Reader's Corner
Episodes
'The Vatican Diaries' Author John Thavis Offers An Insider's Look At The Catholic Church
16 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
For John Thavis, the timing couldn’t have been better. His book, “The Vatican Diaries: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Po...
Journalist Amanda Ripley On The Current State Of Education
25 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Preparing students to excel in a fast-changing world is a concern for many nations. Some countries, including our own, have implemented a variety of e...
History And Relevance Of Earth Day With Author Adam Rome
19 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Earth Day 2014 is Tuesday, and celebrations are planned across our nation and around the world, including here at Boise State. Forty-four years after ...
An Interview With "Frozen In Time" Author Mitchell Zuckoff
11 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
In November of 1942, a U.S. cargo plane on a routine flight crashed into the Greenland ice cap, setting in motion an extraordinary chain of events. Fo...
Author Ian Buruma On 1945 And The World After WWII
08 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Stories about the heroics of World War II are deeply embedded in our popular culture. But the Hollywood storyline seldom reflects on the struggles of ...
An Historic And Lonely Crusade For Wildlife With Stefan Bechtel
01 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
In 1886, William Temple Hornaday set out for the untamed West to collect American bison specimens for the U.S. National Museum. Just a few years earli...
Literacy Educator Jeffrey Wilhelm Says Let Kids Read What They Want
22 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Research shows that kids who read well do better in school and have a distinct advantage in developing communication and logical thinking skills. Avid...
Remembering Bethine Church And Her Passion For People And Politics
14 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Bethine Church was widow of Senator Frank Church and would have turned 91 on Feb. 19 2014, she died on Dec. 21, 2013 at her home in Boise. Bethine was...
Why American Kids Aren't The Smartest In The World With Author Amanda Ripley
08 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Preparing students to excel in a fast-changing world is a concern for many nations. Some countries, including our own, have implemented a variety of e...
Interview With 'How Algorithms Came To Rule Our World' Author Christopher Steiner
24 Jan 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Each day, our lives are increasingly driven by the unseen force of data that is harnessed, organized and focused by complex sets of mathematical formu...
'Blackett's War' And Operational Research In WWII With Stephen Budiansky
10 Jan 2014
Contributed by Lukas
During World War II, a small group of British and American scientists worked tirelessly to defeat the German U-boats that were wreaking havoc on allie...
Author Explores WWII Story "Frozen in Time"
22 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
In November of 1942, a U.S. cargo plane on a routine flight crashed into the Greenland ice cap, setting in motion an extraordinary chain of events. Fo...
Vatican Expert Talks Change In Papacy
08 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
As the former Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Service, few understand the inner workings of the seat of Roman Catholicism better than John Thavis....
Interview With 'Nature Wars' Author Jim Sterba
18 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
We all know we’re in wild animal habitat when we enter the campground. Leave food unattended and you might find yourself in a battle with a bear. Bu...
Interview With Author And Journalist Peter Carlson
11 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
History books are full of stories about the dangers and deprivations endured by soldiers who fought in the Civil War. What may be less well known are ...
Interview With Astronomer Mike Brown
06 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us can probably recall maps of the solar system from our school days that showed nine planets, from Mercury to Pluto, orbiting around the sun....
Interview With Chinese History Expert Jonathan Spence
27 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
China has long been described as “inscrutable” – a country that is both exotic and difficult to understand. Today, the world’s most populous n...
Interview With Nathanial Philbrick
14 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
National Book Award-winner and Author of "Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution"
Interview With Robert Fitts
06 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage and Assassination During the 1934 Tour of Japan"
Interview With Stephan Talty
30 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Agent Garbo: The Brilliant, Eccentric Secret Agent who Tricked Hitler and Saved D-Day"
Interview With Christopher Steiner
23 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Automate This: How Algorithms Came to Rule Our World"
Interview With Eliza Griswold
09 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of " The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches From the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam"
Interview With Stephen Budiansky
03 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Blackett's War: The Men Who Defeated the Nazi U-Boats and Brought Science to the Art of Warfare"
Interview With Jeffery Wasserstrom
26 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "China in the 21st Century"
Interview With Nancy Napier
19 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Wise Beyond Your Field: How Creative Leaders Out Innovate to Out Perform"
Interview With Paul Tough
12 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character"
Interview With Erik Larson
03 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin"
Interview With Jim Sterba
28 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Nature Wars"
Interview With Stefan Bechtel
26 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Mr Hornaday's War: How a Peculiar Victorian Zookeeper Waged a Lonely Crusade for Wildlife that Changed the World."
Interview With Mary Ellen Hannibal
15 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "The Spine of the Continent: The Most Ambitious Wildlife Conservation Project Ever Undertaken"
Interview With Mike Brown
08 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Astronomer and Author of "How I Killed Pluto and Why it Had it Coming"
Interview With Robert Morgan
01 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Lions of the West"
Interview With John Thavis
25 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "The Vatican Diaries: a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church"
Interview With Edward Ball
18 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "The Inventor and the Tycoon: A Gilded Age Murder and the Birth of Moving Pictures"
Interview With Jon Gertner
10 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author or "The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation"
"The Odyssey of KP2" by Terrie Williams
10 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
A baby seal abandoned on a remote beach on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, is an unlikely champion for endangered marine mammals worldwide. But tiny KP2 ...
Interview With Larry Tye About His Book "Superman"
20 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Superman, the High Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero"
Interview With Melanie Kirkpatrick
05 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Escape from North Korea: The Untold Story of Asia's Underground Railroad"
Interview With George Kennedy
29 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Oscar-winning Actor and Author of "Trust Me: A Memoir"
Interview With Tracy Kidder
23 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Strength in What Remains"
Interview With Stephan Talty
16 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Agent Garbo: The Brilliant Eccentric Secret Agent Who Tricked Hitler and Saved D-Day"
Interview With Aaron L. Friedberg
08 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia"
Interview With Michael Grunwald
02 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "The NEW New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era"
Interview With Jim Sterba
23 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Nature Wars: The Incredible Story of How Wildlife Comebacks Turned Backyards into Battlegrounds"
Interview With Peter Bergen
16 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Manhunt: From 9/11 to Abbottabad, The Ten-Year Search for Osama Bin Laden"
Interview With Robert Morgan
09 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Lions of the West: Heroes and Villains of the Westward Expansion"
Interview With Jill Gill
01 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Embattled Ecumenism: The National Council of Churches, the Vietnam War And the Trials of the Protestant Left"
Interview With Jeffery Wasserstrom About His Book "China In The 21st Century"
26 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know"
Interview With Jim Abbott
19 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Imperfect: An Improbable Life"
Interview With Mary Ellen Hannibal About An Ambitious Project To Help Wildlife
16 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "The Spine of the Continent: The Most Ambitious Wildlife Conservation Project Ever Undertaken"
Interview With Paul Tough
04 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character"
Interview With Alan Heathcock
21 Dec 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of the short story collection "Volt"
Interview With Rajiv Chandrasekaran About His Book "Little America"
17 Nov 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Little America: The War Within the War For Afghanistan"
Interview With HW Bill Brands About His Book "American Colossus"
10 Nov 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900"
Interview With James Dodson About His Book "American Triumvirate"
03 Nov 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "American Triumvirate: Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and the Modern Age of Golf"
Interview With Susan Orlean
29 Oct 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend"
Interview With Susan Orlean
29 Oct 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend"
Interview With Gary Gallagher About His Book "The Union War"
25 Oct 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Interview with Gary Gallagher as he discusses his book "The Union War".
Interview With Gary Gallagher
25 Oct 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "The Union War"
Interview With Peter Bergen About His Book "Manhunt"
13 Oct 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Manhunt: From 9/11 to Abbottabad"
Interview With Sam Kean
29 Sep 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "The Violinist's Thumb and Other Lost Tales of Love, War and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code"
Interview With George Kennedy Author of "Trust Me"
15 Sep 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Academy Award-winning author of "Trust Me: A Memoir" and resident of Eagle, ID
Interview With Michael Grabell About His Book "Money Well Spent?"
24 Aug 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Money Well Spent? The Truth Behind the Trillion-Dollar Stimulus, the Biggest Economic Recovery Plan in History"
Interview With Bruce Riedel About His Book "Deadly Embrace"
10 Aug 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America and the Future of Global Jihad"
Interview With Jill Gill About Her Book "Embattled Ecumenism"
06 Aug 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Professor of History at Boise State and Author of "Embattled Ecumenism: The National Council of Churches, the Vietnam War And the Trials of the Protes...
Interview With Alan Heathcock About His Book "Volt"
20 Jul 2012
Contributed by Lukas
VOLT, the title of Alan Heathcock’s acclaimed collection of linked short stories, is as electric as the name implies. Set in the fictional town of K...
Interview With Aaron Friedberg About His Book "A Contest of Supremacy"
06 Jul 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia"
Interview With Marc Lynch About His Book "The Arab Uprising"
22 Jun 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East"
Interview With Jon Gertner About His Book "The Idea Factory"
25 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation"
Interview with Susan Orlean About Her Book "Rin Tin Tin"
11 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend"
Interview with Richard Reeves About A Triumphant Military Operation
28 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Daring Young Men: The Heroism and Triumph of The Berlin Airlift, June 1948-May 1949"
Interview with Pam Constable
20 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Playing with Fire: Pakistan at War with Itself"
Interview with Parag Khanna On "How To Run The World"
13 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance"
Interview with Matthew Deren About West Central Idaho's Wilderness
06 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "A Forgotten Wilderness: Nature's Hidden Relationship in West Central Idaho"
Interview With Ron Powers About His Mark Twain Biography
30 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Host, Bob Kustra and Author Ron Powers discuss the book "Mark Twain: A Life"
Interview with Don Carleton About "Conservations With Cronkite"
23 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Co-author of "Conversations with Cronkite"
Interview with Mia Bay About Her Book "To Tell The Truth Freely"
16 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "To Tell the Truth Freely: The Life of Ida B. Wells"
Interview with Deborah Blum About "The Poisoner's Handbook"
09 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York"
Interview With Neil Lanctot About His Book "Campy"
24 Feb 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Campy: The Two Lives of Roy Campanella"
Interview With Tim Woodward About His Book "Destination Idaho"
10 Feb 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Guest: Tim Woodward, longtime Idaho Statesman columnist and author of “Destination Idaho”
Interview with Donovan Hohn
03 Feb 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of “Moby Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Includin...
Interview with Joseph A. McCartin
27 Jan 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of “Collision Course: Ronald Reagan, the Air Traffic Controllers and the Strike that Changed America”
Interview With Mark Adams About His Book "Turn Right At Macchu Piccu"
20 Jan 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of “Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time”
Interview with Michael Mandelbaum
14 Jan 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Co-author of "That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back."
Interview with Mitchell Zuckoff About His Book "Lost In Shangri-La"
03 Jan 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Author of “Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II”
Charles C. Mann Uncovers The New World Columbus Created in His Book "1493"
16 Dec 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created"
Interview With Raj Patel About His Book "Stuffed and Starved"
30 Sep 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System"
Interview with Matthew Algeo
16 Sep 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "The President is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous ...
Interview With Tracy Kidder About His Book "The Strength In What Remains"
15 Jul 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Strength in What Remains"
Jason Turbow On His Book "The Baseball Codes"
27 May 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Jason Turbow is the author of "The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America's Pastime"
Interview With Christopher McDougall About His Book "Born to Run"
25 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "Born to Run" part I
Interview with Scott Simon
18 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Simon is well known to public radio listeners as the host of NPR’s Weekend Edition. He also is the author of several well-received books, incl...
David Grann On His Bestseller "Lost City of Z"
11 Feb 2011
Contributed by Lukas
In 1925, former spy and acclaimed British explorer Percy Harrison Fawcett walked into the Amazon rainforest in search of the fabled lost city of El Do...
Interview With Bruce Barcott Author Of "The Last Fight Of The Scarlet Macaw"
07 May 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Author of "The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Woman's Fight to Save the World's Most Beautiful Bird"
Interview With Scott Yenor
14 Dec 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Boise State political science professor, on the state of civic education.