Best Madison Public Librarys Podcasts (2025)

1
The Art of Community — And Book Discussions 52:57

10d ago52:57

52:57

A book club is a great way to build community—bringing people together around shared interests, while also introducing them to new perspectives and ideas. Today, Bill Tishler hosts his inaugural episode centered on community. Tishler, who is also a local elected official, has been hosting book clubs in his district. On today’s episode, four area re…

1
I Choose Joy: AJ Romriell on Wolves, Loving Yourself, and Exiting the Mormon Faith 48:54

28d ago48:54

48:54

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Andrew Thomas speaks with AJ Romriell on his debut memoir Wolf Act (University of Wisconsin Press, 2025). Wolf Act is a “memoir in essays,” and these essays take on a variety of forms. The work is divided into three different Acts, and each act is made up of chapters that are both interlinked but can also …

1
New Wisconsin Poet Laureate Brenda Cárdenas on the mysteries and rewards of language 51:23

1M ago51:23

51:23

On this edition of Madison BookBeat, host Sara Batkie chats with Wisconsin Poet Laureate Brenda Cárdenas about her new position and the exciting plans she has in the works during her service. Brenda Cárdenas was born and raised in Milwaukee and has also lived in Beaver Dam, Appleton, Menasha, and Fond du Lac. She obtained her undergraduate degree a…

1
Sitting down with Madison Public Libraries Director Tana Elias 52:50

2M ago52:50

52:50

Tana Elias has more than three decades of experience at the Madison Public Library. After one year in the role, she’s “just settling in” to the position as Director of the MPL. Elias sits down with Madison Book Beat host David Ahrens for a conversation about the history, funding, services and evolution of the Madison Public Library system, which ha…

1
Christine Wenc on the founding of "The Onion" 51:38

2M ago51:38

51:38

On this edition of Madison BookBeat, host Sara Batkie chats with author Christine Wenc about her new book Funny Because It’s True: How The Onion Created Modern American News Satire. In 1988, a band of University of Wisconsin–Madison undergrads and dropouts began publishing a free weekly newspaper with no editorial stance other than “You Are Dumb.” …

1
On Jumping, Swimming, Sinking, and Floating: Poet Steven Duong Discusses His Debut Collection 54:31

2M ago54:31

54:31

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Andrew Thomas speaks with Steven Duong on his debut poetry collection At the End of the World There is A Pond (Norton 2025). "Tell all the truth but tell it slant." Taking Emily Dickinson's dictum as a guiding principle, poet Steven Duong delivers a collection startlingly clear, formally innovative, and co…

1
Theresa Okokon on her memoir in essays "Who I Always Was" 51:45

3M ago51:45

51:45

On this edition of Madison BookBeat, host Sara Batkie chats with author Theresa Okokon about her debut memoir in essays, Who I Always Was. When Theresa Okokon was nine, her father traveled to his hometown in Nigeria to attend his mother’s funeral…and never returned. His mysterious death shattered Theresa as her family’s world unraveled. Now a story…

1
What Books Did You Like This Year? 53:03

5M ago53:03

53:03

As 2024 draws to a close, David Ahrens reflects on his bountiful year of reading. He's joined by Chali Pittman, Andrew Thomas, and callers throughout the hour to share their recommendations. New York Times bestseller James by Percival Everett is a clear favorite. It's a re-imagining of Huckleberry Finn from a distinctly different point of view. Tha…

1
Zara Chowdhary on The Lucky Ones 53:51

5M ago53:51

53:51

Zara Chowdhary sits down with David Ahrens to talk about her exquisite memoir The Lucky Ones (Penguin, 2024). In 2002, Zara Chowdhary was sixteen years old and living with her family in Ahmedabad, India, when a train fire claimed the lives of sixty Hindu passengers — and upended the lives of millions of Muslims. Instead of taking her school exams t…

1
The Year in Books with Three Madison Booksellers 53:56

5M ago53:56

53:56

On this edition of Madison BookBeat, host Sara Batkie chats with Madison booksellers Iris Tobin from A Room of One’s Own, Hilary Burg from Mystery to Me, and Molly Fish from Lake City Books to see how their 2024 went. Take a listen to learn about the new releases they loved, event highlights from the past year, reads they recommend for people who w…

1
Imagining Beyond Prisons: On Books-to-Prisons Bans and Abolition Activism 52:20

5M ago52:20

52:20

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Andrew Thomas speaks with folx from LGBT Books to Prisoners and A Room of One's Own bookstore on the Wisconsin Department of Corrections’ recently-implemented restrictions on book donations, the condition of prison libraries, and the current state of abolition activism. “On the whole, people tend to take p…

1
If You Don’t Deal With Your Past, It’s Still Your Present 52:48

6M ago52:48

52:48

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Lisa Malawski talks with local Madison author Tammy Borden. Tammy is a professional copywriter turned novelist. She has had a whirlwind of a year since releasing her novel, Waltraud. She has reached thousands of readers on 5 continents, had more than 70 speaking or book-related events, and approximately on…

1
Author and geologist Marcia Bjornerud on the rocks that made her 47:55

6M ago47:55

47:55

On this edition of Madison BookBeat, host Sara Batkie speaks with author, geologist, and Lawrence University professor Marcia Bjornerud about her new book, Turning to Stone. Earth has been reinventing itself for more than four billion years, keeping a record of its experiments in the form of rocks. Yet most of us live our lives on the planet with n…

1
Talking Tech - October 2024 47:26

6M ago47:26

47:26

Join Guiding Ohio Online Learning Coach Charley and Emerging Services and Technologies Librarian Shawn talk about current news of the tech world.

1
We Do Not Make Very Good Gods: Nature Critic Boyce Upholt on the Sinuous History of the Mississippi River 53:22

6M ago53:22

53:22

In his 1979 Whole Earth Catalog, Stewart Brand wrote, “We are as gods, so we might as well get good at it.” Based on his time on the Mississippi River, however, Boyce Upholt concludes “that we do not make very good gods.” In the final pages of The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi, Upholt reflects, “The river is an unappeasabl…

1
Observing Ann Garvin as an Author and a Human Being 48:30

7M ago48:30

48:30

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Lisa Malawski talks with local Madison author Ann Garvin. Ann Garvin became an author at age fifty. Ann Garvin Ph.D. is a nurse, a professor, and USA Today Bestselling Author. She thinks everything is funny and a little bit sad. Ann writes stories about people who do too much in a world that asks too much …

1
Bob Wake & Diya Abbas, First-Place Fiction & Poetry Winners 52:16

7M ago52:16

52:16

Today on the show, incoming host Ella Saph speaks with the first-place winners in the 2024 Wisconsin People & Ideas Writing Contest. Cambridge writer Bob Wake took home the gold for his poem "Mending Ruth," and Madison poet Diya Abbas took home the prize for their poem “Al-Eashiq." Both will present at a reading next week at the Wisconsin Book Fest…

1
Jane Rotunda and Jessica Calarco Preview the 2024 Wisconsin Book Festival 53:35

7M ago53:35

53:35

On this edition of Madison BookBeat, host Sara Batkie speaks with festival director Jane Rotunda and author Jessica Calarco about her book Holding It Together, ahead of Calarco’s appearance at the Wisconsin Book Festival on Thursday, October 17th. Holding It Together: How Women Became America’s Safety Net chronicles the devastating consequences of …

1
Novelist E.M. Tran on History, Humor, and a Superstitious Beauty Queen 57:04

7M ago57:04

57:04

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Andrew Thomas speaks with E.M. Tran on her debut novel, Daughters of the New Year (2022, Hanover Square Press). Daughters of the New Year is a novel about the three Trung sisters and their mother. It’s also a novel about Vietnam and its long history of colonization at the hands of the Chinese, Japanese, an…

1
Talking Tech September 2024 51:29

8M ago51:29

51:29

Join Guiding Ohio Online Learning Coach Charley and Emerging Services and Technologies Librarian Shawn as they discuss tech topics in the news. This covers a broad range of areas, but they are always looking for people to join them and ask them technology questions.

1
Jennifer Kabat on the Importance of Solidarity in Unsettled Times 47:11

8M ago47:11

47:11

On this edition of Madison BookBeat, host Sara Batkie speaks with author Jennifer Kabat about her memoir The Eighth Moon from Milkweed Editions, ahead of Kabat’s appearance at A Room of One’s Own on Tuesday, September 10th. A rebellion, guns, and murder. When Jennifer Kabat moves to the Catskills, she has no idea it was the site of the Anti-Rent Wa…

1
A Raw and Tangible Discussion on Grieving the Loss of a Partnership 49:26

9M ago49:26

49:26

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Lisa Malawski talks with Kathleen Paris about her book Gentle Comforts For Women Grieving the Loss of a Beloved Life Companion. As an author, educator, and management consultant, Paris has assisted organizations over the past thirty years to plan for new realities and improve their systems and organization…

1
Katharine Beutner talks about her Edna Ferber Award-winning novel Killingly 52:11

9M ago52:11

52:11

In this edition of Madison BookBeat, host Sara Batkie speaks with Milwaukee-based author Katharine Beutner about her Edna Ferber Award-winning novel, Killingly, which is out now in paperback from Soho Crime. Massachusetts, 1897: Bertha Mellish, “the most peculiar, quiet, reserved girl” at Mount Holyoke College, is missing. As a search team dredges …

1
A Voice Both Austere and Intimate: Poet-Turned-Novelist Henry Wise on his Debut, Holy City 49:56

9M ago49:56

49:56

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Andrew Thomas speaks with Henry Wise on his debut novel, Holy City (2024, Grove Atlantic Press). Holy City is a novel that grabs your attention by the opening sentence and propels you into a world of crime, guilt, unrealized desire, and vanquished hopes and dreams. The narrative shuttles between Richmond, …

1
Robin and Joan Rolfs, Passionate About All Things Thomas Edison 49:02

10M ago49:02

49:02

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Lisa Malawski talks with Robin and Joan Rolfs about their book Hearthstone: America’s Electrical National Treasure. Joan and Rob have been enthralled with Hearthstone since the 1970’s when they moved to the Fox Cities. Joan developed a successful Interior Design program at Fox Valley Technical College in 1…

1
Poet Nikki Wallschlaeger Talks Getting The Rhythm Right In “Hold Your Own” 49:42

10M ago49:42

49:42

In her fourth collection, Driftless Area-based poet Nikki Wallschlaeger further proves herself as a singular poet of astonishing emotional depth and formal range. Hold Your Own is a steadfast search for peace, self-acceptance, and pleasure in a world that makes those basic rights an everyday challenge for Black women. It was published in May 2024 b…

1
Author and publisher Richard Sweitzer on his own terms 50:00

11M ago50:00

50:00

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Lisa Malawski talks with Richard Sweitzer about his book ODE The Scion of Nerikan. Richard is award-winning author and longtime morning radio host. He received his Master’s of Arts degree in Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Richard is the author and publisher of ODE The Scion of…

1
Talking Tech - March 24 59:53

11M ago59:53

59:53

Join ⁠⁠⁠Madison Public Library⁠⁠⁠'s Guiding Ohio Online Learning Coach, Charley, and friends as they discuss new and upcoming tech innovations in the world. This could be anything ... smart homes, vehicles, gaming, just anything tech related that is in the news somewhere.

1
Author Richard Scott Larson discusses his new memoir, "The Long Hallway" 50:31

11M ago50:31

50:31

Richard Scott Larson's debut The Long Hallway (University of Wisconsin Press, April 2024) is a lyrical memoir that expresses a boy’s search for identity while navigating the darkness and isolation of a deeply private inner world. Growing up queer, closeted, and afraid, Richard Scott Larson found expression for his interior life in horror films, esp…

1
Just as a Serpent Sheds Its Skin: Priti Srivastava on Ecofeminism and Reincarnation in Storytelling 43:03

11M ago43:03

43:03

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Andrew Thomas speaks with Priti Srivastava about their novel The Nagini Anarchy, self-published in 2023. Priti Srivastava lives in Madison, Wisconsin with their best friends working to create inclusive spaces so that one day everyone will feel as though they belong. When Priti isn’t working or doing chores…

1
RACHEL WERNER AND HER MANY TALENTS 54:54

12M ago54:54

54:54

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Lisa Malawski talks with Rachel Werner about her children’s book, Moving and Grooving to Fillmore’s Beat and her cookbook, Macro Cooking Made Simple. Rachel is a model, an author, a poet, a book reviewer, the founder of The Little Book Project, a freelance writer and digital medical consultant, teaching ar…

1
Author Beth Nguyen discusses her new memoir, "Owner of a Lonely Heart" 54:00

12M ago54:00

54:00

Madison author Beth Nguyen’s latest book Owner of a Lonely Heart (Scribner, July 2023) is a memoir about parenthood, absence, and the condition of being a refugee: the story of Beth’s relationship with her mother. At the end of the Vietnam War, when Beth Nguyen was eight months old, she and her family fled Saigon for America. Only Beth’s mother sta…

1
Poet Daniel Khalastchi on Wordplay, the Collision of Images, and White Whales 50:35

1y ago50:35

50:35

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Andrew Thomas speaks with poet Daniel Khalastchi about hist new collection The Story of Your Obstinate Survival (2024, University of Wisconsin Press). The Story of Your Obstinate Survival is a propulsive collection. It’s very funny, uncannily mundane and starkly surreal. The poems are a collision of juxtap…

1
Angela Trudell Vasquez on Poetry in her Life 44:52

1y ago44:52

44:52

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Lisa Malawski talks with Angela Trudell Vasquez, who until recently, was the City of Madison Poet Laureate. Trudell Vasquez is a poet, writer, performer, and activist. Her most recent chapbook, My People Redux (2022, Finishing Line Press) honors her heritage, contending with generational hardships immigran…

1
Madison Poet Cynthia Marie Hoffman On “Exploding Head” 53:40

1y ago53:40

53:40

Cynthia Marie Hoffman’s latest book of prose poetry, Exploding Head (Persea Books, February 2024) is described as an OCD memoir in prose poems. It chronicles her childhood onset and adult journey through obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which manifests in fearful obsessions and counting compulsions that impact her relationship to motherhood, re…

1
Talking Tech - January 24 57:44

1y ago57:44

57:44

Join ⁠⁠⁠Madison Public Library⁠⁠⁠'s Guiding Ohio Online Learning Coach, Charley, and friends as they discuss new and upcoming tech innovations in the world. This could be anything ... smart homes, vehicles, gaming, just anything tech related that is in the news somewhere.

1
Bending Granite Tells Tales Of Leading Organizational Change 52:00

1y ago52:00

52:00

How do you make change at organizations that resemble hard granite, and aren’t designed to bend? Only by patiently and persistently nudging them forward day-by-day, one improvement at a time, according to the authors of Bending Granite: 30+ true stories of leading change (Acta Publications, 2022). It’s a compilation of stories from leaders, mostly …

1
Ann Garvin On Writing Her First Book At Age Fifty 50:00

1y ago50:00

50:00

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Lisa Malawski talks with local Madison author Ann Garvin. Ann Garvin became an author at age fifty. She has now written five books. Ann Garvin is a nurse, a professor, and USA Today Bestselling Author. She thinks everything is funny and a little bit sad. Ann writes stories about women with a good sense of …

1
Talking Tech - 12/18/2023 1:00:53

1y ago1:00:53

1:00:53

Join ⁠⁠Madison Public Library⁠⁠'s Guiding Ohio Online Learning Coach, Charley, and friends as they discuss new and upcoming tech innovations in the world. This could be anything ... smart homes, vehicles, gaming, just anything tech related that is in the news somewhere.

1
Cynthia Simmons On The “Wrong Kind Of Paper” 52:00

1y ago52:00

52:00

Hallie Linden yearns to write for the New York Times. At the moment, she’s stuck at a daily newspaper in tiny Green Meadow, Indiana, a town known for its amusement park and nothing else. It’s 1989, and juicy reporting jobs are hard to find. She resolves to work hard, win a few awards, and then welcome the job offers. In this edition of Madison Book…

1
Fragile Institutions: Shibani Mahtani And Timothy McLaughlin on the 2019 Protests in Hong Kong 51:47

1y ago51:47

51:47

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Andrew Thomas speaks with journalists Shibani Mahtani and Timothy McLaughlin for a conversation on their book Among the Braves: Hope, Struggle, and Exile in the Battle for Hong Kong and the Future of Global Democracy (2023, Hachette Books). Among the Braves is a narrative history of the 2019 pro-democracy …

1
Jacquelyn Mitchard On The Importance of Titles 35:24

1y ago35:24

35:24

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Lisa Malawski talks with prolific author Jacquelyn Mitchard. Mitchard is now a frequent lecturer and professor of fiction and creative nonfiction at the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpellier. She once worked as a journalist at several Wisconsin newspapers, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and…

1
Talking Tech ~ 11/20 59:20

1y ago59:20

59:20

Join ⁠⁠Madison Public Library⁠⁠'s Guiding Ohio Online Learning Coach, Charley, and friends as they discuss new and upcoming tech innovations in the world. This could be anything ... smart homes, vehicles, gaming, just anything tech related that is in the news somewhere.

1
A conversation with Greg Mickells, retiring director of Madison Public Library 53:34

1y ago53:34

53:34

For more than a decade, Greg Mickells led the Madison Public Library. He's responsible for a significant transformation of the Madison library system. His tenure as Director took him to three continents, and to the White House in 2016, when Madison Public Library was recognized with a National Medal for Museum and Library Service. Additional awards…

1
It’s Not Nothing: Essayist Peter Coviello on How Our Favorite Books and Songs Help Us Make Worlds Together 52:24

1+ y ago52:24

52:24

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Andrew Thomas speaks with Peter Coviello on his book of essays Is There God After Prince? Dispatches from an Age of Last Things (2023, University of Chicago Press). Exuberant, effusive, rye, and incisive, this collection of essays analyze a wide range of cultural objects in order to shore up some modicum o…

1
Madison's Shoshauna Shy on bringing poetry to the public 48:56

1+ y ago48:56

48:56

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Lisa Malawski talks with local poet Shoshauna Shy. Shoshauna Shy has been involved in local poetry and literary events for decades. She founded the Poetry Jumps Off the Shelf program in 2004, a project with the mission of placing poetry in public places where it isn't expected. She's previously worked for …

1
Heather Swan’s Lyrical Language Of Beauty And Devastation 52:43

1+ y ago52:43

52:43

On this edition of Madison BookBeat, host Cole Erickson interviews Heather Swan about her latest book Dandelion, a collection of poetry which explores our uniquely human relationship with this natural world, not only in its wondrous beauty, but also in its devastation and fragility. About the guest: Heather Swan is a poet, non-fiction writer, and e…

1
Talking Tech - 10/16/23 1:00:10

1+ y ago1:00:10

1:00:10

Join ⁠Madison Public Library⁠'s Guiding Ohio Online Learning Coach, Charley, and friends as they discuss new and upcoming tech innovations in the world. This could be anything ... smart homes, vehicles, gaming, just anything tech related that is in the news somewhere.

1
Thomas Pearson, Author Of An Ordinary Future, On Disability And Difference 53:02

1+ y ago53:02

53:02

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host David Ahrens talks with with Thomas Pearson. Thomas Pearson is a professor of anthropology at UW-Stout, where he also leads the social science department. As a cultural anthropologist, he understands and appreciates the diversity of cultures and expressions of a common humanity. After the birth of his daug…

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