Brian Earl to the program today. Brian is the host of the podcast Christmases Past and the author of two books about the holiday, Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday's Traditions and the recently published, Of Christmases Long, Long Ago: Surprising Traditions from Christmas Past, which is available from Lyons Press. 

We welcome Peter Brannen to the program for the final installment of our two-part interview. Peter is a journalist, and his work has appeared in publications such as The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Wired.  His book The Ends of the World, about the five major mass extinctions in Earth's history, was published in 2017. Today we’ll conclude our discussion of his latest title, The Story of CO2 is the Story of Everything: How Carbon Dioxide Made Our World, which is published by Ecco.   

We welcome Peter Brannen to the program for the first installment of our two-part interview. Peter is a journalist, and his work has appeared in publications such as The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Wired.  His book The Ends of the World, about the five major mass extinctions in Earth's history, was published in 2017. Today we’ll begin our discussion of his latest title, The Story of CO2 is the Story of Everything: How Carbon Dioxide Made Our World, which is published by Ecco.   

Eli Cranor is a former professional football player turned crime fiction novelist. His previous novels are Don’t Know Tough, which won the Edgar Award in 2023 for Best First Novel, Ozark Dogs, Broiler, and today we’ll be discussing his most recent title, Mississippi Blue 42, which is published by Soho Crime. 

Food historian and host of TV's TrueSouth John T. Edge returns to Book Talk to discuss his memoir, House of Smoke.

We welcome Dr. Pue Shaw back to the program today for the final of a two-part interview. Dr. Shaw is a retired reader of Italian and Italian Literature, having taught at The University of Cambridge and the University of London. Much of her research is focused on the medieval poet Dante Alighieri. Her books for a general readership are Reading Dante: From Here to Eternity and the recently published Dante: The Essential Commedia, both are published by Liveright. 

We welcome Dr. Pue Shaw to the program today for the first of a two-part interview. Dr. Shaw is a retired reader of Italian and Italian Literature, having taught at The University of Cambridge and the University of London. Much of her research is focused on the medieval poet Dante Alighieri. Her books for a general readership are Reading Dante: From Here to Eternity and the recently published Dante: The Essential Commedia, both are published by Liveright. 

Eliana Ramage earned her MFA in fiction at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. Her debut novel is To the Moon and Back and is published by Avid Reader Press. It’s the story of Steph Harper who wants to be the first Cherokee astronaut in space, as well as the sacrifices and drive it requires from her, and how it affects her relationships with her family, partners, and people.