Radio Talking Book is back 

The Radio Talking Book staff thanks listeners for their patience as staff dealt with some challenges and staffing setbacks at the station. Apologize to those who did not receive last month’s issue. Please note that some books will be rebroadcast during this interim time. 

Use an app to hear programs 

Radio Talking Book is not just for listeners with visual disabilities. It can be an asset for people whose disabilities limit hand movements, making it difficult to read a book.  

Enjoy programming anytime and anywhere 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. It provides a convenient way to tune in 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 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 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. 

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

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. 

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 am 

The Emerald Diamond, nonfiction by Charley Rosen, 2012. Large numbers of immigrants, scant employment opportunities, and a hatred of all things English contributed to Irish immigrants embracing the American game of baseball. The game helped them assimilate into American life. Sportswriter Charley Rosen contends that it was primarily Irish players who popularized and modernized the game through the early 20th century. Read by Greg Olson. 10 broadcasts; begins Mon, March 14. 

A Change is Gonna Come (rebroadcast), Nonfiction by Brian F. Harrison, 2020. We can’t change everyone, but Brian F. Harrison teaches us how to persuade the persuadable. This is a hopeful and humane book for people willing to have difficult conversations that might change the world. Read by Michelle Potts. Six broadcasts; begins Mon, March 28. 

Past is Prologue*

Monday – Friday 11 am  

The First Conspiracy (rebroadcast), nonfiction by Brad Metzler and Josh Mensch, 2018. Authors Meltzer and Mensch tell the story about an assassination attempt on George Washington during the American Revolution. Read by John Potts. 12 broadcasts; begins Wed, March 16. 

Bookworm*

Monday – Friday 12 noon 

Where the Road Leads Us, fiction by Robin Reul, 2021. Jack’s turning 18 and graduating from high school, but instead of excitement, he feels like he’s just being held together. He finds a letter that suggests his brother’s in San Francisco, so he heads for the bus station. There Jack bumps into classmate Hallie, who’s scraped together the money for a bus to Oregon. They embark on a misadventure-filled road trip. Read by Carol McPherson. 10 broadcasts; begins Wed, March 23. 

The Writer’s Voice*

Monday – Friday 1 pm 

Good Things Happen to People You Hate (rebroadcast), nonfiction by Rebecca Fishbein, 2019. Writer Rebecca Fishbein has seen it all. Here she shares with unwavering honesty and humor her struggles with alcohol, anxiety, depression, compulsive lying, female beauty standards, and a slew of failed relationships and friendships. Read by Karen Ray. Six broadcasts; begins Thu, March 24. – L 

Choice Reading*

Monday – Friday 2 pm 

The Trees, fiction by Percival Everett. In Money, Mississippi, site of the 1955 murder of Emmett Till, someone is knocking off white men, most with a history of racist views. Detectives soon discover that eerily similar murders are taking place all over the country. Read by Jim Gregorich. Eight broadcasts; begins Mon, March 21. – V, R 

Afternoon Report*

Monday – Friday 4 pm 

Talking to Strangers, nonfiction by Malcolm Gladwell, 2019. Journalist Malcolm Gladwell aims to figure out the strategies people use to assess strangers — to analyze those strategies, critique them, figure out where they came from, and figure out how to fix them. In other words: to understand how to balance trust and safety. Read by Stevie Ray. 12 broadcasts; begins Thursday, March 10.  

Who Killed Civil Society? (rebroadcast), Nonfiction by Howard A. Husock, 2019. Even while billions of American tax dollars target various social issues, the problems persist and even grow. Editor and researcher Howard Husock suggests a more powerful and preventive strategy, based on positive social norms. Read by Jack Rossman. Seven broadcasts; begins Mon, March 28. 

Night Journey*

Monday – Friday 7 pm 

The Murder List, fiction by Julie Garwood, 2004. A journalist asks Regan Madison to help her investigate Dr. Lawrence Shields, a self-help guru. She attends a seminar where everyone is asked to list the people who have hurt or angered them. But soon the first person on Regan’s list turns up dead. Meanwhile Alec Buchanan is about to leave the Chicago police force and return to Boston. Before he goes, he’s given one last assignment – to guard Regan. Read by Tom Speich. 12 broadcasts; begins Mon, March 21. – S 

Off the Shelf*

Monday – Friday 8 pm 

The Rosie Project, fiction by Graeme Simsion, 2013. Don Tillman is a brilliant but emotionally challenged geneticist who develops a questionnaire to screen potential mates. His plans take a backseat when he meets Rosie Jarman, a bartender who wants him to help find her birth father. What follows are Don and Rosie’s utterly clueless but charming exploits in exploring their capacity for romance. Read by Michelle Potts. Nine broadcasts, begins Mon, March 7. 

The Fire She Fights, fiction by Tracy Moore, 2021. Four women – Ruby, Dana, Brazil, and Jessie – choose the extraordinary when they join the Minneapolis Fire Department. Prepared to fight literal fires, none of them anticipates the threats lurking in the dark corners of the firehouse. Each must decide: Is it better to secure her own place in a flawed system, or fight for a better system for everyone? Read by Michelle Juntunen. 11 broadcasts; begins Mon, March 21. 

Potpourri*

Monday – Friday 9 pm 

Listening to the Wind, nonfiction by Tim Robinson, 2019. Cartographer Tim Robinson explores the geography, ecology, and history of Connemara, a part of County Galway in Ireland. He moved from Ireland’s Aran Islands to Connemara twenty years ago  to engage with the mountains, bogs, and shorelines of the region, and learn its folklore and history. Read by Jim Tarbox. 19 broadcasts; begins Thu, March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day!).  

Good Night Owl*

Monday – Friday 10 pm 

Her Life is Showing (rebroadcast), fiction by Alice Benson, 2014. Shelter staff and residents overcome pain, brutality, and despair; and move forward into lives of peace, empowerment, and hope. Read by Parichay Rudina. 18 broadcasts; begins Tue, March 8. 

RTB After Hours*

Monday – Friday 11 pm 

Milkman (rebroadcast), fiction by Anna Burns, 2018. In Northern Ireland in the 1970s, during “The Troubles,” a young woman shuts herself off emotionally and intellectually from the violent political conflict. She is shaken out of her defensiveness when a paramilitary leader, known as “the Milkman,” develops an amorous interest in her. Read by Laura Young. 14 broadcasts; begins Mon, March 14. – V 

Weekend Program Books 

*Your Personal World, 1 p.m. Sat, presents How Healing Works by Wayne Jonas, M.D., read by Beverly Burchett. 

*Rated R, 11 p.m. Sat, presents The Kids Are Gonna Ask by Gretchen Anthony (L), read by Therese Murray followed by American Gospel by Liz Enger (L), read by Scott McKinney. 

*For the Younger Set,. 11 a.m. Sun, presents Love Songs and Other Lies by Jessica Pennington, read by Brenda Powell. 

*Poetic Reflections, noon Sun, presents Poems and Songs by Leonard Cohen, read by Scott McKinney followed by The Poetry Remedy by William Sieghart, read by Scott McKinney. 

*The Great North, 4 p.m. Sun, presents Wild and Rare by Adam Regn Arvidson, read by Andrea Bell. 

All times listed are Central Standard Time.