The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. Listen to Ask a Bookseller to find your next favorite book.

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Big Books and Bold Ideas is a weekly series hosted by Kerri Miller every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

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Talking Volumes

Talking Volumes is back for its 25th season. Join us at the Fitzgerald Theater for four special events with renowned authors, celebrating our anniversary with a special $25 ticket price for MPR members and Star Tribune subscribers. Buy tickets here.

'Hood Feminism' is a call for solidarity in a less-than-inclusive movement
Mikki Kendall reveals how feminism has failed to consider populations too often excluded from the movement's banner — and forgotten to weigh the breadth of issues affecting the daily lives of many.
'Supreme Inequality' makes a case that the top U.S. court has widened the wealth gap
Lawyer and journalist Adam Cohen explores five decades of Supreme Court opinions and comes to a rueful conclusion: These decisions have greatly exacerbated the space between rich and poor.
Who should decide what books are allowed in prison?
"It's so important for people who are in prison to be able to have access to materials that give them hope and a reason to want to be part of society again, to want to engage, to see the future," says Rebecca Ginsburg of the Education Justice Project.
Survival of the friendliest: How our close friendships help us thrive
On average, people have only four very close relationships, author Lydia Denworth finds, and very few people can sustain more than six. But the effect of these few core relationships extends beyond our social lives.
Author Dina Nayeri on breaking down stereotypes of the refugee experience
Dina Nayeri fled the Iran revolution with her family when she was 8. In her new book, "The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You," she examines what it means to be a refugee.
Churchill's first year as prime minister is electric in 'The Splendid And The Vile'
One of America's best storytellers does it again: Erik Larson's gripping account of Winston Churchill's leadership through Hitler's bombing campaign against England is nearly impossible to put down.
Carleton College researcher uncovers the Boston Massacre’s human element
An infamous moment in American revolutionary history takes on new meaning after research by professor Serena Zabin reveals new details about the lives of the women and children living in Boston 250 years ago.