Bob Kustra

3 weeks ago | boisestatepublicradio.org | Bob Kustra

Although his impact on 20th century American cultural life was profound, few people know the story of Norman Holmes Pearson. As a Yale professor and editor, he helped legitimize the study of American culture and the work of female poets like Gertrude Stein. At the same time, as a spy, and cultural diplomat, he connected the academy, the State Department, and even the CIA.

1 month ago | boisestatepublicradio.org | Bob Kustra

In February 2022, Russian missiles rained on Ukrainian cities, and tanks rolled towards Kyiv to end Ukrainian independent statehood. What are the roots of this war, which has upended the international legal order and brought back the threat of nuclear escalation? How did these supposedly “brotherly peoples” become present-day enemies?

1 month ago | idahostatesman.com | Bob Kustra

It wasn’t that long ago when leadership counted for something, when Idahoans could expect their leaders to speak out boldly and strongly for their state and their nation. While we cannot expect partisans to stand up and speak against their own party very often, it’s happened a few times in American history, and Idaho’s own Frank Church is a perfect example of a Democratic United States senator who differed publicly with his party’s powerful President Lyndon B.

1 month ago | griffindailynews.com | Bob Kustra

Journalism may be the first draft of history, but in wartime, it is also the most dangerous draft of history for reporters on the front lines. On June 27, 2023, in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s missiles, which sometimes seek out the gathering places of journalists, struck a restaurant where award-winning Ukrainian novelist and poet Victoria Amelina was meeting with Colombian journalists covering the war.

1 month ago | boisestatepublicradio.org | Nate Schweber |Bob Kustra

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in November 2022. In late-1940's America, few writers commanded attention like Bernard DeVoto. Alongside his brilliant wife and editor, Avis, DeVoto was a firebrand of American liberty, free speech, and perhaps our greatest national treasure: public lands.