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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An interview with Timothy Snyder, author of the new book, On Freedom. The book is an exploration of the American ideal of freedom—what it is, how it’s been misunderstood, and why it may be our only chance for survival.By Bob Kustra
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An interview with Sergey Radchenko, author of the new book, To Run the World. The book offers a detailed portrait of Russian leadership during the Cold War, helming a sprawling nation with irreconcilable ambitions as a self-proclaimed superpower and the leader of global revolution.By Bob Kustra
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"I Will Show You How It Was" By Illia Ponomarenko
41:09
41:09
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41:09
An interview with Illia Ponomarenko, author of the new book, I Will Show You How It Was. The book is powerful and personal chronicle of the war in Ukraine from the front lines.By Bob Kustra
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"A World on the Wing" By Scott Weidensaul
32:11
32:11
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32:11
Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in August 2022. An interview with Scott Weidensaul, author of A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds. The book is exhilarating exploration of the science and wonder of global bird migration.By Bob Kustra
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"Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here" By Jonathan Blitzer
30:24
30:24
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30:24
An interview with Jonathan Blitzer, author of Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here. The book is a vivid portrait of the people whose lives ebb and flow across the U.S. border, and how the immigration crisis shapes American politics and culture.By Bob Kustra
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An interview with Minxin Pei, author of The Sentinel State. The book argues that the endurance of dictatorship in China owes less to advanced technology than it does to the human resources of the Leninist surveillance state.By Bob Kustra
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"The Thousand Crimes Of Ming Tsu" By Tom Lin
30:00
30:00
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30:00
Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in August 2022. An interview with Tom Lin, author of the novel, The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu. A twist on the classic western, it’s a story of one man's quest for redemption in the face of a distinctly American brutality.…
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An interview with Paul Hendrickson, author of the new book, Fighting the Night. The book is a moving story of his father’s wartime service as a night fighter pilot, and the prices he and his fellow soldiers paid for their selfless acts of service.By Bob Kustra
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"Ian Fleming: The Complete Man" By Nicholas Shakespeare
37:08
37:08
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37:08
An interview with Nicholas Shakespeare, author of the new book, Ian Fleming: The Complete Man. The book offers an eye-opening portrait of the mysterious and fascinating man behind James Bond, and his enduring impact.By Bob Kustra
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"The Rise And Fall Of The Neoliberal Order" By Gary Gerstle
34:29
34:29
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34:29
Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in July 2022.An interview with Gary Gerstle, author of The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era. The book illuminates how the ideology of neoliberalism became so infused in the daily life of an era.…
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An interview with David L. Roll, author of the new book, Ascent to Power. The book focuses on the fascinating story behind the most consequential presidential transition in US history, from Roosevelt to Truman.By Bob Kustra
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An interview with David Ignatius, author of the new novel, Phantom Orbit. The book is a thrilling story of espionage against the backdrop of our nation’s renewed interest in space exploration amid geopolitical tumult.By Bob Kustra
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Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in July 2022. An interview with Peter S. Goodman, author of Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World. The book is must read for anyone concerned about economic justice and the sanctity of representative government.…
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An interview with Steve Inskeep, author of the new book, Differ We Must. The book is a compelling portrait of Abraham Lincoln’s political acumen in a country divided – and lessons for our own disorderly present.By Bob Kustra
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An interview with Margot Susca, author of Hedged. The book reveals a newspaper industry rocked by an obsession with profit and beholden to private fund interests.By Bob Kustra
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An interview with Amy Gajda, author of Seek and Hide: The Tangled History of the Right to Privacy. The book is an important primer for today’s privacy wars - the surprising history of the right to privacy, and its battle against the public’s right to know.By Bob Kustra
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An interview with Erik Larson, author of the new book, The Demon of Unrest. The book examines the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War.By Bob Kustra
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An interview with Rob Percival, author of The Meat Paradox: Eating, Empathy, and the Future of Meat. The book offers a vital and nuanced investigation into the current debate around meat.By Bob Kustra
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"Coming To Terms With John F. Kennedy" By Stephen F. Knott
33:54
33:54
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An interview with Stephen F. Knott, author of Coming to Terms with John F. Kennedy. The book offers a broad view of the young President, and shows how politicians on both sides of the aisle distorted JFK's record for their own purposes.By Bob Kustra
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An interview with Terry Hayes, acclaimed author of the new book, The Year of the Locust. A thriller set in the borderlands of the Middle East, the novel follows a CIA spy as his plans to extract a source are complicated by a powerful adversary.By Bob Kustra
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An interview with Moisés Naím, author of The Revenge of Power: How Autocrats Are Reinventing Politics for the 21st Century. The book examines the future of freedom and how to contain and defeat the autocrats popping up around the world.By Bob Kustra
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An interview with Jonathan Taplin, author of The End of Reality. The book is a scathing critique of the worldview being sold by four American billionaires.By Bob Kustra
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An interview with writer C.J. Box, joining us to talk about his new novel, Three-Inch Teeth. In the book, game warden Joe Pickett contends with a vicious grizzly bear and an ex-convict out for revenge.By Bob Kustra
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Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in October 2020.By Bob Kustra
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An interview with John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather. The book offers a terrifying account of a colossal wildfire and an exploration of the rapidly changing relationship between fire and humankind.By Bob Kustra
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An interview with Elena Conis, author of How to Sell a Poison. The book tells the tangled story of DDT, a corporate-backed poison that decimated wildlife and left behind toxic bodies.By Bob Kustra
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"Once There Were Wolves" By Charlotte McConaghy
32:16
32:16
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An interview with Charlotte McConaghy about her new novel, Once There Were Wolves. The book is about the looming threat of environmental collapse and the bold and flawed humans working to avert it.By Bob Kustra
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"A Day In The Life Of Abed Salama" By Nathan Thrall
36:01
36:01
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An interview with Nathan Thrall, author of the new book, A Day in the Life of Abed Salama. The book tells the story of a deadly accident outside Jerusalem that unravels a tangle of lives, loves, and histories over the course of a single day.By Bob Kustra
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An interview with Jonathan Karl, author of Tired of Winning. The book explores how Donald Trump remade the Republican Party in his own image, baggage and all.By Bob Kustra
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An interview with Dana Stevens, author of Camera Man: Buster Keaton, The Dawn of Cinema and the Invention of the Twentieth Century. In the book, Stevens places acclaimed filmmaker Buster Keaton’s unique creative genius in the context of his time.By Bob Kustra
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"Tyranny of the Minority" By Steven Levitsky (Part II)
31:54
31:54
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An interview with Steven Levitsky, co-author of Tyranny of the Minority. The book offers important context for our volatile times and a framework for how to protect our democracy from an authoritarian backlash.By Bob Kustra
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"Tyranny of the Minority" By Steven Levitsky (Part I)
30:39
30:39
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30:39
An interview with Steven Levitsky, co-author of Tyranny of the Minority. The book offers important context for our volatile times and a framework for how to protect our democracy from an authoritarian backlash.By Bob Kustra
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"The Violin Conspiracy" By Brendan Slocumb
32:18
32:18
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32:18
An interview with Brendan Slocumb, author of the novel, The Violin Conspiracy. Part literary thriller and part mystery, the book is a gripping coming-of-age story about the love of music and a young man’s resilience.By Bob Kustra
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An interview with Joe Nocera, co-author of The Big Fail. Co-written by Bethany MacLean, the book offers new answers for why and how America become the world leader in COVID deaths.By Bob Kustra
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"White House Wild Child" By Shelley Fraser Mickle
34:54
34:54
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An interview with Shelley Fraser Mickle, author of the new book, White House Wild Child. The book is a fascinating biography of outspoken first-daughter Alice Roosevelt, sometimes dubbed the Jackie O of the early 20th century.By Bob Kustra
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Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode first aired in January 2021.By Bob Kustra
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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.By Bob Kustra
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"Navalny: Putin's Nemesis, Russia's Future?" By Morvan Lallouet, Ben Noble, And Jan Matti Dollbaum
34:24
34:24
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34:24
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.By Bob Kustra
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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.”By Bob Kustra
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"Flying Blind" By Peter Robison (Part II)
29:30
29:30
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29:30
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.By Bob Kustra
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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.By Bob Kustra
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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.By Bob Kustra
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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.By Bob Kustra
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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.By Bob Kustra
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"Mansfield And Dirksen" By Marc C. Johnson
31:24
31:24
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31:24
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.By Bob Kustra
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"The Lumumba Plot" By Stuart A. Reid (Part II)
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32:30
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32:30
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.By Bob Kustra
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"The Lumumba Plot" By Stuart A. Reid (Part I)
31:05
31:05
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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.By Bob Kustra
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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.By Bob Kustra
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"The Age of Insurrection" By David Neiwert
30:39
30:39
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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.By Bob Kustra
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