Marcia Franklin talks with Idaho author Anthony Doerr about his bestselling novel, "All the Light We Cannot See," which took ten years to research and write. The book debuted at #10 on the New York Times' Best Sellers list and received glowing reviews around the country. It also won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2015 shortly after this interview.

Franklin talks with Doerr, who lives in Boise, about his novel, which depicts the lives of two European children in World War II, children whose lives ultimately intersect in war-torn Saint Malo, France. The town was nearly destroyed by Allied forces at the end of the war.

Doerr discusses the book's themes, which include the power of radio during that time period, and the moral choices faced by civilians during wartime. Doerr also talks about what kept him motivated during the decade-long writing process.

Originally aired: 07/10/14

On this edition of Dialogue, Marcia Franklin talks with Idahoan Esther Emery, who wrote a book about her year off the internet called “What Falls From the Sky.”

Emery talks about the crisis in her life that made her decide to unplug from the web, the challenges she encountered, and how the experience grounded and connected her in new ways to herself and her family.

The two also talk about Emery’s current life living off the electric grid with her husband and three children in the mountains above Robie Creek, about 30 miles from Boise. Emery homeschools her children, and the family raises goats and chickens, along with growing some of their food. Her mother, Carla Emery, was a leader in the back-to-the-land movement of the 1970s, and the author of the popular “Encyclopedia of Country Living.”

Originally aired: 02/10/2017

To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Marcia Franklin talks with historian Douglas Brinkley, Ph.D., about his 2012 biography of iconic CBS newsman Walter Cronkite, who famously announced Kennedy's death to a national TV audience on November 22, 1963.

In "Cronkite," Brinkley (no relation to newscaster David Brinkley) drew on his access to Cronkite's private papers at the University of Texas and interviews with more than 150 of Cronkite's friends and family members to write the first major biography of the "the most trusted man in America."

Franklin and Brinkley discuss the highlights of Cronkite's career and what distinguished him from other broadcasters, as well as some of the eccentricities of Cronkite's personality that Brinkley discovered while researching the book.

Brinkley, a professor of history at Rice University, was in Coeur d'Alene to speak at the Idaho Humanities Council's annual Northern Idaho Distinguished Humanities Lecture.

Originally aired: 11/22/2013

Marcia Franklin continues her conversation with Boise-based outdoor writer Michael Lanza, focusing on tips for hiking and camping, including some of the best gear and small essentials to pack. The two also talk about ways to keep safe in the backcountry.

Lanza, the former Northwest editor for Backpacker magazine, has written three books about hiking, as well as many articles chronicling his worldwide adventures hiking, climbing, skiing and paddling.

"Before They're Gone," his book about his family's adventures hiking through some of the national parks in America most threatened by climate change, won an honorable mention in the National Outdoor Book Awards.

Lanza also runs the website thebigoutside.com, which was chosen by USA Today readers as one of the top 10 hiking and outdoors blogs.

Originally aired: 08/07/2015

Marcia Franklin talks with Idaho outdoor writer and photographer Michael Lanza about some of the best backcountry trips in our region. Lanza, the former Northwest editor for Backpacker magazine, has written three books about hiking, as well as many articles chronicling his worldwide adventures backpacking, climbing, skiing and paddling.

"Before They’re Gone," his book about his family’s adventures hiking through some of the national parks in America most threatened by climate change, won an honorable mention in the National Outdoor Book Awards. Franklin talks with him about why he wanted to write the book, and what it was like to backpack with his young children. Lanza also runs the website thebigoutside.com, which was chosen by USA Today readers as one of the top 10 hiking and outdoors blogs.

Originally aired: 07/10/2015

Marcia Franklin talks with Boise resident Kurt Koontz about his book, "A Million Steps," which chronicles his journey along the Camino de Santiago trail in northern Spain.

The 500-mile route, known colloquially as 'The Way,' was originally a trek made by Catholic pilgrims to the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, believed to be the burial place of St. James, an apostle of Jesus. Today, 200,000 seekers a year from all backgrounds traverse the path.

Franklin talks with Koontz about why he decided to take the journey, what he learned along the way, and why he wanted to write a book about his experiences. In an Extra, Koontz shares tips for walking the Camino, and describes the process of writing and publishing his book.

Host Marcia Franklin talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. Kristof was in Boise in October, 2018 to address the fall conference of the Idaho Women’s Charitable Foundation. The two discuss Kristof's views on current social issues in America. His next book will look at those concerns, focusing on his hometown of Yamhill, Oregon. Kristof talks about programs he believes would help ameliorate the problems, and they also discuss the role of private philanthropy. Franklin also asks Kristof about international topics, as he spends much of his time reporting from foreign countries, and he shares his thoughts on which of his stories he’s most proud.

Nicholas Kristof started his career at the New York Times as a reporter in 1984, becoming a columnist in 2001. During his tenure there, he has traveled to more than 150 countries and every state in the U.S. With his wife, Cheryl WuDunn, Kristof won a Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting in 1990 for their joint coverage of China during the Tiananmen Square uprising. He went on to win another Pulitzer in 2006 for commentary, and has been nominated seven times for the prestigious award.

Originally aired: 01/11/2019

Host Marcia Franklin interviews Michael Ames, the co-author of "American Cipher: Bowe Bergdahl and the U.S. Tragedy in Afghanistan." Ames, a former reporter for the Idaho Mountain Express and Sun Valley Magazine, became fascinated with the story of Bowe Bergdahl, an U.S. Army soldier who grew up in Hailey, Idaho, who was captured by the Taliban and held for five years. Ames and co-author Matt Farwell take a deeper look into Bergdahl’s life and the politics surrounding the search for him and his eventual release. Franklin talks with Ames about his conclusions and why he felt it was important to write the book.

Originally aired: 12/13/2019

Montana author Pete Fromm joins host Marcia Franklin to talk about his latest book, "A Job You Mostly Won’t Know How to Do." The novel tells the story of a young man who has to raise his child when his wife dies in childbirth. Fromm talks about how he developed the story, as well as his writing style. The two also discuss the success he’s had with his books in France. Fromm also reminisces about the seven months he lived in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness of Idaho, which he recounted in his award-winning memoir, Indian Creek Chronicles: A Winter Alone in the Wilderness.

A five-time winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Literary Award, Fromm is the author of five novels and five collections of short stories, including The Names of the Stars, a follow-up to Indian Creek Chronicles, and As Cool As I Am, which was made into a movie starring Clare Danes. He also teaches in the low-residency MFA writing program at the Pacific University Oregon. He was in Boise to speak at the Rediscovered Bookshop.

Originally aired: 12/27/2019

Marcia Franklin talks with author Kirk Wallace Johnson about his book The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century. The book details Johnson’s investigation into a major theft of 300 rare bird skins from a British museum in 2009 by a 20-year-old American, Edward Rist. Rist then illegally sold the feathers into the arcane world of Victorian salmon fly-tyers.

Johnson discusses why he felt it was important to write the book, and how the crime and other heists like it damage the field of natural history. He also shares his thoughts on the “feather thief,” whom he interviewed. The founder of The List Project to Resettle Iraqi Allies, Johnson worked in Fallujah, Iraq, for the U.S. Agency for International Development. He wrote a book about his experiences called "To Be a Friend Is Fatal." His third book, “The Fisherman and the Dragon: Two Dreams at War off the Texas Coast,” was published in 2022. He was in Boise to speak at The Rediscovered Bookshop.

Originally aired: 01/03/2020