Use an App for Radio Talking Book

Enjoy Radio Talking Book anytime and anywhere on a hand-held mobile device, for either iOS or Android. Just visit the Apple App Store for iOS, or Google Play for Android, and download the Minnesota Radio Talking Book app. It’s quick, it’s easy, and provides a convenient way to tune into RTB wherever and whenever.

Books broadcast on the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network are available for loan through the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library in Faribault. The catalog is at https://education.mn.gov/MDE/fam/mbtbl/, click on the link Search the Library Catalog. Call the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library at 800-722-0550, Monday-Friday, 9 am – 4 pm CST for details. Persons living outside of Minnesota may obtain copies of books via an inter-library loan by contacting their home state’s Network Library for the National Library Service.

To find more information about Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network events go to the Facebook site, Minnesota Radio Talking Book. Audio information about the daily book listings is also on the National Federation for the Blind (NFB) Newsline. Register for the NFB Newsline by calling 651-539-1424.

The NFB-NEWSLINE service provides access to more than 500 magazines and newspapers, plus information on COVID-19 in the “Breaking News” section. To learn more, visit www.nfb.org/programs-services/nfb-newsline.

The sampling published monthly in Access Press doesn’t represent the full array of programming. Many more programs and books are available.

Donate to the State Services for the Blind at mn.gov/deed/ssbdonate

Listen to RTB’s live or archived programs online at www.mnssb.org/rtb

Chautauqua*
Monday – Friday 6 a.m.

Blowout, nonfiction by Rachel Maddow, 2019. Political scientist and TV presenter Rachel Maddow takes on the oil industry, cautioning that it can and will do nothing to regulate itself. Read by Jim Kern. 18 broadcasts; begins Mon, April 5. – L

Can’t Even, nonfiction by Anne Helen Petersen, 2020. Journalist Anne Helen Petersen provides a look at why so many millennials feel overwhelmed, despite their best efforts. Read by Tom Speich. 10 broadcasts; begins Thu, April 29.

Past is Prologue*
Monday – Friday 11 a.m.

The Children of Lincoln, nonfiction by William D. Green, 2018. Historian William D. Green tells the stories of four Minnesotans, and how they were betrayed after the Civil War. Read by Roger Sheldon. 24 broadcasts; begins Tue, April 6.

Bookworm*
Monday – Friday noon

Nothing More Dangerous, fiction by Allen Eskens, 2019. Boady Sanden encounters prejudice and greed during the 1970s in small-town Missouri. Soon he and a friend are investigating a murder. Read by Greg Olson. Nine broadcasts; begins Wed, April 21.

The Writer’s Voice*
Monday – Friday 1 p.m.

Hidden Valley Road, nonfiction by Robert Kolker, 2020. Journalist Robert Kolker tells the story of a family with 12 children, and how six of them were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Read by Carol McPherson. 16 broadcasts, begins Wed, April 7.

Give a Girl a Knife, nonfiction by Amy Thielen, 2017. A woman journeys from her rural Minnesota home to New York City – and back again – in search of her culinary roots. Read by Judith Johannessen. 11 broadcasts, begins Thu, April 29.

Choice Reading*
Monday – Friday 2 p.m.

Anxious People, fiction by Fredrik Backman, 2019. Eight strangers are held hostage in an apartment open house when a failed bank robber bursts in. Read by Pat Kovel-Jarboe. 11 broadcasts; begins Mon, April 12.

The End of Temperance Dare, fiction by Wendy Webb, 2017. Cliffside Manor is an artists’ retreat with a dark past as a tuberculosis sanatorium, a “waiting room for death.” Read by Michele Potts. 10 broadcasts; begins Tue, April 27. – V

Night Journey*
Monday – Friday 7 p.m.

Thief River Falls, fiction by Brian Freeman, 2020. When a runaway ten-year-old shows up at her home in rural Minnesota, novelist Lisa Power is pulled into a murder plot that is eerily like the one in her bestseller. Read by Jodi Lindskog. 11 broadcasts; begins Tue, April 13. – V

Crime of Privilege, fiction by Walter Walker, 2013. No one asks about a murder and a rape that include one of America’s most beloved and influential families. Read by Bonita Sindelir. 14 broadcasts; begins Wed, April 28. – V

Off the Shelf*
Monday – Friday 8 p.m.

Separation Anxiety, fiction by Laura Zigman, 2020. Judy Vogel, a frustrated wife, mom, and writer of kids’ books, suddenly decides to start carrying the family’s dog up against her chest. Read by Pat Kovel-Jarboe. Eight broadcasts; begins Mon, April 19.

Wherever You Go, There They Are, fiction by Annabelle Gurwitch, 2017. Annabelle Gurwitch tells colorful, sad, and funny stories about her eccentric family that make our own families seem more normal. Read by Mary Hall. Nine broadcasts; begins Thu, April 29.

Potpourri*
Monday – Friday 9 p.m.

American Harvest – Nonfiction by Marie Mutsuki Mockett, 2020. Author Marie Mutsuki Mockett travels across the US with a family of harvest workers, and observes the many divides in our country. Read by Holly Sylvester. 17 broadcasts; begins Thu, April 8.

Good Night Owl*
Monday – Friday 10 p.m.

Straighten Up and Fly Right, nonfiction by Will Friedwald, 2020. Music researcher Will Friedwald tells the fascinating life story of beloved singer and musician Nat “King” Cole. Read by Michele Potts. 28 broadcasts; begins Wed, April 7. – V, L, R

RTB After Hours*
Monday – Friday 11 p.m.

Stalker, fiction by Lars Kepler, 2016. When the authorities receive videos of young women, who are later found murdered, two detectives enlist the help of a hypnotist. Read by Scott McKinney. 17 broadcasts; begins Mon, April 5. – L, V

The Good Neighbors, fiction by Kiersten Modglin, 2019. A couple moves to a quaint southern town. Their next-door neighbors are slightly older, extremely wealthy, and model perfect. But it soon becomes dangerously clear that the “good neighbors” are anything but. Read by David Zierott. Six broadcasts; begins Wed, April 28. – L, V

Weekend Program Books

Your Personal World, 1 p.m. Sat, presents The Gift of Years by Joan Chittister; followed by Things Worth Keeping by Christine Harold (L), both read by Beverly Burchett.

• Rated R, 11 p.m. Sat, presents Lamb by Christopher Moore (L), read by Scott McKinney.
• For the Younger Set, 11 a.m. Sun, presents Flying by Carrie Jones, read by Stevie Ray.
• Poetic Reflections, noon Sun, presents The Tiny Journalist by Naomi Shahab Ray, read by Tom Speich; followed by Encantado by Pat Mora, read by Cintra Godfrey.
• The Great North, 4 p.m. Sun, presents Walking the Old Road by Staci Lola Drouillard, read by Robb Empson; followed by Minnesota 1918 by Curt Brown, read by Don Lee

All times listed are Central Standard Time.

Abbreviations V – violent content, R – racial epithets, L – strong language, G – gory descriptions, S – sexual situation