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Listeners can Be a reader or broadcaster. Help bring Radio Talking Book (RTB) to listeners. Opportunities for broadcasters and volunteer readers are available.
Volunteers read the materials featured every month. Potential volunteers should contact Roberta Kitlinski at 651-539-1423 or [email protected].
For information on staff broadcaster opportunities, contact RTB Supervisor Joseph Papke at 651-539-2316 or [email protected] to learn more.
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Enjoy programming on a hand-held mobile device, for either iOS or Android. Visit the Apple App Store for iOS, or Google Play for Android, and download the Minnesota Radio Talking Book app.
Listen to RTB’s live or archived programs online at www.mnssb.org/rtb
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 www.mnbtbl.org, click on the link Search the Library Catalog. Call the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library at 800-722-0550, Mon-Fri, 9 am-4 pm CST.
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Audio information about the daily book listings is on the National Federation for the Blind (NFB) Newsline. Register for NFB Newsline by calling 651-539-1424. The NFB-NEWSLINE service provides access to more than 500 magazines and newspapers. To learn more, visit www.nfb.org/programs-services/nfb-newsline
Donate to the State Services for the Blind at mn.gov/deed/ssbdonate
The sampling published monthly in Access Press doesn’t represent the full array of programming.
Chautauqua*
Monday – Friday 6 a.m.
A Traveler’s Guide to the Stars, nonfiction by Les Johnson, 2022. A brief guide to the real science of interstellar travel. Read by Andrea Bell. Eight broadcasts; begins Mon, July 13.
The Gospel of Wellness, nonfiction by Rina Raphael, 2022. A look at the explosion of the wellness industry: how it stems from legitimate complaints and how seductive marketing targets hopeful consumers. Read by Michele Potts. 13 broadcasts; begins Thu, July 20.
Past is Prologue*
Monday – Friday 11 a.m.
Indigenous Continent, nonfiction by Pekka Hämäläinen, 2022. A prize-winning scholar rewrites 400 years of American history from indigenous perspectives, overturning the dominant origin story of the United States. Read by Yelva Lynfield. 25 broadcasts; begins Mon, July 3.
Bookworm*
Monday – Friday 12 p.m.
Still True, fiction by Maggie Ginsberg, 2022. New friends and old family members navigate complex relationships in small-town Wisconsin. Read by Carol McPherson. 14 broadcasts; begins Mon, July 3.
Temporary, fiction by Hilary Leichter, 2020. The near-farcical chaos of the gig economy is explored in this story of a young woman’s journey through a series of increasingly wild job placements, from shining shoes to swabbing the deck of a pirate ship. Read by Yelva Lynfield. Seven broadcasts; begins Wed, July 19.
Foster, fiction by Claire Keegan, 2022. A young girl in Ireland is sent to her aunt’s house while her mother gives birth to a baby and these new relationships bring her to realizations about herself. Read by Therese Murray. Two broadcasts; begins Mon, July 31.
The Writer’s Voice*
Monday – Friday 1 p.m.
The Palace Papers, nonfiction by Tina Brown, 2022. The inside story of the British royal family’s battle to overcome the dramas of the Diana years—only to confront new 21st century crises. Read by Tamara Pratt. 22 broadcasts; begins Wed, July 12. – L, S
Choice Reading*
Monday – Friday 2 p.m.
Till the Wheels Fall Off, fiction by Brad Zellar, 2022. A novel about an unconventional childhood among the pleasures and privations of the pre-digital era: from roller rinks to coin-operated condom dispensers. Read by John Holden. 14 broadcasts; begins Mon, July 3. – L
City of Likes, fiction by Jenny Mollen, 2022. A wickedly funny and sharply insightful novel about motherhood, female friendships and the seductive allure of social media. Read by Cintra Godfrey. Nine broadcasts; begins Mon, July 24. – L, S
Afternoon Report*
Monday – Friday 4 p.m.
Liberalism and Its Discontents, nonfiction by Francis Fukuyama, 2022. A clear account of the challenges to liberalism from the right and the left, offering an essential defense of a revitalized liberalism for the 21st century. Read by John Potts. Six broadcasts; begins Tue, July 4.
Breathless, nonfiction by David Quammen, 2022. The story of the worldwide scientific race to understand and control SARS-CoV-2 and what it might mean for the next potential global health crisis. Read by Carol McPherson. 17 broadcasts; begins Wed, July 12.
Night Journey*
Monday – Friday 7 p.m.
The Butcher and the Wren, fiction by Alaina Urquhart, 2022. A thrilling debut novel told from the dueling perspectives of a notorious serial killer and the medical examiner following where his trail of victims leads. Read by Jim Gregorich. Six broadcasts; begins Tue, July 4. – L
Rainbow Rock, fiction by Dan Jorgensen, 2022. A deadly cat-and-mouse thriller of illicit drug dealing and murder set in 1955 South Dakota. Read by Tom Speich. 11 broadcasts; begins Wed, July 12. – L
Everybody Knows, fiction by Jordan Harper, 2023. A fearless black-bag publicist exposes the belly of the L.A. beast in this Hollywood noir. Read by John Potts. 10 broadcasts; begins Thu, July 27. – L, S, V,G
Off the Shelf*
Monday – Friday 8 p.m.
The Wintering Place, fiction by Kevin McCarthy, 2023. Deserting to escape the horrors of the Indian wars, two soldiers, Irish brothers, seek peace with the woman they love. Read by Pat Muir. 11 broadcasts; begins Mon, July 10. – L, S, V, G
Very Cold People (re-broadcast), fiction by Sarah Manguso, 2022. A masterly debut novel about growing up in (and out of) the suffocating constraints of small-town America. Read by Parichay Rudina. Five broadcasts; begins Tue, July 25. – L, S
Potpourri*
Monday – Friday 9 p.m.
Break Point, nonfiction by Sheri Brenden, 2022. How two teenage girls in Minnesota jump-started a revolution in high school athletics. Read by Holly Sylvester. Seven broadcasts; begins Thu, July 6.
The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, nonfiction by Louise Perry, 2022. A countercultural polemic from one of the most exciting young voices in contemporary feminism about the reigning sexual orthodoxies. Read by Laura Young. Nine broadcasts; begins Mon, July 17. – S
Good Night Owl*
Monday – Friday 10 p.m.
Killers of a Certain Age, fiction by Deanna Raybourn, 2022. The Golden Girls meets James Bond in this thriller about four old friends who can’t just retire. Read by Jodi Lindskog. 11 broadcasts; begins Mon, July 3. – L
All the Living and the Dead, nonfiction by Hayley Campbell, 2022. A deeply compelling exploration of the death industry and the people―morticians, detectives, crime scene cleaners, embalmers, executioners―who work in it and what led them there. Read by Dan Sadoff. 11 broadcasts; begins Tue, July 18. – L, S, G
RTB After Hours*
Monday – Friday 11 p.m.
Part of Your World (re-broadcast), fiction by Abby Jimenez, 2022. A charming story of an unlikely small-town romance between a surgeon and a carpenter. Read by Michelle Juntunen. 13 broadcasts; begins Wed, July 5. – L, S
To Marry and to Meddle (re-broadcast) fiction by Martha Waters, 2022. An ingenious, laugh-out-loud and sweepingly romantic historical rom-com about a seasoned debutante and a rakish theater owner as they navigate a complicated marriage of convenience. Read by Holly Sylvester. 11 broadcasts; begins Mon, July 24. – S
Weekend Program Books
Your Personal World, 1 p.m. Sat, presents Toxic Positivity by Whitney Goodman, read by Beverly Burchett.
For the Younger Set, 11 a.m. Sun, presents Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, read by Jan Anderson – L.
Poetic Reflections, noon Sun, presents Cinderbiter by Martin Shaw and Tony Hoagland, read by Mary Knatterud.
The Great North, 4 p.m. Sun, presents A Private Wilderness by Sigurd F. Olson read by Judith Johannessen.
All times listed are Central Standard Time
