Best University of Michigan Retirees Association Podcasts (2025)

1
UMRA Reads: Tom Lake by Ann Patchette 58:43

26d ago58:43

58:43

"In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine thei…

1
UMRA Reads: The Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison 1:29:38

2M ago1:29:38

1:29:38

"Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, a novel of large beauty and power, creates a magical world out of four generations of black life in America, a world we enter on the day of the birth of Macon Dead, Jr. (known as Milkman), son of the richest black family in a mid-western town; the day on which the lonely insurance man, Robert Smith, poised in blue …

1
Why Incompetence Fails to Recognize Itself with Professor David Dunning 1:02:34

2M ago1:02:34

1:02:34

Why Incompetence Fails to Recognize Itself David Dunning Professor of Psychology in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Faculty Associate in the Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research Professor Dunning discusses the psychology underlying the notorious "Dunning-Kruger Effect," where people remain unaware of th…

1
UMRA Reads: The Rose Code by Kate Quinn 1:12:23

3M ago1:12:23

1:12:23

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn is a book about three female code breakers -- Osla, Mab and Beth -- at Bletchley Park during WWII. The women form a friendship (and a book club) over the years, but a betrayal and traitor among their colleagues lands one of them in locked up in an asylum in the years after the war. But through a letter carefully smuggled…

1
UMRA Reads: The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family 40:43

4M ago40:43

40:43

"Happy Days, The Andy Griffith Show, Gentle Ben—these shows captivated millions of TV viewers in the ’60s and ’70s. Join award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard and audience-favorite actor Clint Howard as they frankly and fondly share their unusual family story of navigating and surviving life as sibling child actors." "With the perspective of time and …

1
Tax Follies & Wisdom: Odd to Horrific Episodes from Ancient to Present 1:02:06

4M ago1:02:06

1:02:06

Tax Follies & Wisdom: Odd to Horrific Episodes from Ancient to PresentJoel Slemrod Paul W. McCracken Professor of Business Economics and Public policy and Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business Professor of Economics in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Professor Slemrod, an author…

1
UMRA Reads: The Toledo War: The First Michigan Ohio Rivalry by Don Faber 1:00:48

5M ago1:00:48

1:00:48

Most are familiar with the Michigan-Ohio football rivalry, an intense but usually good-natured contest that stretches back over one hundred years. Yet far fewer may know that in the early nineteenth century Michigan and Ohio were locked in a different kind of battle---one that began before Michigan became a state. The conflict started with a long-s…

1
Attack from Within with Barbara McQuade 1:04:07

6M ago1:04:07

1:04:07

Attack from Within Barbara McQuade Professor from practice at Michigan Law Professor McQuade will discuss observations and recommendations from her recent book, Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America (Seven Stories Press, 2024). The book defines disinformation as "the deliberate use of lies to manipulate people, whether to ext…

1
Estate Planning, Elder Law, Probate 49:04

6M ago49:04

49:04

Legacy Law Center: Estate Planning, Elder Law, Probate Terrance (Terry) Bertram President of the Legacy Law Center Terry Bertram is a U-M alum, who has been providing estate and elder law planning services in the greater Washtenaw County area for over 30 years. His talk will focus on the importance of keeping estate plans updated and the steps to a…

1
UMRA Reads: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 1:02:57

6M ago1:02:57

1:02:57

"Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But when he meets an eccentri…

1
UMRA Reads: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie 1:00:04

7M ago1:00:04

1:00:04

Considered to be one of Agatha Christie's greatest, and also most controversial mysteries, 'The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd' breaks the rules of traditional mystery. The peaceful English village of King’s Abbot is stunned. The widow Ferrars dies from an overdose of Veronal. Not twenty-four hours later, Roger Ackroyd—the man she had planned to marry—is …

1
UMRA Reads: Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom by Carl Bernstein 55:39

8M ago55:39

55:39

"Carl Bernstein, the Pulitzer Prize-winning coauthor of All the President’s Men and pioneer of investigative journalism, recalls his beginnings as an audacious teenage newspaper reporter in the nation’s capital―a winning tale of scrapes, gumshoeing, and American bedlam." "In Chasing History, Bernstein recalls the origins of his storied journalistic…

1
UMRA Reads: Profiles in Ignorance: How America's Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber 1:04:21

9M ago1:04:21

1:04:21

"Andy Borowitz argues that over the past fifty years, American politicians have grown increasingly allergic to knowledge, and mass media have encouraged the election of ignoramuses by elevating candidates who are better at performing than thinking. Starting with Ronald Reagan’s first campaign for governor of California in 1966 and culminating with …

1
UMRA Reads: Into the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf 1:01:07

10M ago1:01:07

1:01:07

From Goodreads: "The serene and maternal Mrs. Ramsay, the tragic yet absurd Mr. Ramsay, and their children and assorted guests are on holiday on the Isle of Skye. From the seemingly trivial postponement of a visit to a nearby lighthouse, Woolf constructs a remarkable, moving examination of the complex tensions and allegiances of family life and the…

1
UMRA Reads: Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America by Barbara McQuade 1:28:44

11M ago1:28:44

1:28:44

In Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America, University of Michigan Law professor, legal scholar and analyst Barbara McQuade, shows us how to identify the ways disinformation is seeping into all facets of our society and how we can fight against it. The book breaks down the ways disinformation has become a tool to drive voters t…

1
UMRA Reads: Says Who? A Kinder, Funner, Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words by Anne Curzan 1:15:03

12M ago1:15:03

1:15:03

"A kinder, funner usage guide to the ever-changing English language and a useful tool for both the grammar stickler and the more colloquial user of English, from linguist and veteran U-M Professor Anne Curzan." "Our use of language naturally evolves and is a living, breathing thing that reflects who we are. Says Who? offers clear, nuanced guidance …

1
UMRA Reads: The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina 59:38

1y ago59:38

59:38

The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World is a poetic novel about a real telephone booth in Otsuchi, Japan, a rural town decimated by the 2011 tsunami. Known as the “Wind Phone,” the disconnected rotary telephone allows grieving family members to speak, in a way, to loved ones who have passed on.By University of Michigan Retirees Association

1
The Health and National Security Risks of Drug Shortages 51:29

1y ago51:29

51:29

Andrew G. Shuman, MD, FACS, HEC-C Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Chief of the Clinical Ethics Service in the Center for the Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine (CBSSM) Dr. Shuman is a cancer surgeon and bioethicist at the University of Michigan and the VA Ann Arbor Health System. He is internat…

1
UMRA Reads: Lost Horizon by James Hilton 1:05:30

1y ago1:05:30

1:05:30

The story follows four Europeans stranded at a Tibetan lamasery for several months after their plane is hijacked and flown into the Himalayas. With time, they learn that not everything is as it seems at this Utopian lamasery. Hilton's magnum opus was a timely novel, written in the wake of WWI and amidst the Depression. It was a much needed escape f…

1
Education Disruption and Transformation 1:05:18

1y ago1:05:18

1:05:18

Dr. Elizabeth Birr Moje, Dean of the U-M Marsal Family School of Education, George Herbert Mead Collegiate Professor of Education, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the School of Education, and Faculty Associate, Institute of Social Research Faculty Affiliate in Latin/a Studies, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Dr. Moje will discuss the ch…

1
UMRA Reads: West with Giraffes 55:48

1y ago55:48

55:48

West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge takes you back to 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe and the world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes, who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes…

1
The Impact of Slavery and Systemic Racism: The Grace of Repair 52:26

1+ y ago52:26

52:26

Dr. Earl Lewis, founding Director of the University of Michigan Center for Social Solutions and the Thomas C. Holt Distinguished University Professor of History, Afro American and African Studies, and Public Policy. Recipient of the National Humanities Medal in 2023 awarded by President Biden. This talk centers on a handful of moments in world hist…

1
UMRA Reads: Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichi 55:22

1+ y ago55:22

55:22

"Ruth Reichl, world-renowned food critic and former editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, knows a thing or two about food. In Garlic and Sapphires, Reichl reveals the comic absurdity, artifice, and excellence to be found in the sumptuously appointed stages of the epicurean world and gives us - along with some of her favorite recipes and reviews - he…

1
Progress in Developing Clean, Cheap and Sustainable Energy through Solar Power 50:36

1+ y ago50:36

50:36

Dr. Zetian Mi's is a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan who is focused on the investigation of semiconductor nanostructures and their application in electronic, photonic, clean energy, and quantum devices and systems. A new kind of solar panel, developed at the U-M, has achieved …

1
Adventures in Bee Keeping 1:01:22

1+ y ago1:01:22

1:01:22

Beekeeping basics with novices Patty and Steve Bebee and experienced beekeepers Amy and Beau LaFleur. They provide a short overview of getting started as a hobbyist beekeeper and share our experiences getting started, hive components, life inside the colony, the different jobs of honeybees, and a year in the life of a beekeeper. Equipment, clothing…

1
Preserving the Legacy of Song: The University of Michigan’s Gershwin Initiative 1:21:01

1+ y ago1:21:01

1:21:01

Dr. Mark Clague -- Associate Dean for Collaborations and Partnerships, Professor of Music and Director of the U-M Gershwin Initiative and Co-Editor-in-Chief MUSA -- talks about the University of Michigan Gershwin Initiative is an ongoing scholarly examination of the Gershwins' music, in which U-M scholars in collaboration with peers from across the…

1
UMRA Reads: My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places by Mary Roach 49:28

1+ y ago49:28

49:28

New York Times best-selling author Mary Roach was a hit columnist in the Reader's Digest magazine, and this book features the articles she wrote in that time. The quirky, brilliant author takes a magnifying glass to everyday life, exposing moments of hilarity in the mundane. Insightful and hilarious, Mary explores the ins and outs of the modern wor…

1
UMRA Reads: Dawn of Detroit by Tiya Miles 1:05:57

1+ y ago1:05:57

1:05:57

Tiya Miles is the recipient of a 2011 MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" and is a professor at the University of Michigan in the departments of American culture, Afro-American and African studies, history, women's studies, and in the Native American Studies Program. She lives in Ann Arbor. "Extracting seemingly lost lives from sparse records to re…

1
Complexities of China-U.S. Relations 1:03:31

1+ y ago1:03:31

1:03:31

Professor Mary Gallagher is the Amy and Alan Lowenstein Professor of Democracy, Democratization, and Human Rights, Professor of Political Science and Director of the International Institute in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts at the University of Michigan. She is also a Research Associate Professor at the Center for Political Studies…

1
UMRA Reads: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 1:09:43

1+ y ago1:09:43

1:09:43

The Thursday Murder Club is an intelligent mystery about a group of senior citizens who find themselves in the center of a murder investigation.By University of Michigan Retirees Association

1
Learn & Grow: Preparing Your Gardens for Winter 56:58

1+ y ago56:58

56:58

Janet Macunovich, owner, author, and landscape architect at Gardens A - Z in White Lake, Michigan, talks about the best techniques, and timing, as well as the do's and don'ts, as you begin your fall gardening chores. You will also learn how to protect your plantings, and at the same time create fall/winter landscapes that are visually enjoyable unt…

1
UMRA Reads: The End of Miracles by Monica Starkman 1:19:08

1+ y ago1:19:08

1:19:08

The End of Miracles is a twisting, haunting story about the drastic consequences of a frustrated obsession. This emotionally gripping novel is a suspenseful journey across the blurred boundaries between sanity and madness, depression and healing.By University of Michigan Retirees Association

1
UMRA Reads: The Journey of Crazy Horse by Joseph M. Marshall III 1:16:25

1+ y ago1:16:25

1:16:25

In this fascinating biography, Marshall, himself a Lakota Indian, creates a vibrant portrait of Crazy Horse, his time and his legacy.By University of Michigan Retirees Association

1
Seminar: U-M Government Relations 1:03:17

1+ y ago1:03:17

1:03:17

Chris Kolb is the Vice President of Government Relations at the University of Michigan. Prior to accepting this position, Kolb served as Governor Whitmer's State Budget Director. Vice President Kolb led the Michigan Environmental Council for ten years. He is a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives serving from 2001–2006 and he serv…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

University Of Michigan Retirees Association Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
UMich Retirees Podcast

University of Michigan Retirees Association

1
UMRA Reads: Tom Lake by Ann Patchette 58:43

1
UMRA Reads: The Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison 1:29:38

1
Why Incompetence Fails to Recognize Itself with Professor David Dunning 1:02:34

1
UMRA Reads: The Rose Code by Kate Quinn 1:12:23

1
UMRA Reads: The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family 40:43

1
Tax Follies & Wisdom: Odd to Horrific Episodes from Ancient to Present 1:02:06

1
UMRA Reads: The Toledo War: The First Michigan Ohio Rivalry by Don Faber 1:00:48

1
Attack from Within with Barbara McQuade 1:04:07

1
Estate Planning, Elder Law, Probate 49:04

1
UMRA Reads: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 1:02:57

1
UMRA Reads: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie 1:00:04

1
UMRA Reads: Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom by Carl Bernstein 55:39

1
UMRA Reads: Profiles in Ignorance: How America's Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber 1:04:21

1
UMRA Reads: Into the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf 1:01:07

1
UMRA Reads: Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America by Barbara McQuade 1:28:44

1
UMRA Reads: Says Who? A Kinder, Funner, Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words by Anne Curzan 1:15:03

1
UMRA Reads: The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina 59:38

1
The Health and National Security Risks of Drug Shortages 51:29

1
UMRA Reads: Lost Horizon by James Hilton 1:05:30

1
Education Disruption and Transformation 1:05:18

1
UMRA Reads: West with Giraffes 55:48

1
The Impact of Slavery and Systemic Racism: The Grace of Repair 52:26

1
UMRA Reads: Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichi 55:22

1
Progress in Developing Clean, Cheap and Sustainable Energy through Solar Power 50:36

1
Adventures in Bee Keeping 1:01:22

1
Preserving the Legacy of Song: The University of Michigan’s Gershwin Initiative 1:21:01

1
UMRA Reads: My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places by Mary Roach 49:28

1
UMRA Reads: Dawn of Detroit by Tiya Miles 1:05:57

1
Complexities of China-U.S. Relations 1:03:31

1
UMRA Reads: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 1:09:43

1
Learn & Grow: Preparing Your Gardens for Winter 56:58

1
UMRA Reads: The End of Miracles by Monica Starkman 1:19:08

1
UMRA Reads: The Journey of Crazy Horse by Joseph M. Marshall III 1:16:25

1
Seminar: U-M Government Relations 1:03:17