Join Mr. B as he sits down at the table with three elementary school teachers for stories and insights into the world of smaller desks, shorter students, and big personalities at Forest City Elementary School. On this episode, another in the education forum series by Mr. B, we meet Katie Schmidt, Cari Lillquist, and Samantha Treloar. Sit in on the …

Join Mr. B's Dinner Party on this episode where he reviews Mel Brooks' classic comedy: Blazing Saddles, illuminates the pet peeves of flying commercial (the only way he flies...), discusses ways to potentially make public education even better, and takes us along step 7 of his spiritual journey. For more information on how you can preserve the memo…

Belly up this week to the dinner table for delectable morsels for the mind with Mr. B as he revisits his 2024 Academy Award predictions and how they ended up as well as a review of The Daily Show, some pet peeves that include smackers, slurpers, honkers and more and another update on Mr. B's Spiritual Journey. Don't miss a minute and share with you…

It's an Academy Award extravaganza! Do you love the Oscars? Well, Mr. B does - and this week - sit down to dinner with Mr. B with your scorecard. Get all the dish on which films, actors, actresses and technicians will take home that little golden statue. And...a special review of several of Ms. Bette Davis - this week - at Mr. B's Dinner Party!…

Join Mr. B as he sits down in studio with Lynnea Fredrickson-Smith, Artistic Director of BrickStreet Theatre. Enjoy many theatrical morsels for the mind, behind the scenes stories, the 50-year history of this amazing community theatre and learn all about the next big things coming to BST. You can visit the BrickStreet Theatre website, purchase tick…

It's Oscar week and Mr. B has his opinions about the best films of 2023 which you should see (if you haven't already). He reviews an NBC sitcom he thinks you'll enjoy: Superstore. In his "School Daze" segment, Mr. B covers some classroom pet peeves and in this episode's Spiritual Journey segment, Mr B reveals what he thinks is one of his worst char…

On this episode of Mr. B's Dinner Party, Scott reviews films he viewed while on his recent cruise excursion, discusses checking in on his spiritual journey, shares the "highlights"(?) of substitute teaching the three levels of public education, and reminds us about a few pet peeves regarding communicating in-person and via electronics in his wacky-…

Come on in to the Dinner Party! Mr. B is serving up conversational morsels for the mind with commentary about traveling pet peeves, Step 3 of the 12 Step program and the importance of a sponsor, reviews of Abbott Elementary and Bette Midler movies as well as helpful hints from a teacher to the non-teachers in the world. All this and more - on Mr. B…

On this episode, join Mr. B. on a delectable tale of adventure as he narrates his journey to New Orleans and Memphis...on a BUS! But who does he meet and what do they do? You'll need to pull up to the table this week to hear the details at Mr. B's Dinner Party!โดย Scott Bertelsen

In this episode Scott reviews both Moulin Rouge (the film) and Green Acres. He covers teaching and teaching your soul. It's a dinner party you don't want to miss, this week on Mr. B's Dinner Party!โดย Scott Bertelsen

You're invited to Mr. B's Dinner Party with special guests, Shawn Miller (Principal of Garner-Hayfield/Ventura High School) and Steve Madson (Principal of Lake Mills Middle/High School). It's a delectable discussion with plenty of conversational morsels for the mind from these three professional educators - so sit back and enjoy the meal! Mr. B lea…

This week, sit down for some fabulous conversational morsels for the mind with Mr. B as he takes us down a spiritual journey centered on prayer and a special "Spiritual Journey Scrapbook" feature. Find out why substitute teaching is an important part of his retirement. Discover his pet peeves with technology and listen in to a film recommendation o…

This week, join Mr. B at the Dinner Party for more conversational morsels for the mind! Halloween just passed but don't worry there are plenty of scary things to discuss like people who text and drive, park outside the lines, teacher's lounges so full of smoke you can cut a doorway through it, and of course, Halloween the original movie itself... H…

In this episode, sit down for conversational morsels for the mind with Mr. B as he recounts his many years of directing high school musicals and plays, reviews the epic television comedy classic: MASH and the Mel Brooks film: Young Frankenstein. Find out about how Mr. B has made amends and how you could do the same and what in the world does he hav…

Welcome to the table! This week on Mr. B's Dinner Party, Scott reviews the TV show "Will & Grace", he continues his fandom of Barbara Streisand with a review of "Yentl" and he shares his wacky (and frustrating) habit of losing things... But, he also tells us about his decades as a high school speech coach and the winning that came with it - to incl…

This week, Join the Dinner Party as Mr. B examines the downfalls of control, the horrors of airports, how teaching is actually a positive addiction, and a couple great recommendations for your leisure time entertainment as he reviews and recommends the classic TV show: "All in the Family" and an over-looked screwball comedy film starring Barbara St…

In his second episode, Mr. B invites you to hear the story of his surrender and the miracle which has come from that decision. Through a brutally honest telling of his food addiction, he has found a path forward that has brought happiness, hope, and inspiration for future endeavors. This episodes insights include gems about teaching, the role of th…

It's finally here! Mr. B's Dinner Party with conversational morsels for the mind is served! Hosted by Scott Bertelsen, beloved retired school teacher, observer of life, critic of film, and friend to all. In this initial episode, get to know Scott. Learn about his spiritual journey, pet peeves with Walmart, his favorite film of all time and reviews …

Mr. B (Scott Bertelsen), retired from teaching high school language arts in 2019 after 39 years in the classroom, but he still continues to lend his wisdom to the masses every other Wednesday beginning August 23rd! Don't miss these "conversational morsels for the mind!"โดย Scott Bertelsen

Welcome to the final episode of A Flamboyancy of Children's Authors Season 2! We are so excited to be joined by bestselling author Roshani Chokshi! Her middle grade Percy Jackson - sequel mythology series has finally come to a close, and we're here to celebrate Aru Shah, stories, and the beautiful belief system/mythology that shaped Roshani's books…

On the third episode of the season, we celebrate the final finale of the beloved Wolf Brother series by Michelle Paver. After many false endings, Wolf Bane is the true end of this teen series and continues with its tradition of exploring indigenous cultures' beliefs and relationships with the natural world.…

Today, we are joined by Sophie Anderson, award winning author of the House with Chicken Legs. To celebrate her newest publication, 'The Thief Who Sang Storms,' we discuss the beautiful slavic folklore that she weaves into all her stories! Find out about her beloved Baba Yaga and a new mythological creature - the alkonosts in episode 2!…

Join us on the first episode of season two of our children's podcast! We are so excited to be speaking with Axie Oh, bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, a reimagining of the Old Sea God myth from Korean folklore. Take a deep dive with us into korean folklore, manga, and other books that Axie has been loving!…

On the final episode of this first season, we are joined by Mr B's bookseller Rhian who shares her expertise on YA crime reads with some great recommendations. To cap off the season, Maureen Johnson, author of the Truly Devious trilogy, details the intricacies of writing a crime detective novel...mixed with a few stories from working in a Haunted H…

On this episode of the Mr B's Bookshop Podcast, we talk picture books and all the lovely pictures and stories they give us. Mr B's Bookseller Laura shares her favourite picture books for a range of ages and why she loves picture books. Then author Mick Jackson speaks on his picture books While You're Sleeping and We're Going Places, the process of …

This week on the podcast, we celebrate kids graphic novels! Hannah is joined by fellow Mr B's Bookseller Tess Mahuta, who shares her incredible knowledge of art work and graphic novels. Tim Probert joins the podcast to discuss his first kids graphic novel, Lightfall--a shop favourite!

On this episode of the Mr B's podcast, Hannah and renowned Mr b's bookseller Ed discuss The Legend of Podkin One Ear and the amazing fantasy books for kids, both middle grade and leading into teen. Their chat is followed by an interview with bestselling author of Podkin, Kieran Larwood, about his fantastic series that we all know and love. And if y…

On episode 5 of the Mr B's Podcast, Hannah and fellow bookseller Tom Mooney discuss how much young readers books have changed and how to graduate children from picture books to independent chapter books. Hannah also chats with Serena Patel, author of the young readers series Anisha, Accidental Detective about her delightful series and the importanc…

Joining us today on the podcast is co-owner of Mr b's Nic Bottomley, speaking about how the children's nonfiction genre has developed, and Dr. Mya-Rose Craig aka Birdgirl, speaking on youth activism and her debut children's nonfiction book We Have a Dream.

Today on the Mr B's Podcast, Hannah and fellow bookseller Amy discuss the ever growing world of young adult literature and why Mr B's loves Laura Wood and her delightful historical fiction novels, as well as Laura's newest release 'A Single Thread of Moonlight'...as well as what it means to be in the Georgette Heyer club (if ya know, ya know)…

Join us on the second episode of the Flamboyancy of Children's Authors Season of the Mr B's Podcast as our host Hannah chats with bookseller Gemma about spooky teen graphic novels and author and illustrator Pam Smy about her newest book The Hideaway, a heavily illustrated teen novel. Suitable for 12+ audience…

Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Flamboyancy of Children's Authors podcast season, the first podcast season ever to celebrate the wonderful world of children's books! To ring in the celebration, our host Hannah Jensen reminisces on her experiences attending children's book festivals as a kid in the US and how important kids book festivals ar…

Bringing the Legacy Season of the podcast to a close, Ed, Kate and Jess sit down in Mr B's legendary bibliotherapy room, for the first in-person recording of the podcast since the start of the pandemic. In true Mr B's spirit, the discussion quickly turns eclectic, ranging from Barbara Comyns and Raymond Chandler to a novel in verse about Sami histo…

In the penultimate episode of #MrBsLegacySeason, we find out about a movement which gave rise to a campaign, which gave birth to a thousand written responses and eventually, a book. We hope you're inspired by this conversation with Kay Michael, co-founder of the movement Culture Declares Emergency and the project Letters to the Earth, and Daniela T…

In the fourth episode of this season, Jess chats to author Julianne Pachico. Julianne's debut was 'The Lucky Ones', a collection of interlinked stories, following a group of school girls in Colombia. Julianne's second book, 'The Anthill', which is out next month, follows a young woman returning to Colombia and the city of Medellin, where she lived …

In the third episode of our Legacy Season, Jess talks to translators Julia Sanches and Daniel Hahn about the ways in which any book is itself a legacy passed on from the writer to the translator. We hope you enjoy this chat, about re-translations of classics, 'donkey bellies' and what kind of translations the pandemic will generate, among much else…

In the second episode of the Legacy Season, Tom Mooney sits down for a virtual chat with novelist Michael Christie, author of the gorgeous novel Greenwood, for a conversation about home-schooling, family-trees and families in trees, climate collapse and the entanglement of all life. Hosted by Tom Mooney with music by The Bookshop Band Interested in…

Welcome to a brand new season of the Mr B's Podcast - the place where our disembodied voices explore books, ideas and, quite often, very random side-tracks. Thinking so much about what will come out of the pandemic, and where we will be in a possible afterward, we started talking about the idea of legacy - what will be passed on and left behind fro…

We got there! Join Lottie, Nic and Jess as they look back on the experiment that was #MrBsJusticeSeason, our very first themes season of the podcast. Never letting go of the book recommendations, this episode also touches on raising daughters, global injustice and dam-building in Brazil as well as Bruce Springsteen. We also talk about whether theme…

We've arrived at episode 5 of #MrBsJusticeSeason. Join us as we talk to journalist Maeve McClenaghan about her experience of a year investigating the homelessness crisis in the UK, and the book which emerged from this journey. 'No Fixed Abode' is a revealing and moving exploration of how very far the tragedy of homelessness has been allowed to deve…

The Justice Season of the podcast continues through the autumn 2020, a fortnight and many books at a time. For episode four, we're delighted to share a conversation with Zimbabwean writer Petina Gappah about her latest novel 'Out of Darkness, Shining Light'. It's a story twenty years in the making which follows the last journey of David Livingstone…

In the third episode of our Justice Season, we talk to writer, poet, editor and all-round fantastic word- person John Freeman. Editor of the biannual Freemans, and former editor of Granta magazine, John is the author of books of nonfiction such as 'Dictionary of the Undoing', as well as two collections of poems: 'Maps' and 'The Park'. Since 2014 he…

Join us as we plunge deeper into versions and stories of justice in the second episode of our autumn 2020 season. Niven Govinden is the author of five novels, most recently 'This Brutal House', which was published in 2019. In this episode, Jess chats to Niven about the vogue culture of New York City, chosen families, community, and 'eco-systems of …

Welcome back to the Mr B's podcast! After a long break, we're re-launching our mix of bookseller-chats and author interviews, but this time with a particular focus. Enter: the Justice Season. Throughout 2020 so far, it's been brought home to many of us how crises such as the pandemic lay bare the deep injustices around us, and how interlaced these …

October really lends itself to thinking about atmospheric old houses, and this is what we’re doing in this episode of the podcast. We chat to Claire Fuller, whose latest novel takes place in an around Lyntons, a dilapidated country estate where its protagonist – the now dying Frances Jellico – spent the scourging summer of 1969. 'Bitter Orange' wel…

As an increasing number of us wake up to the climate and ecological crises, it becomes clear that climate change is as much a question of narrative, storytelling, psychology and human behaviour as it is about science. How could it not be in the stories we read? In the first of what will be a series of podcasts highlighting writing concerned with ou…

Sherlock and Watson may be the epitome of a mystery-solving duo, but when put to the task of finding others, the Mr B’s team went down some unexpected literary trails. Join Jess, Ed and Tom M as they discuss larger-than life characters in search for clues, characters who are like two sides of a coin, and why we struggled to find female detective pa…

This month Jess talks to the Mexican author Valeria Luiselli about her most recent novel "The Lost Children Archive", a bold and wise book which is as much about protecting our children, and being children ourselves, as it is about the horrors of the refugee experience, as currently seen around the US-Mexico border. 'The Lost Children' archive is a…

The Mr B's Podcast (we're so sorry!) has been on a winter break, but we had a good excuse: we were hard at work with our shop expansion. Suitably, we also thought that the first episode of 2019 should focus on things which are kind of the same but not quite. Not that our new space is a replica of the old one...but you get the picture. Join us as we…

A real person? As in a REAL person? The cheek of it! This month we're looking at great (as in bold, irreverent, inventive, insightful...) examples of authors using real historical individuals as overt basis for their characters. We're not talking vaguely inspired by, but names and all, although - as we will see - a name can be deceiving. How much i…