State Services for the Blind

Radio News

Radio Talking Book Radio News August 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

National Conventions
During early July, both the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and the American Council of the Blind (ACB) had national conventions. Though our space here does not allow for a full review of the convention activities, we do have room for highlights. Joyce Scanlon, president of the Minnesota Chapter of the NFB says, “Perhaps the most significant event took place on July 3, when we held our March for Independence through the streets of Atlanta to Olympic Centennial Park, where we held a rally. It was an historic gathering of blind people. (Later), thirty scholarships were awarded to post-secondary blind students, including three who are either employees of or students at our NFB training center in Minnesota. Our own Minnesotan, Sheila Koenig, became the recipient of the Federation’s Distinguished Blind Educator of the Year Award. Sheila teaches English at Southview Middle School in Edina.”
   
Ken Rodgers, president of the Minnesota Chapter of the ACB, says, “There were many important results of the 2007 ACB 46th annual convention held in Minneapolis recently, but among the top is the release of ACB’s White Paper on Rehabilitation Practices.” He says there were over 85 vendors present, which gave people an opportunity to see lots of new technology but also have hands-on experience with it. It was a great opportunity for Minnesota members of the ACB to show their state to ACB members from other parts of the country.
   
Our congratulations to both organizations for having great conventions.

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 .

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Chautauqua
Tuesday - Saturday 4 a.m.
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Dancing in the Streets
Nonfiction by Barbara Ehrenreich, 2006.
Governments and religions have tried to eliminate the human desire for collective joy. But deeply ingrained traditions are not easy to annihilate.
Read by Barbara Struyk.
10 broadcasts. Began July 23.
   
Jesus for the Non Religious
Nonfiction by John Shelby Spong, 2007.
Retired Episcopal Bishop Spong looks at Jesus through the lens of Jewish scriptures and the life of the synagogue. He sees a new way of looking at Christ.
Read by June Prange.
12 broadcasts. Begins August 6.
   
Survival of the Sickest
Nonfiction by Sharon Moalem, M.D., 2007.
Diseases today gave our ancestors an advantage in survival. When the option is long life with a disease or short life without one, evolution picks the disease every time.
Read by Fred Lyon.
9 broadcasts. Begins August 22.
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Past is Prologue
Monday - Friday 9 a.m.
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Thunderstruck
Nonfiction by Erik Larson, 2006.
During one of the greatest criminal chases of all time, inventor Guglielmo Marconi met the murderer Hawley Crippen on a ship in the North Atlantic.
Read by Del Adamson.
13 broadcasts. Began July 19.
   
The Demon under the Microscope
Nonfiction by Thomas Hager, 2006.
The discovery of sulfa saved millions of lives, but its real effects were more far-reaching. It changed the way drugs were developed, transformed the way doctors treated patients, and ushered in the era of modern medicine.
Read by Leila Poullada.
12 broadcasts. Begins August 7.

A Perfect Union
Nonfiction by Catherine Allgor, 2006.
While she was the president’s wife, Dolley Madison was the architect of the social and political intricacies of Washington, D.C.
Read by Barbara Struyk.
18 broadcasts. Begins August 23.
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Bookworm
Monday - Friday 11 a.m.
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Saving Graces
Nonfiction by Elizabeth Edwards, 2006.
Days before the 2004 election, Edwards was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. Her fight stirred an outpouring of support from across the country.
Read by Susan Niefeld.
14 broadcasts. Began July 17.
    
Whitethorn Woods
Fiction by Maeve Binchy, 2007.
When the new highway is built, St. Ann’s Well is slated for destruction. Father Flynn is concerned because it’s been the site for people speaking their prayers.
Read by Eleanor Berg.
13 broadcasts. Begins August 6.
   
The Love of Impermanent Things
Nonfiction by Mary Rose O’Reilley, 2006.
O’Reilley says we have a chance to recover our daring in midlife. No one is paying attention; why not head for the artistic edge and find our true calling?
Read by June Prange.
10 broadcasts. Begins August 23.
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Potpourri
Monday - Friday 2 p.m.
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Mozart and the Whale
Nonfiction by Jerry and Mary Newport, 2007.
Jerry and Mary both have a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome. One is a musical genius, the other a mathematical wonder. When they met, they felt it was a miracle. L -
Read by Marylyn Burridge.
10 broadcasts. Began July 31.

Teach like Your Hair’s on Fire
Nonfiction by Rafe Esquith, 2007.
In a tough L.A. neighborhood, one fifth-grade classroom has students that go on to attend fine universities. Yet the students are all immigrants or children of immigrants.
Read by James Keane.
9 broadcasts. Begins August 14.

Wins, Losses and Lessons
Nonfiction by Lou Holtz, 2006.
In the history of college sports, few have been more influential than Lou Holtz. After three decades of football, he has left the game, but continues to teach and coach.
Read by Wally Vavrosky.
11 broadcasts. Begins August 27.
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Choice Reading
Monday - Friday 4 p.m.
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Embroidered Truths
Fiction by Monica Ferris, 2005.
Betsy’s friend Godwin splits with his partner John and moves in with her. But when John is discovered dead, Godwin is arrested for murder.
Read by Karen Wertz.
8 broadcasts. Began July 25.

Him Her Him Again the End of Him
Fiction by Patricia Marx, 2007.
In grad school, she became obsessed with a philosopher, even after he married and became a father. She moved to New York; but then, so did he.
Read by Isla Hejny.
8 broadcasts. Begins August 6.

Inés of My Soul
Fiction by Isabel Allende, 2006.
Born poor in 16th century Spain, Inés goes to the Americas to look for her husband. She begins an affair with Pedro de Valdivia, and together, they build the city of Santiago.
Read by Sherri Afryl.
14 broadcasts. Begins August 16.
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PM Report
Monday - Friday 8 p.m.
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Planet of Slums
Nonfiction by Mike Davis, 2006.
Much of the urban world lives in squalor amidst pollution, excrement, and decay. One billion people live in the slums of the cities of the southern hemisphere.
Read by Malcolm McLean.
9 broadcasts. Began July 24.
 
The Education of Ronald Reagan
Nonfiction by Thomas W. Evans, 2006.
A liberal in the 1940s, Reagan worked eight years under GE executive Boulware, and was converted to conservatism. Reagan’s speeches there were the foundation of the speech which launched his career.
Read by Art Nyhus.
12 broadcasts. Begins August 6.
 
The War of Ideas
Nonfiction by Walid Phares, 2007.
New technology and media savvy of jihadists have raised the stakes in the War on Terror. The West is in danger of losing the war.
Read by Dan Sadoff.
14 broadcasts. Begins August 22.
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Night Journey
Monday - Friday 9 p.m.
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The Foreign Correspondent
Fiction by Alan Furst, 2006.
Carlo Weisz is a foreign correspondent for Reuters. He’s also the new editor of an anti-Mussolini émigré newspaper. But in 1938, a foreign correspondent is just a pawn. L,S -
Read by John Edmunds.
11 broadcasts. Began July 30.
 
The Zero
Fiction by Jess Walter, 2006.
In the midst of an attack, cop Brian Remy finds he has shot himself in the head. When he starts to recover, he finds his memory is skipping. Is he living his own life? V,L -
Read by Neil Bright.
14 broadcasts. Begins August 14.
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Off the Shelf
Monday - Friday 10 p.m.
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The Echo Maker
Fiction by Richard Powers, 2006.
After Mark’s accident and coma, he believes his sister is an imposter. A neurologist believes his denial is a rare syndrome. L -
Read by Laura Rohlik.
22 broadcasts. Began July 30.
 
The Castle in the Forest
Fiction by Norman Mailer, 2007.
Secrets have always surrounded Adolf Hitler. If he was evil, how did he become this way? Looking at his childhood and family helps. S -
Read by Arlan Dohrenburg.
20 broadcasts. Begins August 29.
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Evening Odyssey
Monday - Friday 11 p.m.
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The Lying Tongue
Fiction by Andrew Wilson, 2007.
Adam Woods, personal assistant to Gordon Crace, a famous novelist, thinks he can launch his own career by secretly writing Crace’s biography. But Crace has other ideas. L,S -
Read by Neil Bright.
12 broadcasts. Began July 31.
 
The End of the World as We Know It
Nonfiction by Robert Goolrick, 2007.
By outside appearances, the family lived an idyllic life; but it was all illusion. Behind the façade lurked secrets so dark and painful that, for Goolrick, his life could never be the same. V,L,S -
Read by Del Adamson.
7 broadcasts. Begins August 16.
 
Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty
Fiction by Tim Sandlin, 2007.
Illness has forced Guy Fontaine to move into an assisted living center. But the year is 2022, and it is filled with former hippies who refuse to let old age limit their possibilities. L,S -
Read by Bert Gardner.
10 broadcasts Begins August 27.
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Good Night Owl
Monday - Friday midnight
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The Double Bind
Fiction by Chris Bohjalian, 2007.
The attack on Laurel changes her life. She withdraws, and becomes obsessive about a deceased client’s life and family. V,L -
Read by Dan Sadoff.
13 broadcasts. Began July 18.
 
Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Fiction by Marisha Pessl, 2006.
Blue van Meer’s past draws her to a group of friends at St. Gallway, and to their engaging teacher, Hannah Schneider. L -
Read by Judy Woodward.
22 broadcasts. Begins August 6.
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After Midnight
Tuesday - Saturday 1 a.m.
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The Gates of Night
Fiction by Keith Baker, 2006.
A band of soldiers has found a plot that may tear apart reality. To save their lives and prevent a race of monsters from succeeding, they must get to the heart of Dal Quor. V -
Read by John Mandeville.
12 broadcasts. Began July 24.
   
You Suck
Fiction by Christopher Moore, 2007.
Thomas C. Flood wakes after a fantastic night and finds his girlfriend is a vampire. Now that he’s one, too, they find they have issues to work through. L,S -
Read by Del Adamson.
7 broadcasts. Begins August 9.
   
White Lies
Fiction by Jayne Ann Krentz, 2007.
Clare, summoned to help with her father’s business empire, senses both deception and a spark with his consultant. S -
Read by Carol Lewis.
9 broadcasts. Begins August 20.


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