including how he survived the Nazi death camps and finally managed to escape.

This Reader's Corner interview was originally broadcast in February, 2015

This interview was first broadcast in January of 2015.

For as long as humans have walked the Earth, we’ve been making changes to it – oftentimes with little or no comprehension about the far-reaching consequences of our actions. But in her book, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, Elizabeth Kolbert opens our eyes to the powerful and possibly catastrophic mass extinction unfolding right in front of us.

This interview was originally broadcast in September of 2013.

This interview was first broadcast in December of 2014.

This is an encore interview and was first broadcast in June, 2014.

The story told by Jan Jarboe Russell in her book, “The Train to Crystal City,” will have a familiar ring to those who know about the World War II internment camp at Minidoka, Idaho.

This interview was broadcast first in January of 2013.

This Reader's Corner interview was originally broadcast in September of 2013.

This is an encore interview and was originally broadcast in October 2014.

This interview was originally broadcast in November of 2014.

This interview with Dan Fagin was originally broadcast in September of 2014.

Cuba is a mere 90 miles from the United States, a puddle-jump flight or a long swim across the straits of Florida. Yet, for more than a half-century, that distance at times has loomed much greater, as U.S.-Cuba tensions played out across the world stage and here at home. That situation is changing – and dramatically so.

This interview was originally broadcast in September, 2014

This interview was originally broadcast in May, 2013.

This Reader's Corner interview was originally broadcast in April 2013.

This interview was originally broadcast in August of 2014.

The recent terrorist attacks in Paris, France that claimed 17 lives sent shock waves around the world and heightened concerns about growing tensions between Islamic extremists and the West.

This interview was originally broadcast in May of 2014.

This is an encore broadcast of part 2 of the interview with Scott W. Berg, it was originally aired in October of 2013.

This interview was originally broadcast in October of 2013.

This interview with Isabel Wilkerson was originally broadcast in October of 2014.

This interview was originally broadcast in May, 2014.

This Reader's Corner interview was originally broadcast in May, 2014

In honor of Veteran's Day, we're broadcasting this interview with Adam Makos. The program was originally broadcast in March, 2014.

This Reader's Corner interview was originally broadcast in April, 2014.

This Reader's Corner interview initially was broadcast in January, 2014.

This Reader's Corner interview originally was broadcast in July of 2013

This is an encore broadcast of the interview with David Robertson. The conversation was originally broadcast in January of 2014.

Antibiotics are ubiquitous in modern human life. Along with their well-known medical applications, they also are routinely used in agriculture, including our increasingly industrial production of meat.

Generations of western leaders have puzzled over how to manage their nation’s relationship with Russia – and headlines in recent months, especially from Ukraine, have only deepened this long-standing challenge.

This Reader's Corner interview was first broadcast in January, 2014

Businesses seeking to increase productivity, athletes striving to improve their performance, and couples intent on strengthening their relationship share this in common: To get what they’re after, they’ll need more than motivation. They’ll need commitment.

It took Edward Curtis just a few years after arriving in the small town of Seattle in 1887 to establish a reputation as one of its finest portrait photographers. Uneducated and self-taught, he quickly became one of the most respected lensmen in America and was summoned to capture images of President Theodore Roosevelt and even the president’s daughter’s wedding.

Ask just about anyone their opinion about politics and the federal government and two words you are likely to hear in response are: dysfunction and gridlock.

In May, Anthony Doerr visited Reader's Corner to talk about his new novel, "All the Light We Cannot See." Ten years in the writing, the book tells the stories of a blind French girl and a German boy during World War II and how their lives eventually intertwine.

"This program is an encore and was originally broadcast in November of 2013"

The office of the President of the United States is among the most highly visible institutions anywhere in the world. The person who occupies the office is subject to intense scrutiny – and while some of that is negative, the president oftentimes also serves as a symbol of the hopes, dreams and aspirations of a diverse American citizenry.

For John Thavis, the timing couldn’t have been better. His book, “The Vatican Diaries: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church,” was released in February 2013, just as Pope Benedict XVI announced he would be the first pope in 600 years to resign.

Preparing students to excel in a fast-changing world is a concern for many nations. Some countries, including our own, have implemented a variety of education reforms over recent decades, only to see piddling results. Others, including Finland, South Korea and Poland, have realized major gains.

Earth Day 2014 is Tuesday, and celebrations are planned across our nation and around the world, including here at Boise State. Forty-four years after it was first launched, this annual event continues to evolve, attract new participants and raise awareness about environmental issues. What many may not realize is that Earth Day also played a major role in the birth of the modern environmental movement.

In November of 1942, a U.S. cargo plane on a routine flight crashed into the Greenland ice cap, setting in motion an extraordinary chain of events. Four days after the crash, a B-17 searching for the missing cargo plane also went down in a blinding storm. All nine crewmembers survived the crash, and an amphibious Grumman Duck was sent on a daring rescue mission to bring them home. After picking up one member of the B-17 crew, the rescuers of this third flight flew into a severe storm and vanished.

Stories about the heroics of World War II are deeply embedded in our popular culture. But the Hollywood storyline seldom reflects on the struggles of those left to survive amid the ruins of what was likely the most destructive war in human history.

In 1886, William Temple Hornaday set out for the untamed West to collect American bison specimens for the U.S. National Museum. Just a few years earlier the bison herds of North America had been estimated in the millions.

Research shows that kids who read well do better in school and have a distinct advantage in developing communication and logical thinking skills. Avid readers also tend to be more engaged in the world around them.

Bethine Church was widow of Senator Frank Church and would have turned 91 on Feb. 19 2014, she died on Dec. 21, 2013 at her home in Boise. Bethine was one of Idaho’s sweethearts and a political powerhouse in her own right. Her contributions to Idaho and its institutions are numerous and include being the founder and chair of The Frank Church Institute at Boise State University.

Preparing students to excel in a fast-changing world is a concern for many nations. Some countries, including our own, have implemented a variety of education reforms over recent decades, only to see piddling results. Others, including Finland, South Korea and Poland, have realized major gains.

Each day, our lives are increasingly driven by the unseen force of data that is harnessed, organized and focused by complex sets of mathematical formulas known as algorithms. These Information Age tools play a huge role in everything from the safety and efficiency of our cars, to the kind of music we hear on the radio, to the split-second trading on Wall Street that drives our economy.

During World War II, a small group of British and American scientists worked tirelessly to defeat the German U-boats that were wreaking havoc on allied commerce. Armed with a dogged determination and a fair amount of mathematics, physics and probability theory, they forged the new field of operational research and forever changed how wars were fought and won.

In November of 1942, a U.S. cargo plane on a routine flight crashed into the Greenland ice cap, setting in motion an extraordinary chain of events. Four days after the crash, a B-17 searching for the missing cargo plane also went down in a blinding storm.

As the former Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Service, few understand the inner workings of the seat of Roman Catholicism better than John Thavis. His book reveals that Vatican City’s public image of power, hierarchical authority and reverence for the past often masks a disorganized, inept and uncertain organizational culture.

We all know we’re in wild animal habitat when we enter the campground. Leave food unattended and you might find yourself in a battle with a bear. But what if the battleground was your own backyard?

History books are full of stories about the dangers and deprivations endured by soldiers who fought in the Civil War. What may be less well known are the challenges faced by journalists of the day who risked everything to get to the front lines of battle.

Many of us can probably recall maps of the solar system from our school days that showed nine planets, from Mercury to Pluto, orbiting around the sun. All that changed in 2006, when the International Astronomical Association voted to demote Pluto from a real planet to the newly coined category of “dwarf planet,” a move that stirred controversy around the world.

China has long been described as “inscrutable” – a country that is both exotic and difficult to understand. Today, the world’s most populous nation is a major player on the international stage. Yet, at times, China’s actions continue to baffle outsiders unfamiliar with the country’s long and rich history and its impact on all aspects of Chinese life.

National Book Award-winner and Author of "Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution"

Author of "Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage and Assassination During the 1934 Tour of Japan"

Author of "Agent Garbo: The Brilliant, Eccentric Secret Agent who Tricked Hitler and Saved D-Day"

Author of "Automate This: How Algorithms Came to Rule Our World"

Author of " The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches From the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam"

Author of "Blackett's War: The Men Who Defeated the Nazi U-Boats and Brought Science to the Art of Warfare"

Author of "China in the 21st Century"

Author of "Wise Beyond Your Field: How Creative Leaders Out Innovate to Out Perform"

Author of "How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character"

Author of "In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin"

Author of "Nature Wars"

Author of "Mr Hornaday's War: How a Peculiar Victorian Zookeeper Waged a Lonely Crusade for Wildlife that Changed the World."

Author of "The Spine of the Continent: The Most Ambitious Wildlife Conservation Project Ever Undertaken"

Astronomer and Author of "How I Killed Pluto and Why it Had it Coming"

Author of "Lions of the West"

Author of "The Vatican Diaries: a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church"

Author of "The Inventor and the Tycoon: A Gilded Age Murder and the Birth of Moving Pictures"

Author or "The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation"

A baby seal abandoned on a remote beach on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, is an unlikely champion for endangered marine mammals worldwide. But tiny KP2 quickly captured the hearts of admirers across the islands, and the world, with his love for all things human and his playful and inquisitive personality.

Author of "Superman, the High Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero"

Author of "Escape from North Korea: The Untold Story of Asia's Underground Railroad"

Oscar-winning Actor and Author of "Trust Me: A Memoir"

Author of "Strength in What Remains"

Author of "Agent Garbo: The Brilliant Eccentric Secret Agent Who Tricked Hitler and Saved D-Day"

Author of "A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia"

Author of "The NEW New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era"

Author of "Nature Wars: The Incredible Story of How Wildlife Comebacks Turned Backyards into Battlegrounds"

Author of "Manhunt: From 9/11 to Abbottabad, The Ten-Year Search for Osama Bin Laden"

Author of "Lions of the West: Heroes and Villains of the Westward Expansion"

Author of "Embattled Ecumenism: The National Council of Churches, the Vietnam War And the Trials of the Protestant Left"

Author of "China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know"

Author of "Imperfect: An Improbable Life"

Author of "The Spine of the Continent: The Most Ambitious Wildlife Conservation Project Ever Undertaken"

Author of "How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character"

Author of the short story collection "Volt"

Author of "Little America: The War Within the War For Afghanistan"

Author of "American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900"

Author of "American Triumvirate: Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and the Modern Age of Golf"

Author of "Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend"

Author of "Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend"

Interview with Gary Gallagher as he discusses his book "The Union War".

Author of "The Union War"

Author of "Manhunt: From 9/11 to Abbottabad"

Author of "The Violinist's Thumb and Other Lost Tales of Love, War and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code"

Academy Award-winning author of "Trust Me: A Memoir" and resident of Eagle, ID

Author of "Money Well Spent? The Truth Behind the Trillion-Dollar Stimulus, the Biggest Economic Recovery Plan in History"

Author of "Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America and the Future of Global Jihad"

Professor of History at Boise State and Author of "Embattled Ecumenism: The National Council of Churches, the Vietnam War And the Trials of the Protestant Left"

VOLT, the title of Alan Heathcock’s acclaimed collection of linked short stories, is as electric as the name implies. Set in the fictional town of Krafton, a lonely and windswept hamlet that could be located just about anywhere, the eight stories in VOLT feature an unforgettable cast of characters who confront floods, violence, family strife, longing and loss.

Author of "A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia"

Author of "The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East"

Author of "The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation"

Author of "Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend"

Author of "Daring Young Men: The Heroism and Triumph of The Berlin Airlift, June 1948-May 1949"

Author of "Playing with Fire: Pakistan at War with Itself"

Author of "How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance"

Author of "A Forgotten Wilderness: Nature's Hidden Relationship in West Central Idaho"

Host, Bob Kustra and Author Ron Powers discuss the book "Mark Twain: A Life"

Co-author of "Conversations with Cronkite"

Author of "To Tell the Truth Freely: The Life of Ida B. Wells"

Author of "The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York"

Author of "Campy: The Two Lives of Roy Campanella"

Guest: Tim Woodward, longtime Idaho Statesman columnist and author of “Destination Idaho”

Author of “Moby Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author,Who Went in Search of Them”

Author of “Collision Course: Ronald Reagan, the Air Traffic Controllers and the Strike that Changed America”

Author of “Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time”

Co-author of "That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back."

Author of “Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II”

Author of "1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created"

Author of "Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System"

Author of "The President is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth"

Author of "Strength in What Remains"

Jason Turbow is the author of "The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America's Pastime"

Author of "Born to Run" part I

Scott Simon is well known to public radio listeners as the host of NPR’s Weekend Edition. He also is the author of several well-received books, including, Baby We Were Meant For Each Other: In Praise of Adoption, published in 2010.

In 1925, former spy and acclaimed British explorer Percy Harrison Fawcett walked into the Amazon rainforest in search of the fabled lost city of El Dorado — and disappeared. In the decades that followed, scores of adventurers tried, and failed, to retrace his steps. Many died. Others faced harrowing encounters with native tribes, poisoned arrows, cannibalism, dense rainforest, flesh-eating piranhas and massive pythons. None solved what had come to be known as the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century.

Author of "The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Woman's Fight to Save the World's Most Beautiful Bird"

Boise State political science professor, on the state of civic education.