State Services for the Blind

Radio News

Radio Talking Book Radio News February 2008

Current Edition: June 2008

Previous News Editions: January 2008, February 2008, March 2008, April 2008, May 2008

January 2007, February 2007, March 2007, April 2007, May 2007, June 2007, July 2007, August 2007, September 2007, October 2007, November 2007, December 2007

January 2006, February 2006, March 2006, April 2006, May 2006, June 2006, July 2006, August 2006, September 2006, October 2006, November 2006, December 2006

Mankato area completes a move and a new service
When RTB Mankato local newspaper reading began in fall of 2000, we were generously offered the use of the KMSU studios at Mankato State University. Over the last few years, our presence there has had some difficulties: the campus shuts down at certain times of the year making it difficult to get into the building, and there has been increasing pressure from students and staff to have the studios available for student projects.
   
In 2006, we began to look for alternative sites for delivering the Mankato Free Press. Though it is obvious to listeners and those familiar with the RTB, we had to continually explain to other locations why they should want to host our newspaper readings. And then we found a site that realized the advantages on a greater scale: the Mankato CCTV offices.
   
The new site is accessible, has a room dedicated just to the reading of the papers, and the signal now will be reaching all cable subscribers in the Mankato area, which is 85% of the households. Though thousands listen to the RTB, we know there are probably ten times as many who would qualify but don’t get it for a variety of reasons.  Now many of those in the Mankato area will be getting the signal through their cable TV.
   
The transition of studios happened in mid-December and it was flawless. Great thanks to Denny Kemp, Manager at the CCTV station, Greg Husak, Mankato local coordinator for the RTB, Hal Schardin, our Chief Engineer, and to Jim Gullickson, manager at KMSU, for years of generosity.

Books Available Through Faribault
All books broadcast on the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network are available through the Minnesota  Braille and Talking Book Library in Faribault. Their phone is 1-800-722-0550 and hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Their catalog is also online, and you can access it at the main website, http://education.state.mn.us and clicking on the link, or go to http://education.state.mn.us/mde/Learning_Support/MN_Braille_Talking_Book_Library/index,html. If you live outside of Minnesota, you may obtain copies of books by contacting your own state's Network Library for the National Library Service.  
 
Review old issues of Radio News on the Internet at www.mnssb.org/radionews .
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Chautauqua
Tuesday - Saturday 4 a.m.
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Uncertainty
Nonfiction by David Lindley, 2007.
When German physicist Werner Heisenberg introduced the Uncertainty Principle, it was in direct opposition to the revered Albert Einstein. The scientist Niels Bohr was Heisenberg’s mentor and Einstein’s friend, and found himself caught between them.
Read by Kim Miller.
8 broadcasts. Began January 30.
    
The World Without Us
Nonfiction by Alan Weisman, 2007.
When humans stop inhabiting the world, parts of our infrastructure will quickly collapse. Some of our earliest buildings may be the last architecture left; and plastic, bronze, and radio waves may be our most lasting gifts to the universe.
Read by Susan Neifeld.
12 broadcasts. Begins February 11.
  
Tales from the Torrid Zone
Nonfiction by Alexander Frater, 2007.
Frater was born in Iririki which is part of the South Seas republic of Vanuatu. All his life, he has been compelled to travel, but his travels have always been in the tropics, and some of the travels have been extraordinary. L -
Read by John Mandeville.
19 broadcasts. Begins February 27.
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Past is Prologue
Monday - Friday 9 a.m.
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The Summer of 1787
Nonfiction by David O. Stewart, 2007.
In 1787, the Philadelphia Convention spent four months hammering out the charter for the world’s first constitutional democracy. Throughout the passionate and painful process, George Washington’s quiet leadership held the Convention together.
Read by Sherri Afryl.
10 broadcasts. Begins February 4.
   
The Shakespeare Riots
Nonfiction by Nigel Cliff, 2007.
One of the bloodiest incidents in New York’s history, on May 10, 1849, began with a long-simmering feud between two Shakespearean actors of the day. The ensuing riot led directly to the arming of American police forces. L -
Read by Alvin Apple.
12 broadcasts. Begins February 18.
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Bookworm
Monday - Friday 11 a.m.
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The Extra Large Medium
Fiction by Helen Slavin, 2007.
Annie Colville has talked to the dead all her life. They appear to her because they’re worried about life’s unfinished business. She searches through her mother’s collection of lovers looking for her missing father. Now that she’s an adult, she struggles with the life-changing questions her gift asks of her.
Read by Jenny O’Brien.
6 broadcasts. Begins February 4.
     
Out of the Fishbowl
Nonfiction by Ken Miller, 2007.
When Ken started to go blind, he thought he needed sight to have a good life. With medical options out of the question, only one source of vision remained: a miracle. But when he sought that miracle through faith, he collided with the unexpected.  
Read by John Hagman.
5 broadcasts. Begins February 12.
   
The Rest of Her Life
Fiction by Laura Moriarty, 2007.
Leigh’s relationship with her daughter Kara is already strained when, in a moment of carelessness, Kara makes a mistake that ends in tragedy. The effects divide Leigh’s family and polarize the community. L -
Read by Jodi Furness.
11 broadcasts. Begins February 19.
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Potpourri
Monday - Friday 2 p.m.
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Brothers
Nonfiction by David Talbot, 2007.
The Kennedys’ story is epic featuring a family struggling against the establishment in Washington. John Kennedy’s assassination was only one chapter of the story. L -
Read by Barbara Struyk.
21 broadcasts. Began January 15.

Merle’s Door
Nonfiction by Ted Kerasote, 2007.
Merle and Ted found each other in the Utah desert. Merle was ten months old, looking for a human. Ted was forty-one and a writer about animals. Together, they shaped each other’s personalities.
Read by John Marsicano.
13 broadcasts. Begins February 13.
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Choice Reading
Monday - Friday 4 p.m.
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Nineteen Minutes
Fiction by Jodi Picoult, 2007.
The town of Sterling is shattered by an act of violence. The town’s people must seek justice, but also come to understand the role they played in the tragedy. L -
Read by Pamela Schmid.
19 broadcasts. Began January 10.
  
The Cleft
Fiction by Doris Lessing, 2007.
At the end of his life, a Roman senator retells the story of human creation and reveals the story of the Clefts, a community of women who have no need of men.
Read by Eleanor Berg.
8 broadcasts. Begins February 6.

The Sea Lady
Fiction by Margaret Drabble, 2007.
Humphrey and Kelman met as children. 30 years later, they are traveling separately to a ceremony where they know they will meet again, and they are both apprehensive.
Read by Mary Davies.
12 broadcasts. Begins February 18.
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PM Report
Monday - Friday 8 p.m.
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The Father of All Things
Nonfiction by Tom Bissell, 2007.
When Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Army, former Marine officer John Bissell was glued to his television. He found himself wracked with anguish as his country abandoned a cause for which so many of his friends had died. L -
Read by Art Nyhus.
18 broadcasts. Began January 30.
 
The Conscience of a Liberal
Nonfiction by Paul Krugman, 2007.
The Gilded Age’s inequalities were tamed by 20th century reforms. But that has been unraveling since the 1970s with the Republican Party’s takeover by movement conservatism, practicing a politics of deception to advance the interests of the wealthy.
Read by Fred Lyon.
11 broadcasts. Begins February 25.
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Night Journey
Monday - Friday 9 p.m.
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Daddy’s Girl
Fiction by Lisa Scottoline, 2007.
Law professor Natalie Greco has a good, comfortable life. She stretches herself by teaching a class in a prison - and then a violent prison riot breaks out. One thing leads to another and she is forced into hiding to stay alive. L -
Read by Joy Fogarty.
11 broadcasts. Begins February 4.
 
The Patron Saint of Desperate Situations
Fiction by John Harrigan,  2007.
Sonia is being stalked by men she believes killed U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone. She seeks the help of Jake, who doesn’t share her beliefs, but he’s very attracted to her. They find they need mutual trust to survive. L -
Read by Steve Waldhauser.
9 broadcasts. Begins February 19.
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Off the Shelf
Monday - Friday 10 p.m.
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Late Night Talking
Fiction by Leslie Schnur, 2007.
Jeannie is the host of a late-night NYC talk show. Success has always been enough for her, but the radio station is bought and her life descends into chaos. L -
Read by Ann Hoedeman.
8 broadcasts. Begins February 5.
 
Trespass
Fiction by Valerie Martin, 2007.
Chloe is disturbed about her son Toby’s new girlfriend, a Croatian refugee whose past is a mine of dangerous secrets. V,L,S -
Read by Bonita Sindelir.
10 broadcasts. Begins February 18.
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Evening Odyssey
Monday - Friday 11 p.m.
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The View from Mount Joy
Fiction by Lorna Landvik, 2007.
Joe falls under the spell of sexy Kristi. Years later, he can’t believe he is just a grocer, when he wanted a more exciting life. Kristi’s life, though, is still wild. L,S -
Read by Del Adamson.
11 broadcasts. Began January 25.
 
Kockroach
Fiction by Tyler Knox, 2007.
Kockroach, perfectly content with life as an insect, awakes to find he has become a human. Step by step, he learns the ways of humans. V,L,S -
Read by Dan Sadoff.
11 broadcasts. Begins February 11.
 
Obsession
Fiction by Jonathan Kellerman, 2007.
Alex Delaware is approached by a teen whose aunt made a death-bed confession of murder. Delaware follows a wild trail in L.A. when a current murder opens a tunnel to the past. L -
Read by Ray Christensen.
12 broadcasts. Begins February 26.
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Good Night Owl
Monday - Friday midnight
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The Ministry of Special Cases
Fiction by Nathan Englander, 2007.
Kaddish makes a living erasing identities of unrespectable immigrant parents’ names. But he really learns about erasing identities when his son is arrested and no one will acknowledge the son’s existence. L,S -
Read by Chuck Torrey.
15 broadcasts. Began January 29.
 
The River Wife
Fiction by Jonis Agee, 2007.
Annie Lark was rescued from certain death by Jacques Ducharme. A century later, their descendent has married and his new wife takes comfort in Annie’s journals. V,L,S -
Read by Leandra Peak.
17 broadcasts. Begins February 18.
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After Midnight
Tuesday - Saturday 1 a.m.
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The Alchemist’s Apprentice
Fiction by Dave Duncan, 2007.
When Nostradamus is arrested because of the death of the prince’s friend, he charges his apprentice with clearing his name. But Alfeo finds magic and prophecies very challenging.
Read by William Stout.
12 broadcasts. Began January 29.
   
Nightlife
Fiction by Thomas Perry, 2006.
When homicide detective Catherine Hobbes begins working on a murder case, there seems to be a blond woman on security tapes that may also be a victim. But as more murders happen, she realizes the blond is the murderer. L -
Read by John Gunter.
15 broadcasts. Begins February 14.
  
Abbreviations: V  - violence, L - offensive language, S - sexual situations