Des Plaines Public Library

Miner Recs

A roundtable review and discussion of recommended media from the Des Plaines Public Library.

Author

Des Plaines Public Library

Category

Government

Podcast website

dppl.podomatic.com

Latest episode

May 19, 2026

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Episodes

Episode 73: Art 08.07.2021

On this episode, Charlie, Ariana, Michelle and Joel celebrate the "Reading Is Art-Rageous" theme of our summer reading program by discussing art, including reviews of documentaries about Marina Abramović, Maurizio Cattelan, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun and Vincent Van Gogh and plenty of tangents regarding the questions provoked by these artists' works.

Episode 72: Gardening 07.05.2021

On this episode, Charlie, Liz, Elizabeth and Joel have a conversation about gardening. Along the way, they touch on subjects such as composting, soil conditions, container gardening, planting zones, protecting your crops against hungry squirrels and chipmunks, and a lot more!

Episode 71: The Queen's Gambit 27.01.2021

On this episode, Charlie, Ariana, Annie and David talk about The Queen's Gambit, a limited miniseries available on Netflix, based on a novel by Walter Tevis. Along the way, they also touch on how the show's popularity has encouraged a new wave of interest in chess, how Netflix has changed our watching habits, the library's board game collection, and much more! (Please note: this episode was record...

Episode 70: Stephen King's If It Bleeds 03.12.2020

On this episode, Charlie, Lynne, and Joel discuss Stephen King's new collection of novellas If It Bleeds. Their conversation also touches on filmed adaptations of King's work, how future authors might write about the events of 2020, and much more! (Please note: this episode was recorded remotely using Zoom - you may notice some slight audio imperfections, which were inherent in the source.)

Episode 69: The Water Dancer 21.10.2020

On this episode, Charlie, Jami, and Joel discuss The Water Dancer, the debut novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Along the way, they discuss magical realism, slave narratives, the differences between the printed word and audiobooks, and much more! (Please note, this episode was recorded remotely using Zoom - you may notice some slight audio imperfections, which were inherent in the source.)

Episode 68: The Office 12.08.2020

On this episode, Charlie, Jami, Joel and Natalie discuss The Office, a sitcom originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant for the BBC, but which took on a life of its own when it was adapted for American television. We'll talk about a few of our favorite episodes, the impact the show had on other comedy shows, other notable projects from members of the cast and much more! (Please note...

Episode 67: Bruce Springsteen 17.06.2020

On this episode, Charlie, Joel and Laurie discuss the music of Bruce Springsteen, his relationship with his longtime backing group the E Street Band, his recent memoir and Broadway show, his musical and literary influences and much more. (Please note, this episode was recorded remotely from home using Zoom - you may notice some slight audio imperfections which were inherent in the source.)

Episode 66: Documentaries 22.05.2020

On this episode, Dave, Joel, Jami and Annie discuss documentary films and series, including films about mountain climbing such as Free Solo, Meru and Pretty Strong; long-form series such as The Last Dance, Tiger King and Ken Burns' Baseball; and other non-fiction films like Icarus, This Film Is Not Yet Rated and American Factory. (Please note, this episode was recorded remotely from home using Zoo...

Episode 65: 92nd Academy Awards 13.03.2020

On this episode, Dave, Tony, Natalie and Charlie discuss some of the films nominated for Academy Awards this year, including Parasite, Marriage Story, Jojo Rabbit and Joker.

Episode 64: Cats & Musicals 11.02.2020

On this episode, Dave, Jami, Joel and Charlie discuss Cats, Tom Hooper's already notorious adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's long-running musical, as well as their thoughts on the best of Broadway and off-Broadway musicals.

Episode 63: Streaming Services 08.01.2020

On this episode, Dave, Tony, Jami and Joel talk about streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ and more, as well as ask some of the tough questions about how watching content on demand has changed the viewing experience. Are we better off now than we were in the days of cable? What's worth watching and what isn't? And how many streaming services is too many?

Episode 62: Fandoms 15.11.2019

On this episode, Dave, Tony, Jami and Joel engage in a spirited conversation on what it means to be a fan, the pros and cons of engaging with a fan community, the disappointment of underwhelming sequels and much more.

Episode 61: Horror (Hereditary, Us, Stranger Things Season 3) 11.10.2019

On this episode, Dave, Jami, Tony and Joel celebrate Halloween by discussing three recent horror films and TV shows: Hereditary, Us and the third season of Stranger Things.

Episode 60: Spider-Man 13.09.2019

On this episode, Dave, Jami, Tony and Joel discuss Spider-Man and recommend various forms of Spider-Man media, including the films Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Far From Home, the comic book series The Superior Spider-Man, the Playstation game Spider-Man and much more!

Episode 59: Fantasy Football 06.08.2019

On this episode, Dave, Tony, Joel and special guest Elliot share some of their experiences playing fantasy football.

Episode 58: Kindred 05.07.2019

On this episode, Dave, Jami, Tony and Joel discuss Octavia E. Butler's 1979 novel Kindred, as well as the 2017 graphic novel adaptation by Damian Duffy and John Jennings.

Episode 57: Science Books 08.06.2019

On this episode, Dave, Jami, Joel and Tony celebrate our space-themed summer reading program by reading books about science, including The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan, The Cosmic Cocktail by Katherine Freese, Brief Answers To The Big Questions by Stephen Hawking, and Undeniable by Bill Nye.

Episode 56: The Man In The High Castle 17.05.2019

On this episode, Dave, Tony and Joel discuss The Man In The High Castle, a television series which adapts Philip K. Dick's novel of the same name, a dystopian alternate history depicting a world in which the Allies had lost World War II.

Episode 55: Acorn TV 14.04.2019

On this episode, Dave, Tony, Jami and Joel talk about some of the programs available through the streaming service Acorn TV, including Detectorists, Loch Ness, Rebecka Martinsson, Jack Taylor and more!

Episode 54: Cooking With Miner Recs! 27.03.2019

On this episode, Dave, Jami, Tony and Joel each made a recipe from one of the most circulated cookbooks in our collection (The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon; Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten; Polish Cooking by Marianna Olszewska Heberle; and The Pioneer Woman Cooks Food From My Frontier by Ree Drummond) and convened in our conference room with enough portions to share amongst...

Episode 53: 91st Academy Awards 18.02.2019

On this episode, Dave, Tony, Joel and Charlie discuss some of the films nominated for Academy Awards this year, including Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, The Favourite, Bohemian Rhapsody, Vice, Roma and more!

Episode 52: Venom 11.01.2019

On this episode, Dave, Tony and Joel talk about the new Marvel film Venom.

Episode 51: Stan Lee 27.12.2018

On this episode, Dave, Tony and Joel discuss the life of the late great Stan Lee, the nuances of the characters in the Marvel universe, the influence that Marvel comics have had on their lives.

Episode 50: 50th Episode Lookback 10.12.2018

To celebrate the 50th episode of the Pint & Click Podcast, Dave, Tony, Joel and Charlie look back on their experience recording the podcast, how the program has evolved, and reflect on the future of the show.

Episode 49: Won't You Be My Neighbor 29.10.2018

On this episode, Dave, Tony and Jami discuss Won't You Be My Neighbor, a documentary about Fred Rogers, the man behind Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

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