We’re excited about the upcoming series of Talking Volumes, but as a Thread newsletter subscriber, we wanted to give you a bit of bonus on our featured authors.

Remember, you can join and support Talking Volumes by purchasing a ticket at a price you name to watch the digital interview. Afterward, you can join a post-interview discussion online with the Star Tribune. Another way to experience the discussion is to listen to Kerri Miller’s 9 a.m. show.

Personally, when I’m excited about something, I tend to find more materials from all over the internet — especially when it comes to great authors and writers. So as a special Thread newsletter exclusive, here are a few additional articles, links and coverage of our four featured guests:

Poet and memoirist Claudia Rankine and her new book “Just Us: An American Conversation” will be the focus of the discussion on Tuesday, Sept. 22. Want to learn more about her work? Here’s a biography from the Poetry Foundation, and a short discussion from Humanities New York where she talks about why her writing focuses on indifference to racism.

Helen Macdonald will be featured on Wednesday, Sept. 30, with her new collection “Vesper Flights” featured as a topic of discussion. Want to learn more about her work? Here’s a feature from Idaho Public Television in 2017 where she discusses her previous memoir “H is for Hawk.” Or read this more recent interview from The Guardian. 

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, Sarah M. Broom will join us to discuss “The Yellow House.” If you want to dive a little deeper, watch this interview from PBS NewsHour from 2019, or this Q&A from The New York Times .

Finally, Isabel Wilkerson will join us Tuesday, Oct. 13, and the discussion will focus on her new work “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.” To hear more about her work, here is an hour-long discussion from the New York Public Library, and a shorter interview with The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. You can also check out this piece from the New Yorker about her new book.

—  Matt Mikus | MPR News