Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller

Valentine’s Day special: Unpacking all kinds of love in literature


Listen Later

It’s Valentine’s Day! To mark the occasion, Big Books and Bold Ideas is dipping into the archives to focus on love — and not just romantic love. This show highlights love of all kinds: familial love, love between friends, even the love of books.


We start with Leif Enger, who joined host Kerri Miller in Red Wing last June to talk about his novel, “I Cheerfully Refuse.” Enger’s latest book is dystopian in nature, but at its heart, it’s a love story.


We then dip into Miller’s conversation with British-Nigerian author Ore Agbaje-Williams, whose subversive and wickedly funny novel, "The Three of Us,” delves into love between friends. Is it possible our friendships are more foundational than the bonds we form with romantic partners?


We end with Jedidiah Jenkins and his memoir, “Mother, Nature.” It recounts a five-thousand-mile road trip he and his mother took to retrace the route his parents traversed in the 1970s as they walked across America. It sounds sentimental. But it’s really Jedidiah’s attempt to reconcile two conflicting truths: that his mother loves him completely and that she does not accept that he’s gay.


If you want to hear the complete conversation from any of today’s authors, click the links above or look for the episodes in your favorite podcast.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri MillerBy Minnesota Public Radio

  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4

4.4

197 ratings


More shows like Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller

View all
Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,469 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,832 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,560 Listeners

The Book Review by The New York Times

The Book Review

3,962 Listeners

On the Media by WNYC Studios

On the Media

9,190 Listeners

On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti by WBUR

On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti

3,976 Listeners

Song of the Day by Minnesota Public Radio

Song of the Day

574 Listeners

New Classical Tracks with Julie Amacher by American Public Media

New Classical Tracks with Julie Amacher

180 Listeners

On Being with Krista Tippett by On Being Studios

On Being with Krista Tippett

10,165 Listeners

YourClassical Daily Download by American Public Media

YourClassical Daily Download

247 Listeners

To The Best Of Our Knowledge by Wisconsin Public Radio

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

920 Listeners

Minnesota Today by Minnesota Public Radio

Minnesota Today

216 Listeners

Climate Cast by Minnesota Public Radio

Climate Cast

87 Listeners

Politics Friday by Minnesota Public Radio

Politics Friday

41 Listeners

1A by NPR

1A

4,668 Listeners

74 Seconds by Minnesota Public Radio

74 Seconds

1,092 Listeners

Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda by Alan Alda

Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda

3,754 Listeners

City Arts & Lectures by City Arts & Lectures

City Arts & Lectures

395 Listeners

MPR News with Angela Davis by Minnesota Public Radio

MPR News with Angela Davis

126 Listeners

Early Risers by Minnesota Public Radio

Early Risers

44 Listeners

NPR's Book of the Day by NPR

NPR's Book of the Day

664 Listeners

The Interview by The New York Times

The Interview

1,589 Listeners

Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson

Letters from an American

5,929 Listeners

Wild Card with Rachel Martin by NPR

Wild Card with Rachel Martin

956 Listeners