Read Beat (...and repeat)
If you're like me, you like to know things but how much time to invest? That's the question. Here's the answer: Read Beat--Interviews with authors of new releases. These aren't book reviews but short (about 25-30 minutes on the average) chats with folks that usually have taken a lot of time to research a topic, enough to write a book about it. Hopefully, there's a topic or two that interests you. I try to come up with subjects that fascinate me or I need to know more about. Hopefully, listeners will agree. I'm Steve Tarter, former reporter for the Peoria Journal Star and a contributor to WCBU-FM, the Peoria public radio outlet, from 20202 to 2024. I post regularly on stevetarter.substack.com.
Podcasting since 2022 • 247 episodes
Read Beat (...and repeat)
Latest Episodes
"Marutas of Unit 731" by Jenny Chan
Writing in the Sept. 20, 2025 issue of the Korea Times, Park Jin-hai noted that “Jenny Chan grew up in America caught between clashing versions of history — her school textbooks skipped over the cruelties of World War II in Hong Kong, ...
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Season 5
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Episode 34
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23:24
"Rewiring Democracy" by Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders
AI will change democracy. The only question is how, say the authors of a new book described as "surprisingly optimistic" when it comes to regarding how artificial intelligence will impact the world.Bruce Schneier, a lecturer at the Harva...
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Season 5
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Episode 33
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23:43
"American Oasis" by Kyle Paoletta
Kyle Paoletta’s American Oasis comes with a subtitle: Finding the Future in the Cities of the Southwest.Born in Santa Fe, Paoletta grew up in Albuquerque. The native Southwesterner said he had to leave the region, to li...
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Season 5
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Episode 32
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30:07
"Crossings--How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet" by Ben Goldfarb
Ben Goldfarb’s new book, Crossings—How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet, is a reminder that we need to consider the impact of a highway network--not just on the drivers--but on the animals that share the planet.W...
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Season 5
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Episode 31
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27:22
"The Accord" by Mark Peres
“AI is technology that lets computers do things that normally require human intelligence—like understanding language, recognizing pictures, solving problems, or making decisions. It’s like teaching a computer to ‘think’ in specific ways by givi...
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Season 5
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Episode 30
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27:49