State Services for the Blind

Radio News

Radio Talking Book Radio News May 2007

Current Edition: January 2008

Previous News Editions: 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

New Website Available for Seniors
The American Foundation for the Blind has created a web resource that is a first of its kind, a virtual vision center that encourages older adults to live independently and productively with vision loss. Available via a link on AFB’s home page, www.afb.org/seniorsite focuses on common sense and daily living solutions to help seniors with vision loss better adjust to changing eyesight. It connects seniors and family members to local services and spotlights the wide range of assistive living products available to people with vision loss.
 
The site has five main sections: Understanding Vision Loss, Finding Help and Support, Daily Living, Changing Your Home, and Fitness and Fun. Visitors to the site will also find video testimonials from others who aren’t letting vision loss slow them down. In the near future, Senior Site will also contain message boards, blogs, and support group links to foster a sense of community among seniors and their family members.
 
Like the rest of the AFB web site, Senior Site has adjustable text, color, and contrast to make it accessible to those with low vision. The site also meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines so blind and low-vision users can navigate the site using voice browser technology. Consider using the website, or having your friends and relatives look at it for you.

Books Available Through Faribault 
All books broadcast on the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network are available through the Minnesota  Library  for  the  Blind  and Physically Handicapped in Faribault. Their phone is 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 www.klas.com/mnbph . 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.

Chautauqua
Tuesday - Saturday 4 a.m.

The Only Game in Town
Nonfiction by Fay Vincent, 2006.
Ten great ballplayers remember the heyday of the game in the 1930s and 1940s. It was an era of great change with World War II and integration.
Read by Ray Christensen.
8 broadcasts. Began April 25.

Rejuvenile
Nonfiction by Christopher Noxon, 2006.
Noxon sees an increase in the numbers of adults who refuse to set aside childish things. He believes these people to be both optimists and romantics. L -
Read by Susan Niefeld.  
8 broadcasts. Begins May 7.
 
Ghost Hunters
Nonfiction by Deborah Blum, 2006.
At the close of the 19th century, a wave of spiritualism swept the public. Several well-known philosophers and scientists formed a society to research it.
Read by John Hagman.
14 broadcasts. Begins May 17.
 
Past is Prologue
Monday - Friday 9 a.m.

The Race for Timbuktu
Nonfiction by Frank T. Kryza, 2006.
The lost city of Timbuktu, Africa’s legendary City of Gold, burned brightly in 19th century European imaginations. In 1824, the French Geographical Society offered a reward to the first to visit it and return.
Read by Richard Klein.
13 broadcasts. Began April 23.

Mayflower
Nonfiction by Nathaniel Philbrick, 2006.
The Mayflower and Plymouth Colony story is a fifty-five year epic, both tragic and heroic, that carries meaning for us today.
Read by Leila Poullada.
12 broadcasts. Begins May 10.

Agincourt
Nonfiction by Juliet Barker, 2006.
In 1415, the English and French armies faced off in northeastern France. The well-fed French army was six times the size of the starving English, yet the English won the battle.
Read by Arlan Dohrenburg.
18 broadcasts. Begins May 28.

Bookworm
Monday - Friday 11 a.m.

Rise and Shine
Fiction by Anna Quindlen, 2006.
Meghan Fitzmaurice has a perfect life. Then she reveals something on her television show that brings an end to an era for her and her younger sister. L -
Read by Marylyn Burridge.
11 broadcasts. Began April 24.
 
The Right Attitude to Rain
Fiction by Alexander McCall Smith, 2006.
Isabel’s cousin introduces her to people who claim to be in love, but she suspects they are more interested in money. It is a chance for her to use her sleuthing skills.
Read by Nancy Felknor.
9 broadcasts. Begins May 9.
  
The Light of Evening
Fiction by Edna O’Brien, 2006.
In Dublin, Dilly awaits a visit from her long-estranged daughter Eleanora. Though she disapproves of Eleanora’s life, Dilly made a similar move as a young woman.
Read by Martha Wigmore.
10 broadcasts. Begins May 22.

Potpourri
Monday - Friday 2 p.m.

Clemente
Nonfiction by David Maraniss, 2006.
At a time when there were no blacks or Puerto Ricans in organized baseball, Roberto Clemente became the greatest Latino player in the major leagues. L -
Read by Bill Studer.
19 broadcasts. Began April 19.

Two for the Road
Nonfiction by Jane and Michael Stern, 2006.
In their search for the best roadside cuisine, the Sterns drove three million miles, eating twelve meals per day. L -
Read by Audray Rees.
9 broadcasts. Begins May 16.
 
I’m Proud of You
Nonfiction by Tim Madigan, 2006.
In 1995, Madigan wrote a profile of Fred Rogers. At the time, Madigan’s career was flourishing but his personal life falling apart. The ensuing interview changed both their lives.
Read by Wally Vavrosky.
5 broadcasts. Begins May 29.

Choice Reading
Monday - Friday 4 p.m.

After This
Fiction by Alice McDermott, 2006.
The Keanes are a working-class family caught in the challenges and liberties of the 1960s. Two children experience the sexual revolution, one goes to Vietnam, one tries to stay innocent. L -
Read by Judith Johannessen.
10 broadcasts. Began April 23.
 
The Portrait
Fiction by Iain Pears, 2005.
In the early years of the twentieth century, an art critic travels to a French island to sit for a portrait painted by an old friend. The gifted but tormented artist is in self-imposed exile.
Read by Richard Klein.
6 broadcasts. Begins May 7.
 
Abundance
Fiction by Sena Jeter Naslund, 2006.
At age fourteen, Maria Antonia became Marie Antoinette, wife of the future king of France. Though she was initially loved by the French, she became their scapegoat when finances turned bad.
Read by Carol Lewis.
18 broadcasts. Begins May 15.

PM Report
Monday - Friday 8 p.m.

The Greatest Story Ever Sold
Nonfiction by Frank Rich, 2006.
The Bush administration’s goal was not to vanquish al Qaeda, but to consolidate power.
Read by Dan Kuechenmeister.
13 broadcasts. Began April 16.
 
Religion Gone Bad
Nonfiction by Mel White, 2006.
Fundamentalists’ war against gays is about raising funds to control church and state.
V,S -
Read by Dan Sadoff.
14 broadcasts. Begins May 3.
 
The Audacity of Hope
Nonfiction by Barack Obama, 2006.
Obama believes we can move beyond our divisions to tackle concrete problems. The Constitution should give us a foundation for political consensus.
Read by Charles Torrey.
16 broadcasts. Begins May 23.

Night Journey
Monday - Friday 9 p.m.

The Poe Shadow
Fiction by Matthew Pearl, 2006.
Quentin Clark searches for the model of Edgar Allen Poe’s fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin. L - Read by Del Adamson.
15 broadcasts. Began April 16.
 
Copper River
Fiction by William Kent Krueger, 2006.
Hiding from hit men, O’Connor stumbles on a set of deadly mysteries that endanger children. L -
Read by Steve Waldhauser.
10 broadcasts. Begins May 7.
 
Girl in a Box
Fiction by Sujata Massey, 2006.
Rei Shimura takes a gig working undercover in a big Tokyo department store. L -
Read by Pat Kovel-Jarboe.
12 broadcasts. Begins May 21.

Off the Shelf
Monday - Friday 10 p.m.

The Night Watch
Fiction by Sarah Waters, 2006.
People in wartime London balance their inner emotions with the war effort. L,S -
Read by Bonita Sindelir.
18 broadcasts. Began April 12.
 
Act of Treason
Fiction by Vince Flynn, 2006.
Mitch Rapp follows the evidence to the most powerful figures in Washington. V,L,S -
Read by James Keane.
14 broadcasts. Begins May 8.
 
The Girls
Fiction by Lori Lansens, 2006.
Soon to be history’s oldest conjoined twins, Rose decides it is time to write the story of her life with Ruby. L,S -
Read by Ann Hoedeman.
12 broadcasts. Begins May 28.

Evening Odyssey
Monday - Friday 11 p.m.

Wild Fire
Fiction by Nelson DeMille, 2006.
Acting on its own, the Custer Hill Club formed a retaliation plan for 9/11.
Read by Ray Christensen.
16 broadcasts. Begins May 1.
 
The Heiress of Water
Nonfiction by Sandra Rodriguez-Barron, 2006. Monica Borrero returns to the land of her childhood and discovers things that will change her life.
Read by Sherri Afryl.
10 broadcasts. Begins May 23.

Good Night Owl
Monday - Friday midnight

The Tender Bar
Nonfiction by J.R. Moehringer, 2005.
J.R. found his father-replacement with men from the local bar. L -
Read by Hugh Jones.
18 broadcasts. Began April 9.
 
The Collectors
Fiction by David Baldacci, 2006.
Members of the Camel Club have found a connection between the deaths of two major figures in the U.S. government. Someone is selling America to its enemies. V,L,S -
Read by Charlie Boone.
13 broadcasts. Begins May 3.
 
Mission Song
Fiction by John LeCarré, 2006.
Bruno Salvador is the son of a missionary and a Congolese woman. He trains as an interpreter in minority African languages and is courted by British Intelligence. He soon finds he is interpreting conversations not meant for his ears. V,L -
Read by Neil Bright.
14 broadcasts. Begins May 22.

After Midnight
Tuesday - Saturday 1 a.m.
 
Wintersmith
Fiction by Terry Pratchett, 2006.
The Wintersmith has a crush on Tiffany Aching. But if she stays with him, spring will never come.
Read by Judith Johannessen.
11 broadcasts. Began April 17.
 
Lady’s Choice
Fiction by Amanda Scott, 2006.
Lady Sorcha MacLeod is certain the man who abducted her sister Adela on her wedding day is the man Adela loves, Sir Hugo Robison. When she learns otherwise, she sets off to rescue Adela, with Hugo in pursuit. S -
Read by Mary Davies.
12 broadcasts. Begins May 2.
 
The Shattered Land
Fiction by Keith Baker, 2006.
In the dark continent of Xen’drik, war-weary soldiers brave its jungles in search of an artifact. V,L - Read by David Tofteland.
15 broadcasts. Begins May 21.

Abbreviations: V  - violence, L - rough language, S - sexual situations