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Having trouble staying focused nowadays? Best-selling author Johann Hari explores some of the causes in "Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention — and How to Think Deeply Again." Hari is coming to Lawrence's Liberty Hall on June 11th, sponsored by the Lawrence Public Library. Also, we visit the Topeka-Shawnee County Public Library as they reopen their newly-redesigned children's room. -
The State Library of Kansas has just released its 2025 Kansas Notable Books list, 15 of the best new books by Kansas authors or about Kansas. State Librarian Ray Walling and Notable Books facilitator Brett Rurode give us a sneak peek at this year's batch. We also revisit a conversation with 2024 Kansas Notable winner Sarah Edgerton, author of Daughter of Chaos. And we visit the No Stone Unturned Foundation in Manhattan, KPR's Community Spotlight organization for May.
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We celebrate National Poetry Month with Antonio Sanchez-Day's "I've Been Fighting This War Within Myself," edited by Brian Daldorph and named a Kansas Notable Book. -
We mark Autism Acceptance Month with a children's book about a special little boy facing a challenging week of school. Jenn Bailey is the author of "Henry, Like Always," named a Kansas Notable Book by the State Library of Kansas. -
Beyond morels: exploring the world of Devil's Dipstick, Puffballs, Fried Chicken Mushrooms, and more! Caleb Morse, Sherry Kay, and Benjamin Sikes are the authors of A New Guide to Kansas Mushrooms, a Kansas Notable Book. -
Rebekah Taussig is the author of "Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary, Resilient, Disabled Body," the Kansas City Public Library's Big Read selection for 2025. -
From the Docking years and the Brownback tax experiment to the election of Governor Laura Kelly, it's a look at the push and pull of Kansas politics over the past 70 years, with the co-editors of "Reform and Reaction: The Arc of Kansas Politics." -
In honor of Women's History Month, it's a look at the often-underestimated political role of America's First Ladies. Diana Carlin is one of the co-authors of "Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America's History-Making Women." -
Our Kansas Notable Book series continues with "Roadside Geology of Kansas," by James Aber, Susan Aber, and Michael Everhart, and with "Grief Said, 'Have a Seat,'" by Amanda Elsbury. -
Husband and wife comedy writers Felipe Torres Medina and Taylor Kay Phillips stop by to talk about their new books, America, Let Me In: A Choose-Your-Own-Immigration Story and A Guide to Midwestern Conversation. -
We mark Women's History Month with the story of women challenging gender roles within the Mennonite Church. Dr. Lois Barrett and Dorothy Nickel Friesen are the authors of Proclaiming the Good News: Mennonite Women's Voices, a Kansas Notable Book. -
We celebrate Women's History Month with a basketball trailblazer: former University of Kansas Coach Marian Washington. Her new book is "Fierce: My Fight for Nothing Less."
