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Reader's Corner

English, Literature, 1 season, 42 episodes, 22 hours, 33 minutes
About
Welcome to Reader's Corner, a weekly radio show hosted by Boise State University president emeritus Bob Kustra that features lively conversations with some of the nation's leading authors about issues and ideas that matter today.
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"Plunder" By Brendan Ballou

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.
2/24/202431 minutes, 53 seconds
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"Navalny: Putin's Nemesis, Russia's Future?" By Morvan Lallouet, Ben Noble, And Jan Matti Dollbaum

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.
2/17/202434 minutes, 24 seconds
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"The Identity Trap" By Yascha Mounk

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.”
2/10/202434 minutes, 53 seconds
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"Flying Blind" By Peter Robison (Part II)

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.
2/3/202429 minutes, 30 seconds
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"Flying Blind" By Peter Robison (Part I)

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.
1/27/202429 minutes, 1 second
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"Moscow X" By David McCloskey

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.
1/20/202434 minutes, 31 seconds
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"Techlash" By Tom Wheeler

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.
1/13/202432 minutes, 16 seconds
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"The Exponential Age" By Azeem Azhar

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.
1/6/202432 minutes, 45 seconds
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"Mansfield And Dirksen" By Marc C. Johnson

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.
12/30/202331 minutes, 24 seconds
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"The Lumumba Plot" By Stuart A. Reid (Part II)

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.
12/23/202332 minutes, 30 seconds
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"The Lumumba Plot" By Stuart A. Reid (Part I)

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.
12/16/202331 minutes, 5 seconds
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"Clark and Division" By Naomi Hirahara

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.
12/9/202330 minutes, 20 seconds
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"The Age of Insurrection" By David Neiwert

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.
12/2/202330 minutes, 39 seconds
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"Passport Stamps" By Sean D. Carberry

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.
11/25/202339 minutes, 5 seconds
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"The Secret Gate" By Mitchell Zuckoff

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.
11/11/202333 minutes, 54 seconds
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"How Antitrust Failed Workers" By Eric A. Posner

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.
11/4/202335 minutes, 4 seconds
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"Pushed Out" By Ryanne Pilgeram (Part I)

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.
10/21/202330 minutes
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"A Forest Journey" By John Perlin

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.
10/14/202334 minutes, 52 seconds
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"Remarkably Bright Creatures" By Shelby Van Pelt

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.
10/7/202330 minutes, 22 seconds
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"Futureproof" By Kevin Roose

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.
9/30/202330 minutes, 20 seconds
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"The Last Honest Man" By James Risen

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.
9/23/202334 minutes, 30 seconds
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"The Elephant Of Belfast" By S. Kirk Walsh

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.
9/16/202333 minutes
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"America Second" By Isaac Stone Fish

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.
9/2/202333 minutes
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"The Digital Republic" By Jamie Susskind

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?
8/26/202333 minutes, 45 seconds
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"Red London" By Alma Katsu

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.
8/5/202330 minutes, 51 seconds
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"The Lincoln Miracle" By Edward Achorn

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.
7/22/202331 minutes
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"The Rise Of Digital Repression" By Steven Feldstein

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.
7/15/202331 minutes, 25 seconds
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"Master Slave Husband Wife" By Ilyon Woo

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.
7/8/202330 minutes, 15 seconds
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"How Beautiful We Were" By Imbolo Mbue

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.
7/1/202330 minutes, 11 seconds
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"Dust Child" By Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

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.
6/24/202330 minutes
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"The Triumph Of Doubt" By David Michaels

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.
6/10/202331 minutes
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"Call Me Elizabeth Lark" By Melissa Colasanti

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.
6/3/202332 minutes, 15 seconds
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"Justice For Animals" By Martha C. Nussbaum

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.
5/27/202335 minutes
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"Mother Daughter Traitor Spy" By Susan Elia MacNeal

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.
5/20/202328 minutes, 30 seconds
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"Uncounted" By Gilda R. Daniels

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.
5/13/202333 minutes, 10 seconds
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"Evolution Gone Wrong" By Alex Bezzerides

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.
5/6/202333 minutes, 30 seconds
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"When McKinsey Comes To Town" By Walt Bogdanich

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.
4/29/202333 minutes
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"The Petroleum Papers" By Geoff Dembicki

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.
4/15/202334 minutes, 59 seconds
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"American Schism" By Seth David Radwell

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.
4/8/202330 minutes, 30 seconds
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"Kill Switch" By Adam Jentleson

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.
4/1/202333 minutes, 16 seconds
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"Preparing For War" By Bradley Onishi (Part II)

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.
3/25/202332 minutes
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"Preparing For War" By Bradley Onishi (Part I)

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.
3/19/202329 minutes, 31 seconds