Books Unbound

Series produced by WFHB

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Radio reader series from Community Radio WFHB in Bloomington, Indiana.

Books burn; ideas endure. Books Unbound is a weekly showcase of literary works banned by those who fear the power of the pen. The program promotes literary reading and curiosity, challenging listeners to consider viewpoints that may be different from our own. Each week we bring you literature prohibited by governments, schools, and religious institutions. In the words of French philosopher Emile-Auguste Chartier, "nothing is as dangerous as an idea, when it’s the only one you’ve got."


150 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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“Exploring with Robert McAlmon” is a three-episode series of fiction and poetry by one of the lesser-known Modernists. Born in 1895, McAlmon grew u...

  • Added: May 04, 2015
  • Length: 55:54
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“Killing Voltaire: An Observance for Charlie Hebdo” is a collaborative response by the Books Unbound community to the deadly attack January 7 on th...

  • Added: Apr 20, 2015
  • Length: 58:44
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The interconnected story cycle “Lost Borders” by Mary Hunter Austin concludes. Austin’s character types and settings are in many ways familiar from...

  • Added: Apr 14, 2015
  • Length: 59:51
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The interconnected stories of ‘’Lost Borders’’ are set in the desert landscape of southern California, where author Mary Hunter Austin moved with h...

  • Added: Apr 06, 2015
  • Length: 01:08:57
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“Lost Borders” by Mary Hunter Austin continues with interconnected stories about the American West from a feminist and conservationist perspective....

  • Added: Mar 31, 2015
  • Length: 58:02
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In the interconnected story cycle of “Lost Borders,” Mary Hunter Austin challenges the masculine myths of the American West through the perspective...

  • Added: Mar 23, 2015
  • Length: 58:12
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Mary Hunter Austin was born in Illinois in 1868 and died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1934. Her father encouraged her interest in writing, but died ...

  • Added: Mar 16, 2015
  • Length: 58:06
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Born in New Orleans and an early figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Alice Dunbar-Nelson (1875–1935) considered fiction her most representative form ...

Bought by WMUU-LP


  • Added: Mar 09, 2015
  • Length: 57:59
  • Purchases: 1
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Born in New Orleans, Alice Dunbar-Nelson (1875–1935) was the daughter of a seamstress and former slave, and a sailor. She grew up poor and felt aff...

Bought by WMUU-LP


  • Added: Mar 02, 2015
  • Length: 58:37
  • Purchases: 1
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“The Mulatto” first appeared in 1837 in an anti-slavery magazine published by free people of color in France. Its author was the 19-year-old Victor...

Bought by WCPN


  • Added: Feb 23, 2015
  • Length: 58:27
  • Purchases: 1
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A four-part presentation of Herman Melville’s classic and problematic historical fiction “Benito Cereno” concludes. In the final episode, Captain A...

  • Added: Feb 23, 2015
  • Length: 01:01:33
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“Benito Cereno” is based on the memoir of the real-life Captain Amasa Delano, who during his voyages in 1805 came upon a Spanish merchant-ship in d...

  • Added: Feb 09, 2015
  • Length: 58:30
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The second in a four-part program on Herman Melville’s novella “Benito Cereno,” based on the memoir of the real-life sea captain Amasa Delano. Melv...

  • Added: Feb 02, 2015
  • Length: 58:35
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The first of a four-part program on Herman Melville’s masterpiece of historical fiction, “Benito Cereno.” This American novella is based on a chapt...

  • Added: Jan 28, 2015
  • Length: 58:15
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"Killing Voltaire: An Observance for Charlie Hebdo" is a collaborative response by the Books Unbound community to the deadly attack on the offices ...

  • Added: Jan 19, 2015
  • Length: 57:58
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The protagonist of "The Massacre of Yangzhou" is the southern Chinese city of Yangzhou, a rich and beautiful center of the failing Ming Dynasty as ...

Bought by WMUU-LP


  • Added: Jan 12, 2015
  • Length: 59:38
  • Purchases: 1
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“The Queen of Spades” is a mock fairy tale about debt, gambling, guilt and the supernatural—and the deadening effect of money on love. An aging, on...

Bought by WMUU-LP


  • Added: Jan 05, 2015
  • Length: 58:40
  • Purchases: 1
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"Heaven's Café" is a seasonal episode of Books Unbound featuring poetry from China, Germany, Mexico, Palestine, Cuba and England, with a tribute to...

  • Added: Dec 22, 2014
  • Length: 58:38
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A three-episode program of short satiric fiction concludes with a slightly abridged version of “The Cloak” by Nikolai Gogol, read by Frank Buczolic...

  • Added: Dec 15, 2014
  • Length: 57:52
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"Short, With a Wicked Tongue and Long Legs" is the second of a three-part of classic short satiric fiction. This week, the conclusion of The Life o...

  • Added: Dec 15, 2014
  • Length: 57:56