Info

DMPL Podcast

The official podcast of the Des Moines Public Library. Featuring interviews with authors, special guests to the library, your favorite library staff, and more!
RSS Feed
DMPL Podcast
2024
March
February
January


2023
December
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2022
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2021
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2020
December
November
October
September
August
March
February
January


2019
December
November
October
September
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2018
December
November
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2017
December
November
October
September
July
May
April
March
February


2016
December
October
August
July
June
May
April
March
February


Categories

All Episodes
Archives
Categories
Now displaying: Category: books
Feb 21, 2023

Travel writer Sara Broers joins the DMPL Podcast today to discuss here 2022 book, 100 Things to Do in Iowa Before You Die. Sara talks about how she chose the items in her book, her favorite Iowa hidden gems, and what you should do in order to find some off-the-map hidden treasures when you travel.

 

Show Notes

Nov 14, 2022

Victor D.O. Santos, author of several children's books, including My Dad, My Rock, joins the DMPL Podcast today. Victor will be taking part in the Des Moines Public Library's Iowa Author Series this Thursday, November 17. The program begins at 5:30 PM at the Central Library and is free to all!

On the podcast, Victor talks about getting started as a children's author two years ago, the process of independently publishing children's books, and why he and his wife are raising their children in a trilingual household.

Show Notes

Oct 5, 2022

Iowa Author Award Honoree Heather Gudenkauf is the latest guest on the DMPL Podcast! She discusses her newest book, The Overnight Guest, as well as her 14-year career. 

Gudenkauf is one of three honorees at the 2022 Iowa Author Awards Dinner, which takes place Friday, October 14, at 6:30 PM at the Embassy Suites in downtown Des Moines. The program, titled The Magic of Libraries, will also feature honorees Art Cullen and Nate Staniforth. 

Show Notes
Aug 9, 2022

It's Iowa State Fair time, and the latest episode of the DMPL Podcast is sure to make you hungry to head to the fairgrounds. Kay Fenton Smith is the author of Baking Blue Ribbons: Stories and Recipes from the Iowa State Fair Food Competitions. Smith and host Aaron Gernes talk about what happens during the food competitions, popular foods throughout history, and some of her favorite recipes in the book.

 

Show Notes

 

Jun 30, 2022

Author Chuy Renteria joins the DMPL Podcast to talk about his memoir, We Heard It When We Were Young.' The book details Chuy's life growing up Mexican-American in West Liberty, Iowa, the first minority-majority town in Iowa. During the talk, Chuy and host Aaron Gernes talk about his experience dancing as a "b-boy," long summer nights in a small town, and how growing up in the 1990s and early 2000s was a different experience than what kids have today.

SHOW NOTES

Apr 19, 2022

On the latest episode of the DMPL Podcast, host Aaron Gernes sits down with Beth Hoffman, author of Bet the Farm: The Dollars and Sense of Growing Food in America. The book traces the journey Beth and her husband have taken as they started farming on a 5th generation family farm in south central Iowa. 

Beth was a long-time food and agriculture reporter, covering the industry for 25 years before moving with her husband John to begin operating Whippoorwill Creak Farm. The book explores the challenges they faced as they transitioned the farm from a conventional operation to an organic and grass-fed operation, as well as the challenges faced in making money in agriculture as a whole. 

Mark your calendars: Beth will be at the Central Library on Thursday, July 21, at 5:30 PM!

Show Notes

Apr 4, 2022
On the latest episode of the DMPL Podcast, we’re joined by Amanda Montell! Amanda is the author of Cultish: the Language of Fanaticism, and she co-hosts the hit podcast “Sounds like a Cult.” 

She is also the next author in our Authors Visiting in Des Moines series! Amanda will be in Des Moines on Thursday, April 21, at 7:00 PM at the Central Library. Doors open at 6:00 PM for this free event, and seating is first-come, first-served. More information can be found at dmpl.org/avid.

During today’s podcast Amanda talks about her family’s personal experience with cults, which cultish groups she wished she had the space to write about in her book, and what movie she says put linguistics on the map!

 

Show Notes

Amanda's Books

Sounds Like a Cult

Amanda on Instagram

Feb 2, 2022
On the most recent episode of the DMPL Podcast, local author Amy Lee Lillard joins the show to discuss her debut short story collection, Dig Me Out. Amy and host Aaron Gernes her popular podcast Broads and Books.

 

Show Notes

Jan 14, 2022

On the latest DMPL Podcast, Book Chat librarian Rebecca joins host Aaron Gernes and completes a Book Chat request for him! You'll find out what Book Chat is, how it works, and then hear an example of how librarians handpick titles for patrons using Book Chat as she picks out some books she thinks Aaron will enjoy.

Show Notes

Dec 27, 2021

On today's podcast, author Katherine Dykstra chats with host Aaron Gernes about her 2021 book What Happened To Paula: On the Death of an American Girl. The book details the 1970 disappearance and death of Cedar Rapids teenager Paula Oberbroeckling, reflecting on who or what may have caused her death, and also reflects on what it means to be a woman over the past half-century.

Show Notes

What Happened to Paula in the library

More on Katherine Dykstra:

Dec 8, 2021

On the latest episode of the DMPL Podcast, host Aaron is joined by Book Chat librarians Janeé and Steph to discuss their favorite books of 2021. 

If you're interested in hearing more about our librarians' favorite books, be sure to take part in our Best of 2021 virtual program next Wednesday, December 15, at 6:30 PM on Zoom! Four more Book Chat librarians will be sharing their favorite reads and discussing books with each other and the audience. Register for the program soon, as spots are limited!

Book Discussed:

Sep 23, 2021

Steph from the Book Chat team joins us today on the DMPL Podcast to talk about books for Latinx Heritage Month! She has a book picked out for adults, young adults, and children and discusses what she loves about each. Be sure to check out the bookmarks in the Show Notes for more Latinx Heritage Month reading suggestions.

Show Notes

Steph's Picks

 

Reading Lists/Bookmarks

Printing Instructions: When looking at printing options, you must DESELECT “fit to print” or “fit to page.”

Aug 27, 2021

Book Chat librarians Rebecca and Maddie join the DMPL Podcast to discuss Book Chat's newest service, Book a Book Chat Librarian. This service gives you the opportunity to have a librarian visit and chat with your book club, classroom, business, or other organization to discuss books and get reading recommendations.

Rebecca and Maddie talk about different scenarios you might want a Book Chat librarian to talk books with you, including with a discussion group and specific classroom scenarios. They also have some great recommendations themselves - check out their list below!

Show Notes

Book Suggestions
Aug 10, 2021

On the one-year anniversary of the derecho that ripped through Iowa, meteorologist Terry Swails joins the DMPL Podcast to talk about Swails' newest book, Derecho 911. During the podcast, Swails recalls the events of that day and discusses what makes derechos so hard to predict.

He also talks about the aftermath, including the damage, how communities came together, and what steps the National Weather Service is taking in the future to ensure people are as prepared as possible for sudden severe weather events.

Jul 27, 2021

Book Chat librarian Alissa joins host Aaron Gernes on the DMPL Podcast to discuss graphic novels. It's a great conversation about some of the wonderful graphic novels that have been released in recent years with something for people of all ages.

Show Notes

Book Picks Discussed on the Podcast
Other Graphic Novel Picks from Alissa
Jul 13, 2021

Author and Iowa native Lana Wood Johnson joins us on The DMPL Podcast. Johnson, who grew up in Des Moines, recently released her second novel, Speak for Yourself

During the course of the podcast, Johnson talks about how she approaches the challenges that come with writing modern young adult books, including how some of her work history helps her when it comes to writing text message and group chat scenes. She also talks about her past in Des Moines and what book she is pretty sure she has the record for checking out at the Franklin Avenue Library.

Show Notes

Lana Wood Johnson's books:

Lana Wood Johnson Online:

Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand (the play Speak for Yourself is a retelling of)

Jun 10, 2021

REGISTER for Rachel McCarthy James' author event on Saturday, June 12, at 2:00 PM. The event will also be available online beginning Monday, June 14, and will be available through Sunday, July 11.

In the early 20th century, a series of families were murdered over the course of nearly two decades, including the infamous Villisca Axe Murders. Many theories have abounded over the years, but a 2017 true crime book connects the dots - and proposes a theory that the murders were all committed by one person, making this man one of the most prolific serial killers in history.

Rachel McCarthy James, co-author of The Man From the Trainjoins The DMPL Podcast today. Together with her father Bill James (of baseball analytics fame), they researched this century-old mystery, connecting dots on the string of gruesome crimes. She talks about how her father roped her into becoming a researcher for the novel, the points of agreement and contention they had, and how she tracked down stories and information from rural newspapers that were more than a century old. 

Jun 4, 2021

Host Aaron Gernes chats with AViD author Elin Hilderbrand in preparation for her virtual visit on Wednesday, June 9. Among other things, she talks about what it is about summer that she loves so much, the two moments that changed her career, and what hidden gem she thinks everyone should read.

Show Notes

Elin's Recommendations

May 17, 2021

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Erica, a librarian at the Franklin Avenue Library, joins us on the podcast today to discuss a selection of picture books that can help kids learn about mental health and feelings such as grief, anger, and anxiety. 

Erica's Picks

May 7, 2021

Iowa author Joseph LeValley joins host Aaron Gernes. LeValley is the author of the Tony Harrington thriller series, about a small-town Iowa newspaper reporter who uncovers conspiracies and solves mysteries using his reporting skills and sources.

LeValley's newest novel in the series, The Third Side of Murder, takes Harrington out of Iowa and has him chasing mafiosos in New York City and Italy, while calling on his Iowa connections to help him solve the mystery of his cousin's death. 

In the podcast, LeValley discusses his winding path to becoming an author, which featured pit stops as a journalist and as a health care executive. He discusses why it took 33 years for his first book to be completed and what he enjoys most about setting his novels in rural Iowa.

Show Notes

Mar 19, 2021

On the latest episode of the DMPL Podcast, Jenny from the Book Chat team joins us to talk about books with crazy plots and premises. As Jenny describes them, these books feature "a thriller sympathetic towards the murderer, a heist that focuses on student debt, and a remake of an old favorite children's book as an adult horror story."

Show Notes

Jenny's Picks Discussed on the Podcast
Other "MAD" Books, with Notes from Jenny
  • Playing Nice, by J.P. Delaney: A couple finds out the son they’ve been raising for two years was switched at birth and have some terrible choices to make. But the couple raising their biological child is not what they seem. Part family drama, part courtroom adventure, part thriller.
  • My Best Friend’s Exorcism, by Grady Hendrix: Abby has been best friends with Gretchen since she was the only girl who didn’t stand her up at her roller-rink birthday party. In absolute 80s style, best friend drama gets complicated when one of the girls may be possessed by a demon. The exorcist is a bodybuilder. This book is wonderfully weird.
  • A Madness so Discreet, by Mindy McGinnis: A teenage girl is in an 1890s mental institution for being pregnant, fakes a lobotomy to escape with a Sherlock-Holmes-esque doctor to track down a serial killer. Suffragettes, corrupt politicians, positive portrayals of people with mental health problems, and just so much adventure. I straight up forgot about Zoom Game Night because I was too engrossed reading this!
Other Links
Mar 5, 2021

Author and Iowa native Greer Macallister is the guest on the latest episode of The DMPL Podcast. Her newest novel, The Arctic Fury, follows an all-female expedition to the north as they try to uncover what happened to the lost Franklin expedition.

Greer discusses why she wanted to set a book in this ice cold setting and how she assembled the Ocean's 13-esque crew of characters. She also lets us know what she's working on next - it's a big change!

Spoilers are discussed from about 13:20-29:50.

Show Notes

Feb 22, 2021

AViD author Robert Kolker joins us on the DMPL Podcast! We talk about how he came to know the Galvin family, the subject of his newest, critically acclaimed book Hidden Valley Road. Kolker also discusses the challenges of structuring of narrative nonfiction books and reveals which classic novel he just completed and loved.

Show Notes

Kolker's Books
Books Mentioned by Kolker
Kolker's Favorite Self-Authored Pieces
1 2 3 4 Next »