Laura Ingalls Wilder, Deafness and Hearing, Life of Books, Book Towns

The Very Real Person Behind The "Little House" Series Guest: Caroline Fraser, author, "Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder" Laura Ingalls Wilder is such an iconic part of our definition of America that, despite our love of her, her life seems more folklore or fairytale. But Wilder was a real person, and her life was a good deal more complex than what she wrote down in her "Little House" books. The Fate of Hearing in Our Increasingly Loud World Guest: David Owen, staff writer, "The New Yorker," and author, "Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World" Hearing loss is a widespread issue which is complex and fascinating for various reasons. We should value our hearing more, and perhaps start working for a quieter society. Welcome to Book Heaven Guest: Alex Johnson, journalist and author, "Book Towns: Forty-Five Paradises of the Printed Word" Throughout the world, entire towns are dedicating themselves as havens for book sellers, buyers, makers, readers. These "book towns" are paradises for the literary soul and surprisingly savvy economic solutions to small-town problems. The Life of Books Beyond the Stories They Tell Guest: Tom Mole, author, "The Secret Life of Books: Why They Mean More Than Words" Books have a life of their own outside of the stories they tell. The way we interact with books, use them, write in them, shelve them, both historically and today, tells us about ourselves and why the physical book keeps surviving in an electronic age.