Volunteer readers sought
Radio Talking Book is seeking volunteers to record books and periodicals for broadcast. This a fun and rewarding volunteer opportunity. Contact Roberta Kitlinski at 651-539-1423 or [email protected] to learn more.
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.
The sampling published monthly in Access Press doesn’t represent the full array of programming. More programs and books are available.
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.
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 for details.
For more Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network news, 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
The morning news
Minnesota Radio Talking Book broadcasts the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press live every morning from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Listeners are asked to weigh in about content. Is anything missing? Contact acting station manager Joseph Papke at 651-539-2316 or [email protected]
Chautauqua*Monday – Friday 6 a.m.
Reality+, nonfiction by David J. Chalmers, 2022. A leading philosopher takes a mind-bending journey through virtual worlds, illuminating the nature of reality and our place within it. Read by Lannois Neely. 22 broadcasts; begins Mon, Oct. 10.
Past is Prologue*Monday – Friday 11 a.m.
What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party, nonfiction by Michael Kazin, 2022. The story of the United States’ most enduring political party and its long, imperfect and newly invigorated quest for “moral capitalism.” Read by Carol McPherson. 19 broadcasts; begins Mon, Oct. 3. – L, R
Voices from Pejuhutazizi, nonfiction by Teresa Peterson & Walter LaBatte Jr., 2022. A rich trove of stories told by five generations of a Dakota family. Read by Stevie Ray. Eight broadcasts; begins Mon, Oct. 31.
Bookworm*Monday – Friday 12 p.m.
Wildcat, fiction by Amelia Morris, 2022. An uproariously funny, surprisingly touching story of one woman’s journey through motherhood and female friendship, in a society that plays fast and loose with information. Read by Karen Ray. Nine broadcasts; begins Thu, Oct. 6.
Groundskeeping, fiction by Lee Cole, 2022. An indelible love story about two very different people navigating the entanglements of class and identity and coming of age in an America coming apart at the seams. Read by Don Lee. 12 broadcasts; begins Wed, Oct. 19.
The Writer’s Voice*Monday – Friday 1 p.m.
The Milk Lady of Bangalore (rebroadcast), nonfiction by Shoba Narayan, 2018. A writer returns to India from Manhattan and forms a bond with the local milk lady. Read by Esmé Evans. Eight broadcasts; begins Tue, Oct. 4.
Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography, nonfiction by Laurie Wollever, 2021. An unprecedented behind-the-scenes view into the life of Anthony Bourdain from the people who knew him best. Read by Glenn Miller. 12 broadcasts; begins Mon, Oct. 17. – L
Choice Reading*Monday – Friday 2 p.m.
Polite Society (rebroadcast), fiction by Mahesh Rao, 2019. When Ania, a young New Delhi woman, plays matchmaker she discovers how things seldom go as planned in matters of the heart. Read by Kristi Fuller. 11 broadcasts; begins Tue, Oct. 4. – L
Marrying the Ketchups, fiction by Jennifer Close, 2022. An irresistible comedy of manners about three generations of a Chicago restaurant family and the deep-fried, beer-battered, cream cheese-frosted love that feeds them all. Read by Holly Sylvester. 11 broadcasts; begins Wed, Oct. 19. – L
Afternoon Report*Monday – Friday 4 p.m.
The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism, nonfiction by Matthew Continetti, 2022. A magisterial intellectual history of the last century of American conservatism and its impact on the present. Read by John Potts. 17 broadcasts; begins Mon, Oct. 3. – L
Fascism: A Warning (rebroadcast), nonfiction by Madeleine Albright, 2018. A personal and urgent examination of Fascism in the twentieth century and how its legacy shapes today’s world, written by the first woman to serve as U.S. secretary of state. Read by Michele Potts. Nine broadcasts; begins Wed, Oct. 26.
Night Journey*Monday – Friday 7 p.m.
Such a Pretty Smile, fiction by Kristi DeMeester, 2021. A heart-stopping tour-de-force about powerful women, angry men, and all the ways in which girls fight against the forces that try to silence them. Read by Pat Kovel-Jarboe. 11 broadcasts; begins Mon, Oct. 3. – L, V, G
A Thousand Steps, fiction by T. Jefferson Parker, 2022. Sixteen-year-old Matt doesn’t believe that his missing older sister is just another runaway hippie chick, enjoying a summer of love. Not after another missing girl turns up dead on the beach. Read by Andrea Bell. 11 broadcasts; begins Tue, Oct. 18. – L, V
Off the Shelf*Monday – Friday 8 p.m.
The Dreamers (rebroadcast), fiction by Karen Thompson Walker, 2019. A college student thinks she’s caught the flu. In fact, she has a mysterious illness that causes its victims to fall into a deep sleep, leading to death. Read by Marylyn Burridge. 10 broadcasts; begins Mon, Oct. 3.
The Orchard, fiction by Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry, 2022. Four teenagers grow inseparable in the last days of the Soviet Union—but not all of them will live to see the new world arrive in this powerful debut novel, loosely based on Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. Read by Jodi Lindskog. 12 broadcasts; begins Mon, Oct. 17. – L, S
Potpourri*Monday – Friday 9 p.m.
The Enchanted Hour (rebroadcast), nonfiction by Meghan Cox Gurdon, 2018. A look at how reading aloud makes adults and children smarter, happier, healthier, more successful and more closely attached, even as technology pulls in the other direction. Read by Yelva Lynfield. 11 broadcasts; begins Mon, Oct. 10.
The Last Bookseller, nonfiction by Gary Goodman, 2021. A wry, unvarnished chronicle of a career in the rare book trade during its last Golden Age. Read by Jim Ahrens. Five broadcasts; begins Tue, Oct. 25.
Good Night Owl*Monday – Friday 10 p.m.
How I Learned I’m Old (rebroadcast) Nonfiction by Romney S. Humphrey, 2019. A collection of humorous essays—with a smattering of serious insights—that tell the tale of about what happens when middle age mysteriously departs and old age claims its territory. Read by Susan Niefeld. Five broadcasts; begins Mon, Oct. 3. – L
FKA USA, fiction by Reed King, 2019. Set in a satirical, dystopian future, a young orphan is tapped by the President to deliver a talking goat to a laboratory in San Francisco. Read by Peter Danbury. 17 broadcasts; began Mon, Oct. 10. – L, V, S
RTB After Hours*Monday – Friday 11 p.m.
Death and Other Happy Endings (rebroadcast) Fiction by Melanie Cantor, 2019. When Jennifer Cole’s doctor gives her only three months to live, she reaches out to three people who each had once broken her heart. Read by Holly Sylvester. 11 broadcasts; begins Tue, Oct. 18. – S
Weekend Program Books
Your Personal World, 1 p.m. Sat, presents Good Anxiety by Dr. Wendy Suzuki, read by Beverly Burchett, followed by How To Not Die Alone by Logan Ury, read by Beverly Burchett.
For the Younger Set, 11 a.m. Sun, presents Pony by R. J. Palacio, read by John Schmidt, followed by The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill, read by Pat Muir.
Poetic Reflections, noon Sun, presents Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz, read by Mary Knatterud, followed by The King’s Touch by Tom Sleigh, read by Jim Ahrens.
The Great North, 4 p.m. Sun, presents Diesel Heart by Melvin Whitfield Carter Jr., read by John Mandeville – L, V, S, R.