MPR News with Angela Davis: Recent Episodes
Minnesota Public Radio
The warming climate is making people anxious. The planet seems to be hurtling into an uncertain future and not enough is being done to stop it.
A University of Minnesota survey showed that 76 percent of Minnesotans are concerned about climate change, and many of those people are now experiencing climate anxiety — with 30 percent of Generation Z regularly feeling anxious about the state of the climate.
MPR News host Angela Davis will talk with a climate journalist from The Washington Post and an environmental studies professor from Macalester College about the link between climate change and mental health, and how to cope with climate anxiety.
Guests:
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Christie Manning is an associate professor of environmental studies at Macalester College. Her research focuses on how people respond to the climate crisis, with a particular interest in the psychological circumstances that motivate community-level action.
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Allyson Chiu is a reporter covering climate solutions for The Washington Post.
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Early fall is one of the best times to be a cook. The farmers markets are still full of summer crops like tomatoes, green beans, cucumber and sweet corn — and fall favorites like apples, sweet potatoes and squash are just arriving.
For chef LaChelle Cunningham, the harvest sparks her imagination. It’s where healthy and flavorful meals start.
Cunningham has been sharing her culinary creativity with the Twin Cities for more than twenty years, ever since friends and family started raving about the dishes she brought to potlucks inspired by the culinary traditions of Black Americans.
In 2012, she started her catering business, Chelles’ Kitchen. A few years later, she became founding executive chef at Breaking Bread Cafe in North Minneapolis, where she developed many of their signature dishes, including a version of her uncle’s sweet potato pie.
Now Cunningham is expanding her mission to teach and support other food entrepreneurs through her latest venture, Healthy Roots Institute.
MPR News host Angela Davis will talk with Cunningham about improvising with the fall harvest and where food intersects with social justice.
Guests:
- LaChelle Cunningham is the founder of Chelles’ Kitchen catering and the Healthy Roots Institute, which offers education, culinary training and certification, business training and ongoing professional support for food entrepreneurs and businesses. She is also interim director of Frogtown Farm in St. Paul. Find all her classes and events here.
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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Seena Hodges is working to help people understand the effects of racism and injustice in many workplaces today.
Hodges started her business “The Woke Coach” in 2018 and works with businesses that range from small nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies — and clients who are willing to reflect on their biases and work to use their privilege to benefit others.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks to Seena Hodges about her work to create racial equity in the workplace, what it means to be “woke” and the role the arts can play in helping us understand others better.
Guest:
- Seena Hodges is the founder and CEO of “The Woke Coach.” She is an anti-racism training consultant who is focused on creating racial equity. Seena is a Member of the Board of Trustees at the Walker Art Center — formally president of the Board of Trustees — and the first person of color to hold this distinction. She is also the author of a new book titled “From Ally to Accomplice: How to Lead as a Fierce Antiracist.”
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Whether it’s flowing out of your kitchen faucet or along a creek near your campground, we expect our water to be safe.
But sometimes our water can make us sick. Waterborne diseases are a growing problem as Minnesota’s climate warms. And we’re only now beginning to understand the health consequences of “forever chemicals” called PFAS that have seeped into our waterways.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a state epidemiologist about how you can avoid getting sick from swimming in lakes or pools. And a public health professor explains his research into human-made chemicals in the water supply.
Guests:
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Trisha Robinson is an epidemiologist and the supervisor of the Waterborne Disease Unit with the Minnesota Department of Health.
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Matt Simcik is a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. His research focuses on how and why organic pollutants end up in the atmosphere and water.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, violent crimes committed by people under age 18 increased, including auto theft, assaults and robberies.
But too often, courts and the “juvenile justice” system don’t address teenagers’ underlying needs and behavior. Many teens are released only to commit crimes again.
What if there was a better way to address the harm that young people cause themselves and others?
An approach called restorative justice is getting more attention as an alternative response. The public safety bill signed by Gov. Tim Walz last spring includes funding and a new state office to promote restorative justice programs across Minnesota.
Ramsey County began quietly using it with some juvenile cases three years ago, following experiments in Minneapolis, where young people who completed a restorative justice process were half as likely to be rearrested by police a year later as young people who went through the traditional court system.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about how restorative justice works with a researcher and two people who lead restorative justice programs.
Guests:
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Kara Beckman researches restorative justice programs in several Minnesota communities as a senior evaluator in the Healthy Youth Development - Prevention Research Center at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
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Brenda Burnside reviews juvenile cases for diversion to a restorative justice process as a member of the three-person team convened by (Re)Imagining Justice for Youth at the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. She is CEO of Let’s Circle Up and has a background in dispute resolution, special education and restorative community work.
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Sharon Hendrichs is the restorative justice director in Yellow Medicine County, one of the first Minnesota communities to use restorative practices as an alternative to the traditional court system for young people more than 20 years ago.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
A five-day, 40-hour workweek is the norm for many American workers. But why? What if instead of five work days, we had four? It’s an idea that’s gaining traction.
A recent pilot program in the U.K. tested four-day workweeks with fewer hours than the standard 40. The study showed positive results across the board among employees and employers.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke to three experts talk about the possibility and promise of a shorter workweek.
Guests:
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Chris Farrell is senior economics contributor at Marketplace, American Public Media's nationally syndicated public radio business and economic program. He’s also a senior economics contributor at MPR News.
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William P. Jones is a professor of history at the University of Minnesota who studies and writes about organized labor, unions, racial inequality and the history of the Civil Rights movement.
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Krista Lynn Minnotteis a professor of sociology at University of North Dakota and the co-editor in chief of “The Social Science Journal.”
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Eleven people were arrested in St. Paul last month in a human trafficking scheme and four victims/survivors were found.
This isn’t an isolated incident. Human trafficking, including sex trafficking, happens all over Minnesota and affects people of all genders.
At least 5,000 Minnesotans between the ages of 15 to 19 years old have traded sex for something of value, according to data from the 2019 Student Survey.
That number could be higher because it doesn’t count teenagers who weren’t in school on the day of the survey.
More than 20,000 ads are posted online in Minnesota each month to sell victims for sex, according to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, a Division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
MPR News host Angela Davis speaks with Minnesotans who work on sex trafficking prevention and intervention, and survivors.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger of being trafficked, you can contact:
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911 (in Minnesota, you can also text 911.)
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The National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 (or text HELP to 233733)
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Safe Harbor for sexually exploited youth
Guests:
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Caroline Palmer is the director of Safe Harbor with the Minnesota Department of Health. Safe Harbor provides support and services to victims/survivors of human trafficking.
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Shannon Rohne is the West Metro Regional Navigator with The Link. A navigator works to connect victims/survivors of sex trafficking with services they need. The Link is an organization in North Minneapolis that works with youth and families to overcome the impacts of poverty and social injustice.
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Rachel Pearson is the commander of the Minnesota Human Trafficking Investigators Task Force with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
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Christine Stark is an award-winning writer, researcher and survivor. Her second novel called, “Carnival Lights,” won the Northeastern Minnesota Book Award for fiction and was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Awards. Her first novel, “Nickels: A Tale of Dissociation,” was a Lambda Literary Finalist. She’s co-author of, "Garden of Truth: The Prostitution and Trafficking of Native Women in Minnesota." She’s also a research fellow for the Villanova Law’s Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
As school starts up in the next few weeks, more young children will head to the classroom with blurry vision.
Nearsightedness is increasing in kids at an alarming rate. The medical term is myopia, a condition in which people can see close objects clearly, but faraway objects, like a whiteboard across the classroom, are blurry.
The trend toward myopia decades in the making and worldwide, but it increased during the pandemic, which suggests more time on screens and less time outdoors might be part of the problem. With the rise in nearsightedness, there’s been a rush to develop treatments that can slow it down, including eye drops and special contact lenses.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about why today’s kids are growing up with worse vision than their parents and also eye health across our lives.
What common problems threaten our vision as we grow older and what are the treatments and habits that can keep our vision sharp as we age?
Find information about free and low-cost eye care at the National Eye Institute webpage. Low income families can also receive free eye care tests and other assistance from The Vision Project at the Minnesota Eye Foundation.
Guests:
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Dr. Mary Gregory is a board-certified optometrist based in Monticello, Minn., who specializes in children’s vision and learning.
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Dr. Derek Horkey is an ophthalmologist with St. Paul Eye Clinic who does comprehensive eye care for adults. He has additional expertise in treating glaucoma.
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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Over the span of his teaching career, Michael Houston has worked to build a sense of community with his students in the classroom. It’s been his teaching philosophy for nearly two decades.
Houston chairs the math department at Harding High School in St. Paul and has also spent a great deal of his career coaching the school’s football team.
Houston’s guidance and mentorship have struck a chord within the Harding community, so much so that he was a finalist for Minnesota Teacher of the Year in 2017. Although he didn’t win that year, he continued his passion for education and connecting with his students.
Fast forward six years and Houston was once again a finalist for the prestigious award, but this time he won. Houston is now Minnesota Teacher of the Year for 2023, an award handed out by Education Minnesota, an organization made up of 472 unions representing educators in the state.
Houston is the 59th educator and second African American male to receive the award. He hopes to use this moment to improve education across the state.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Houston about his impact, both inside and outside the classroom, and how he plans to use his platform to positively shape students and fellow teachers in Minnesota.
Guest:
- Michael Houston is a teacher and chairs the math department at Harding High School in St. Paul. He is a former football coach and about to start his 20th year of teaching. Houston was named Minnesota’s 2023 Teacher of the Year back in May.
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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
This fall, many young adults who just graduated are starting new jobs and taking their first steps toward financial independence.
But there are daunting new expenses and an overwhelming amount to learn as you start to run your own financial life.
What money habits should you start early? How should you approach looming student loan payments? When retirement is forty years away, should you even think about it now?
Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two financial experts about launching your financial life in your twenties.
Guests
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Michelle Singletary is a nationally syndicated personal finance columnist for the Washington Post. Her award-winning column is called “The Color of Money.” And she’s the author of the book “What To Do With Your Money When Crisis Hits: A Survival Guide.”
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Chris Farrell is senior economics contributor at Minnesota Public Radio. He’s also a senior contributor at Marketplace, American Public Media's nationally syndicated public radio business and economic program.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
In life, friends come and go. Some friendships begin in childhood. Others come to be after we’re adults. Rarely do they span decades or a lifetime.
Trauma expert and therapist Resmaa Menakem and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison have been close friends most of their lives. They met in their 20s, before their careers took off. They even hosted a community radio show together on KMOJ in Minneapolis for a decade.
Each is a successful Minnesotan in his own right and in tough times they have leaned on each other.
MPR News host Angela Davis kicks off a series called “Power Pairs.” It’s about people you might know separately, but when you get them together, you discover a different side of them.
Guests:
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Resmaa Menakem is a longtime therapist in Minnesota and a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in the healing of racialized trauma. He’s the author of his New York Times bestselling book, “My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies.” Earlier this year he released “Monsters in Love: Why Your Partner Sometimes Drives You Crazy ― and What You Can Do About It.”
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Keith Ellison has served as Minnesota’s attorney general since January 2019. He was the lead prosecutor in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and led the team that convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on a charge of second-degree unintentional murder.
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Kidney failure is sometimes called a silent killer, since symptoms aren’t noticeable until they’re life threatening. About one in seven people have chronic kidney disease, or about 15 percent of Americans, and many of them don’t know it.
Treatments for kidney failure have improved — drugs, dialysis and kidney transplants are more successful than they used to be. But more than half of people who start dialysis still die within five years.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a doctor about the need for prevention and early treatment, and a Minnesotan who lived through four kidney transplants.
Guests
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Dr. Naim Issa is a nephrologist who treats people with kidney disease and kidney transplants at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He’s also an associate professor at Mayo Clinic School of Medicine.
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Jennifer Cramer-Miller has lived with kidney disease since her early 20s and has received four kidney transplants, including a kidney from her mother and from a 25-year-old anonymous donor. She serves as board chair of the National Kidney Foundation (serving Minnesota). She’s just out with a new memoir, “Incurable Optimist: Living with Illness and Chronic Hope.”
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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
There’s a shift in marriage trends across the country. A new study found Americans are getting married later in life, often waiting to the age of 40.
Marriage also has become less common. The number of people who’ve never married has doubled since 1960. Fewer people are getting divorced and re-marrying. There’s a change in attitude about rushing to the altar to tie the knot, but does your age determine whether your marriage will truly succeed?
MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about the variety of marriage trends researchers are seeing across the country from delayed marriage, to the decline in divorce rates and involvement in marriage therapy.
Guests
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Helen Fisher, PhD, is a biological anthropologist, a senior research fellow at The Kinsey Institute and chief science advisor to Match.com. Helen studies the human brain through a scanning process to study the neural systems associated with sex drive, romantic love, attachment, rejection, love addiction, long-term partnership happiness and the biological foundations of human personality. Helen has also written six books on the evolution and future of human partnerships.
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Dr. Bill Doherty is a marriage therapist and a professor in the Department of Family Social Science in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. His areas of focus include marriage and divorce.
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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Teachers are an important part of how all of us grow and learn, but many of them are struggling.
A state report suggests that the majority of districts in Minnesota are significantly or very impacted by the teacher shortage and believe the availability of teachers has decreased compared to five years ago. And, nearly a third of new teachers leave teaching within the first five years in the profession.
MPR News host Angela Davis speaks with a current teacher and a former educator and burnout coach about how to better support teachers.
Guests
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Jasman Myers is a special education teacher of third and fourth grade students at Carver Elementary School in Maplewood, Minn. She previously taught five years of secondary instruction at Tartan High in Oakdale, Minn., and four years with St. Paul Public Schools.
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Marnie Pauly is a burnout coach based in Waconia, Minn. She’s a former teacher and principal in Watertown, Minn.
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Andrew Skirka is in his ninth year as an elementary school teacher, starting this fall as a second grade teacher at Oxbow Elementary in the Anoka-Hennepin School District. He’s also a mentor in Education Minnesota’s BRAVE program, which works to reduce the number of early career teachers who leave the profession.
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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Can mind-altering drugs make you feel better? Many people are wondering.
The Minnesota Department of Health started the Psychedelic Medicine Task Force out of the most recent legislative session to look into how hallucinogenic drugs, commonly known as MDMA, magic mushrooms and LSD, are talked about in legislative legal, medical and policy decisions.
Other states, including Texas, Massachusetts and New York have even created centers to look at how mind-altering drugs, under controlled settings, can affect mental health and substance use disorders.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with guests who have studied the use of psychedelics.
Listeners also called to ask questions to the experts about psychedelics and they shared their own experiences using drugs like magic mushrooms, LSD or MDMA and their mental health.
Guests
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Sandeep Nayakis an assistant professor and a medical doctor. He works at the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelics & Consciousness Research.
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Quyen Ngo is the executive director of Hazelden Betty Ford’s Butler Center for Research.
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Ranji Varghese is chief medical officer at Institute for Integrative Therapies in Eden Prairie. He’s also on the Minnesota task force for psychedelic medicine.
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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Minnesota has a lot of grassroots groups getting into the grass and into the roots.
MPR News host Angela Davis and two Minnesotans who are helping others experience the joys of the outdoors and the health benefits.
Spending time in nature can improve mood, emotional health, mental health, attention and memory. And getting outside doesn’t have to look like a week-long portaging trip, either.
A simple walk, sitting in your yard or even just looking outside can potentially have health benefits.
Guests:
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Asha Shoffner is the environmental and outdoor education coordinator for Saint Paul Parks and Recreation. She’s the founder of Fiwygin Outdoors, an acronym for fit in where you get in (pronounced “fusion.”) The group is for people who are underrepresented in outdoor spaces. She’s also the founder of BIPOC Outdoors Twin Cities, a Facebook group of around 2,000 people who host outdoor experiences and workshops for BIPOC people in Minnesota.
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Lynnea Atlas Ingebretson is the diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Girl Scouts River Valleys. She’s on Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources Advisory Committee and Minnesota’s Parks and Trails Legacy Advisory Committee. She spends her free time teaching cross-country skiing and snowboarding, and leading hikes year-round with the Loppet Foundation, Melanin In Motion and Girl Scouts.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
We live in a time where there is a podcast for every topic and every person, including kids.
And the market hasn’t gone untapped — about 29 percent of children ages 6-12 listen to podcasts. With an audience this big, and so eager to tune in, what do you talk to these kids about?
MPR News host Angela Davis talks to the hosts of Brains On! and Forever Ago about the award-winning shows they create for curious kids and curious adults. With the help of a special co-host, the show goes into the Brains On! Universe to hear about the podcaststhat are all about learning, exploring and getting involved.
Guests:
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Krisha Dobey is an 11-year-old kid living in the Twin Cities and our special co-host for the hour. She has also co-hosted Brains On!
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Molly Bloomis the co-creator and host of Brains On! and Smash Boom Best, and helps produce all the other APM Studios podcasts for kids and families.
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Joy Dolois the host of Forever Ago, a family-friendly history podcast. She is an actor, teacher and writer.
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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
As a first-generation college student in São Paulo, Brazil and later as an immigrant to the United States, architect Damaris Hollingsworth knows what it’s like to enter new spaces and wonder if you belong.
That’s why she focuses on making inclusive and welcoming spaces as an architect here in Minnesota. Hollingsworth is the founder and principal architect of the Twin Cities firm Design by Melo at a time when only a quarter of licensed architects in the U.S. are women and two percent identify as Black.
In the last few years, Hollingsworth has won major recognition for her buildings and efforts to support diversity in the design field. She received the 2020 Young Architects Award from the national American Institute of Architects. Last year, the Minnesota Real Estate Journal named her 2022 architect of the year.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with Hollingsworth back in June about her journey to becoming an architect in Minnesota and about the inclusive perspective she brings to design as a woman and an immigrant.
Useful resources
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Design by Melo website
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National Organization of Minority Architects
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Is the world being taken over by robots?
Talk of ChatGPT, machine learning and artificial intelligence has reignited the dystopian question of whether robots will eventually dominate humans.
So, what’s the answer? We asked ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot that generates text based on prompts the user writes.
It wrote, “As of my last update in Sept. 2021, there is no concrete evidence to suggest that robots will take over the world in the near future. The idea of robots taking over the world is often portrayed in science fiction movies and books, but it remains a fictional concept.”
Phew.
Though, it didn’t cite its sources.
When it comes to the economy, many people wonder how they will adapt to AI at work or if AI will take over their job completely.
A study by Goldman Sachs suggests that two-thirds of jobs are currently exposed to some kind of AI automation and that AI could substitute up to one-fourth of current jobs.
MPR News guest host Chris Farrell talks with a Minneapolis business that incorporates AI into its workflow and an AI researcher about the future of work with machine learning technology.
Guests:
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Nancy Lyons is co-founder and CEO of Clockwork, a Minneapolis-based digital agency, and an advocate for making workplace cultures more human-centered. Her agency incorporates AI into its workflow.
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Alok Gupta is the senior associate dean of Faculty, Research and Administration at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. He researches AI and its effect on work.
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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Art comes in many forms, whether it’s music, film, theater performances or the art you display in your home. Creative work can spark emotions and reflect humanity, but what happens when a robot creates it?
MPR News guest host Chris Farrell talks about how artificial intelligence is changing creative fields, how creative people can use this technology and the concerns artists have for the future.
Guests:
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Damien Riehl is a Twin Cities-based lawyer, musician and coder at Vlex, an AI-powered legal research platform. He’s also the co-founder of the All the Music project, which has composed 471 billion melodies.
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Tim Brunelle is a freelance creative consultant and adjunct professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
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Kelly Groehler is the co-founder and CEO of Alice Riot, an art licensing and creative consulting agency in Minneapolis.
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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Minnesota’s new recreational cannabis law goes into effect on Aug. 1, though many of the details and some provisions will take months to roll out.
Effective immediately, people age 21 and older can possess, use and grow cannabis under certain conditions without breaking any Minnesota laws.
But buying pot legally is more complicated — and more than a year away. And, whether someone can smoke weed on a sidewalk or in a city park will depend on where in the state they live and if their city has a ban on public smoking.
- Previously 10 things to know about Minnesota’s new marijuana law
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about what’s allowed, what’s not and what’s next for cannabis with a Minnesota mayor and the state lawmaker behind the cannabis legalization bill.
Guests
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Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, spearheaded the bill legalizing recreational cannabis that takes effect on Aug. 1. He’s also a Hennepin County prosecutor.
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Luke Hellier is the mayor of Lakeville, one of the first cities in Minnesota taking steps to ban smoking or vaping of cannabis in public spaces.
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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Houston White is a fashion designer, a barbershop owner, a coffee shop owner, the creator of an apartment building and those are only a few of the hats he wears.
Houston is an entrepreneur to the core — he’s constantly dreaming up new ideas and working on something exciting.
He recently partnered with Target to sell his clothing line called Houston White X Target.
Listen back to the conversation MPR News host Angela Davis had with Houston White about his many projects and how he uses his creative work to create community.
Guest:
- Houston White is a Minnesota entrepreneur and fashion designer. He’s the founder of Houston White Goods, Houston White Men’s Room, The Get Down Coffee Company, Camdentown Flats and many other ventures.
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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Minnesota got its first chief equity officer this year. In April, Stephanie Burrage stepped into this new role in state government where she’ll advise Gov. Tim Walz and his administration on addressing racial disparities and issues of concern for communities of color in Minnesota.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Burrage about childhood summers working on her grandparents’ Michigan blueberry farm, what she’s been hearing in listening sessions across the state and how she sees newly-passed legislation creating a more level playing field for all Minnesotans.
We’ll also hear from Priscilla Stallings, Minnesota’s chief inclusion officer, who is charged with diversifying the state workforce and bringing equitable policies to recruitment and retention in state government jobs.
Guests:
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Stephanie Burrage is Minnesota’s chief equity officer and oversees the new Office of Equity, Opportunity and Accessibility. She advises Governor Tim Walz and his administration on addressing racial disparities and issues of concern to communities of color in Minnesota. She served previously as deputy commissioner in the Department of Education, interim superintendent at Robbinsdale Area Schools and as a teacher and principal in Minneapolis Public Schools.
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Priscilla Stallings is chief inclusion officer leading the Office of Inclusion housed at Minnesota Management and Budget, the state agency responsible for managing state finances, payroll and human resources. She previously worked for Ramsey County, most recently as assistant director of equity, leadership and organizational development.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Longer summers and a warmer climate can create a breeding ground for ticks and mosquitoes, and help them spread diseases.
Insect-borne illnesses from ticks and mosquitoes pose a real threat to human health. The most common ones are West Nile virus, Lyme disease, Zika virus and even malaria — which was recently discovered to have resurfaced in a few cases last month in Florida and Texas.
Minnesota’s climate once provided a short window of warm months for pests and their illnesses to thrive, but climate change is now having an impact on the state’s environment.
MPR News host Angela Davis continues her series of conversations on the health implications of climate change. Angela and her guests will talk about the diseases that pests can carry, how they can make us sick and how climate change impacts the breeding ground and migration of these insects.
Guests:
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Elizabeth Schiffman is the epidemiologist supervisor for the vector-borne disease unit with the Minnesota Department of Health.
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Dr. Jonathan Patz is a medical doctor in occupational and environmental medicine and the vilas distinguished achievement professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. His research focuses on the environmental health effects of climate change and solutions for global health.
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Kirk Johnson is a vector ecologist with the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District in St. Paul.
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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
How the Minneapolis Police Department responds to domestic violence cases puts survivors at risk and doesn’t hold abusers accountable.
That’s according to a recently published report by Global Rights for Women, a nonprofit organization based in Minneapolis that works toward helping women and girls around the world live free from gender-based violence and attain equal rights.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the author of the report about the gaps in police officer response to domestic violence cases, including that police officers often didn’t attempt to locate abusers if they fled the scene before the officers arrived, leaving the victim vulnerable to future violence.
Also, the head of an anti-violence organization in Duluth joins us to discuss how the “Duluth model” became the most common intervention program for domestic abuse in the United States and what makes it work.
Resources:
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National Domestic Violence Hotline by phone, text or online chat at 1-800-799-7233
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Minnesota Day One has a crisis hotline and shelter services: 1-866-223-1111
Guests:
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Melissa Scaia is the director of international training at Global Rights for Women, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization working to end gender-based violence against women and girls. Global Rights for Women recently put out a report looking at gaps in how the Minneapolis Police Department responds to domestic violence cases.
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Scott Miller is the executive director of Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs in Duluth. The intervention programs use the “Duluth model” to address domestic violence — an approach invented in Duluth, and used all around the United States, where the survivor’s experience is centered.
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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
The job market in Minnesota may be strong, but that doesn’t mean everyone’s job is secure. Allina Health just announced it would lay off 350 workers, 3M is laying off 1,100 people at its Maplewood, Minn. headquarters and Wells Fargo is eliminating more than 350 jobs across the country in its home mortgage division, including several dozen in Minnesota.
Earlier this summer, HyLife pork processing plant in Windom, Minn. closed entirely, putting more than 1,000 people out of work. Meanwhile, many companies are watching their bottom line, leaving thousands more workers wondering if their company or industry may start shedding jobs next.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the job market in Minnesota and what people can do to prepare for and recover from a layoff.
Guests:
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Chris Farrell is senior economics contributor at Marketplace, American Public Media’s nationally syndicated public radio business and economic programs. He’s also the senior economics contributor at Minnesota Public Radio.
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Leah McNamee is a senior program manager at the nonprofit HIRED in the Twin Cities, where she oversees state and federally funded workforce development programs, including the Dislocated Worker Program.
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Shelley Jensen-Decker is a career counselor with Minnesota Job Partners, the career services division of the Minnesota Teamsters Service Bureau.
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Judy Praska was laid off from her job as executive director at a youth sports nonprofit organization and now works for herself as owner of a Fastest Labs franchise in Bloomington, Minn.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a wedding website designer in Colorado who refused to work with same-sex couples because of her religious beliefs against same-sex marriage.
Colorado has an anti-discrimination law that says as long as your business is public, you have to treat everyone equally.
But, the Supreme Court ruled she has a right to free speech under the First Amendment.
This ruling has sparked conversations about the line between the law and discrimination.
MPR News host Angela Davis will talk with a law expert about the significance of this case and a marketing consultant with expertise in marketing to LGBTQ+ customers about what businesses stand to gain or lose if they choose or refuse to advertise to LGBTQ+ people.
Guests:
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Jill Hasday is a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School. She teaches and writes about anti-discrimination law, constitutional law, family law and legal history.
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Michael Abata is a brand marketing consultant based in Minneapolis and he’s experienced in marketing to LGBTQ+ people.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
It’s been a record-setting summer for hot temperatures across the world.
The Twin Cities ended June as the third-hottest on record and Earth recorded the hottest global temperatures in the first week of July.
Last week, excessive heat warnings and advisories blanketed southern and southwestern states from California to Florida — meaning at some point 100 million people were in a life-threatening heat environment.
Excessive heat warnings and advisories
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Many countries in Europe also experienced similar health warnings.
Many cities across the U.S. continue a month-long stretch of daily triple digit temperatures — El Paso, Texas will hit 34 days of over 100 degree temperature and Phoenix, Ariz. is expected to have 20 days of temperatures hitting at least 110 degrees.
A warming climate means heatwaves could be hotter, record-breaking and could last longer than the ones before. And the heat can impact your body through heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with her guests about the dangers of extreme heat, how we can protect ourselves and what the future might hold with our changing climate.
Guests:
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Jeff Goodell is a writer and contributor to Rolling Stone. He’s also the author of, “The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet.”
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Teddie Potter is a clinical professor and the director of Planetary Health at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. She has a PhD in humanities and transformative studies and leader in the Climate Change and Health: An Interprofessional Response Curriculum at the U of M.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
There are miles of underground passageways in southeastern Minnesota that tell a story of the area long before it was a state.
Etched into the limestone of the 400 caves in that region of the state are fossils of creatures from 450 million years ago, when Minnesota was covered by an inland sea.
MPR News host Angela Davis speaks with her guests about why that area of our state has so many caves and what makes these underground worlds wondrous.
The show will feature two caves that are open to the public — Niagara Cave in Harmony, Minn., which has an underground waterfall and a subterranean chapel, and Mystery Cave, the longest cave in the state at 13 miles.
Guests:
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Aaron Bishop is the manager of Niagara Cave in Harmony and his parents own the cave. His educational background is in geology.
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Ian Pringle is an interpretive naturalist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. He leads tours of Mystery Cave near the historic ghost town of Forestville, Minn.
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John Ackerman is the founder of the Minnesota Cave Preserve and the Minnesota Caving Club. Both organizations aim to preserve, study and protect underground wilderness. Ackerman is a lifelong cave explorer and owns 45 caves that cover 36 miles underground. All are in southeastern Minnesota, except for one in Iowa.
Back in 1973, Fred and Earline Estes had a dream of owning their own business and working for themselves. They bought a Hallmark store and slowly expanded it to a small chain of gift shops. Over the years, as their two children got older, they brought them in to work in the stores.
Now, 50 years later, Estes Enterprises, Inc. is thriving. It runs 15 retail shops inside the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the Tampa International Airport. If you’ve flown out of MSP, you might have bought a phone charger or a snack at one of the Estes shops.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the second generation of the family business about their history, managing family and workplace relationships and giving back. One way they do that is through the Fred & Earline Estes Diversity Scholarship at the University of Minnesota.
Guests
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Frederic Estes is president of Estes Enterprises, Inc., a business started by his late parents, Fred and Earline Estes. The family-owned company began with a single Hallmark store in 1973 and now runs 15 retail stores in Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and Tampa International Airport.
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Lisa Estes worked for her parents’ company Estes Enterprises, Inc., running the first store at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and serving as vice-president until leaving the company in 1997. She’s been an investigator with the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office for more than twenty years.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Do you remember when you walked outside in June and the sun was smoldering red in a hazy sky? That was pollution in the air from wildfires burning a thousand miles away in Canada, fires made more fierce by drought and climate warming.
Minnesota has experienced its worst air quality on record in 2023. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued 24 air quality alerts so far this year for days when the air was polluted enough to be considered either unsafe for everyone or unsafe for vulnerable groups. One day, the Twin Cities had the worst air quality in the country.
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Explainer Wildfire smoke in Minnesota: How to best protect your health and your home
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Impacts Air quality alerts curtail summer camps and outdoor activities for kids
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Tips Smoky air keeping you indoors? Try these 20 fun, low-budget Minnesota ideas
The United States is likely to face more drought, heat and smoky skies in the next decades, which means more air pollution. What does that mean for our health?
MPR News Host Angela Davis talks about why air quality is a rising concern and how we can cope with it, as individuals and communities.
Guests
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Dr. Laalitha Surapaneniis an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School and a hospitalist with M Health Fairview. She also co-chairs the Climate Health Action Program in the Department of Medicine and is an associate at U of MN’s Institute on the Environment.
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Jamie Beck Alexander is a climate activist in Duluth and founding director of Drawdown Labs at Project Drawdown — a nonprofit organization that provides resources for climate solutions.
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Matt Taraldsen is a meteorologist and supervisor of the team that issues air quality conditions, alerts and forecasts at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
The Supreme Court’s recent ruling on affirmative action removes race from consideration in the college admissions process.
How will this decision affect students applying to colleges and universities? What will be the impact on growing a more diverse student body on college campuses?
MPR News host Angela Davis talks to a university president and a historian about the court’s ruling on how this change in affirmative action will affect the future of higher education.
Guests:
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Leah Wright Rigueur is a political historian at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md.
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Suzanne M. Rivera is the president of Macalester College in St. Paul. She’s the college’s 17th president and has worked in higher education for more than 25 years.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on:Apple Podcasts,Google Podcasts,Spotify orRSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Millions of Americans are trying to figure out what’s next with their student loan debt, and that includes tens of thousands of Minnesotans.
At the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden’s broad loan forgiveness plan that would have erased up to $10,000 in student loan debt for most borrowers and even more for students from low-income families. By one analysis, the plan would have entirely eliminated student loan debt for more than a quarter of borrowers.
Meanwhile, the long pause on loan payments dating to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic is finally expiring. It had renewed several times and allowed most borrowers to pause repaying their college debt without a penalty.
In Minnesota over the last few years, two third of graduates with a four-year degree took out loans and owed an average of $25,000. Graduates of for profit private colleges were more likely to take out loans — almost 90 percent — and owed an average of $30,000.
- Student loan ruling denies relief to 730,000 Minnesota borrowers
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a financial counselor who advises borrowers with college debt about their options and with a public policy researcher who focuses on the impact of debt on Black borrowers.
Guests
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Kim Miller is a certified financial counselor with LSS Financial Counseling, a division of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. The non-profit organization provides free student loan debt counseling.
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Fenaba Addo is an associate professor of public policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and co-author of “A Dream Defaulted: The Student Loan Crisis Among Black Borrowers.” She researches debt and social mobility, and specifically the causes and impact of student loan debt on Black families.
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The Minnesota state flag is due for a complete makeover.
Critics argue the current flag is too busy with dates, symbols, outdated images, language and many colors.
Critics also say the state flag isn’t memorable and resembles about 20 other state flags — all with a blue background and a state seal.
People have been advocating for a new Minnesota flag for decades, and their efforts were acknowledged earlier this year when the Minnesota Legislature passed a bill to create a commission to reconsider the design of the flag and state seal.
And, the commission will come up with a process for public input, though the details haven’t been worked out.
If all goes as planned, a new state flag will fly next May.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the new state flag, what will make it memorable and how a great flag might have the power to unify communities.
Many people across the state have chimed in throughout the years with a flurry of designs. You can view some of the proposed designs on the Minnesotans for A Better Flag website.
Guests:
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Michael Green is a designer, a vexillologist — a person who studies flags — and the founder of Flags for Good.
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Patina Park is the executive director of Minnesota’s Tribal-State Relations for Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flannagan. Patina is Miniconjou Lakota from Cheyenne River Lakota Oyate.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on:Apple Podcasts,Google Podcasts,Spotify orRSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Minnesota is known as a healthy state. But we’re also a state with a vast gulf between the health of the majority of white residents and residents of color, especially Black, Latino and Indigenous Minnesotans.
Minnesota Health Commissioner Dr. Brooke Cunningham is on a mission to change that.
She was appointed to lead the Minnesota Department of Health in January, replacing Jan Malcolm. She is the first Black woman to hold the position.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Cunningham about her research into health disparities, leading the state agency after the intense years of the COVID-19 pandemic and her vision for improving the health of all Minnesotans.
And we want to hear from you, too. What do you want to ask the Health Commissioner? Do you have questions about what the health department does or thoughts about where it should focus its efforts? Call 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour of the show.
Guests:
- Dr. Brooke Cunningham was appointed commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Health in January, 2023. She was previously assistant commissioner overseeing the new Health Equity Bureau. She earned her medical degree and a doctorate in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania and completed postdoctoral fellowships in general internal medicine and bioethics/health policy at Johns Hopkins University.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
There’s a little Jamaica right here in Minnesota and it’s called Pimento Jamaican Kitchen.
Tomme Beevas started his restaurant 11 years ago with a $99 tent and a backyard grill.
Now he’s an award-winning chef and entrepreneur opening two new locations this summer — one at 354 Wabasha St. in St. Paul and a second Minneapolis location at the new Bde Maka Ska pavilion.
Beevas has found a way to make his restaurants more than a place for food.
Pimento Kitchen’s secret sauce is community spirit.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, tune in for a rebroadcast of MPR News guest host Nina Moini’s conversation with Beevas about how his grandmother inspired his cooking and the vision for his businesses.
Guests:
- Tomme Beevas is an award-winning chef and entrepreneur. He’s the owner of Pimento Jamaican Kitchen and the founder of Pimento Relief Services, an organization that aims to support and uplift communities of color in the Twin Cities.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Minnesota’s lakes and rivers will be bobbing with boats over this Fourth of July holiday. We are the ‘Land of 10,000 Lakes’ and more than 830,000 registered boats, from canoes to fiberglass fishing and speed boats. Only Florida has more registered boats than Minnesota.
So, what is it about getting on the water that holds such allure? Whether you love to paddle or pontoon, getting into a boat lets you float away from worries and get a new perspective on the shoreline and life in general.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with veteran and newbie boaters about why they love to spend time on their favorite lake or river and how to get in on the fun if you’ve never done it before.
And we want to hear from you! What do you love about being on the water in a boat? And how were you first introduced to it? Call 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 on Monday during the 9 a.m. hour of the show.
Guests:
- Laura Yuenis a features columnist at the Star Tribune and a former editor and reporter with MPR News. Her recent column “With a new pontoon boat, I'm embracing a Minnesota Dream,” describes her entry into Minnesota boating culture.
- Darren Envall is an avid boater and the vice president of Midwest Boat & Sport Shows with the National Marine Manufacturers Association. He oversees the Minneapolis Boat Show in January. And during the summer you can find him out on his 2018 Boston Whaler 17’ Montauk.
- Amber Lynum also known as “Sparky” on the water, is a guide and instructor for Paddle Bridge Guide Collective, which leads kayak tours on the Mississippi River. She previously led white water rafting trips on the Kettle River out of the quarry town of Sandstone, Minn.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
If you played high school sports growing up, you know how being a student-athlete can change your life. It teaches you teamwork, responsibility, perseverance and so much more.
MPR News host Angela Davis talked earlier this year with longtime high school boys basketball coach Larry McKenzie. He was the first coach in Minnesota history to win four consecutive basketball state titles.
“The reason that I won was because I gave my kids unconditional love,” he told Davis.
McKenzie retired in 2022, but he is still mentoring. Now, instead of leading high school athletes, he is coaching other coaches.
In this rebroadcast coming up at 9 a.m. on Thursday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with McKenzie about what makes a great coach, teaching young people to lose with grace, why the team is more important than the individual and how he supported his students after George Floyd’s murder and through the pandemic.
Guest:
- Larry McKenzie is a longtime high school boys’ basketball coach. He retired in 2022 from coaching at Minneapolis North High School.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Where’s your mental health at?
If it has been a while since you’ve checked in with yourself or a neighbor, listen to MPR News with Angela Davis and experts on men’s mental health and responding to a mental health crisis.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, we revisit a conversation on the mental health of men and boys. Men are less likely to receive mental health care than women. But they are more likely to die by suicide. Also, learn how to approach anybody in need of mental health support, including what to say and do in a moment of crisis and how to offer compassionate practical help.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
A high-performing charter school with a strict approach is reinventing itself after reassessing its own policies as being racist.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, MPR News with Angela Davis presents an award-winning documentary by producer DJ Cashmere for APM Reports.
Cashmere spent seven years teaching Black and brown students at a Noble Street charter high school in Chicago. At the time, Noble followed a popular model called “no excuses.” Its schools required strict discipline and promised low-income students a better shot at college.
After Cashmere left the classroom to become a journalist, Noble disavowed its own policies, calling them “assimilationist, patriarchal, white supremacist and anti-Black.”
Cashmere, who is white, revisits his old school as it tries to reinvent itself as an anti-racist institution. He also seeks out his former students to ask them how they felt about being on the receiving end of all that education reform, and what they think now about the time they spent in his classroom.
No Excuses is one of two audio documentaries released in 2022 though American Public Media's Educate podcast — stories about education, opportunity and how people learn. It won a national award in June from the Education Writers Association.
This program was created by DJ Cashmere, Catherine Winter, Anna Canny, Alden Loury, Chris Julin, Craig Thorson and Andy Kruse for APM Reports.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
A little under 15 years ago, Donna Harris made history when she was hired to be the president of Minnehaha Academy — a private Christian school for Pre-K-12 students in the Twin Cities.
Harris became the first woman and the first person of color to lead the school in its 100-year-plus history, but her path to lead the Christian academy wasn’t something she planned.
Before, Harris was working as an assistant superintendent in northern California, also with Christian roots, until she started to receive a number of recruitment messages from Minnehaha Academy.
The phone calls were often brushed off, until she decided to visit the Minnesota school and she saw what it was all about. The academy left an impression on her and she says she could not get the academy out of her mind.
Harris has said that she answered “a calling” to lead the academy.
In 2017 one of the most traumatic chapters unfolded in the school's history. A massive explosion killed two beloved staffers and leveled the middle section of the academy's high school.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Thursday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks to Donna Harris about her leadership at Minnehaha Academy, and guiding the school through some of its challenging moments — rebuilding from the 2017 explosion and the COVID-19 pandemic.
And we want to hear from you, too. Have you or your child attended Minnehaha Academy in the last 15 years? Tell us about your experience. And are you a school leader? What, or who, has helped you in the face of challenging times?
Call us during the 9 a.m. hour on Wednesday at 651-227-6000 or 800 242-2828.
Guests:
- Donna Harris is the president of Minnehaha Academy. She holds a doctorate in education.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Medical-related fields can be hard to get into and get through.
They’re even harder if you’re the first person in your family to not only pursue this kind of career but the first one to go to college.
And tough if you didn’t go through K-12 education.
These experiences are true of the guests joining MPR News host Angela Davis at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
They’ve both graduated from school at Mayo in Rochester, Minn. and they’re focusing their careers on racial disparities in medicine and helping marginalized populations.
They will share their personal stories and how they plan to help marginalized populations in their medical careers.
We want to hear from you, too. Are you a recent medical graduate or do you know one? Are you the first in your family to go to medical school? What challenges did you have to overcome?
Call us during the 9 a.m. hour on Wednesday at 651-227-6000 or 800 242-2828.
Guests:
- Minerva Orellana graduated from the Mayo Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences last month with her Ph.D. in biomedical science. Her graduate research focuses on uterine fibroids in women of color and her post-doctoral research will address gynecological cancers in Black women.
- Kenneth Valles graduated in December from Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences with his Ph.D. and he’s in his final year of medical school and will graduate as a doctor of medicine from Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine. His Ph.D. research looked at the challenges, disparities and possible solutions to diseases common among migrant populations, refugees and asylum seekers in Minnesota.
Minneapolis is known for its arts scene, and Theater Latté Da and Hennepin Theatre Trust have helped put it on the map.
Now in its 25th year, Theater Latté Da is known for its adventurous shows.
Past performances include “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Hello, Dolly!” and “La Bohème.”
Hennepin Theatre Trust owns the State, Orpheum and Pantages theaters along Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis.
These theatres put on Broadway shows, concerts and comedy events.
The leaders of Theater Latté Da and Hennepin Theatre Trust are closing the curtains on their positions in the Twin Cities.
Peter Rothstein, the founding artistic director of Theater Latté Da in Minneapolis, will be the next producing artistic director of Asolo Repertory Theatre in Florida. Mark Nerenhausen, the CEO and president of the Hennepin Theatre Trust, is retiring in July.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, MPR News guest host Jacob Aloi speaks with Rothstein and Nerenhausen about their careers, the magic of live performances and what’s next for them.
We want to hear from you, too. Which performances put on by Hennepin Theatre Trust and Theater Latté Da stick out to you? What made them memorable? We want to hear your questions about the Twin Cities theater scene, and the impact the arts can have.
Call us during the 9 a.m. hour of our show on Tuesday at 651-227-6000 or 800 242-2828.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Guests:
- Peter Rothstein is the founding artistic director of Theater Latté Da in Minneapolis. He’s moving to Florida to be the next producing artistic director of Asolo Repertory Theatre, one of the most important cultural forces in the Southeastern United States.
- Mark Nerenhausen is the outgoing CEO and President of the Hennepin Theatre Trust, and only the second individual to hold that title. The organization runs the Orpheum, State and Pantages theaters and The Hennepin event center. Nerenhausen is retiring in July.
How do you help young children understand the harm of racism and the importance of racial equity? How do we help them make sense of what they see and hear about race everyday?
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Thursday, join Early Risers podcast host Dianne Haulcy, president and CEO at The Family Partnership, for a one-hour special broadcast presentation about raising children for a future of racial equity.
Listeners will hear from Rich Lee, a professor of psychology and director of the Asian American Studies Program at the University of Minnesota, and from parents, including a Somali American mother in St. Cloud, Minn. and a Black couple raising a family in Rochester.
Early Risers is a co-production of Minnesota Public Radio and Little Moments Count.
Children and teenagers who have a parent in jail may be more likely to have poor mental health, substance abuse issues and poor academics.
Having a parent incarcerated is the second most common adversity for Minnesota youth, behind living with someone who has a mental illness.
That’s according to the Minnesota Student Survey. It’s an anonymous, statewide survey that happens every three years. It’s been going on since 1989, and current finding show that one in five teenagers in Greater Minnesota has at least one parent who’s incarcerated.
Join MPR News guest host Catharine Richert as she examines efforts in our state aimed at improving the mental health of kids of incarcerated parents, including a pilot program where parents can have video visits with their family. The state also offers parenting education programs inside and outside of jail.
Related reading * 'It's a blessing' For jailed Minnesota parents, in-person visits with children are rare * May At Shakopee prison, women grieve lost children, work toward redemption
And we want to hear from you too. Are you someone who has or had a guardian who was incarcerated? How did that affect your life?
Call us during the 9 a.m. hour on Wednesday at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828.
Guests:
- Dawn Beck is a public health leader with more than 20 years working in local government. She was six years old when her father was arrested and incarcerated in Minnesota. She has advocated for the voices of children and families impacted by incarceration.
- Rebecca Shlafer is an associate professor in the department of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota. She has a Ph.D. in child psychology and a master’s of public health in maternal and child health. Much of her research is about the developmental outcomes of children with parents in prison.
- Jason Schneider is a behavior interventionist and special education teacher with Rochester Public Schools. He helped organize a pilot program called Joining Forces at John Marshall High School for students with at least one incarcerated guardian.
As a first-generation college student in São Paulo, Brazil and later as an immigrant to the United States, architect Damaris Hollingsworth knows what it’s like to enter new spaces and wonder if you belong.
That’s why she focuses on making inclusive and welcoming spaces as an architect here in Minnesota. Hollingsworth is the founder and principal architect of the Twin Cities firm Design by Melo at a time when only a quarter of licensed architects in the U.S. are women and two percent identify as Black.
In the last few years, Hollingsworth has won major recognition for her buildings and efforts to support diversity in the design field. She received the 2020 Young Architects Award from the national American Institute of Architects. Last year, the Minnesota Real Estate Journal named her 2022 architect of the year.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Hollingsworth about her journey to becoming an architect in Minnesota and about the inclusive perspective she brings to design as a woman and an immigrant.
We want to hear from you, too. Is there a building in Minnesota that you love looking at or spending time in? How does the space make you feel and what do you like about it? The phone lines are open. Call us during the 9 a.m. hour of our show on Tuesday at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828.
Guest:
- Damaris Hollingsworth is the founder and principal architect of the firm Design by Melo.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Three years ago, the world watched as Lake Street in Minneapolis sustained significant damage during the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd. Some business owners lost everything.
But with the help of their neighbors, many of those businesses cleaned up, came back and insisted that justice be both a part and a goal of the process.
In Focus: BIPOC businesses’ inclusion in Minnesota's economy
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Monday, tune in to hear an In Focus conversation hosted by MPR News host Angela Davis, recorded live on June 6 in front of a live audience at the Hook and Ladder Theater and Lounge in Minneapolis, where business owners and community leaders talked about what Lake Street's rebirth can teach us about making sure recovery is equitable and accessible to all.
Guests:
- Manny Gonzalez, co-owner of Manny’s Tortas.
- Andy Hestness, executive director of Redesign.
- Yusra Mohamud, business advisor at Lake Street Council.
- Elias Usso, owner of Seward Pharmacy.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Debbie Montgomery is a true trailblazer.
She grew up in the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul. In 1963, when she was just 17 years old, she became the youngest person to serve on the national board of the NAACP, a national organization that works towards equity, political rights and social inclusion of Black people and people of color.
In the mid-1970s, Debbie became the first woman police officer in St. Paul. Later, she was the first Black woman elected to the St. Paul City Council.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Thursday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Debbie Montgomery about her amazing life and career, and what she wants people today to learn from her story.
And we want to hear from you, too. Have you been the “first” in a workplace or organization? Or have you been a trailblazer in some other way? What about Debbie Montgomery’s story inspires you? You can call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour. on Thursday.
Guest:
- Debbie Montgomery is a community leader in St. Paul. She was the first woman police officer in St. Paul, and the first Black woman elected to the St. Paul City Council.
There’s a saying that goes, “lightning doesn't strike the same place twice,” but a woman in Mankato, Minn. says it did for her.
It first struck years ago when Sue Olson was diagnosed with breast cancer and then again in 2021 when she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The Minnesota mother and gardener is one of nearly 17 thousand others in our state who has Parkinson’s, a brain disorder that causes uncontrollable movements.
Minnesota has one of the highest rates of the chronic disease per capita.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis speaks with Sue about her story, from feeling grief to finding gratitude every day. Angela will also talk to Sue’s husband, Dr. Robert Olson, a psychiatrist at the Mankato Clinic, who started researching resilience after witnessing his wife’s emotional strength.
Also, a neurologist who treats and researches Parkinson’s will talk about the latest findings about the disease and how it affects people’s physical and mental health.
We want to hear from you, too. What questions do you have about Parkinson’s? If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with the disease, how have you coped mentally and physically?
Call us during the 9 a.m. hour at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Guests:
- Dr. Paul Tuite is a neurologist with M Health Fairview and a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
- Sue Olson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2021.
- Dr. Robert Olson is a psychiatrist at Mankato Clinic and has studied resilience since his wife, Sue, was diagnosed with breast cancer and then Parkinson’s disease.
Minnesota is now the 23rd state to make it legal for adults to use marijuana recreationally.
That means a lot will change in the next few months and years. Soon it will be legal to grow and smoke marijuana. Cities and counties must allow licensed cannabis shops to open. People with certain marijuana convictions will have them effectively erased.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, MPR News with Angela Davis talks about this shift in attitude towards marijuana and what the new law means for people who use cannabis products and those who do not.
And we want to hear from you, too. Now that cannabis is legal, what questions do you have for our guests about where recreational marijuana will be sold, how it will be regulated and what safeguards are in place to minimize the harm it might cause? Call 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour of the show.
Guests
- Sen. Lindsey Port, DFL-Burnsville is chief author of the bill legalizing cannabis in the Minnesota Senate.
- Beau Kilmer is a senior policy researcher at RAND, a non-partisan think tank headquartered in Santa Monica, California, where he’s also co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center. He’s co-author of the policy primer book, “Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know” and has studied the consequences of cannabis legalization in multiple states and countries.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
You know that feeling when someone you care about asks you to “stay”?
Well, what if that person was your boss at work expressing their appreciation for the quality of the work you do?
After many people left their jobs during the “Great Resignation,” employers are trying to come up with strategies to keep their valued workers. Now, some employers are not only conducting exit interviews as workers leave for better opportunities but some managers are also scheduling stay interviews.
These are conversations focused on worker retention and finding out what employees say they need to be happier, more creative and fulfilled at work.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two guests about what’s happening to improve worker retention.
And we want to hear from you too. Have you thought about leaving your job, but chose to stay? Why? And if you are an employer or manager, what are you doing to keep your valued employees happy?
You can call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet your questions at @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Mary Zellmer-Bruhn is the chair of the Work and Organizations Department at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.
- Chris Farrell is MPR News’ senior economics contributor.
Adair Mosley has bold ideas for how to bring about racial equity in Minnesota.
Mosley is now the CEO at the African American Leadership Forum, a Black-led group formed in 2006 to close the gaps of racial disparities in Minnesota. He previously served as president and CEO at Pillsbury United Communities.
MPR News host Angela Davis talked with Adair Mosley about his work in the community, why humility is central to leadership and what he hopes to do in his new job.
Guest:
- Adair Mosley is CEO of the African American Leadership Forum.
This program originally aired on September 22, 2022.
One in ten Americans have diabetes. But most people who are at high risk for developing the disease — and some people who already have diabetes — don’t even know it. And, there’s a lot of misunderstanding around what it is, what causes it and how best to treat it.
Left unmanaged, all types of diabetes can take a huge toll on a person’s health and lead to serious complications with heart disease, stroke, blindness and kidney failure.
Recent research into treating type 2 diabetes suggests it’s caused by a complex relationship between genetics, our environment, our increasingly sedentary lives and diets high in sugars and carbs and low in nutrition. Being overweight is a major risk factor for type 2, but not always.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two doctors about new developments in lifestyle interventions, medicines and how to better manage type 2 diabetes.
Guests:
- Dr. Iesha A. Galloway-Gilliamis an internal medicine physician and obesity medicine director of the Comprehensive Weight Management Center at Hennepin Healthcare.
- Dr. Rozalina McCoy is an associate professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic and a primary care physician, endocrinologist and medical director of the Mayo Clinic Ambulance Community Paramedic Program.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
In 164 years of Minnesota statehood, no Black woman had ever served in the Minnesota Senate. That changes in a big way starting Jan. 3.
Minnesota voters earlier this month elected three Black women to the state Senate. All three are DFLers. One is the youngest woman ever elected to the state senate.
MPR News host Angela Davis brought all three women together for a candid conversation about what drew them to politics, their goals for the upcoming term and the perspective they’ll bring to the chamber.
Guests:
- Zaynab Mohamed, 25,is senator-elect for Minnesota Senate District 63, which includes parts of south Minneapolis.
- Erin Maye Quade, 36, is senator-elect for Minnesota Senate District 56, which includes Apple Valley and parts of Rosemount and Eagan.
- Clare Oumou Verbeten, 27,is senator-elect for Minnesota Senate District 66, which includes Roseville, Lauderdale, Falcon Heights and parts of St. Paul.
The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Click the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Let’s go back to the night of the election. What was going through your head when you found out you won? Mohamed: It was exciting. It was a roomful of family, close friends and supporters. It was pretty private. We didn’t make it public because I wanted to be intentional about who was in the room. I was right in front of my mom and next to me was my current senator. There were a lot of tears, excitement and screams.
Maye Quade: So Dakota County is notorious for being a little bit later than the rest of the counties in getting their votes in. I have a 6-month-old baby and my wife was also organizing so she was downtown doing the statewide stuff and I was home with the baby. I put her down to bed and and it was just refreshing. I did a really really silent big dance so I did not wake up the baby. There was no screaming, no crying but a lot of happy smiles and a nerdy dance by myself.
Oumou Verbeten: I was at home. I wanted to be with my family and friends. I actually got an amazing surprise, just a few days before the election my sister and her husband and little nephew came in to surprise me and be here for the election, I had no idea they were coming. I just wanted to be with people who really made this happen and got me here. It was refreshing to see the numbers come in, just this sort of relief and excitement, I just felt so thankful to be there with my people.
When you think of the absence of the Black female perspective in the Senate, what was missing? Mohamed: We’ve been missing not making policies on the perspectives and experiences of Black women. There have been 165 years where we have created policies and budgets and our life experiences have never been at the table. We know good policies come from people who understand the experiences and the impacts of the policies we create.
Oumou Verbeten: Just so much. I’ve been asked about this question a lot and I always think about my mom. She is a Black woman and the role model in my life. She had to go through so much to bring me into the world. She immigrated and had to start over, learn a language and build her career. She is at a small cleaning business, so she’s been cleaning throughout the front lines of the pandemic so now my mom gets to have her daughter be one of the first Black women to serve in the Senate.
We all come from strong moms, there’s just so many amazing Black women working every day to survive in this state and I just really want to honor that. I think it’s a really really heavy burden but I am also really proud to be holding it.
Maye Quade: I think when we have conversations about people without people, they become very theoretical conversations. It’s not as personal and it’s not as rooted in experience. We have had a democracy entirely without Black women in the state of Minnesota, and I don’t think you can have a democracy without Black women. We are finally going to be at the table. I think the fact that we have some of the largest racial disparities in the nation is evident of the lack of representation in both chambers.
Ben Hovland | MPR News
Erin Maye Quade (from left), Clare Oumou Verbeten and Zaynab Mohamed sit with MPR News host Angela Davis inside the MPR News studios in St. Paul on Nov. 21.
Did people tell you that you were too young to run? Were there discouraging voices? Mohamed: I cannot tell you how many people told me I was too young to be doing this. They would say, “Are you ready? What do you even know? What does your resume look like?” And often it is people who’ve never lived outside this country or never been through war or whose family never had to immigrate here and help their family. It’s an unspoken rule that you need to wait your turn and that’s just not true.
Oumou Verbeten: I hear it so often and I just don’t care. I know my community, I know they’re ready for this and I had to trust that and bring a message that resonates with folks. I had conversations with people directly so they know what I am fighting for. I will put in the work for my community because I love them so much. It’s not about your age or your race, it’s about your fight and fierceness.
Maye Quade: I’ve had people feel lots of different ways about me running for office and I had a really tough primary. When people say wait your turn I think what they really mean is well, we’ll tell you when it’s your turn, but it’ll never be your turn. You have to own it and that is how I got past the age thing and mom thing.
One in ten Americans have diabetes. But most people who are at high risk for developing the disease (and some people who already have diabetes) don’t even know it. And, there’s a lot of misunderstanding around what it is, what causes it and how best to treat it.
Left unmanaged, diabetes can take a huge toll on a person’s health and lead to serious complications with heart disease, stroke, blindness and kidney failure.
Recent research into treating Type 2 diabetes suggests it’s caused by a complex relationship between genetics, our environment, our increasingly sedentary lives and diets high in sugars and carbs and low in nutrition. Being overweight is a major risk factor, but not always.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two doctors about new developments in lifestyle interventions and medicines and how to better manage diabetes.
And we want to hear from you too. Do you have diabetes, or are you at risk for developing it? How were you diagnosed? What impact has it had on your life? What helps you manage your diabetes and what’s still a challenge?
You can call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet your questions at @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Dr. Iesha A. Galloway-Gilliamis an internal medicine physician and obesity medicine director of the Comprehensive Weight Management Center at Hennepin Healthcare.
- Dr. Rozalina McCoy is an associate professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic and a primary care physician, endocrinologist and medical director of the Mayo Clinic Ambulance Community Paramedic Program.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
The holiday season is here! And it can be an expensive time of year. There are presents to buy, loved ones to visit, big meals to prepare and holiday events to attend.
And this year, holiday travel prices are up. Meanwhile, the cost of just about everything else is high due to inflation.
But the holidays don’t have to be so expensive. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two financial experts about the importance of frugality and how to practice mindful spending.
Guests:
- Chris Farrell is the senior economics contributor for MPR News.
- Jennifer Garbow is an educator with the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Family Development in Duluth.
The holiday season is here! And it can be an expensive time of year. There are presents to buy, loved ones to visit, big meals to prepare and holiday events to attend.
And this year, holiday travel prices are up. Meanwhile, the cost of just about everything else is high due to inflation.
But the holidays don’t have to be so expensive. Coming up at 9 a.m. on Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two financial experts about the importance of frugality and how to practice mindful spending.
And we want to hear from you: What are your creative ideas and tips for saving money during the holidays? How do you practice mindful spending? And what questions do you have for our experts about saving money this holiday season?
Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour. Or you can tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Chris Farrell is the senior economics contributor for MPR News.
- Jennifer Garbow is an educator with the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Family Development in Duluth.
More people in Minnesota are struggling to put food on the table.
Food shelves across the state are seeing more people than last year and compared to the months before the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools also are reporting more students running up school lunch debt.
Many families are having trouble making ends meet, some for the first time and even when adults are working. Inflation has pushed up the cost of groceries by 12 percent compared to a year ago. And, the extra money flowing to households from financial support programs that were in place during the COVID-19 pandemic has now dried up, including the child tax credit, universal free school meals and expanded SNAP benefits.
Allison O’Toole, is the CEO of Second Harvest Heartland, a food bank that distributes food to about 400 food shelves in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Deisy De Leon Esqueda, is the manager of the ECHO Food Shelf in Mankato. Rob Williams is the founder and president of Every Meal, a nonprofit organization based in Roseville which works in schools to distribute food directly to students.
MPR News host Angela Davis led a conversation about rising food insecurity in Minnesota and possible solutions. Here are some highlights:
Do you consider food insecurity to be getting worse both nationally and in Minnesota? Allison O’Toole: Yes. Times are tougher than ever before right now. We know that grocery bills and everyday expenses are off the charts making them really hard, if not impossible, for families to afford. We're hearing about a 40 percent increase in food shelf visits across our state.
Deisy De Leon Esqueda: Yes. We are seeing people that are coming in for the first time. Our numbers have actually increased from 2019 to now from 85 average households per day to 110, 120. Some families are coming in for the first time and then some have not been to the food shelf in years and are now finding themselves in this predicament and coming back.
What do you mean when you say you meet the needs of culturally diverse clients? Deisy De Leon Esqueda: Minnesota is becoming more diverse. Before we used to give food out and I would say, “Oh, you can make a hot dish out of this.” Well, not everybody likes hot dishes and that's not always their comfort food. We're trying to do the best that we can to be able to meet their needs by giving them food that they're actually going to consume. That way people feel excited and accepted.
Allison O’Toole: What also happened through the pandemic is the disparities and who is hungry has been revealed again. We call that the racial hunger divide, where communities of color experience at least twice the rates of food insecurity than their white neighbors. So we are investing millions of dollars in making sure people and communities have the food they know and love and will eat.
What can the state legislature do in terms of policy? Allison O’Toole: We had the privilege of hosting the Governor and Lieutenant Governor on Monday this week at Second Harvest Heartland. So, we talked a lot about this, and the state has a more than $10 billion surplus sitting there. We need to put that to good use for Minnesota families: bolstering the funding for food shelves and food banks, making big bold changes, and investing in things like Universal School meals. Hungry kids cannot learn.
Deysi De Leon Esqueda: During the pandemic, we saw our numbers decrease by almost half and that was due to these programs being established and money going out as just checks. We saw those programs work and now about 39 percent of all our visits made to the Food Shelf are children under the age of 17.
What about these long holiday breaks when kids may be out of school for two weeks? Any change this year compared to years past? Rob Williams: We have seen a huge increase, about a 34 to 35 percent increase in kids in our schools asking for food support. Thanksgiving, winter break and spring break are also significant food gaps, and we've actually had to eliminate our winter break program which typically involves about 120 different locations throughout the state where kids can go and access food, just due to the high demand in our weekend program.
Your stories: Shayne from Plymouth The first phone call was from a disabled veteran that struggled with food insecurity six years ago when he and his family were living in Oklahoma. “There were weeks when we'd have only 20 dollars for food. We basically would be living off of oatmeal, cabbage and potatoes because those are the cheapest things you could buy, and I was too proud to ever go into a food,” he said.
After his family started to receive boxes of food from a food shelter, he educated himself, found a work opportunity in Minnesota, and moved to the state with his entire family. In Minnesota, he found out about the benefits he was entitled to being a disabled veteran. “I think that the state can keep reaching out to people because some are too proud to go into the food shelf. And there's a lot of people entitled to benefits that don't know it,” he said.
Jessica from Fargo The second phone call was from a divorced mom that wanted to share how it was to be hungry. She used to work at a grocery store, but her paychecks were not enough to afford meals for herself and her kids. Within a year of demanding physical work, she ended up weighing 112 pounds. “I would have loved to sit down to dinner with my kids and I couldn't because the smallest food alone was enough,” she said.
Jessica also mentioned that she didn’t have time to go to food shelters or welfare. “I just needed a paycheck that covered my bills,” she said.
Lane from Minneapolis The final phone call was from a woman who recently moved from another state and highlighted the kindness of Minnesotans and how well caseworkers at SNAP and other benefits work compared to other states. “I was surprised by how much I qualified for here because I have been told in other states I did not,” she said.
Lane explained how her now adult kids couldn’t afford their own housing, or college and needed to stay home taking care of their younger siblings. “Not having the money for food or housing makes every bad situation imaginable work,” she said.
If you need a food shelf or want to donate, search for organizations in your region of Minnesota at Hunger Solutions. You can also donate directly to Second Harvest Heartland, ECHO Food Shelf and Every Meal.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
More people in Minnesota are struggling to put food on the table.
Free food shelves across the state are seeing more people seeking groceries than last year and also compared to the months before the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools also are reporting more students running up school lunch debt.
Households can be financially strapped, even when adults are working. Inflation has pushed up the cost of groceries by 12 percent over last year. And, some financial support programs that were in place during the COVID 19 pandemic have now ended, including the child tax credit, universal free school meals and expanded SNAP benefits.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks about rising food insecurity and what can be done about it.
And we want to hear from you. Have you ever had a hard time affording enough food for yourself or your family? What is it like to face this kind of stress and worry? What expenses did you cut to afford food? Where did you find support or help? And do you have ideas for how Minnesota can solve the problem of hunger?
You can call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet your questions at @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Allison O’Toole is the CEO of Second Harvest Heartland, a food bank which distributes food to about 400 food shelves in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
- Deisy De Leon Esqueda is the manager of the ECHO Food Shelf in Mankato.
- Rob Williams is the founder and president of Every Meal, a nonprofit organization based in Roseville which works in schools to distribute food directly to students.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
The number of tech layoffs continues to grow as several U.S. tech companies plan to let go of thousands of workers.
A website tracking job loss in the tech industry, layoffs.fyi, estimates more than 130,000 jobs in the tech sector have been lost so far this year. This includes big familiar tech companies like Amazon, Twitter and Meta, the parent company of Facebook.
For workers, losing your job can trigger shock, anger, sadness and shame. It can impact your identity and sense of self, in addition to your money. So how do you recover from the devastating loss of a job, or a career built over time? MPR News host Angela Davis talks about life after getting laid off.
Assistance for workers who have been laid off in Minnesota is available through the Dislocated Worker Program. People displaced from their work without cause can access support in returning to, or reentering, the workforce.
Guests:
- Avery Bardell is a workforce development manager with Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota.
- Bonnie Gross is the executive vice president of talent services Ovative Group.
- Chris Farrell is senior economics contributor at Marketplace, American Public Media's nationally syndicated public radio business and economic programs. He’s also a senior economics contributor at MPR News.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
The number of tech layoffs continues to grow as several U.S. tech companies plan to let go of thousands of workers.
A website tracking job loss in the tech industry, layoffs.fyi, estimates that more than 120,000 jobs in the tech sector have been lost so far this year. This includes big familiar tech companies like Amazon, Twitter and Meta, the parent company of Facebook.
For workers, losing your job can trigger shock, anger, sadness and shame. It can impact your identity and sense of self. So how do you recover from the devastating loss of a job, or a career built over time? Coming up at 9 a.m. on Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks about life after getting laid off and how to prepare for the loss of a job.
And we want to hear from you. Have you ever been laid off? What did you feel when you lost your job and what helped you get back on your feet? Was there any silver lining to your job loss?
You can call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet your questions at @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Avery Bardell is the workforce development manager with Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota.
- Bonnie Gross is the executive vice president of talent services Ovative Group.
- Chris Farrell is senior economics contributor at Marketplace, American Public Media's nationally syndicated public radio business and economic programs. He’s also a senior economics contributor at MPR News.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Bill George is a former Medtronic CEO known for a leadership style that puts compassion above the bottom line.
His wife Penny George is a breast cancer survivor who became an advocate for holistic healthcare for everyone.
Together, they’ve been a powerful force for local philanthropy. Since 1994, the George Family Foundation has given away $75 million, mostly in the areas of health and wellbeing and leadership development.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with this Twin Cities power couple about the struggles and losses that shaped their values and how their values are shaping their philanthropy.
Guests:
- Bill George is the former CEO of Medtronic and the author of several bestselling business books, including “True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership.” He’s a senior fellow at the Harvard Business School, where he teaches classes on leadership. He is also the co-chair of the George Family Foundation.
- Penny George is a retired psychologist, an advocate for holistic healthcare and co-chair of the George Family Foundation.
Bill George is a former Medtronic CEO known for a leadership style that puts compassion above the bottom line.
His wife Penny George is a breast cancer survivor who became an advocate for holistic healthcare for everyone.
Together, they’ve been a powerful force for local philanthropy. Since 1994, the George Family Foundation has given away $75 million, mostly in the areas of health and wellbeing and leadership development.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with this Twin Cities power couple about the experiences that shaped their values, and how their values are shaping their philanthropy.
We want to hear from you too. How do your values influence where you give your money? In what ways are you giving back to your community with your money or your time? You can call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet your questions at @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Bill George is the former CEO of Medtronic and the author of several bestselling business books, including “True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership.” He’s a senior fellow at the Harvard Business School, where he teaches classes on leadership. He is also the co-chair of the George Family Foundation.
- Penny George is a retired psychologist, an advocate for holistic healthcare and co-chair of the George Family Foundation.
Many adults in their 20s and 30s are feeling anxious and lost. They find themselves experiencing what is being called a “quarterlife crisis.”
After living through a multiyear pandemic, financial hardship and years of polarizing politics, this generation is struggling to gain independence. The setbacks have left many “quarterlifers” scrambling to jumpstart their lives.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about how people in their 20s and 30s can get through this pivotal time in life, and what going through a quarterlife crisis can teach us about ourselves through this period of intense soul searching.
Guests:
- Satya Doyle Byock is a psychotherapist and the author of “Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood,” which was published July 2022.
- Sierra Grandy is a volunteer with National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Minnesota.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS. Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Imagine being the speech writer for the most powerful person in the world. That was Cody Keenan’s job. He was the chief speech writer for former President Barack Obama during some of the most pivotal times in modern American history.
Keenan looks back on those days in his new book, “Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America.” It takes readers behind the scenes of the Obama administration during ten days in June 2015, after a horrific shooting at a Black church in Charleston, South Carolina.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Keenan about his new book.
Guest:
- Cody Keenanwas the Senior Advisor and Director of Speechwriting for former President Barack Obama. He is the author of the new book “Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America”
Martha Graham, the great American modern dancer, once said dance is “the hidden language of the soul.” Dance communicates emotions without words and is a form of artistic expression that spans all cultures.
Coutesy Ragamala Dance Company
Aparna Ramaswamy is principal dancer and executive artistic director of Ragamala Dance Company
We’re lucky here in the Twin Cities to have a vibrant professional dance scene. Heading into the holiday season many families will go see a production of the Nutcracker and be dazzled by the soaring leaps and twirls of ballet.
But ballet is only one of the diverse styles you can see on local stages: There’s modern, contemporary, tap, jazz, hip hop, and even professional ballroom; there are exciting new choreographers pulling from the traditions of Latin, Irish and Indian dance.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two Twin Cities dance artists who use the language of dance to communicate deep emotions and build bridges between people and communities.
Guests:
Threads Dance Project
Karen Charles
- Aparna Ramaswamyis executive artistic director, choreographer and principal dancer with Ragamala Dance Company, which was founded in 1992 by her mother Ranee Ramaswamy.
- Karen Charles is founder and executive artistic director of Threads Dance Project, a contemporary dance company whose mission is to examine, expose and celebrate the threads that connect us.
Have you had trouble sleeping this week?
On Sunday, we reset our clocks from Daylight Saving Time, messing with our sleep schedules. And on Tuesday, you may have been up late watching election results. Or maybe you are just someone who has trouble with sleep in general!
Sleep is linked to both your physical and mental health. But a recent Ball State University study found that about 35 percent of working Americans report that they don’t get adequate sleep — we need at least seven hours.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two sleep experts about why rest is so important for your body and your mind, and how to deal with common sleep problems.
Guests:
- Dr. Michael Howellis a neurologist who specializes in sleep disorders. He is the program director of the Clinical Sleep Medicine Fellowship at Hennepin Healthcare and the University of Minnesota, as well as the medical director of the Fairview Sleep Center-Edina.
- Dr. Virend Somers is a Mayo Clinic cardiologist with expertise in the metabolic and cardiovascular aspects of sleep.
The weeks leading up to Election Day have been full of campaign attack ads and an onslaught of divisive political messages. Many people have been left feeling anxious and increasingly mistrustful of people who hold different political views.
So, how do we talk to each other now that the voting is over? How do we begin to heal from polarization?
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about how divisive and contested elections stress communities and how we can reconnect through fearless and curious conversations with people with different political views.
Guests:
- Joi Lewis is a coach, consultant and community healer. “Dr. Joi,” as she’s known to many, is founder of The Healing Justice Foundation and CEO of Joi Unlimited. She’s also the author of the book “Healing: The Act of Radical Self-Care.”
- Mónica Guzmán is a senior fellow for public practice at Braver Angels, a nonprofit working to depolarize America. She’s also author of the book “I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times.”
- Ryan Pérez is a political campaign manager for COPAL, a grassroots statewide organization whose mission is to unite Latinos in Minnesota.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Editors Note: The original broadcast of this show incorrectly stated Arizona’s deadline to vote. The reference has been removed from the podcast.
Are you in need of a laugh right now?
The last few years, it might feel like there is not a lot to joke about. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, and partisan politics are just a few of the many stressors in our lives.
But Minnesota comedians are finding humor and making audiences laugh even in the most difficult times.
The Twin Cities are known for a vibrant comedy scene. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with three local comedians about how they keep finding ways to make people laugh.
Plus, we talk with MPR News digital editor Kaila White about what you need to know as you get ready to vote on Election Day. You can find more of MPR’s election coverage here.
Guests:
- Maggie Farisis a stand-up comedian.
- Ali Sultan is a stand-up comedian.
- Shyloh Blake is a stand-up comedian.
To listen to the full discussion you can use the audio player above. You can find more conversations from MPR News with Angela Davis by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Working 40 hours a week is a staple in American work culture.
It’s been this way since 1940 when the Fair Labor Standards Act was amended, establishing a 40-hour workweek. This was a win for the labor movement in the United States, which had fought for years against long hours and exploitation after the start of the Industrial Revolution.
It’s been over 80 years since workers have seen a reduction in the mandatory hours they contribute to their workplace, and not much progress has been made in shaving down the 9-to-5 work schedule.
Still, the pandemic forced us to rethink our work-life balance, and a handful of companies are experimenting with a four-day, 32-hour workweek. Research looking at more than 70 companies in the U.K. found no loss in productivity with employees working 20 percent fewer hours.
Would a shorter workweek improve workers’ quality of life? Could companies cut employee’s hours without changing wages? Coming up Monday at 9 a.m., MPR News host Angela Davis talks about work-life balance and the challenges behind the four-day workweek.
And we want to hear from you. Are you already working a Monday through Thursday, 32-hour workweek? Has it affected your productivity? Would you be interested in working a shorter workweek? If you are an employer, how do you feel about a four-day workweek?
You can call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet your questions at @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- John Crea is the author of “Recalibrating the Labor Market.”
- Tyler Schipper is an economist and an associate professor at the University of St. Thomas.
- Chris Farrell is senior economics contributor at Marketplace, American Public Media's nationally syndicated public radio business and economic programs. He’s also a senior economics contributor at MPR News.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
It’s no secret that exercise is good for you.
Daily physical activity can fight depression, boost immunity, and might even improve the effectiveness of vaccines.
Despite the benefits, a recent study found that only a quarter of Americans get the exercise they need to stay healthy. The Centers for Disease Control recommends a total of 150 minutes of exercise per week, the equivalent of about 20 minutes a day or a half-hour workout five days a week.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the research into how regular physical activity benefits your body and mental wellness, why so many of us don’t exercise and tips to help you start.
And we want to hear from you. What do you do for physical activity? How does regular exercise benefit you and what motivates you to move or workout? You can call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet your questions at @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Gretchen Reynolds is a health columnist who writes about exercise science and fitness for The Washington Post. She is the author of “The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer.”
- Jennifer Holbein is an assistant professor of kinesiology at St. Olaf College.
- Steve Boring is the fitness director at the Rochester Athletic Club in Rochester.
Penumbra Theatre has explored and uplifted the experiences of Black America on its stage for almost half a century.
The small theater was founded in 1976 by Lou Bellamy in the heart of St. Paul’s historic Black neighborhood, but its reach is national. It nurtured the careers of Black artists, including playwright August Wilson, whose play “Fences” was turned into a movie starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis.
Now, Penumbra’s president Sarah Bellamy is expanding on her father’s legacy. Last year the theater received a $5-million grant from MacKenzie Scott to build on its work promoting racial equality.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with members of Penumbra’s leadership team about what it means to become a center for racial healing and what racial healing looks like for themselves and the community.
Guests:
- Sarah Bellamy is president of Penumbra Theatre
- Camille Cyprian is director of wellness at Penumbra Theatre
- Christine Smith is equity director at Penumbra Theatre
Halloween is here! For some of us, that means fun costumes and cute children trick-or-treating. For others, it means leaning into the scary side of the season with our favorite horror movies and scary stories.
People have been telling stories about monsters, ghosts and the supernatural for centuries. But why does horror appeal to us? What do we get out of scary stories? And what can they teach us about ourselves and our society?
To answer those questions, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a folklore professor.
Guests:
- Jeffrey Tolbertis an assistant Professor of American Studies and Folklore at Penn State Harrisburg. He teaches courses on American horror movies and monsters, aliens and the supernatural.
Earlier this year, Minnesota legalized beverages, candy and other edibles that contain small amounts of hemp-derived THC, the chemical that causes the “high” associated with smoking marijuana. That prompted many to wonder what the future of legalized marijuana is in Minnesota.
A September poll by MPR News, The Star Tribune and KARE11 found that a narrow majority of Minnesotans support legalizing recreational marijuana. And DFL Gov. Tim Walz, who is running for reelection, has said he supports legalization.
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational use of marijuana. And last month, President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of people with federal convictions for simple marijuana possession, signaling a shift in federal response to cannabis.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the future of marijuana legalization in Minnesota, what Minnesota can learn from other states and how the issue of marijuana legalization is influencing politics.
Guests:
- Dasheeda Dawson is the founding chair of the Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition and the founding director of Cannabis NYC.
- Beau Kilmer is the McCauley Chair in Drug Policy Innovation and director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center in Santa Monica, California.
- David Gang is the director of the Washington State University Center for Cannabis Policy and Outreach, in Pullman, Washington.
In the two years since George Floyd’s murder and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Minnesota has seen a rise in both violent crime and renewed calls for police reform.
Last year, violent crimes such like aggravated assault and murder were up 22 percent in Minnesota compared to 2020, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Voters are carrying their public safety concerns to the ballot box.
Public safety is ranked the second-most-important issue for Minnesota voters as the November election approaches, after the economy and jobs. In the election for governor, public safety is the top issue for one in four Minnesotans, according to a September poll by MPR News, the Star Tribune and KARE 11.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about public safety and the role it might play as Minnesotans cast their ballots on Election Day.
Guests:
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James Densleyis a professor and chair of the department of criminal justice at the Brooklyn Park campus of Metropolitan State University. He has done research on criminal networks, violence, and policing and is the author of the book, “The Violence Project: How to Stop A Mass Shooting Epidemic.”
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Matthew Horace is the Chief Security Officer at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. He has 28 years of law enforcement experience on the federal and local level, including time at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. He’s also the author of the book “The Black And The Blue: A Cop Reveals The Crimes, Racism and Injustice in America’s Law Enforcement.”
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
For almost half a century, abortion access was considered a right guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.
That changed this summer when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Suddenly the right to an abortion was no longer nationally protected and the question of whether and how abortion would be legal became something for individual states to determine.
Now, abortion is illegal in some states and legal in others, including in Minnesota where legal abortion is protected by the state constitution.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a legal historian and a political scientist about how abortion has emerged as one of the top issues for many voters and how it might influence the midterm election.
And we want to hear from you. Is abortion access a top issue for you as you think about how to vote? Why or why not? Do you want to see abortion rights expanded or restricted by government? And, is abortion access influencing your decision about who to vote for in the coming election? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Mary Ziegler is a professor of law at the University of California, Davis and the author of several books about social movements surrounding reproduction and abortion rights, including “Dollars for Life: The Anti-Abortion Movement and the Fall of the Republican Establishment.”
- Kathryn Pearson is an associate professor of political science at the University of Minnesota.
As Election Day approaches, the economy is a leading concern for voters across the nation.
Recent polls show that inflation, an unstable stock market and a looming recession are now playing a role in the direction voters are leaning, giving Republicans an edge among independent voters.
But can politicians on the 2022 ballot actually impact the economy if elected? Can they bring down prices at the grocery store or the gas pump? MPR News host Angela Davis talks about how the economic conditions historically influence elections, how inflation might influence votes this year and what impact politicians actually have on prices, jobs, wages and more.
Guests:
- Jessica Washington is a senior reporter for The Root covering race and gender justice.
- David Schultz is a professor of political science, legal studies and environmental studies at Hamline University and a law professor at the University of Minnesota.
- Chris Farrell is senior economics contributor at Marketplace, American Public Media's nationally syndicated public radio business and economic programs. He’s also a senior economics contributor at MPR News.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Getting people who’ve never voted presents a special kind of challenge.
Young people who recently reached voting age don’t have the habit and may not understand the system or their potential impact. Marginalized communities may feel disenfranchised. Whatever the obstacles, it’s important to know how to overcome them.
Angela Davis hosts a special In Focus discussion that took place live at MPR News on Wednesday, Oct. 19, with a panel of voting experts.
The mental health treatment field is disproportionately white. What barriers do people of color face while trying to find care? And how important is it to find a provider that can identify with a person’s race, culture and experiences?
MPR News shares “Searching for Providers of Color,” a broadcast special from Call to Mind, American Public Media’s initiative to foster conversations about mental health.
Through in-depth interviews and reported stories, this hour-long program examines the barriers to diversify the mental health treatment field and how communities of color are getting the care they need.
Call to Mind specials are hosted by Kimberly Adams, senior correspondent for APM’s Marketplace who covers mental health, politics, business and the economy from Washington, D.C.
Guests:
- Christine Catiponis vice president of the Asian American Psychological Association and a psychologist at Stanford University Counseling and Psychological Services.
- James Rodriguezis senior director of clinical initiatives at New York University’s McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research.
- Ruth Shim is a professor in cultural psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and an associate dean at University of California, Davis School of Medicine.
- Cheryl D. Wills is a member of the Presidential Task Force on Structural Racism, of the American Psychiatric Association. She’s also vice chair of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity and chief of child psychiatry at The MetroHealth System in Cleveland and associate professor of psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University.
Have you asked yourself recently “How Am I Doing?”
That’s the question Minneapolis therapist Corey Yeager wants you to ask. It’s the title of his new book, which is structured as a series of 40 questions to ask yourself. It’s meant to get readers thinking about their life, the way they cope with stress and anxiety and how to better take care of themselves during difficult times.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Yeager about his new book, working with athletes as a sports psychotherapist and the current state of mental health.
Guest:
- Corey Yeager is a licensed marriage and family therapist. He is currently a psychotherapist for the Detroit Pistons. He previously worked as a therapist in Minneapolis Public Schools. He has a PhD in family social science.
The country is still struggling with stubbornly high inflation. Among the groups most affected are older and retired Americans who rely on fixed incomes, including Social Security.
But relief is on the way. Americans who receive Social Security payments are slated to receive an 8.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment starting January 2023, the biggest increase in benefits since 1981. The boost is tied to inflation and will average about $140 per month. MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the payment increase and the history and future of Social Security.
For a better understanding of Social Security, Medicare and other benefits you can contact Minnesota’s Senior LinkAge Line at (800) 333-2433. If you’re nearing retirement or want to see what your payment benefits will look like, AARP can assist in helping you calculate your estimated Social Security benefits. “Get What’s Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security” by Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Philip Moeller and Paul Solman is another source that can help you navigate Social Security.
Guests:
- Chris Farrell is senior economics contributor at Marketplace, American Public Media's nationally syndicated public radio business and economic programs. He’s also a senior economics contributor at MPR News.
- Joe Gaugler is a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota where he holds the Robert L. Kane Endowed Chair in Long-Term Care & Aging and directs the Center for Healthy Aging and Innovation.
- Cathy McLeer is the state director for AARP Minnesota.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Meet some of the people who bring you the news at Minnesota Public Radio. Behind the coverage at MPR News is a whole staff of newscasters, hosts, producers, reporters and photojournalists. They bring stories to life on the radio and on MPR’s website and social media pages.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with four new faces in the MPR News newsroom about their paths into journalism, how they do their work and details behind some of their recent stories.
Guests:
- Michelle Wileyis a senior reporter covering health at MPR News. She was previously a reporter and senior editor at KQED in San Francisco.
Courtesy of Michelle Wiley
MPR News health reporter Michelle Wiley. * Kerem Yücel is a senior visual journalist at MPR News. He’s been featured in Time magazine, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Washington Post, BBC.com, CNN.com and Agence France-Presse. * Ben Hovland is a visual journalist for MPR News. His photo and video reporting has appeared in The Washington Post, Agence France-Presse, BBC and Sahan Journal. * Jacob Aloiis an arts reporter for MPR News. He was previously involved in the performing arts, podcasting and community radio in the Twin Cities.
Ben Hovland | MPR News
MPR News photojournalist Ben Hovland poses for a selfie with host Angela Davis and senior visual journalist Kerem Yücel during a recording session in St. Paul on Oct. 5.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Just in time for settling into your couch this fall, streaming services are rolling out new shows and resurrecting old favorites.
The hard part about your endless options is deciding what to watch.
You can start with the biggest winners out of this year’s Emmys — “Succession” and “Ted Lasso” dominated drama and comedy. Or try something less known, like “Abbott Elementary,” an ABC mockumentary sitcom TV series written by Quinta Brunson about the lives of teachers working in a predominantly Black elementary school in Philadelphia. The show won three Emmys for its first season.
MPR News host Angela Davis talked with the Star Tribune columnist Neal Justin about a competitive streaming world and what shows are worth a weekend binge.
Are you ready to stream? Here’s a list of popular shows, movies and documentaries the two think are worth your time.
- “Ramy” on Hulu.
- “Reservation Dogs” on Hulu.
- “Let the Right One In” on Showtime.
- “Interview with the Vampire” on AMC+.
- “Halloween Ends” in theaters and on Peacock on October 14.
- “I Love You, You Hate Me” on Peacock.
Guest:
- Neal Justinis a columnist and reporter for the Star Tribune and covers the entertainment world, primarily TV and radio.
Minnesota has produced many music legends, from Prince to The Replacements to Bob Dylan. Who's next?
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with three rising stars on the Twin Cities music scene: hip-hop artist Nur-D; singer, songwriter and dancer XINA; and indie-pop musician Miloe.
Guests:
- Nur-Dis a Minneapolis-based hip-hop artist.
- XINA is a Minneapolis-based musician, songwriter and dancer.
- Miloeis an indie-pop musician based in Minneapolis.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
The job market is slowing, inflation is still with us and interest rates are going up on credit cards, car loans and home mortgages. And now, we’re about to get slammed with colder weather and high home heating bills.
There’s a lot of discouraging financial news that we can’t control. But we can take steps to minimize the impact on our household budgets.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two financial experts about how to manage inflation, debt and more in the months to come.
April Ryan is the longest-serving Black female White House correspondent. She has a 25-year tenure spanning five presidential administrations. She regularly appears on CNN as a political analyst, and is the Washington D.C Bureau Chief on TheGrio.
For many Americans, though, April Ryan became a household name after former President Donald Trump singled her out and verbally harassed her while she covered his administration.
This month, Ryan has a new book out, called "Black Women Will Save The World: An Anthem." In the book, Ryan details the many ways Black women have shaped American history, and the profound price they often pay for their leadership.
Ryan will be in St. Paul Oct. 9 to emcee the annual Opus & Olives Gala, a fundraiser for the Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library.
MPR News host Angela Davis speaks with April Ryan about her new book, and her unique perspective on American politics from the White House.
Guest:
April Ryan is a White House correspondent, CNN analyst and author. Her latest book “Black Women Will Save The World” is out on Oct. 18.
Last year, a record number of Minnesotans died from alcohol-related causes. That means deaths from alcohol overdose and poisoning, liver disease and other organ damage caused by alcohol. The numbers don’t even include deaths from drunk driving.
In total, 1,162 Minnesotans died alcohol-related deaths in 2021. That is more than the number of homicides and suicides combined.
Many states have seen an increase in deaths connected to alcohol use, and alcohol-related deaths have actually been on the rise all across the country from the past two decades.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two longtime alcohol and addiction treatment specialists about addressing excessive alcohol use and how to reduce drinking.
If you or someone you know are struggling with excessive drinking, here are some resources: * Turning Point, (612) 520-4004 * Hazelden Betty Ford, (866) 628-0549 * SAMHSA National Helpline, (800) 662-4357 * Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator
Guests:
- Dr. Joseph Lee is the president and CEO of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.
- Peter Hayden is the founder of Turning Point, a north Minneapolis clinic that provides culturally specific substance use disorder treatment. He has a Ph.D. in co-occurring disorders.
To listen to the full discussion you can use the audio player above. You can find more conversations from MPR News with Angela Davis by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Students across the board in Minnesota fell behind in math, reading and other school subjects during distance learning in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only about 51 percent of Minnesota children hit reading benchmarks in 2022, a drop of eight percentage points since just prior to the pandemic in 2019. Fewer than 46 percent of students met or exceeded math standards, a drop of 10 percentage points. Students of color and students from low-income families fell even farther behind.
Educators are grappling with how to address this “learning loss,” or as some call it, “teaching loss.” One promising approach might be intensive tutoring, either in small groups or one-on-one.
A tutor can give a steady dose of encouragement for kids who are disheartened. Tutors who are trained or who use a proven curriculum can also meet students where they are and focus on exactly the skills that need improvement — whether that’s phonics or fractions.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the directors of two free Minnesota tutoring programs about what they do and how tutoring can make a difference.
Guests:
- Brooke Rivers is executive director of Reading Partners Twin Cities, the regional branches of the national nonprofit literacy organization. The local program places reading tutors in eight metro schools.
- Lesa Clarkson is an associate professor of mathematics education in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. She’s also the founder of the math tutoring program Prepare2Nspire.
Many people scaled back vacations over the last couple years and now they’re making up for lost opportunities. With COVID-19 travel restrictions down, people are seizing this moment to take their dream vacations.
Even with inflation in the mix, vacation spending over the summer was expected to be up about 90 percent over the pre-pandemic summer of 2019. On average, Americans were projected to spend over $2,600 per person on summer trips. And, the trips weren’t all domestic. Travel to Europe was up 600 percent over last year, according to insurance company Allianz Partners.
Taking a big trip takes time, money and thorough planning. While everyone has their own idea of what a dream vacation looks like, there are many reasons why now might be time to take that trip you’ve been thinking about for years.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a travel writer and a travel consultant about what it means to take that dream vacation. They’ll talk about ways to plan an excursion across the world, the rejuvenating feeling you gain from your experience and what's changed with travel in the last few years.
And we want to hear from you. Is there a dream vacation on your “bucket list”? How did you plan your dream vacation, and why did you pick it? And if you’re holding off on traveling, tell us why. Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Elaine Glusac is the Frugal Traveler columnist for The New York Times.
- Jenny Mikkelson is the sales director at Travel Beyond in Wayzata.
Many people scaled back vacations over the last couple years and now they’re making up for lost opportunities. With COVID-19 travel restrictions down, people are seizing this moment to take their dream vacations.
Even with inflation in the mix, vacation spending over the summer was expected to be up about 90 percent over the pre-pandemic summer of 2019. On average, Americans were projected to spend over $2,600 per person on summer trips. And, the trips weren’t all domestic. Travel to Europe was up 600 percent over last year, according to insurance company Allianz Partners.
Taking a big trip takes time, money and thorough planning. While everyone has their own idea of what a dream vacation looks like, there are many reasons why now might be time to take that trip you’ve been thinking about for years.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a travel writer and a travel consultant about what it means to take that dream vacation. They’ll talk about ways to plan an excursion across the world, the rejuvenating feeling you gain from your experience and what's changed with travel in the last few years.
And we want to hear from you. Is there a dream vacation on your “bucket list”? How did you plan your dream vacation, and why did you pick it? And if you’re holding off on traveling, tell us why. Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Elaine Glusac is the Frugal Traveler columnist for The New York Times.
- Jenny Mikkelson is the sales director at Travel Beyond in Wayzata.
Chef and restaurateur Justin Sutherland has been taking the cooking world by storm.
Maybe you’ve tried the ribs at Handsome Hog, his pork-centric restaurant in St. Paul. He also operates Obachan Noodles and Chicken, Chickpea Hummus Bar, The Gnome, Woodfire Cantina and Gray Duck Tavern.
This fall, he came out with a new cookbook that returns to his roots, “Northern Soul: Southern-Inspired Home Cooking from a Northern Kitchen.”
And, he’s been making a splash on television. He won an “Iron Chef America” battle, was in the top six chefs on Bravo’s “Top Chef” season 16 and currently hosts “Fast Foodies” on TruTV.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Sutherland about learning to cook from his grandmother, his restaurants and projects and his recovery from a boating accident this summer.
Guest:
- Justin Sutherland is a chef, restaurant group owner and TV cooking star.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Chef and restaurateur Justin Sutherland has been taking the cooking world by storm.
Maybe you’ve tried the ribs at Handsome Hog, his pork-centric restaurant in St. Paul. He also operates Obachan Noodles and Chicken, Chickpea Hummus Bar, The Gnome, Woodfire Cantina and Gray Duck Tavern.
This fall, he came out with a new cookbook that returns to his roots, “Northern Soul: Southern-Inspired Home Cooking from a Northern Kitchen.”
And, he’s been making a splash on television. He won an “Iron Chef America” battle, was in the top six chefs on Bravo’s “Top Chef” season 16 and currently hosts “Fast Foodies” on TruTV.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Sutherland about learning to cook from his grandmother, his restaurants and projects and his recovery from a boating accident this summer.
Guest:
- Justin Sutherland is a chef, restaurant group owner and TV cooking star.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Do you miss out on conversations because you’re hard of hearing? Or maybe a friend or a family member is asking you to repeat what you say a lot more often.
Hearing loss affects millions of people, especially as we age. And, the vast majority of people who are hard of hearing don’t seek help or ever try a hearing aid.
Last month, the Food and Drug Administration decided to allow hearing aids to be sold over the counter without an exam or prescription.
MPR News host Angela Davis talked with an audiologist and a researcher about how the ruling could make hearing aids less expensive and more accessible. Plus, changes in hearing aid technology and how to make the most of them.
Guests:
- Peggy Nelson is a professor in the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences at the University of Minnesota. She teaches audiology courses and has researched how to make hearing aids more effective in daily settings.
- Rachel Allgor is an audiologist with Audiology Concepts, a clinic in Edina. She also uses a hearing aid.
The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Click the audio player above to listen to their conversation.
Angela Davis: Good morning. I'm Angela Davis. And you're listening to MPR news. So glad you could join us today. Now, do you ever miss out on conversations because you're hard of hearing. Or maybe you've noticed that a friend or family member is asking you to repeat what you say a lot more often. Hearing loss affects millions of people, especially as we all age and most people who are hard of hearing don't seek help or ever even try a hearing aid. Now last month, the Food and Drug Administration decided to allow hearing aids to be sold over the counter without an exam or prescription. So today I'm gonna talk about all of this I'm talking with an audiologist and a researcher about how this might make hearing aids less expensive and a lot more accessible. We'll also talk about changes in hearing aid technology and how to make the most of them. And we're taking your phone calls, I want to know your stories. Do you know someone? Is there someone close to you who has hearing loss? How does that impact your life? Do you have hearing loss and how difficult or easy has it been for you to get a hearing aid? I have two guests today. Peggy Nelson is joining us. Peggy is a professor of audiology in the Department of Speech Language Hearing Sciences at the University of Minnesota. She teaches audiology courses and has researched how people can make hearing aids more effective in daily settings. Hello there, Peggy.
Peggy Nelson: Good morning.
Angela Davis: And here in the studio with me I have Rachel Allgor. Rachel is an audiologist with Audiology Concepts, which is a clinic in Edina. She has a four year clinical doctorate in audiology. And she also uses a hearing aid. Rachel, so glad you could come in and join us today.
Rachel Allgor: Yes, thank you.
Angela Davis: So Peggy, I'll start with you. Let's hear more about this decision from the FDA. Where did this push for over the counter hearing aids even come from?
Peggy Nelson: Yeah, great question. We have been talking about trying to improve the accessibility of hearing devices for people for a decade at least and probably longer than that. And it came with a congressional push from Congress, people who said we really need this for our constituents. There are too many people who are living with hearing loss, who have no hearing aids and we'd like to make that more accessible to them. So for the past several years, we've been working on methods, technology platforms, things that might show promise for direct to consumer hearing aids.
Angela Davis: So I have this number from the FDA, nearly 30 million Americans suffer from hearing loss, but only about 20 percent of these people use hearing aids. So what's getting in the way? What's stopping people from choosing to get help?
Peggy Nelson: Yeah, isn't that remarkable? I would say there are several things and that we don't know all of the things that are stopping people. Certainly cost is an issue. Absolutely, people cite that probably most frequently. But we also know that people in countries where they're socialized medicine, where there's really no cost to them, there's still only 30 or 40 percent of the people who are getting them and using them. So there are clearly more barriers than just cost. It might be stigma, it might be just the frustration of trying to get to services that are far from where they live, might be some trepidation about the technology, not being willing to try something brand new and being a little fearful of that. And perhaps people themselves don't always realize how much they need it. It's often their friends and their families that are realizing that and they're the ones that are encouraging people to seek help.
Angela Davis: And I want to talk more about that. Like how do you have that conversation with someone who you think maybe you should go get their hearing checked, but getting back to the stigma. I think when we think of hearing loss and maybe hearing aids, we think of the an older man with this large thing, you know hanging out of his ear. But hearing aids have really changed.
Peggy Nelson: Definitely, we need to change that image and we hope that that's happening. I'm in my 60s, more of us in our 60s have been using earbuds and hearing devices of various kinds for quite a while now. So we're really hoping that that stigma that hearing loss equals aging will change quickly, and that people will be willing to give these new devices a try.
Angela Davis: Now, Rachel, you are an audiologist who works in a clinic. So how do you think the availability of over-the-counter hearing aids will affect you and your colleagues and people who may be curious and really need them?
Rachel Allgor: Yeah, that's great question. So there's a lot of back and forth right now in the audiology community about how this is going to impact just the profession itself. And honestly, I view it as a good thing. There is an average of seven years before somebody comes into a clinic after realizing that they're having hearing difficulty. What I would hope that this direct-to-consumer OTC bill is doing is lessening that timeframe. And so instead of seven, maybe we can shift it down to three even, so that people can start getting help sooner, in an easier way.
Angela Davis: Rachel, you use a hearing aid and tell me how that came about. Because this started as a child for you.
Rachel Allgor: It did. So I had a benign tumor in my middle ear when I was born. And it was removed when I was a toddler. I started wearing a hearing aid in second grade. And I was the hearing aid user that wore it much more off than on.
Angela Davis: And why was it off?
Rachel Allgor: I didn't want to be different, right? Especially as a kid going through things. I didn't want to feel different, I didn't want to look different. And so it wasn't until I was halfway through my audiology degree that I finally started wearing one full time.
Angela Davis: You have hearing loss in one ear, but not the other. Is that typical or common?
Rachel Allgor: Not as common as somebody who has hearing loss in both ears.
Angela Davis: What do you think it's going to do? Because, you know, sometimes I think you hear over the counter you somehow think the quality is not gonna be as good.
Rachel Allgor: That is yet to be determined because it is so new. I haven't had a chance to play around with it myself, either. But from what I've read online, from folks who do have hearing loss and have worn hearing aids for a while, and have tried them out, they're pretty favorable.
Angela Davis: And Peggy, with over the counter hearing aids, people will need to adjust the hearing aids themselves, you've done some research into that, do you think people are gonna be able to do this on their own?
Peggy Nelson: That's right, it's going to be determined. Just as Rachel just said, there are some things we're going to find out over the months to come. Our research that we've done in the lab, we've had, you know, at least 100 people come and try things that suggest people can do it. And they are successful, they can tweak and they can follow the instructions, and they can find settings that they like, and then they use those and they go back to the same settings and they're happy with those, they're pleased with them. But we recognize these are volunteers who are willing to come in for a study and try them. So it's not representative of the people who will buy them from a big box store or online, and may struggle with opening the box and trying to adjust to them. I think that's a big area where we as professionals in the field can try to help people do this. Hearing aids take some adjustment, you don't just put them on and instantaneously things are really different. It does take some time, it takes some effort, it takes some tweaking. And we want to encourage people to really try them, keep trying them, keep tweaking them until they find something they're satisfied with.
Angela Davis: And what about the proper fit because ears are all shaped differently in different sizes, what are the options with that?
Peggy Nelson: Again, we'll see but probably they will have tips that go down into the ear with a tube that goes up to behind the air. And those tips will probably come in small and medium and large sizes so that they could be exchanged. And actually quite a few users right now are using those kinds of tips. But I think that will be one barrier, will they fit well, will they feel okay. You can imagine trying to wear something all day that just doesn't feel good.
Angela Davis: And one more question before we take some phone calls which were already starting to get in. Are they even in stores yet? Because I think they're supposed to come out in mid-October are they out yet?
Peggy Nelson: The White House announcement yesterday said next month, so we'll find out in October exactly when they'll be available.
Angela Davis: Let’s go to Brooklyn Park, where one of our listeners Marika is on the line. Good morning. Marika, what did you want to tell us about hearing aids?
Marika: Good morning, Angela and guests. This conversation is so timely. It really resonates with me because I've been struggling with my mother for the last five years to get hearing aids. And it came to a head this summer finally, because I've been telling her and talking about it with our family. But it took her grandchildren standing right next to her, asking to talk with her, to realize that she really had that significant hearing loss. So she went in and she got some hearing aids. She did a trial period and literally came out of that saying it was like the world woke up. She's like, I could literally hear a skateboarder going down the street next to me, and I didn't know how much I was missing. So we're really excited about the steps she's taking. And then she got the pair. And it's the technology that is challenging her it's the app and the phone and learning how to navigate that, she's in her early 80s very independent. And so like we are still navigating that question about should we go into the store? Because I know she's going to need more support. Or do we invest in the higher product and also the connection with the audiologist because of that hesitancy and the adjusting needs. So it's been a journey, and I'm really just curious, how will people get supported if they do the over the counter method?
Angela Davis: And you mentioned the app and the phone. Okay. Marika, great phone call. Lots of things to talk about with that. But Rachel, I'll start with you as an as an audiologist, as someone who wears a hearing aid, what do you hear in her story, Marika finally got her mom to get her hearing tested?
Rachel Allgor: First, very exciting that we were able to do the hearing test, able to do the trial. And so you can actually hear what you've been missing. Because you don't know what you don't know. And that's the biggest thing when people come into the clinic is oh, I didn't realize I was missing so much. And so that story is familiar to me.
Angela Davis: And describe to me what is it like? How would you describe it to someone to be hard of hearing? What is it like to experience the world that may be different than other people?
Rachel Allgor: Yeah, it is so person dependent for that. It's not quite like glasses, where things just seem a little fuzzy. It could be that your hearing is fuzzy, but it also could be a distortion that's occurring too. And so a common hearing loss is going to be a high frequency one. When you have a high frequency loss, it's the clarity that we're missing. So then it feels like people are mumbling, all day, every day.
Angela Davis: And then also, sometimes sounds that you don't want to hear are really loud and distracting. I've heard that folks will get hearing aids, but then they're hearing everything.
Rachel Allgor: Yes, because the brain is suddenly getting reintroduced to sound. And so it has to learn how to filter things out again, which is hard, particularly if it's been years since you've heard it all.
Angela Davis: Marika described her mother talking to her grandchildren. And then that's finally what got her to go in to get tested. Is that a story you often hear with as an audiologist helping people through these tasks and getting fitted that while I was because I realized I was missing out on a lot.
Rachel Allgor: Yes, that's a very common thing for me to hear. Either they're with their friends or they’re with their family. And they realize they're just smiling and nodding through the conversation because they don't catch everything or they're scared or embarrassed to say something wrong.
Angela Davis: And Marika, a final question she had was about the technology. She's got her 80-something-year-old mom on the phone using an app. What support is available to help people actually be able to be independent as they have, you know, higher quality hearing aids?
Rachel Allgor: Apps have been so helpful to hearing aids for most users, because it gives you a visual of what's going on. So you can see the volume, instead of just pushing a button on the hearing aid. It gives the control back to the patient. And so they can see what's happening, they can know exactly what's happening. Or it can be in the hands of the caregiver so that they can see what's going on too.
Angela Davis: Peggy, as you heard Marika’s excellent phone call covered a lot of issues. What stands out to you about the story she shared about her mother getting a hearing aid and having the world opened up to her again?
Peggy Nelson: Yeah, I was cheering. And I completely agree with Rachel and on what she said yes, it's finally realizing what you're missing. It happens so slowly and so gradually, especially as we age. A friend who recently got hearing aids described getting them as not really hearing better, he said, but hearing fully. He had, you know, better quality of hearing and realizing things that he was missing. I recognize the app can be a challenge. But I recommend that Marika go back to the audiologist and work to simplify things. And perhaps they can use the app just for one or two things and get things set pretty standard on the hearing aid so she doesn't have to use it all the time. Some people on the other hand will want to change things all the time, they'll want to be playing with the app and adjusting this and that. But I think somewhat, it pretty much stays the same, just one or two times when they turn it up or down. And I think that the audiologist can help her simplify that.
Angela Davis: But before we get to more of our listeners, let's talk about money. Peggy, how much does a hearing aid cost? If you're going through, you know, if you're not buying it over the counter. Does insurance cover it? Like what what are we talking about in terms of money here?
Peggy Nelson: Yeah, hearing aids, a pair of hearing aids will cost thousands. There's a wide range that might be perhaps $2,000 for a pair or perhaps up to $8,000 for a pair, perhaps Rachel's got other information about that. We're hoping that over the counter devices will be priced at under $1,000 a pair. What we've seen in startups and glimpses have been at $800 for a pair or something like that. I imagine, again, there will be a wide range.
Angela Davis: And one more question. How about hearing loss in isolation. Does hearing loss make people more isolated? And I know that this is something you looked at in the pandemic.
Peggy Nelson: Hearing loss gradually causes more and more isolation, and especially among older people. And so that cuts them off from their family and friends and activities. And it cuts them off from things that would otherwise keep them healthy, they actually become more lonely, more sedentary more, you know, all the things that are bad for us about getting older, the hearing loss can exacerbate that. So we want hearing devices to help people stay active, involved, engaged playing bridge, whatever they love to do. We want the hearing devices to be used in that way, and that keeps us all healthier. And you asked about the pandemic and we did study the isolation of people in the pandemic with hearing loss. And I would say there were two polar different outcomes. Number one, everyone wearing masks is just terrible for a person with hearing loss. It's really frustrating to go out in public. They cannot read lips and it’s muffled even more. It's still a problem because we're still masking in quite a few places. But that was just a horrendous response from people with hearing loss of how difficult that was. On the positive side, many people with hearing loss learn to use remote communications, telemedicine, tele-friendship tele-families that had clear signals and even live captioning. And so there are some people with hearing loss who are loathing to go back to in person appointments for things because they were so successful doing that with technology that provided a really nice audio signal and live captioning.
Angela Davis: In Stillwater, Nancy is on the phone. Hi, Nancy, thank you for waiting. What did you want to share with us?
Nancy: Hi, thanks for having me. I just wanted to comment on that statistic that you mentioned a minute ago about on average people waiting up to seven years, which is kind of an astounding one. And I think I might have been in that category. When in my mid- to late-50s, I realized I had hearing loss. But I think I thought well, I'm at the young end of this or I don't want to wear hearing aids. But what convinced me was my brother-in-law's ear, nose and throat surgeon and he mentioned the point that I think you amplified earlier on your show, the longer you wait, the less effective the hearing aids are going to be that they'll still collect the same information. But by then, when you wait, your brain has already remapped its way around the noise trying to figure it out. And they become less effective over time. And, you know, that really nudged me to get in. And then I, you know, only to learn when I got in that my hearing loss was exactly in the range of my daughter's voice. And she also sings, does vocal performance. And I thought, wow, if I missed that band of time and and missed that going on in the future, I would have missed out on a lot.
Angela Davis: Thank you, Nancy, for calling in and sharing that. Rachel, what can you tell us about the longer you wait and how your brain kind of adjust to not being able to hear very well?
Rachel Allgor: And so with that, as your brain learns to hear without the full spectrum, it's missing those components. And so those pathways within your brain actually get reprioritized to something else where it is more use, because it's not getting that information anymore. So when you start wearing hearing aids, we're not only having to get used to sound again, but it's actually the brain trying to bring that pathway back to what its original purpose was.
Angela Davis: So as an audiologist, walk me through this process. How do you start a hearing test? What happens?
Rachel Allgor: First thing we do is a case history. So I'm asking a bunch of questions about you and your life and your lifestyle, trying to figure out right off the bat, okay, what is going on for you? How is this possibly impacting you? Next thing we do is a full blown hearing test. And so I want to see how you're hearing at different pitches. I want to see how you're doing with understanding words, I want to see how you're doing in background noise. Because that's telling me all the information I need to know to make a good recommendation for you.
Angela Davis: So what does that look like you put headphones on me or you put me in a room and you play sounds?
Rachel Allgor: Typically, you're in some kind of sound-treated room. So it feels soundproof and then headphones go on, you're given a button, or you can just raise your hand. So whenever you hear those beeps, kind of like when you were a kid in elementary school, you'd have a hearing test, very similar premise there for that part of the testing.
Angela Davis: And then and then what happens?
Rachel Allgor: And then we switch to doing word tests. Because we know that beeps aren't our everyday life. We want to know how you're hearing with words, especially words that you don't know what's coming. Because that gives us a really good snapshot of how you do in just understanding when you're not expecting.
Angela Davis: When we talk about aging, what do we know about that?
Rachel Allgor: I don't know if Peggy knows a little bit more about this, but we've seen the average age start to drop, especially in kids using earbuds where we're damaging hearing a lot earlier than what we used to see.
Angela Davis: Peggy, a researcher, what do we know about aging and hearing loss?
Peggy Nelson: It tends to start mostly in our 60s. And then there's a greater proportion in our 70s and 80s. By the time we're in our 80s, probably half of us have hearing loss. But you realize that means half don't have very much hearing loss, too. So we've got some, some pretty healthy older people as well. You can inherit from your parents and grandparents, your susceptibility to noise and other things like that, too. So we should look carefully at our parents and grandparents. Interestingly, we have fewer people that are working in exceptionally noisy environments, like mines, or old time printing presses. But we still have millions of workers in the United States who are working in noisy environments. And so we try to help protect their hearing as well, because they could stay in those careers for 30 or 40 years and that could be very damaging.
Angela Davis: As we look to the future, we now have toddlers, children, elementary school, high school kids, wearing earbuds, headphones, listening to music, podcasts, many hours of the day, you have concerns about what these young folks will be confronted with when they're in their 60s and 70s.
Peggy Nelson: We’re keeping our eye on it. They're not listening at levels that we would call 'breaking the law' as according to the occupational safety and health. For example, they're not listening like a miner or printer would be listening to levels, but we're keeping our eyes on what the effect is. If they're listening for hours per day, for example, at fairly high levels. There's no data yet that say it's a terrible thing. But we'll just have to wait and see because they're not older yet.
Rachel Allgor: What I'm usually telling patients is a good rule of thumb is 60 percent or less of the volume on your phone, you're pretty much in the clear. If you're doing 60 percent or more, do it under 60 minutes a day.
Angela Davis: In St. Paul, let's talk to Wendy, what's going on with you?
Wendy: Hi, I'm calling about one of those genetic hearing issues. It's called auditory processing disorder. I and my son had been diagnosed with this. And it was not easy. In my son, it perhaps delayed his social-emotional learning. And I look back over my life. And it's created social difficulties for me as well, but I've navigated them. My brains adjusted. Hearing aids are a treatment for this, but you have to go to a specialist. I've tried a regular audiologist and they could not adjust the levels correctly. So this is not just for old people. It's also hearing loss in different ways. The genetic kind can affect any age and if someone uses hearing aids, but does not find they're successful, I would urge them to go see a specialist and consider auditory processing disorder.
Angela Davis: All right. Thank you, Wendy. And this is a new term for me. What is this? Can it affect all ages?
Rachel Allgor: Yeah, it can. And it often shows up when you're younger, because you're struggling in school. So what an auditory processing disorder is, is when the information going into your brain is healthy. And so your ears don't show any form of hearing loss oftentimes. But once it gets into your brain, information scrambles a bit. And so you're not understanding things clearly. Even though on a hearing test, you should be.
Angela Davis: Is this rare?
Rachel Allgor: It’s probably more common than we realize, but testing just isn't prevalent, like what Wendy said.
Angela Davis: So what does a hearing aid do?
Rachel Allgor: A hearing aid helps amplify just a bit in the regions that are most helpful, especially for speech. And so I am not somebody who specializes in it. I believe there are two, maybe three providers in the cities or the state.
Angela Davis: Peggy, anything you could add about auditory processing disorder?
Peggy Nelson: I hear the frustration, it's really tricky. And the other thing that a person might try is a system that has a remote microphone where the microphone could be near the teacher or the speaker, and then feed that to the hearing aids directly so that the person with auditory processing is not hearing everything at once. But they can hear more selectively the voice that they need to attend to at the time, but it's a tricky situation very difficult to handle.
Angela Davis: Let's go to Onamia and talk with Robert. Hi, Robert, thank you for calling in. And what did you want to tell us?
Robert: Good morning. Hi. Yeah, I want to say a few things about over-the-counter hearing aids. I wear two hearing aids. And I got my hearing aids through Medicare at no cost. And about two years ago, the hearing aid for my left ear was damaged and couldn't be repaired. And I was told by my audiologist that I wouldn't be able to replace it until 2024. So it's been, you know, pretty difficult, not having that hearing aid in my left ear. And a few weeks ago, I was in Walmart, and I saw over-the-counter, FDA-approved hearing aid. So I bought one. And I thought I would try it out. And it has a built in battery, it looks almost exactly like my other hearing aid. It's a little bit more bulky, it's a little bit more unsightly, I think, because of the tube that runs between the ear plug and amplifier.
Angela Davis: So Robert, you have one of the new over-the-counter hearing aids, and how was it like getting it set up. Because you're just going on directions from the box? Right?
Robert: Well, it was really easy. I mean, all I had to do was recharge the battery and put it into my ear. And they do give you like, the one I have has three different ends on the earplugs. But the one that was already in it fits my ear pretty good. And there's just two volume controls on it. One is for a higher volume, and then there's one for lower volume. And so you press the button hear, a little beep. And when you hit to get up to two beeps, that means you've reached the maximum of the volume. So I don't know, it works really good.
Angela Davis: Can I ask you how much did it cost? How much did you pay for the this over-the-counter?
Robert: Yeah, I paid $90 for it. And so I think for that price, it was a good deal. I see it mainly as something that's temporary.
Angela Davis: Because the quality is not the same as the one that you had that you went to a professional to get?
Robert: It's pretty close to that quality. But I'd rather have, you know, one from my audiologist rather than the over-the-counter. I mean, I think the over-the-counter works really good. Of course, I can't recommend them for other people.
Angela Davis: Thank you, Robert. What are you hearing in his story, Rachel?
Rachel Allgor: Yeah, I mean, that one sounds like it's a very simple one. I'm not sure if there was an app component involved, which is involved in all of the newer OTC products. And so there's a difference between a personal sound amplification product.
Angela Davis: So there's, there's a range of products that will come out over-the-counter. So some will be much more advanced and some will be more simple. Okay, and Peggy, anything you can add to what he just shared about having over-the-counter ones? It sounds like a more simple one.
Peggy Nelson: Yeah. And that was good clarification. I think there will be confusion about the product. So again, we'll wait and see. And I would guess also this was a personal sound amplifying product, but I love his approach of using this temporarily. And that might be hopefully with access, people will try them and even if they only use them for months or a year or short time, whatever it might be. And it brings them into realizing the potential, they think that will be a great thing.
Angela Davis: Let's take up more phone calls. In Topeka, Kansas, we have Kate on the phone calling in. Good morning, Kate.
Kate: Good morning, Angela. I've known for four years I've lost hearing, I noticed mostly in group settings. And because my mother has dementia that may be related to hearing loss. And my husband's always been a bit of a mumbler. So it's led to a lot of irritability at our house when I make him stand in front of me while he talks. But the audiologist confirmed I have about 20-25% percent loss in both ears, especially in the high tones, as you've described. I lost that clarity, and it feels like everyone's mumbling. But they warned me, both of them, that it probably would only do a little bit of good if I got a hearing aid because the mumbling would just be amplified, as well as all the other noises around me. I'm wondering if these new FDA OTCs will be better, that they will be able to sort out the sound and help me in a way. I'm willing to gamble like Robert’s $90. I wasn’t willing to gamble $8,000.
Angela Davis: So Kate, since you know, she doesn't want a hearing aid that’s just gonna make the mumbling louder. She wants something that's going to bring her clarity. So what do we know about the technology that the ability to do that with the over the counter, the ones and the ones that you would get from a professional audiologist?
Rachel Allgor: Well, I expect that that clarity piece will be similar. The audiologist fit will have more capabilities, like streaming and directionality, directional microphones that will focus hearing a little better. But I want to clarify one thing about the mumbling and maybe the advice that you got there. If I mumble, the hearing aid will help with that, because it will sharpen the pitches, it will sharpen up the high pitches. And so while it won't be lots louder, and I think that advice that you got was good, it's not going to be night and day, it's not going to be a switch that flips for you and everything's going to be so much better than it was yesterday. But as Rachel said, if you give it time to help your brain relearn those high pitched sounds, within some time, you'll realize things are clearer. It's not just mumbled anymore, it will be clear, it will not knock out all the background noise. The background noise will still be there. It'll still be audible, but the speech itself should become clearer over time.
Angela Davis: Rachel, what can you tell us about how a hearing aid can help bring clarity, if someone sounds like they're mumbling?
Rachel Allgor: Yeah. And I think it's tricky, especially with this caller. Because she doesn't have a lot of hearing loss. So really low pitches to really high pitches, but she mentioned that she has more of a high pitched hearing loss. And this is where I can see the over-the-counters coming into play a lot more. Because it gives the control in the patient's hand or in the person's hand where you can tweak things and see how it sounds for you. Because I can do that as best I can in the office. But I know my office is not your life. And so that's where I can see some benefit of control. It's a lot less cost and more control in your environments.
Angela Davis: I've read that people who are experiencing hearing loss, that often it's children's and women's voices that they have the hardest time hearing. That's the first indicator. Is that true?
Rachel Allgor: It is to an extent. Because there's typically higher pitched voices. And so more of their speech sounds are found in those higher frequencies. I think men often project more and kind of have been taught that as a gender.
Angela Davis: Let's take another phone call in Minneapolis. Chris is on the phone. Hi, Chris. What did you want to share with us about hearing loss and hearing aids?
Chris: Hey, thank you. I'm so grateful to be listening to this excellent conversation on my Bluetooth hearing aids, which I've worn for about two years. Unfortunately, I waited decades to get them. You know, I acquired verbal proficiency pretty early in life, read widely from a young age and also unfortunately, I began abusing my hearing at a fairly young age to and I damaged profoundly the upper range of my hearing in both ears. One thing that I've read and have certainly experienced for myself is the amount of bandwidth it requires for me to process other people's speech. And because of my verbal proficiency, I'm able to sort of reconstruct what people are saying, because people do tend to speak in, you know, fairly standard syntax. So I can kind of assemble a second or two after something is spoken what's being said. I had a boss who, ironically, once said to me, interpolation is 90 percent of meaning. And he had a way of sort of reversing syntax, because he was very well read. And so he could be creative with how he put sentences together. He also had Parkinson's disease. And he spoke very softly, I didn't have hearing aids at that time. And I really struggled to make out what he was saying to me. And the amount of bandwidth that we devote to that really detracts from the ability to just let the sound come into our ears, and allow our cognitive powers to process meaning rather than to try and tease out constructions. And I just think it's really important for people to see hear and to know that.
Peggy Nelson: This is something that we're studying. It's not only about repeating and understanding the words and sentences, (it’s) about how much effort it takes how much fatigue over the course of the day, how much they are not able to concentrate on two things at once, because of the effort that it takes to, to listen, and we really hope and anticipate that getting hearing devices will reduce that effort, it is something that we're studying as well. So that really hit a lot of notes for me that, that perhaps one of the things we could notice about getting used to new hearing aids is that a person can relax more, can be not quite so tired at the end of the day, to relax and enjoy a conversation, you know, the give and take of a conversation, rather than really having to focus and struggle. I really appreciate that viewpoint.
Angela Davis: Let's take a phone call in Minneapolis, Mary's on the phone. Mary, thank you for waiting, what do you want to ask or share with our guests about hearing loss?
Mary: Hi, I've heard so many positive things today. And I just want to ask for some advice for the obstinate 80 year old who does not feel like it's something he wants to undertake. He did undertake it once and he didn't like it. But he's become increasingly isolated from friends and family who don't want to sit around with the TV blaring in the background, trying to have a conversation with him. Or even having a phone conversation with him. It's just become so difficult to to kind of continue the relationship when he's not a fully part of a conversation.
Angela Davis: Mary, I think you speak for a lot of people with this question. And so Peggy and Rachel helped me with this conversation. One of the words to use how do we have a conversation with someone who is reluctant to get help or doesn't believe that they need help? Peggy, could you begin?
Peggy Nelson: Well, one thing I do is ask people directly what's important to you? What do you miss? Or what would you like to see and then try to figure out how that could be achieved, perhaps especially in this case, where he tried something before and didn't like it. And that does happen. Perhaps we need to go to simpler technology. There are some, you know, boxes, to pocket talkers and things that might be a simpler solution that would allow him to have the high-priority conversations that he wants. And then to to say clearly, we miss talking to you. What can we do to try to make it easier?
Angela Davis: Rachel, anything you'd add?
Rachel Allgor: Yeah, I think it can be really powerful coming from family and friends saying, we miss talking with you. We miss engaging with you. So hitting on that emotional side of things, or like we see that you're not paying attention during dinner anymore, and you missed this part of the conversation, or you missed your grandkids trying to get your attention because they need you. Like we need our grandparents.
Angela Davis: And then there's some words that we should not use with people who have hearing loss I have in my notes here. You want to talk about people saying, ‘nevermind.’ How does that come into conversation?
Rachel Allgor: That comes from asking for repetitions. So as a person with hearing loss, there have been many times in my life where I've had to ask for repetitions. And if people say "oh, nevermind" it is one of the most hurtful things for me to hear that from somebody else. Because I'm genuinely interested. And I want to know what's being said, I just can't figure it out. Even with my hearing aid, I still have trouble sometimes. And so understanding that it's my responsibility to repeat back what I did here, so that you only have to fill in the blanks. And then sometimes it's your responsibility, instead of saying the same thing, rephrase it.
Angela Davis: Could you describe what your hearing aid looks like?
Rachel Allgor: So I have one that is a speaker in my ear canal itself. And then it has a wire going and sitting to like the main component of the hearing aid behind my ear. I have long hair, it is hidden more. But I have a purple, white and sparkly ear mold also. Because I love having something fun with my hearing aid.
Angela Davis: And Peggy in the last 30 seconds here, where do people go? What do you advise folks do or go to get more information about the over the counter hearing aids and hearing aids that you will get from going to see an audiologist, what are some resources?
Peggy Nelson: There are some good resources online from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. We also have the Minnesota Commission for the Deaf, Deafblind, and Hard of Hearing that have resources available, and the Minnesota Academy of Audiology will and the university clinics will as well. We're all discovering this together. And we want to work with people to figure out what's best for them and sometimes it will be stick with your audiologist and go back but sometimes, like some of your callers, they want to give it a try. So let's help them give it a try.
Do you miss out on conversations because you’re hard of hearing? Or maybe a friend or a family member is asking you to repeat what you say a lot more often.
Hearing loss affects millions of people, especially as we age. And, the vast majority of people who are hard of hearing don’t seek help or ever try a hearing aid.
Last month, the Food and Drug Administration decided to allow hearing aids to be sold over the counter without an exam or prescription.
MPR News host Angela Davis talked with an audiologist and a researcher about how the ruling could make hearing aids less expensive and more accessible. Plus, changes in hearing aid technology and how to make the most of them.
Guests:
- Peggy Nelson is a professor in the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences at the University of Minnesota. She teaches audiology courses and has researched how to make hearing aids more effective in daily settings.
- Rachel Allgor is an audiologist with Audiology Concepts, a clinic in Edina. She also uses a hearing aid.
The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Click the audio player above to listen to their conversation.
Angela Davis: Good morning. I'm Angela Davis. And you're listening to MPR news. So glad you could join us today. Now, do you ever miss out on conversations because you're hard of hearing. Or maybe you've noticed that a friend or family member is asking you to repeat what you say a lot more often. Hearing loss affects millions of people, especially as we all age and most people who are hard of hearing don't seek help or ever even try a hearing aid. Now last month, the Food and Drug Administration decided to allow hearing aids to be sold over the counter without an exam or prescription. So today I'm gonna talk about all of this I'm talking with an audiologist and a researcher about how this might make hearing aids less expensive and a lot more accessible. We'll also talk about changes in hearing aid technology and how to make the most of them. And we're taking your phone calls, I want to know your stories. Do you know someone? Is there someone close to you who has hearing loss? How does that impact your life? Do you have hearing loss and how difficult or easy has it been for you to get a hearing aid? I have two guests today. Peggy Nelson is joining us. Peggy is a professor of audiology in the Department of Speech Language Hearing Sciences at the University of Minnesota. She teaches audiology courses and has researched how people can make hearing aids more effective in daily settings. Hello there, Peggy.
Peggy Nelson: Good morning.
Angela Davis: And here in the studio with me I have Rachel Allgor. Rachel is an audiologist with Audiology Concepts, which is a clinic in Edina. She has a four year clinical doctorate in audiology. And she also uses a hearing aid. Rachel, so glad you could come in and join us today.
Rachel Allgor: Yes, thank you.
Angela Davis: So Peggy, I'll start with you. Let's hear more about this decision from the FDA. Where did this push for over the counter hearing aids even come from?
Peggy Nelson: Yeah, great question. We have been talking about trying to improve the accessibility of hearing devices for people for a decade at least and probably longer than that. And it came with a congressional push from Congress, people who said we really need this for our constituents. There are too many people who are living with hearing loss, who have no hearing aids and we'd like to make that more accessible to them. So for the past several years, we've been working on methods, technology platforms, things that might show promise for direct to consumer hearing aids.
Angela Davis: So I have this number from the FDA, nearly 30 million Americans suffer from hearing loss, but only about 20 percent of these people use hearing aids. So what's getting in the way? What's stopping people from choosing to get help?
Peggy Nelson: Yeah, isn't that remarkable? I would say there are several things and that we don't know all of the things that are stopping people. Certainly cost is an issue. Absolutely, people cite that probably most frequently. But we also know that people in countries where they're socialized medicine, where there's really no cost to them, there's still only 30 or 40 percent of the people who are getting them and using them. So there are clearly more barriers than just cost. It might be stigma, it might be just the frustration of trying to get to services that are far from where they live, might be some trepidation about the technology, not being willing to try something brand new and being a little fearful of that. And perhaps people themselves don't always realize how much they need it. It's often their friends and their families that are realizing that and they're the ones that are encouraging people to seek help.
Angela Davis: And I want to talk more about that. Like how do you have that conversation with someone who you think maybe you should go get their hearing checked, but getting back to the stigma. I think when we think of hearing loss and maybe hearing aids, we think of the an older man with this large thing, you know hanging out of his ear. But hearing aids have really changed.
Peggy Nelson: Definitely, we need to change that image and we hope that that's happening. I'm in my 60s, more of us in our 60s have been using earbuds and hearing devices of various kinds for quite a while now. So we're really hoping that that stigma that hearing loss equals aging will change quickly, and that people will be willing to give these new devices a try.
Angela Davis: Now, Rachel, you are an audiologist who works in a clinic. So how do you think the availability of over-the-counter hearing aids will affect you and your colleagues and people who may be curious and really need them?
Rachel Allgor: Yeah, that's great question. So there's a lot of back and forth right now in the audiology community about how this is going to impact just the profession itself. And honestly, I view it as a good thing. There is an average of seven years before somebody comes into a clinic after realizing that they're having hearing difficulty. What I would hope that this direct-to-consumer OTC bill is doing is lessening that timeframe. And so instead of seven, maybe we can shift it down to three even, so that people can start getting help sooner, in an easier way.
Angela Davis: Rachel, you use a hearing aid and tell me how that came about. Because this started as a child for you.
Rachel Allgor: It did. So I had a benign tumor in my middle ear when I was born. And it was removed when I was a toddler. I started wearing a hearing aid in second grade. And I was the hearing aid user that wore it much more off than on.
Angela Davis: And why was it off?
Rachel Allgor: I didn't want to be different, right? Especially as a kid going through things. I didn't want to feel different, I didn't want to look different. And so it wasn't until I was halfway through my audiology degree that I finally started wearing one full time.
Angela Davis: You have hearing loss in one ear, but not the other. Is that typical or common?
Rachel Allgor: Not as common as somebody who has hearing loss in both ears.
Angela Davis: What do you think it's going to do? Because, you know, sometimes I think you hear over the counter you somehow think the quality is not gonna be as good.
Rachel Allgor: That is yet to be determined because it is so new. I haven't had a chance to play around with it myself, either. But from what I've read online, from folks who do have hearing loss and have worn hearing aids for a while, and have tried them out, they're pretty favorable.
Angela Davis: And Peggy, with over the counter hearing aids, people will need to adjust the hearing aids themselves, you've done some research into that, do you think people are gonna be able to do this on their own?
Peggy Nelson: That's right, it's going to be determined. Just as Rachel just said, there are some things we're going to find out over the months to come. Our research that we've done in the lab, we've had, you know, at least 100 people come and try things that suggest people can do it. And they are successful, they can tweak and they can follow the instructions, and they can find settings that they like, and then they use those and they go back to the same settings and they're happy with those, they're pleased with them. But we recognize these are volunteers who are willing to come in for a study and try them. So it's not representative of the people who will buy them from a big box store or online, and may struggle with opening the box and trying to adjust to them. I think that's a big area where we as professionals in the field can try to help people do this. Hearing aids take some adjustment, you don't just put them on and instantaneously things are really different. It does take some time, it takes some effort, it takes some tweaking. And we want to encourage people to really try them, keep trying them, keep tweaking them until they find something they're satisfied with.
Angela Davis: And what about the proper fit because ears are all shaped differently in different sizes, what are the options with that?
Peggy Nelson: Again, we'll see but probably they will have tips that go down into the ear with a tube that goes up to behind the air. And those tips will probably come in small and medium and large sizes so that they could be exchanged. And actually quite a few users right now are using those kinds of tips. But I think that will be one barrier, will they fit well, will they feel okay. You can imagine trying to wear something all day that just doesn't feel good.
Angela Davis: And one more question before we take some phone calls which were already starting to get in. Are they even in stores yet? Because I think they're supposed to come out in mid-October are they out yet?
Peggy Nelson: The White House announcement yesterday said next month, so we'll find out in October exactly when they'll be available.
Angela Davis: Let’s go to Brooklyn Park, where one of our listeners Marika is on the line. Good morning. Marika, what did you want to tell us about hearing aids?
Marika: Good morning, Angela and guests. This conversation is so timely. It really resonates with me because I've been struggling with my mother for the last five years to get hearing aids. And it came to a head this summer finally, because I've been telling her and talking about it with our family. But it took her grandchildren standing right next to her, asking to talk with her, to realize that she really had that significant hearing loss. So she went in and she got some hearing aids. She did a trial period and literally came out of that saying it was like the world woke up. She's like, I could literally hear a skateboarder going down the street next to me, and I didn't know how much I was missing. So we're really excited about the steps she's taking. And then she got the pair. And it's the technology that is challenging her it's the app and the phone and learning how to navigate that, she's in her early 80s very independent. And so like we are still navigating that question about should we go into the store? Because I know she's going to need more support. Or do we invest in the higher product and also the connection with the audiologist because of that hesitancy and the adjusting needs. So it's been a journey, and I'm really just curious, how will people get supported if they do the over the counter method?
Angela Davis: And you mentioned the app and the phone. Okay. Marika, great phone call. Lots of things to talk about with that. But Rachel, I'll start with you as an as an audiologist, as someone who wears a hearing aid, what do you hear in her story, Marika finally got her mom to get her hearing tested?
Rachel Allgor: First, very exciting that we were able to do the hearing test, able to do the trial. And so you can actually hear what you've been missing. Because you don't know what you don't know. And that's the biggest thing when people come into the clinic is oh, I didn't realize I was missing so much. And so that story is familiar to me.
Angela Davis: And describe to me what is it like? How would you describe it to someone to be hard of hearing? What is it like to experience the world that may be different than other people?
Rachel Allgor: Yeah, it is so person dependent for that. It's not quite like glasses, where things just seem a little fuzzy. It could be that your hearing is fuzzy, but it also could be a distortion that's occurring too. And so a common hearing loss is going to be a high frequency one. When you have a high frequency loss, it's the clarity that we're missing. So then it feels like people are mumbling, all day, every day.
Angela Davis: And then also, sometimes sounds that you don't want to hear are really loud and distracting. I've heard that folks will get hearing aids, but then they're hearing everything.
Rachel Allgor: Yes, because the brain is suddenly getting reintroduced to sound. And so it has to learn how to filter things out again, which is hard, particularly if it's been years since you've heard it all.
Angela Davis: Marika described her mother talking to her grandchildren. And then that's finally what got her to go in to get tested. Is that a story you often hear with as an audiologist helping people through these tasks and getting fitted that while I was because I realized I was missing out on a lot.
Rachel Allgor: Yes, that's a very common thing for me to hear. Either they're with their friends or they’re with their family. And they realize they're just smiling and nodding through the conversation because they don't catch everything or they're scared or embarrassed to say something wrong.
Angela Davis: And Marika, a final question she had was about the technology. She's got her 80-something-year-old mom on the phone using an app. What support is available to help people actually be able to be independent as they have, you know, higher quality hearing aids?
Rachel Allgor: Apps have been so helpful to hearing aids for most users, because it gives you a visual of what's going on. So you can see the volume, instead of just pushing a button on the hearing aid. It gives the control back to the patient. And so they can see what's happening, they can know exactly what's happening. Or it can be in the hands of the caregiver so that they can see what's going on too.
Angela Davis: Peggy, as you heard Marika’s excellent phone call covered a lot of issues. What stands out to you about the story she shared about her mother getting a hearing aid and having the world opened up to her again?
Peggy Nelson: Yeah, I was cheering. And I completely agree with Rachel and on what she said yes, it's finally realizing what you're missing. It happens so slowly and so gradually, especially as we age. A friend who recently got hearing aids described getting them as not really hearing better, he said, but hearing fully. He had, you know, better quality of hearing and realizing things that he was missing. I recognize the app can be a challenge. But I recommend that Marika go back to the audiologist and work to simplify things. And perhaps they can use the app just for one or two things and get things set pretty standard on the hearing aid so she doesn't have to use it all the time. Some people on the other hand will want to change things all the time, they'll want to be playing with the app and adjusting this and that. But I think somewhat, it pretty much stays the same, just one or two times when they turn it up or down. And I think that the audiologist can help her simplify that.
Angela Davis: But before we get to more of our listeners, let's talk about money. Peggy, how much does a hearing aid cost? If you're going through, you know, if you're not buying it over the counter. Does insurance cover it? Like what what are we talking about in terms of money here?
Peggy Nelson: Yeah, hearing aids, a pair of hearing aids will cost thousands. There's a wide range that might be perhaps $2,000 for a pair or perhaps up to $8,000 for a pair, perhaps Rachel's got other information about that. We're hoping that over the counter devices will be priced at under $1,000 a pair. What we've seen in startups and glimpses have been at $800 for a pair or something like that. I imagine, again, there will be a wide range.
Angela Davis: And one more question. How about hearing loss in isolation. Does hearing loss make people more isolated? And I know that this is something you looked at in the pandemic.
Peggy Nelson: Hearing loss gradually causes more and more isolation, and especially among older people. And so that cuts them off from their family and friends and activities. And it cuts them off from things that would otherwise keep them healthy, they actually become more lonely, more sedentary more, you know, all the things that are bad for us about getting older, the hearing loss can exacerbate that. So we want hearing devices to help people stay active, involved, engaged playing bridge, whatever they love to do. We want the hearing devices to be used in that way, and that keeps us all healthier. And you asked about the pandemic and we did study the isolation of people in the pandemic with hearing loss. And I would say there were two polar different outcomes. Number one, everyone wearing masks is just terrible for a person with hearing loss. It's really frustrating to go out in public. They cannot read lips and it’s muffled even more. It's still a problem because we're still masking in quite a few places. But that was just a horrendous response from people with hearing loss of how difficult that was. On the positive side, many people with hearing loss learn to use remote communications, telemedicine, tele-friendship tele-families that had clear signals and even live captioning. And so there are some people with hearing loss who are loathing to go back to in person appointments for things because they were so successful doing that with technology that provided a really nice audio signal and live captioning.
Angela Davis: In Stillwater, Nancy is on the phone. Hi, Nancy, thank you for waiting. What did you want to share with us?
Nancy: Hi, thanks for having me. I just wanted to comment on that statistic that you mentioned a minute ago about on average people waiting up to seven years, which is kind of an astounding one. And I think I might have been in that category. When in my mid- to late-50s, I realized I had hearing loss. But I think I thought well, I'm at the young end of this or I don't want to wear hearing aids. But what convinced me was my brother-in-law's ear, nose and throat surgeon and he mentioned the point that I think you amplified earlier on your show, the longer you wait, the less effective the hearing aids are going to be that they'll still collect the same information. But by then, when you wait, your brain has already remapped its way around the noise trying to figure it out. And they become less effective over time. And, you know, that really nudged me to get in. And then I, you know, only to learn when I got in that my hearing loss was exactly in the range of my daughter's voice. And she also sings, does vocal performance. And I thought, wow, if I missed that band of time and and missed that going on in the future, I would have missed out on a lot.
Angela Davis: Thank you, Nancy, for calling in and sharing that. Rachel, what can you tell us about the longer you wait and how your brain kind of adjust to not being able to hear very well?
Rachel Allgor: And so with that, as your brain learns to hear without the full spectrum, it's missing those components. And so those pathways within your brain actually get reprioritized to something else where it is more use, because it's not getting that information anymore. So when you start wearing hearing aids, we're not only having to get used to sound again, but it's actually the brain trying to bring that pathway back to what its original purpose was.
Angela Davis: So as an audiologist, walk me through this process. How do you start a hearing test? What happens?
Rachel Allgor: First thing we do is a case history. So I'm asking a bunch of questions about you and your life and your lifestyle, trying to figure out right off the bat, okay, what is going on for you? How is this possibly impacting you? Next thing we do is a full blown hearing test. And so I want to see how you're hearing at different pitches. I want to see how you're doing with understanding words, I want to see how you're doing in background noise. Because that's telling me all the information I need to know to make a good recommendation for you.
Angela Davis: So what does that look like you put headphones on me or you put me in a room and you play sounds?
Rachel Allgor: Typically, you're in some kind of sound-treated room. So it feels soundproof and then headphones go on, you're given a button, or you can just raise your hand. So whenever you hear those beeps, kind of like when you were a kid in elementary school, you'd have a hearing test, very similar premise there for that part of the testing.
Angela Davis: And then and then what happens?
Rachel Allgor: And then we switch to doing word tests. Because we know that beeps aren't our everyday life. We want to know how you're hearing with words, especially words that you don't know what's coming. Because that gives us a really good snapshot of how you do in just understanding when you're not expecting.
Angela Davis: When we talk about aging, what do we know about that?
Rachel Allgor: I don't know if Peggy knows a little bit more about this, but we've seen the average age start to drop, especially in kids using earbuds where we're damaging hearing a lot earlier than what we used to see.
Angela Davis: Peggy, a researcher, what do we know about aging and hearing loss?
Peggy Nelson: It tends to start mostly in our 60s. And then there's a greater proportion in our 70s and 80s. By the time we're in our 80s, probably half of us have hearing loss. But you realize that means half don't have very much hearing loss, too. So we've got some, some pretty healthy older people as well. You can inherit from your parents and grandparents, your susceptibility to noise and other things like that, too. So we should look carefully at our parents and grandparents. Interestingly, we have fewer people that are working in exceptionally noisy environments, like mines, or old time printing presses. But we still have millions of workers in the United States who are working in noisy environments. And so we try to help protect their hearing as well, because they could stay in those careers for 30 or 40 years and that could be very damaging.
Angela Davis: As we look to the future, we now have toddlers, children, elementary school, high school kids, wearing earbuds, headphones, listening to music, podcasts, many hours of the day, you have concerns about what these young folks will be confronted with when they're in their 60s and 70s.
Peggy Nelson: We’re keeping our eye on it. They're not listening at levels that we would call 'breaking the law' as according to the occupational safety and health. For example, they're not listening like a miner or printer would be listening to levels, but we're keeping our eyes on what the effect is. If they're listening for hours per day, for example, at fairly high levels. There's no data yet that say it's a terrible thing. But we'll just have to wait and see because they're not older yet.
Rachel Allgor: What I'm usually telling patients is a good rule of thumb is 60 percent or less of the volume on your phone, you're pretty much in the clear. If you're doing 60 percent or more, do it under 60 minutes a day.
Angela Davis: In St. Paul, let's talk to Wendy, what's going on with you?
Wendy: Hi, I'm calling about one of those genetic hearing issues. It's called auditory processing disorder. I and my son had been diagnosed with this. And it was not easy. In my son, it perhaps delayed his social-emotional learning. And I look back over my life. And it's created social difficulties for me as well, but I've navigated them. My brains adjusted. Hearing aids are a treatment for this, but you have to go to a specialist. I've tried a regular audiologist and they could not adjust the levels correctly. So this is not just for old people. It's also hearing loss in different ways. The genetic kind can affect any age and if someone uses hearing aids, but does not find they're successful, I would urge them to go see a specialist and consider auditory processing disorder.
Angela Davis: All right. Thank you, Wendy. And this is a new term for me. What is this? Can it affect all ages?
Rachel Allgor: Yeah, it can. And it often shows up when you're younger, because you're struggling in school. So what an auditory processing disorder is, is when the information going into your brain is healthy. And so your ears don't show any form of hearing loss oftentimes. But once it gets into your brain, information scrambles a bit. And so you're not understanding things clearly. Even though on a hearing test, you should be.
Angela Davis: Is this rare?
Rachel Allgor: It’s probably more common than we realize, but testing just isn't prevalent, like what Wendy said.
Angela Davis: So what does a hearing aid do?
Rachel Allgor: A hearing aid helps amplify just a bit in the regions that are most helpful, especially for speech. And so I am not somebody who specializes in it. I believe there are two, maybe three providers in the cities or the state.
Angela Davis: Peggy, anything you could add about auditory processing disorder?
Peggy Nelson: I hear the frustration, it's really tricky. And the other thing that a person might try is a system that has a remote microphone where the microphone could be near the teacher or the speaker, and then feed that to the hearing aids directly so that the person with auditory processing is not hearing everything at once. But they can hear more selectively the voice that they need to attend to at the time, but it's a tricky situation very difficult to handle.
Angela Davis: Let's go to Onamia and talk with Robert. Hi, Robert, thank you for calling in. And what did you want to tell us?
Robert: Good morning. Hi. Yeah, I want to say a few things about over-the-counter hearing aids. I wear two hearing aids. And I got my hearing aids through Medicare at no cost. And about two years ago, the hearing aid for my left ear was damaged and couldn't be repaired. And I was told by my audiologist that I wouldn't be able to replace it until 2024. So it's been, you know, pretty difficult, not having that hearing aid in my left ear. And a few weeks ago, I was in Walmart, and I saw over-the-counter, FDA-approved hearing aid. So I bought one. And I thought I would try it out. And it has a built in battery, it looks almost exactly like my other hearing aid. It's a little bit more bulky, it's a little bit more unsightly, I think, because of the tube that runs between the ear plug and amplifier.
Angela Davis: So Robert, you have one of the new over-the-counter hearing aids, and how was it like getting it set up. Because you're just going on directions from the box? Right?
Robert: Well, it was really easy. I mean, all I had to do was recharge the battery and put it into my ear. And they do give you like, the one I have has three different ends on the earplugs. But the one that was already in it fits my ear pretty good. And there's just two volume controls on it. One is for a higher volume, and then there's one for lower volume. And so you press the button hear, a little beep. And when you hit to get up to two beeps, that means you've reached the maximum of the volume. So I don't know, it works really good.
Angela Davis: Can I ask you how much did it cost? How much did you pay for the this over-the-counter?
Robert: Yeah, I paid $90 for it. And so I think for that price, it was a good deal. I see it mainly as something that's temporary.
Angela Davis: Because the quality is not the same as the one that you had that you went to a professional to get?
Robert: It's pretty close to that quality. But I'd rather have, you know, one from my audiologist rather than the over-the-counter. I mean, I think the over-the-counter works really good. Of course, I can't recommend them for other people.
Angela Davis: Thank you, Robert. What are you hearing in his story, Rachel?
Rachel Allgor: Yeah, I mean, that one sounds like it's a very simple one. I'm not sure if there was an app component involved, which is involved in all of the newer OTC products. And so there's a difference between a personal sound amplification product.
Angela Davis: So there's, there's a range of products that will come out over-the-counter. So some will be much more advanced and some will be more simple. Okay, and Peggy, anything you can add to what he just shared about having over-the-counter ones? It sounds like a more simple one.
Peggy Nelson: Yeah. And that was good clarification. I think there will be confusion about the product. So again, we'll wait and see. And I would guess also this was a personal sound amplifying product, but I love his approach of using this temporarily. And that might be hopefully with access, people will try them and even if they only use them for months or a year or short time, whatever it might be. And it brings them into realizing the potential, they think that will be a great thing.
Angela Davis: Let's take up more phone calls. In Topeka, Kansas, we have Kate on the phone calling in. Good morning, Kate.
Kate: Good morning, Angela. I've known for four years I've lost hearing, I noticed mostly in group settings. And because my mother has dementia that may be related to hearing loss. And my husband's always been a bit of a mumbler. So it's led to a lot of irritability at our house when I make him stand in front of me while he talks. But the audiologist confirmed I have about 20-25% percent loss in both ears, especially in the high tones, as you've described. I lost that clarity, and it feels like everyone's mumbling. But they warned me, both of them, that it probably would only do a little bit of good if I got a hearing aid because the mumbling would just be amplified, as well as all the other noises around me. I'm wondering if these new FDA OTCs will be better, that they will be able to sort out the sound and help me in a way. I'm willing to gamble like Robert’s $90. I wasn’t willing to gamble $8,000.
Angela Davis: So Kate, since you know, she doesn't want a hearing aid that’s just gonna make the mumbling louder. She wants something that's going to bring her clarity. So what do we know about the technology that the ability to do that with the over the counter, the ones and the ones that you would get from a professional audiologist?
Rachel Allgor: Well, I expect that that clarity piece will be similar. The audiologist fit will have more capabilities, like streaming and directionality, directional microphones that will focus hearing a little better. But I want to clarify one thing about the mumbling and maybe the advice that you got there. If I mumble, the hearing aid will help with that, because it will sharpen the pitches, it will sharpen up the high pitches. And so while it won't be lots louder, and I think that advice that you got was good, it's not going to be night and day, it's not going to be a switch that flips for you and everything's going to be so much better than it was yesterday. But as Rachel said, if you give it time to help your brain relearn those high pitched sounds, within some time, you'll realize things are clearer. It's not just mumbled anymore, it will be clear, it will not knock out all the background noise. The background noise will still be there. It'll still be audible, but the speech itself should become clearer over time.
Angela Davis: Rachel, what can you tell us about how a hearing aid can help bring clarity, if someone sounds like they're mumbling?
Rachel Allgor: Yeah. And I think it's tricky, especially with this caller. Because she doesn't have a lot of hearing loss. So really low pitches to really high pitches, but she mentioned that she has more of a high pitched hearing loss. And this is where I can see the over-the-counters coming into play a lot more. Because it gives the control in the patient's hand or in the person's hand where you can tweak things and see how it sounds for you. Because I can do that as best I can in the office. But I know my office is not your life. And so that's where I can see some benefit of control. It's a lot less cost and more control in your environments.
Angela Davis: I've read that people who are experiencing hearing loss, that often it's children's and women's voices that they have the hardest time hearing. That's the first indicator. Is that true?
Rachel Allgor: It is to an extent. Because there's typically higher pitched voices. And so more of their speech sounds are found in those higher frequencies. I think men often project more and kind of have been taught that as a gender.
Angela Davis: Let's take another phone call in Minneapolis. Chris is on the phone. Hi, Chris. What did you want to share with us about hearing loss and hearing aids?
Chris: Hey, thank you. I'm so grateful to be listening to this excellent conversation on my Bluetooth hearing aids, which I've worn for about two years. Unfortunately, I waited decades to get them. You know, I acquired verbal proficiency pretty early in life, read widely from a young age and also unfortunately, I began abusing my hearing at a fairly young age to and I damaged profoundly the upper range of my hearing in both ears. One thing that I've read and have certainly experienced for myself is the amount of bandwidth it requires for me to process other people's speech. And because of my verbal proficiency, I'm able to sort of reconstruct what people are saying, because people do tend to speak in, you know, fairly standard syntax. So I can kind of assemble a second or two after something is spoken what's being said. I had a boss who, ironically, once said to me, interpolation is 90 percent of meaning. And he had a way of sort of reversing syntax, because he was very well read. And so he could be creative with how he put sentences together. He also had Parkinson's disease. And he spoke very softly, I didn't have hearing aids at that time. And I really struggled to make out what he was saying to me. And the amount of bandwidth that we devote to that really detracts from the ability to just let the sound come into our ears, and allow our cognitive powers to process meaning rather than to try and tease out constructions. And I just think it's really important for people to see hear and to know that.
Peggy Nelson: This is something that we're studying. It's not only about repeating and understanding the words and sentences, (it’s) about how much effort it takes how much fatigue over the course of the day, how much they are not able to concentrate on two things at once, because of the effort that it takes to, to listen, and we really hope and anticipate that getting hearing devices will reduce that effort, it is something that we're studying as well. So that really hit a lot of notes for me that, that perhaps one of the things we could notice about getting used to new hearing aids is that a person can relax more, can be not quite so tired at the end of the day, to relax and enjoy a conversation, you know, the give and take of a conversation, rather than really having to focus and struggle. I really appreciate that viewpoint.
Angela Davis: Let's take a phone call in Minneapolis, Mary's on the phone. Mary, thank you for waiting, what do you want to ask or share with our guests about hearing loss?
Mary: Hi, I've heard so many positive things today. And I just want to ask for some advice for the obstinate 80 year old who does not feel like it's something he wants to undertake. He did undertake it once and he didn't like it. But he's become increasingly isolated from friends and family who don't want to sit around with the TV blaring in the background, trying to have a conversation with him. Or even having a phone conversation with him. It's just become so difficult to to kind of continue the relationship when he's not a fully part of a conversation.
Angela Davis: Mary, I think you speak for a lot of people with this question. And so Peggy and Rachel helped me with this conversation. One of the words to use how do we have a conversation with someone who is reluctant to get help or doesn't believe that they need help? Peggy, could you begin?
Peggy Nelson: Well, one thing I do is ask people directly what's important to you? What do you miss? Or what would you like to see and then try to figure out how that could be achieved, perhaps especially in this case, where he tried something before and didn't like it. And that does happen. Perhaps we need to go to simpler technology. There are some, you know, boxes, to pocket talkers and things that might be a simpler solution that would allow him to have the high-priority conversations that he wants. And then to to say clearly, we miss talking to you. What can we do to try to make it easier?
Angela Davis: Rachel, anything you'd add?
Rachel Allgor: Yeah, I think it can be really powerful coming from family and friends saying, we miss talking with you. We miss engaging with you. So hitting on that emotional side of things, or like we see that you're not paying attention during dinner anymore, and you missed this part of the conversation, or you missed your grandkids trying to get your attention because they need you. Like we need our grandparents.
Angela Davis: And then there's some words that we should not use with people who have hearing loss I have in my notes here. You want to talk about people saying, ‘nevermind.’ How does that come into conversation?
Rachel Allgor: That comes from asking for repetitions. So as a person with hearing loss, there have been many times in my life where I've had to ask for repetitions. And if people say "oh, nevermind" it is one of the most hurtful things for me to hear that from somebody else. Because I'm genuinely interested. And I want to know what's being said, I just can't figure it out. Even with my hearing aid, I still have trouble sometimes. And so understanding that it's my responsibility to repeat back what I did here, so that you only have to fill in the blanks. And then sometimes it's your responsibility, instead of saying the same thing, rephrase it.
Angela Davis: Could you describe what your hearing aid looks like?
Rachel Allgor: So I have one that is a speaker in my ear canal itself. And then it has a wire going and sitting to like the main component of the hearing aid behind my ear. I have long hair, it is hidden more. But I have a purple, white and sparkly ear mold also. Because I love having something fun with my hearing aid.
Angela Davis: And Peggy in the last 30 seconds here, where do people go? What do you advise folks do or go to get more information about the over the counter hearing aids and hearing aids that you will get from going to see an audiologist, what are some resources?
Peggy Nelson: There are some good resources online from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. We also have the Minnesota Commission for the Deaf, Deafblind, and Hard of Hearing that have resources available, and the Minnesota Academy of Audiology will and the university clinics will as well. We're all discovering this together. And we want to work with people to figure out what's best for them and sometimes it will be stick with your audiologist and go back but sometimes, like some of your callers, they want to give it a try. So let's help them give it a try.
Fatal crashes were on the decline in Minnesota for years before the 2020 pandemic. But over the past few years, they’ve spiked as more people are speeding and driving recklessly. In 2021, Minnesota had 361 deaths in traffic crashes statewide. That’s the most since 2007.
And Minnesota is not unique. Since 2020, fatal crashes have been on the rise around the nation.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about what is causing this increase in fatal crashes, and what we can do to make our roads safer.
Guests:
- Brian Sorenson is the state traffic engineer for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and director of MnDOT’s Office of Traffic Engineering. He is also the co-chair of Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths.
- Colonel Matt Langer is the chief of the Minnesota State Patrol.
- David Hurwitz is a professor at Oregon State University in Corvallis. He is also the Director of the Kiewit Center for Infrastructure and Transportation Research.
Fatal crashes were on the decline in Minnesota for years before the 2020 pandemic. But over the past few years, they’ve spiked as more people are speeding and driving recklessly. In 2021, Minnesota had 361 deaths in traffic crashes statewide. That’s the most since 2007.
And Minnesota is not unique. Since 2020, fatal crashes have been on the rise around the nation.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about what is causing this increase in fatal crashes, and what we can do to make our roads safer.
Guests:
- Brian Sorenson is the state traffic engineer for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and director of MnDOT’s Office of Traffic Engineering. He is also the co-chair of Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths.
- Colonel Matt Langer is the chief of the Minnesota State Patrol.
- David Hurwitz is a professor at Oregon State University in Corvallis. He is also the Director of the Kiewit Center for Infrastructure and Transportation Research.
When 15,000 Minnesota nurses went on strike for three days earlier this month, it spotlighted a growing national problem: nurses feel overworked, burned out, and underpaid.
Nurses are exhausted from working on the front lines during the pandemic. But even before COVID, nurses were grappling with sicker patients, new technologies and increasing workplace demands.
Recent data from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development shows nursing vacancies doubled from 2,450 in 2019 to 5,587 in 2021. That left eight percent of jobs unfilled.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two nurses about the stress their colleagues have been feeling on the job, why some nurses are retiring early or quitting and what needs to change to bring new nurses into the profession.
Guests:
- Laura Fero is the dean of nursing at St. Catherine University.
- Kelley Annas is a registered nurse in the Twin Cities.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
When 15,000 Minnesota nurses went on strike for three days earlier this month, it spotlighted a growing national problem: nurses feel overworked, burned out, and underpaid.
Nurses are exhausted from working on the front lines during the pandemic. But even before COVID, nurses were grappling with sicker patients, new technologies and increasing workplace demands.
Recent data from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development shows nursing vacancies doubled from 2,450 in 2019 to 5,587 in 2021. That left eight percent of jobs unfilled.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two nurses about the stress their colleagues have been feeling on the job, why some nurses are retiring early or quitting and what needs to change to bring new nurses into the profession.
Guests:
- Laura Fero is the dean of nursing at St. Catherine University.
- Kelley Annas is a registered nurse in the Twin Cities.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Adair Mosley has bold ideas for how to bring about racial equity in Minnesota.
As president and CEO of Pillsbury United Communities he raised $1 million last spring to give a $10,000 scholarship for college or post-secondary training to each graduating senior at North Community High School.
During his years at the Minneapolis community nonprofit he also helped open a grocery store and wellness hub in a food desert and launched an economic development effort to support rebuilding businesses in North Minneapolis after George Floyd’s murder.
Now Mosley has been tapped to bring his broad vision and economic innovations to a bigger stage. He’ll step into a new role in October as CEO at the African American Leadership Forum, a Black-led group formed in 2006 to close the gaps of racial disparities in Minnesota.
MPR News host Angela Davis talked with Adair Mosley about his work in the community, why humility is central to leadership and what he hopes to do in his new job.
Guest:
- Adair Mosley is president and CEO of Pillsbury United Communities and will step into a new role in October as CEO of the African American Leadership Forum.
Adair Mosley has bold ideas for how to bring about racial equity in Minnesota.
As president and CEO of Pillsbury United Communities he raised $1 million last spring to give a $10,000 scholarship for college or post-secondary training to each graduating senior at North Community High School.
During his years at the Minneapolis community nonprofit he also helped open a grocery store and wellness hub in a food desert and launched an economic development effort to support rebuilding businesses in North Minneapolis after George Floyd’s murder.
Now Mosley has been tapped to bring his broad vision and economic innovations to a bigger stage. He’ll step into a new role in October as CEO at the African American Leadership Forum, a Black-led group formed in 2006 to close the gaps of racial disparities in Minnesota.
MPR News host Angela Davis talked with Adair Mosley about his work in the community, why humility is central to leadership and what he hopes to do in his new job.
Guest:
- Adair Mosley is president and CEO of Pillsbury United Communities and will step into a new role in October as CEO of the African American Leadership Forum.
Heart attack, stroke and other kinds of heart disease are the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States.
The risk of heart disease is even higher among Black Americans, who are two to three times as likely as whites to die from cardiovascular diseases. The reasons for the vast disparity are complicated and include the toll of generational trauma and chronic stress. The good news is that most heart disease is preventable.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two cardiologists about addressing disparities and improving heart health in Black communities in Minnesota.
Guests:
- Dr. LaPrincess Brewer is a cardiologist and assistant professor at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Her research focuses on heart disease prevention and testing new public health approaches to eliminating the racial disparities in cardiovascular disease.
- Dr. Courtney Jordan Baechler is a cardiologist and medical director of health equity and health promotion at Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation at Allina Health.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Heart attack, stroke and other kinds of heart disease are the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States.
The risk of heart disease is even higher among Black Americans, who are two to three times as likely as whites to die from cardiovascular diseases. The reasons for the vast disparity are complicated and include the toll of generational trauma and chronic stress. The good news is that most heart disease is preventable.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two cardiologists about addressing disparities and improving heart health in Black communities in Minnesota.
Guests:
- Dr. LaPrincess Brewer is a cardiologist and assistant professor at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Her research focuses on heart disease prevention and testing new public health approaches to eliminating the racial disparities in cardiovascular disease.
- Dr. Courtney Jordan Baechler is a cardiologist and medical director of health equity and health promotion at Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation at Allina Health.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
The start of the school year means the return of daily homework for many students. But is all that homework really necessary?
Some educators and parents say that there isn’t much evidence that some types of homework actually help students learn. Too much homework might have the opposite effect on young students and can negatively impact their lives outside the classroom.
But the momentum to get rid of homework is being met by others who say it’s a tool to instill responsibility, time management, practice, and eliminating it would be wrong. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with educators about the evolution of homework and the value it holds in today’s curriculum.
Guests:
- Miranda Featherstone is a writer and a school social worker who has worked with children and families from preschool to high school. She is based in Rhode Island.
- David Heistad spent 25 years as head of research, evaluation and assessment for the public school districts in Minneapolis and Bloomington. He has a Ph.D. in special education and a master’s in statistics.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
The start of the school year means the return of daily homework for many students. But is all that homework really necessary?
Some educators and parents say that there isn’t much evidence that some types of homework actually help students learn. Too much homework might have the opposite effect on young students and can negatively impact their lives outside the classroom.
But the momentum to get rid of homework is being met by others who say it’s a tool to instill responsibility, time management, practice, and eliminating it would be wrong. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with educators about the evolution of homework and the value it holds in today’s curriculum.
Guests:
- Miranda Featherstone is a writer and a school social worker who has worked with children and families from preschool to high school. She is based in Rhode Island.
- David Heistad spent 25 years as head of research, evaluation and assessment for the public school districts in Minneapolis and Bloomington. He has a Ph.D. in special education and a master’s in statistics.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
During the pandemic, it became more common for adults to live with other adult members of their family. Adult children returned to live with their parents and elderly parents moved in with their adult kids.
But even before COVID-19 hit, more people were choosing to live with relatives.
Sharing a home has practical benefits. It saves money and helps people through unemployment, divorce and other life changes. It makes it easier to care for young children and elderly adults.
And it can be emotionally rewarding. More than half of adults who live with adult family members say it’s a positive experience most or all the time, according to a survey last year by Pew Research Center.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the rise in multigenerational living, benefits and challenges and why it’s here to stay.
Guests:
- Chris Farrell is senior economics contributor at Minnesota Public Radio and at Marketplace, American Public Media's nationally syndicated public radio business and economic programs.
- Bo Thao-Urabe is a founder and former executive director at the Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL) and serves on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
During the pandemic, it became more common for adults to live with other adult members of their family. Adult children returned to live with their parents and elderly parents moved in with their adult kids.
But even before COVID-19 hit, more people were choosing to live with relatives.
Sharing a home has practical benefits. It saves money and helps people through unemployment, divorce and other life changes. It makes it easier to care for young children and elderly adults.
And it can be emotionally rewarding. More than half of adults who live with adult family members say it’s a positive experience most or all the time, according to a survey last year by Pew Research Center.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the rise in multigenerational living, benefits and challenges and why it’s here to stay.
Guests:
- Chris Farrell is senior economics contributor at Minnesota Public Radio and at Marketplace, American Public Media's nationally syndicated public radio business and economic programs.
- Bo Thao-Urabe is a founder and former executive director at the Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL) and serves on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
On July 16, the federal government transitioned the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to a three-digit number. 988 is a resource that anyone can call, text or chat for mental health support. Crisis counselors are trained to address mental health emergencies like depression, anxiety, suicide ideation and substance use disorders.
Last week, MPR News brought you an in-depth look at the launch of 988 from MPR’s mental initiative Call to Mind.
MPR News host Angela Davis is continuing that conversation by checking in on the rollout of 988 in Minnesota and hearing from some people who are working within mental health services to find out more about how the new hotline is helping.
Guests:
- Sue Abderholden is the executive director of NAMI Minnesota.
- Leah Kaiser is the director of behavioral health programs at Hennepin County.
- Tony Martin is the director of emergency communications at the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office
On July 16, the federal government transitioned the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to a three-digit number. 988 is a resource that anyone can call, text or chat for mental health support. Crisis counselors are trained to address mental health emergencies like depression, anxiety, suicide ideation and substance use disorders.
Last week, MPR News brought you an in-depth look at the launch of 988 from MPR’s mental initiative Call to Mind.
MPR News host Angela Davis is continuing that conversation by checking in on the rollout of 988 in Minnesota and hearing from some people who are working within mental health services to find out more about how the new hotline is helping.
Guests:
- Sue Abderholden is the executive director of NAMI Minnesota.
- Leah Kaiser is the director of behavioral health programs at Hennepin County.
- Tony Martin is the director of emergency communications at the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office
Updated vaccine boosters for COVID-19 became available last week in Minnesota.
The new versions of the vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna protect against two of the most common versions of the virus, Omicron subvariants BA. 4 and BA. 5.
White House COVID-19 advisors say the public should plan to get a new COVID-19 shot every year to protect against new versions, much like an annual flu shot.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two infectious disease doctors about what you need to know about the new COVID-19 vaccine boosters and how to navigate the fall virus season.
Guests:
- Dr. Jill Foster is a pediatric infectious disease physician with M Health Fairview and director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
- Dr. Abinash Virk is an infectious disease physician with the Mayo Clinic and a professor at the Medical School in the Division of Infectious Diseases.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Updated vaccine boosters for COVID-19 became available last week in Minnesota.
The new versions of the vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna protect against two of the most common versions of the virus, Omicron subvariants BA. 4 and BA. 5.
White House COVID-19 advisors say the public should plan to get a new COVID-19 shot every year to protect against new versions, much like an annual flu shot.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two infectious disease doctors about what you need to know about the new COVID-19 vaccine boosters and how to navigate the fall virus season.
Guests:
- Dr. Jill Foster is a pediatric infectious disease physician with M Health Fairview and director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
- Dr. Abinash Virk is an infectious disease physician with the Mayo Clinic and a professor at the Medical School in the Division of Infectious Diseases.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
In late August, President Joe Biden announced a plan to forgive student loans for millions of people. Borrowers who earn less than $125,000 can have $10,000 in loans forgiven, and those who received federal Pell Grants in college can have $20,000 in loans forgiven.
The U.S. Department of Education estimates that the plan will wipe out student debt for about 20 million people. But some critics say that the plan does nothing to help low-income people who never attended college, is unfair to people who paid off their loans and does nothing to address college affordability. Others say that even more loans should have been forgiven.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about what’s next for student loans and the future of college affordability.
Guests:
- Nicholas Hillmanis a professor in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research examines how finance, policy, and geography shape educational opportunities in the United States.
- Marshall Steinbaumis an assistant professor of economics at the University of Utah. He is also a senior fellow in higher education finance at Jain Family Institute, a nonpartisan research institute.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
In late August, President Joe Biden announced a plan to forgive student loans for millions of people. Borrowers who earn less than $125,000 can have $10,000 in loans forgiven, and those who received federal Pell Grants in college can have $20,000 in loans forgiven.
The U.S. Department of Education estimates that the plan will wipe out student debt for about 20 million people. But some critics say that the plan does nothing to help low-income people who never attended college, is unfair to people who paid off their loans and does nothing to address college affordability. Others say that even more loans should have been forgiven.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about what’s next for student loans and the future of college affordability.
Guests:
- Nicholas Hillmanis a professor in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research examines how finance, policy, and geography shape educational opportunities in the United States.
- Marshall Steinbaumis an assistant professor of economics at the University of Utah. He is also a senior fellow in higher education finance at Jain Family Institute, a nonpartisan research institute.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
In search of balance between work and life, about half of U.S. workers say they are “quiet quitting,” according to a recent Gallup survey.
The term “quiet quitting” has gone viral over the past year to describe a worker who doesn’t go above and beyond the assigned job description. Pandemic-related burnout seems to have made more workers disengage with the goal of climbing the corporate ladder and more likely to question if doing extra, unpaid work outside of their assignments actually leads to better pay, promotions or happiness.
So does “quiet quitting” take advantage of employers? Or is it a healthy way for workers to say no to “hustle culture” and set boundaries at work to avoid stress and anxiety?
MPR News host Angela Davis talks to two Minnesotans who have been looking into “quiet quitting” about the state of current work culture and if “quiet quitting” is a problem for employers.
Guests:
- Elizabeth Campbell is an associate professor of work and organizations at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
- Cecilia Stanton Adams is the CEO of the Diversity Institute in Minneapolis.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
In search of balance between work and life, about half of U.S. workers say they are “quiet quitting,” according to a recent Gallup survey.
The term “quiet quitting” has gone viral over the past year to describe a worker who doesn’t go above and beyond the assigned job description. Pandemic-related burnout seems to have made more workers disengage with the goal of climbing the corporate ladder and more likely to question if doing extra, unpaid work outside of their assignments actually leads to better pay, promotions or happiness.
So does “quiet quitting” take advantage of employers? Or is it a healthy way for workers to say no to “hustle culture” and set boundaries at work to avoid stress and anxiety?
MPR News host Angela Davis talks to two Minnesotans who have been looking into “quiet quitting” about the state of current work culture and if “quiet quitting” is a problem for employers.
Guests:
- Elizabeth Campbell is an associate professor of work and organizations at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
- Cecilia Stanton Adams is the CEO of the Diversity Institute in Minneapolis.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
The COVID-19 pandemic launched a great experiment in the way we work, at least for office workers. Remote work became routine early in the pandemic. Two and a half years later many people are still working part-time from home.
And, with low unemployment and workers who demand flexibility, it looks increasingly likely that some combination of remote and on-site work is here to stay.
MPR News guest host Chris Farrell talks about what this dramatic change in how we work and interact with colleagues in the office means for workplace culture, employee collaboration and even office design.
Guests:
- Alexandra Samuel works from her home in Vancouver, Canada as a tech writer and journalist whose work appears in the Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review. She is co-author of “Remote, Inc.: How To Thrive at Work….Wherever You Are” published in 2021.
- Gustavo Razzetti is founder and CEO of Fearless Culture, a business management consulting company based in Chicago. He’s also the author of “Remote Not Distant: Design a Company Culture to Thrive in a Hybrid Workplace” published in June.
- Mari Ansera leads interior design projects at the architectural firm HGA, based in their Minneapolis office.
The COVID-19 pandemic launched a great experiment in the way we work, at least for office workers. Remote work became routine early in the pandemic. Two and a half years later many people are still working part-time from home.
And, with low unemployment and workers who demand flexibility, it looks increasingly likely that some combination of remote and on-site work is here to stay.
MPR News guest host Chris Farrell talks about what this dramatic change in how we work and interact with colleagues in the office means for workplace culture, employee collaboration and even office design.
Guests:
- Alexandra Samuel works from her home in Vancouver, Canada as a tech writer and journalist whose work appears in the Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review. She is co-author of “Remote, Inc.: How To Thrive at Work….Wherever You Are” published in 2021.
- Gustavo Razzetti is founder and CEO of Fearless Culture, a business management consulting company based in Chicago. He’s also the author of “Remote Not Distant: Design a Company Culture to Thrive in a Hybrid Workplace” published in June.
- Mari Ansera leads interior design projects at the architectural firm HGA, based in their Minneapolis office.
Studies have shown that friendships can affect your cardiovascular health, your immune system, your cognitive health and even the rate at which your cells age.
Yet Americans increasingly report that they have fewer close friends. According to a Gallup poll, three percent of Americans in 1990 said they had no close friends. In 2021, that number rose to 12 percent — a fourfold increase.
Guest host Chris Farrell talks with two experts about why friendship is so important and how we can form and strengthen the ties of friendship in our lives.
Guests:
- Rebecca Adams is a professor and the gerontology undergraduate coordinator in the Department of Social Work at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She studies older adult friendship.
- Craig Sawchuk is a psychologist and co-chair of Clinical Practice and the Division of Integrated Behavioral Health at Mayo Clinic.
Studies have shown that friendships can affect your cardiovascular health, your immune system, your cognitive health and even the rate at which your cells age.
Yet Americans increasingly report that they have fewer close friends. According to a Gallup poll, three percent of Americans in 1990 said they had no close friends. In 2021, that number rose to 12 percent — a fourfold increase.
Guest host Chris Farrell talks with two experts about why friendship is so important and how we can form and strengthen the ties of friendship in our lives.
Guests:
- Rebecca Adams is a professor and the gerontology undergraduate coordinator in the Department of Social Work at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She studies older adult friendship.
- Craig Sawchuk is a psychologist and co-chair of Clinical Practice and the Division of Integrated Behavioral Health at Mayo Clinic.
On July 16, the federal government transitioned the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to an easy-to-remember three-digit number. 988 is a resource that anyone can call, text or chat for mental health support. Crisis counselors are trained to address a range of mental health emergencies from depression and anxiety, to suicide ideation and substance use disorders.
What actually happens when someone dials 988? How is the Lifeline serving as a tool to improve mental health emergency response? And is there a path between mental health emergencies and recovery?
MPR News shares “988: A Call for Crisis Care,” a broadcast special from Call to Mind that explores the state of mental health crisis response, and asks how crisis care can be improved.
It’s hosted by Kimberly Adams, a host and senior correspondent for APM’s Marketplace who covers mental health, politics, business and the economy for American Public Media from Washington DC.
Also, Join MPR News with Angela Davis the week of Sept. 12 as we continue the conversation about 988 and emergency mental health services. We'll talk more about local services, and hear your stories.
Guests:
- Danielle Belton is editor-in-chief of HuffPost.
- Emmy Betz, MD, MPH is professor of emergency medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
- Christine Crawford, MD, MPH associate medical director of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and assistant professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine.
- Arthur Evans Jr., PhD is a clinical and community psychologist and CEO & executive vice president of the American Psychological Association
Call to Mind’s next special, “Searching for Providers of Color,” is in production right now and will be out to public radio stations in October. The program will look at the mental health treatment field and explore how important it is to find a provider that can identify with a person’s race, culture and experiences. If you are a BIPOC person who has had a good or bad experience looking for a mental health care provider, Call to Mind would like to hear from you! Send an email about your experience to calltomind@americanpublicmedia.org. A producer from Call to Mind may contact you in the following weeks.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
On July 16, the federal government transitioned the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to an easy-to-remember three-digit number. 988 is a resource that anyone can call, text or chat for mental health support. Crisis counselors are trained to address a range of mental health emergencies like depression and anxiety, to suicide ideation and substance use disorders.
What actually happens when someone dials 988? How is the Lifeline serving as a tool to improve mental health emergency response? And is there a path between mental health emergencies and recovery?
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, MPR News shares “988: A Call for Crisis Care,” a broadcast special from Call to Mind that explores the state of mental health crisis response, and asks how crisis care can be improved.
It’s hosted by Kimberly Adams, a host and senior correspondent for APM’s Marketplace who covers mental health, politics, business and the economy for American Public Media from Washington, DC.
Join MPR News with Angela Davis the week of Sept. 12 as we continue the conversation about 988 and emergency mental health services. We'll talk more about local services, and hear your stories.
Guests:
- Danielle Belton is editor-in-chief of HuffPost.
- Emmy Betz, MD, MPH is professor of emergency medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
- Christine Crawford, MD, MPH associate medical director of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and assistant professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine.
- Arthur Evans Jr., PhD is a clinical and community psychologist and CEO & executive vice president of the American Psychological Association
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Minnesota is a state blessed with abundant outdoor spaces. Pristine lakes, rocky shores, towering pines, dancing prairies, there is a never-ending, always-changing kaleidoscope of nature that beckons us to explore.
But not everyone feels welcome.
Historically, outdoor recreation has been a white, wealthy, able-bodied and male-dominated realm. Here in Minnesota, about 20 percent of Minnesotans identify as people of color. But according to a Department of Natural Resources study, people of color make up only five percent of state park visitors.
What can be done to encourage all Minnesotans to enjoy our rich landscape? Is there a way to make communities of color feel safe and welcome in traditionally white outdoor spaces? What kind of innovative programs are already addressing this disparity?
- Outside in MN Duluth groups push to make outdoor sports more diverse
- Angela Davis Minnesota looks to address disparities in outdoor recreation
- APM Research Lab How Minnesotans feel about local parks and other outdoor recreation areas
On August 31, at a special In Focus, live at the Minnesota State Fair, MPR News host Twila Dang tackled these questions and more with two outdoor equity experts.
Guests:
- Anthony Taylorworks tirelessly to connect Black people and communities of color to nature-based outdoor experiences and active living. He has led equitable outdoors efforts as Adventures Director for the Loppet Foundation and as SVP Equity Outdoors for YMCA of the North. He continues this work to make Minnesota’s green spaces welcoming and accessible to all through his work at the Met Council, The Cultural Wellness Center and various other municipal, state and community partners.
- Asha Shoffner is an educator, adventurer, disrupter, auntie and the founder of Fiwygin Outdoors and the BIPOC Outdoors Twin Cities Facebook group. Asha also works for the city of Saint Paul as an environmental and outdoor education coordinator.
To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Minnesota is a state blessed with abundant outdoor spaces. Pristine lakes, rocky shores, towering pines, dancing prairies, there is a never-ending, always-changing kaleidoscope of nature that beckons us to explore.
But not everyone feels welcome.
Historically, outdoor recreation has been a white, wealthy, able-bodied and male-dominated realm. Here in Minnesota, about 20 percent of Minnesotans identify as people of color. But according to a Department of Natural Resources study, people of color make up only 5 percent of state park visitors.
What can be done to encourage all Minnesotans to enjoy our rich landscape? Is there a way to make communities of color feel safe and welcome in traditionally white outdoor spaces? What kind of innovative programs are already addressing this disparity?
- Outside in MN Duluth groups push to make outdoor sports more diverse
- Angela Davis Minnesota looks to address disparities in outdoor recreation
- APM Research Lab How Minnesotans feel about local parks and other outdoor recreation areas
We’ll tackle these questions and more during MPR News’ In Focus event live at the Minnesota State Fair on Aug. 31. Join host Twila Dang and outdoor equity advocates Anthony Taylor and Asha Shoffner at noon on the main MPR stage as they explain the problems and highlight some solutions to making Minnesota’s nature accessible for all. Or listen to a recording of the conversation on the radio at 9 a.m. on Thursday on MPR News.
Guests:
- Anthony Taylorworks tirelessly to connect Black people and communities of color to nature-based outdoor experiences and active living. He has lead equitable outdoors efforts as Adventures Director for the Loppet Foundation and as SVP Equity Outdoors for YMCA of the North. He continues this work to make Minnesota’s green spaces welcoming and accessible to all through his work at the Met Council, The Cultural Wellness Center and various other municipal, state and community partners.
- Asha Shoffner is an educator, adventurer, disrupter, auntie, and the founder of Fiwygin Outdoors and the BIPOC Outdoors Twin Cities Facebook group. Asha also works for the city of Saint Paul as an environmental and outdoor education coordinator.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Have you dug out that old gaming console from childhood? You know, the one you begged your parents for as you showed them the printed advertisement in the Sunday newspaper ads. What about dusting off a vinyl record, processing film, or downgrading your smartphone to something that’s a little underwhelming?
MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talks about the appeal of retro tech and the history of technology that paved the way for the world we have now — everything from your old phone to polaroid cameras and vintage video games.
Guests:
- Voula Saridakis is a curator at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and helps care for more than 30,000 artifacts in the collection.
- LeAnn Crowe is a photographer and lab manager for West Photo in Minneapolis.
- Jay McDonald is a retro gaming enthusiast based in Dallas. He designs and builds corporate websites and runs RetroGame Start.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Have you dug out that old gaming console from childhood? You know, the one you begged your parents for as you showed them the printed advertisement in the Sunday newspaper ads. What about dusting off a vinyl record, processing old film, or downgrading your smartphone to something that’s a little underwhelming?
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talks about retro tech. We'll explore the history of technology that paved the way for the world we have now —everything from your old phone, polaroid cameras and vintage video games.
And we want to hear from you. What’s your go-to retro tech? How does it make you feel when you use it? And if you’re new to technology that was way before your time, how did you learn to use it? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 am hour or tweet @CatRichert.
Guests:
- Voula Saridakis is a curator at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and is part of the team that cares for more than 30,000 artifacts in the museum collection.
- LeAnn Crowe is a photographer and lab manager for West Photo in Minneapolis.
- Jay McDonald is a retro gaming enthusiast who designs and builds corporate websites and runs the RetroGame Start website in Dallas.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
If prices at the grocery store and gas pump have you struggling to stay on top of your finances, you are not alone. Credit card debt in the United States increased from April through June this year according to an August report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The report found that inflation was the main driver of the increase in debt.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Monday, guest host Chris Farrell talks with two personal finance experts about managing money, and answers your questions about how to budget, reduce debt and save.
We want to hear from you: How have increased prices this year affected your finances? Have you relied more on credit cards and loans? If you’ve been able to reduce credit card debt, how are you doing it? And, what other tips do you have for managing your budget and saving money? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @cfarrellecon.
Guests:
- Nneka Constantino hosts the weekly Financial Fitness radio show on KMOJ radio. She runs Elsa’s House of Sleep, a family business in St. Paul, which was featured in Small Business Revolution on Amazon Prime and Hulu. She is also a vice president and senior financial advisor with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.
- Sharon Powell is an educator with the University of Minnesota Extension. She specializes in financial capability and family relationships.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Barges heading down the Mississippi River carry most of the United State’s soy beans, corn and other crop exports to a global market. But, the river’s role as a trade superhighway goes back hundreds if not thousand of years.
In his new book “Life on the Mississippi” best-selling author Rinker Buck writes about floating from Pittsburgh to New Orleans in a wooden flat boat, following the same water routes taken by thousands of flatboats that carried goods downstream in the 19th century.
MPR News guest host Chris Farrell talks with Rinker and a local river historian about the forgotten history of the flatboat era, modern river communities and why so many of us love the Mighty Mississippi.
- Rinker Buck is the author of “Life on the Mississippi: An Epic American Adventure” and is the New York Times bestselling author of “The Oregon Trail.” He lives in Tennessee.
- John Anfinson retired in 2021 as the superintendent of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a national park focused on the 72-mile stretch of the river as it flows through the greater Twin Cities. He’s been researching, writing and speaking about the upper Mississippi River for over 35 years.
Minnesotans love the Mississippi River.
We take pride in the fact that it starts in Lake Itasca. We love to walk and run on river trails, watch barges line up below downtown St. Paul and canoe in the backwaters around Winona.
But the Mississippi River is also connected to a vast network of tributaries that played a key role in our national history.
In his new book “Life on the Mississippi,” best-selling author Rinker Buck writes about floating from Pittsburgh to New Orleans in a wooden flat boat. He follows the water routes taken by thousands of flatboats in the 19th century and describes how the flatboat era led to an explosion of trade that opened the Midwest to global markets.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Thursday, MPR News guest host Chris Farrell talks about modern adventures down the Mississippi and a forgotten era of history, when rivers were the nation's roadways and the Mississippi was the superhighway.
And we want to hear from our listeners too. If you spend time on the Mississippi River, tell us about it. Do you fish, kayak or work on the river? What does the Mississippi River mean to you? And, what questions do you have about the Mississippi River and its history? Call 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour.
- Rinker Buck is the author of “Life on the Mississippi: An Epic American Adventure” and is the New York Times bestselling author of “The Oregon Trail.” He lives in Tennessee.
- John Anfinson retired in 2021 as the superintendent of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a national park focused on the 72-mile stretch of the river as it flows through the greater Twin Cities. He’s been researching, writing and speaking about the upper Mississippi River for over 35 years.
Many downtowns are a lot quieter than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.
With more people working from home, businesses that depended on a downtown workforce struggled and some closed for good. Habits also have changed over the last couple years and some people are now less likely to head downtown to shop or find entertainment.
Town centers are always reinventing themselves, but the waves of recent change pose new challenges for traditional downtowns.
MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talked about how cities in Greater Minnesota are trying to reimagine their downtowns and create that vibrant mix of shops, restaurants, public spaces, businesses and — most importantly — people.
Guests:
- Wafa Elkhalifa is the equitable development coordinator at Destination Medical Center, a public-private economic initiative in Rochester focused on the downtown area.
- Kristi Stokes is the president of Downtown Duluth.
- Donella Westphal is the owner of Jules Bistro in downtown St. Cloud.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Many downtowns are a lot quieter than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.
With more people working from home, businesses that depended on a downtown workforce struggled and some closed for good. Habits also have changed over the last couple years and some people are now less likely to head downtown to shop or find entertainment.
Town centers are always reinventing themselves, but the waves of recent change pose new challenges for traditional downtowns.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talks about how cities in Greater Minnesota are trying to reimagine their downtowns and create that vibrant mix of shops, restaurants, public spaces, businesses and — most importantly — people.
And we want to hear from you, our listeners. Are you a city official or planner who’s trying to bring more people to your downtown? Tell us about the challenges or successes you’ve had? Are you a business owner who found a way to thrive downtown despite the pandemic? What’s the one event in your town that gets everyone out the door and downtown? And, for the rest of you, what draws you to your downtown or what keeps you away? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @CatRichert.
Guests:
- Wafa Elkhalifa is the equitable development coordinator at Destination Medical Center, a public-private economic initiative in Rochester focused on the downtown area.
- Kristi Stokes is the president of Downtown Duluth.
- Donella Westphal is the owner of Jules Bistro in downtown St. Cloud.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Imagine if you were an owner of the company you work at. Would you feel more invested in your work? Would it change your relationship with your job?
Some companies are allowing their employees to become owners in the company, through models like co-ops or employee stock ownership plans.
Corey Rosen has studied employee ownership for years. And in his new book, “Ownership: Reinventing Companies, Capitalism, and Who Owns What,” Rosen argues that employee ownership could reshape our economy. He says that it can address wealth inequities, increase employee retention and build stronger companies.
Guest host Chris Farrell talks with three experts about employee ownership, and what it looks like in Minnesota.
Guests:
- Corey Rosen is the founder and senior staff member of the National Center for Employee Ownership. He is the author of the new book “Ownership: Reinventing Companies, Capitalism, and Who Owns What.”
- Heather Braimbridge-Cox is the CEO and President of Windings Inc., a custom manufacturer of electric motors based in New Ulm, Minn.
- Sue Crockett is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership.
Use the audio player above to listen to the program.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Imagine if you were an owner of the company you work at. Would you feel more invested in your work? Would it change your relationship with your job?
Some companies are allowing their employees to become owners in the company, through models like co-ops or employee stock ownership plans.
Corey Rosen has studied employee ownership for years. And in his new book, “Ownership: Reinventing Companies, Capitalism, and Who Owns What,” Rosen argues that employee ownership could reshape our economy. He says that it can address wealth inequities, increase employee retention and build stronger companies.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Monday, guest host Chris Farrell talks with three experts about employee ownership, and what it looks like in Minnesota.
And we want to hear from you, our listeners: Do you work for a company that is employee-owned, or have you in the past? What were the advantages and disadvantages of the model? Would you like to work at a company where you are an owner?
And if you don’t, do you feel invested in your workplace? Do you feel like your company shares its financial successes and profits with you and other workers? Tell us about it. Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour.
Guests:
- Corey Rosen is the founder and senior staff member of the National Center for Employee Ownership. He is the author of the new book “Ownership: Reinventing Companies, Capitalism, and Who Owns What.”
- Heather Braimbridge-Cox is the CEO and President of Windings Inc., a custom manufacturer of electric motors based in New Ulm, Minnesota.
- Sue Crockett is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership.
Does the news ever overwhelm you? Does it leave you feeling depressed and powerless?
These days, more of us seem to feel that way. About a third of people, especially young adults, say the news lowers their mood. And more than a third now say they sometimes or often avoid the news, according to a report from Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
Headlines over the last few years have been distressing: A war across the ocean in Ukraine. Political polarization in the U.S. Police shootings. Climate change.
When asked why they don’t take in the news, people say it leaves them demoralized, that stories seem disconnected from their lives or that the news is repetitive.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about news fatigue and news avoidance. Why does it matter? And can we change the way news is delivered to make the public more hopeful?
Guests:
- Amanda Ripley is a journalist, book author and host of the Slate podcast “How To!” Her recent piece in the The Washington Post is called “I stopped reading the news. Is the problem, me — or the product?”
- Benjamin Toff is an assistant professor at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota and a senior research fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford in England.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Does the news ever overwhelm you? Does it leave you feeling depressed and powerless?
These days, more of us seem to feel that way. About a third of people, especially young adults, say the news lowers their mood. And more than a third now say they sometimes or often avoid the news, according to a report from Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
Headlines over the last few years have been distressing: A war across the ocean in Ukraine. Political polarization in the U.S. Police shootings. Climate change.
When asked why they don’t take in the news, people say it leaves them demoralized, that stories seem disconnected from their lives or that the news is repetitive.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Thursday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks about news fatigue and news avoidance. Why does it matter? And can we change the way news is delivered to make the public more hopeful?
And we want to hear from you, our listeners. Have you been intentionally avoiding or limiting the news you take in? Why? Do you find you feel overwhelmed when you follow news events too closely? What are you doing to stay informed without feeling overloaded?
Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Amanda Ripley is a journalist, book author and host of the Slate podcast “How To!” Her recent piece in the The Washington Post is called “I stopped reading the news. Is the problem, me — or the product?”
- Benjamin Toff is an assistant professor at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota and a senior research fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford in England.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
When you look in the mirror at your smile, what do you see? Do you see straight, white teeth, perfected by years of braces and retainers? Are your teeth a little crooked? Do you have gaps or maybe a few missing?
What our teeth look like can say a lot about class, wealth and beauty standards in the United States. About 60 million Americans live in areas with a shortage of dental care, and access to oral health care largely depends on economic status.
MPR News host Angela Davis discussed who can and cannot access oral health care in our country, and why Americans are so obsessed with perfect pearly whites.
Guests:
- Mary Otto is a health journalist and the author of the book “Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America.”
- Dr. Karl Self is an associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, where he is the director of the Division of Dental Therapy and interim Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.
- Dr. Prasida Khanal is the state oral health director for the Minnesota Department of Health.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Facebook and Twitter launched to the public in 2006, ushering in an era of constant communication and virtual communities unimaginable a generation ago.
Social media has changed how we communicate and influences everything from how we engage in political life to young people’s social, emotional and civic development.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with two researchers who study the ways that social media is shaping our lives.
Guests:
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Jaime Settleis an associate professor of government and data science at William and Mary University in Williamsburg, Virginia. She is also the author of the book “Frenemies: How Social Media Polarizes America.”
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Emily Weinsteinis a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a principal investigator at Project Zero, which conducts education research. She is the co-author of the new book “Behind Their Screens: What Teens Are Facing (And Adults Are Missing).”
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
When you look in the mirror at your smile, what do you see? Do you see straight, white teeth, perfected by years of braces and retainers? Are your teeth a little crooked? Do you have gaps or maybe a few missing?
What our teeth look like can say a lot about class, wealth and beauty standards in the United States. About 60 million Americans live in areas with a shortage of dental care, and access to oral health care largely depends on economic status.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis discusses who can and cannot access oral health care in our country, and why Americans are so obsessed with perfect pearly whites.
And we want to hear from you, our listeners: How do you feel about your teeth? Did you have regular visits to the dentist when you were growing up? Was your family able to afford braces and other cosmetic procedures? Or was dental care too expensive? How do you feel about going to the dentist now? Call us at 651-227-6000 during the 9 a.m. hour, or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Mary Otto is a health journalist and the author of the book “Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America.”
- Dr. Karl Self is an associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, where he is the director of the Division of Dental Therapy and interim Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.
- Dr. Prasida Khanal is the state oral health director for the Minnesota Department of Health.
Producer DJ Cashmere spent seven years teaching Black and brown students at a Noble Street charter high school in Chicago. At the time, Noble followed a popular model called "no excuses." Its schools required strict discipline but promised low-income students a better shot at college.
After DJ left the classroom to become a journalist, Noble disavowed its own policies — calling them "assimilationist, patriarchal, white supremacist and anti-black."
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Monday, MPR News with Angela Davis shares a new documentary from American Public Media, “No Excuses: Race and Reckoning at a Chicago Charter School.” DJ, who is white, revisits his old school as it tries to reinvent itself as an anti-racist institution. And he seeks out his former students to ask them how they felt about being on the receiving end of all that education reform, and what they think now about the time they spent in his classroom.
Host and Producer:
- DJ Cashmere is a journalist whose print work has appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, The Village Voice, Chalkbeat and The Hechinger Report. His radio work has aired on Marketplace Morning Report and he currently serves as a producer on Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris. DJ, who is white, taught in K-12 schools in Chicago for eight years before becoming a journalist. He currently lives in New York with his family.
Producer DJ Cashmere spent seven years teaching Black and brown students at a Noble Street charter high school in Chicago. At the time, Noble followed a popular model called "no excuses." Its schools required strict discipline but promised low-income students a better shot at college.
After DJ left the classroom to become a journalist, Noble disavowed its own policies — calling them "assimilationist, patriarchal, white supremacist, and anti-black."
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Monday, MPR News with Angela Davis shares a new documentary from American Public Media, “No Excuses: Race and Reckoning at a Chicago Charter School.” DJ, who is white, revisits his old school as it tries to reinvent itself as an anti-racist institution. And he seeks out his former students to ask them how they felt about being on the receiving end of all that education reform, and what they think now about the time they spent in his classroom.
Host and Producer:
- DJ Cashmere is a journalist whose print work has appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, The Village Voice, Chalkbeat and The Hechinger Report. His radio work has aired on Marketplace Morning Report and he currently serves as a producer on Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris. DJ, who is white, taught in K-12 schools in Chicago for eight years before becoming a journalist. He currently lives in New York with his family.
Minnesota is a big shaper of mall culture.
Southdale was the first indoor mall in the country when it opened in Edina in 1956. Over the next decades, malls spread across suburbia, pulling crowds of shoppers from downtowns.
Then, 30 years ago the Mall of America set the stage for malls as entertainment complexes when it opened on Aug. 11, 1992, with an amusement park surrounded by hundreds of stores.
Now the COVID-19 pandemic and the rush to online shopping is changing malls yet again.
Courtesy of Alexandra Lange.
Alexandra Lange's book “Meet me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall.”
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a Mall of America vice president and a design critic about the evolution of mall culture.
Guests:
- Alexandra Lange is a design critic and author of the new book “Meet me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall.” Her previous book was ”The Design of Childhood: How the Material World Shapes Independent Kids.”
- Jill Renslow is executive vice president of business development and marketing at the Mall of America. She started working at the mall as an events intern in 1997, when the Mall was marking its fifth anniversary. And, she never left. One of her big projects was overseeing the transformation of Camp Snoopy theme park into Nickelodeon Universe.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Minnesota is a big shaper of mall culture.
Southdale was the first indoor mall in the country when it opened in Edina in 1956. Over the next decades, malls spread across suburbia, pulling crowds of shoppers from downtowns.
Then, thirty years ago the Mall of America set the stage for malls as entertainment complexes when it opened on Aug. 11, 1992 with an amusement park surrounded by hundreds of stores.
Now the COVID-19 pandemic and the rush to online shopping is changing malls yet again.
Courtesy of Alexandra Lange.
Alexandra Lange's book “Meet me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall.”
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Thursday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a Mall of America vice president and a design critic about the evolution of mall culture.
And we want to hear from you, our listeners: Tell us about your favorite mall. Do you have a special memory tied to a mall? How is that mall changing to keep customers coming back? And, if you’ve stopped going to a shopping mall tell us why. Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Alexandra Lange is a design critic and author of the new book “Meet me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall.” Her previous book was ”The Design of Childhood: How the Material World Shapes Independent Kids.”
- Jill Renslow is executive vice president of business development and marketing at the Mall of America. She started working at the mall as an events intern in 1997, when the Mall was marking its fifth anniversary. And, she never left. One of her big projects was overseeing the transformation of Camp Snoopy theme park into Nickelodeon Universe.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Many of us get a skull-pounding headache now and then, maybe from stress or after getting dehydrated on a hot day.
But some people get recurring headaches that are serious enough to keep them from school or work. About 1 in 5 people get migraines, a type of headache often accompanied by nausea and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Cluster and tension headaches can also interfere with daily life. And, for some people lingering headaches may be part of long-haul COVID-19.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with two neurologists about what causes migraines and other headaches and new research into how to treat them.
Guests:
- Dr. Narayan Kissoon is a neurologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester and an assistant professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. He specializes in treating headaches and facial pain.
- Yoon-hee Cha is a neurologist with M Health Fairview and an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She specializes in treating headaches and gait and balance problems.
Important questions about chronic migraines Is there a genetic connection? "If someone has migraines, their children have about a 50 percent chance of also having migraines,” Kissoon said. “So it's a pretty strong connection. It's due to a lot of different genetics, and it's multiple genes that play a role, but there's a very strong association.”
Can a concussion be connected to it? Kissoon said a lot of research has looked into head injuries and concussions in connection to chronic headaches, noting that some studies show similar brain activity that appears during a migraine can appear in “animal models after a head injury.”
“We very commonly see people that have headaches after a head injury,” he said.
What about our diet? Could that be connected to chronic migraines? Cha said that food can potentially trigger migraines for some patients, and it’s not always clear which foods can set it off. That’s why a common practice for patients is to chronicle their experiences in a “headache diary” to help narrow down the possible causes.
“Sometimes people have unusual food triggers, they’re not always the classic ones like red wine and aged cheeses and chocolate, but they are things like asparagus. I had a patient who had migraines triggered by peaches and she had to give up peaches. It's hard to figure these things out unless you look at them prospectively.”
How do those who suffer from migraines manage it without it affecting their mental health? “Our general principle is to control what you can and to get help with the parts that you can. Even if you don't have headaches every day, just the lack of predictability of when that next headache can come can have an outsized role in the quality of your life.” Cha said. “Our brain likes predictability.”
Finding control can involve getting regular sleep, eating healthy and at the right times of the day, and modulating activity levels.
Use the audio player above to listen to the program.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Many of us get a skull-pounding headache now and then, maybe from stress or after getting dehydrated on a hot day.
But some people get recurring headaches that are serious enough to keep them from school or work. About one in five people get migraines, a type of headache often accompanied by nausea and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Cluster and tension headaches can also interfere with daily life. And, lingering headaches also may be part of long-haul COVID-19 for some people.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two neurologists about what causes migraines and other headaches and new research into how to treat them.
And we want to hear from you, our listeners: Do you experience migraines or headaches that interfere with your daily life? What makes them worse and what seems to help? Did you get headaches connected to COVID-19 that have lingered? What questions do you have for our experts? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Dr. Narayan Kissoon is a neurologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester and an assistant professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. He specializes in treating headaches and facial pain.
- Yoon-hee Cha is a neurologist with M Health Fairview and an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She specializes in treating headaches and gait and balance problems.
Native American students are just a tiny fraction of all the college students in the United States. And each student comes with different histories, confronting an education system once used to erase their languages and cultures.
MPR News with Angela Davis is sharing a new documentary from American Public Media, “Standing in Two Worlds: Native American College Diaries.” Meet three Indigenous college students with Minnesota ties. They are using a college education to support their communities, and themselves, without losing sight of who they are.
- Archie Yellow: Archie is a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and studies Ojibwe at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College.
- Nevaeh Nez: Nevaeh is a Hopi and Navajo student at the University of Minnesota-Rochester who's planning to go to medical school.
- Reuben Kitto Stately: Reuben is Dakhóta from the Santee Sioux Nation and a tribal member of Red Lake Nation who majored in American Indian Studies at Augsburg University.
Use the audio player above to listen to the show that aired on MPR stations. See portraits of the students, read their words and listen to an unedited version of the documentary here.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Native American students are just a tiny fraction of all the college students in the United States. And each student comes with different histories, confronting an education system once used to erase their languages and cultures.
Coming up 9 a.m. on Monday, we’re sharing a new documentary from American Public Media, “Standing in Two Worlds: Native American College Diaries.” Meet three Indigenous college students with Minnesota ties. They are using a college education to support their communities, and themselves, without losing sight of who they are.
- Archie Yellow: Archie is a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and studies Ojibwe at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College.
- Nevaeh Nez: Nevaeh is a Hopi and Navajo student at the University of Minnesota-Rochester who's planning to go to medical school.
- Reuben Kitto Stately: Reuben is Dakhóta from the Santee Sioux Nation and a tribal member of Red Lake Nation who majored in American Indian Studies at Augsburg University.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Fifty-seven years ago this week, on Aug. 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the landmark Voting Rights Act, with Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders looking on. It was a turning point in American history. At the time, President Johnson called it “a victory of freedom for the nation.”
Thursday at 9 a.m., in a special edition of Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller will examine whether the commitment of that milestone legislation still holds all these years later, particularly as the Supreme Court takes on one case that could upend state election laws and another that challenges a key section of the Voting Rights Act. Her guide is Professor Carol Anderson, one of the nation’s foremost scholars on equity and voting and the author of “One Person, No Vote.”
Guest:
- Carol Anderson is a professor of African-American studies at Emory University and an accomplished author.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS.
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Monkeypox is in Minnesota. There are 38 confirmed cases in the state as of Tuesday.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organization declared that monkeypox is a global public health emergency. And this week, California and Illinois joined New York state to call the virus a public health emergency.
The virus is spread through close contact, and can cause fever, headaches and a rash.
“People getting sick so far have mainly been men who have sex with men, though health officials note that the virus can infect anyone,” according to the Associated Press.
About 5,800 cases of monkeypox have been reported nationwide, including 1,400 in New York, 800 in California and 500 in Illinois.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two infectious disease doctors about monkeypox, how it’s spread, who is most at risk and how to prevent it.
Guests:
- Dr. Nick Lehnertz is the medical adviser for the Minnesota Department of Health infectious disease division.
- Dr. Rebecca Wurtz is an associate professor and infectious disease physician at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
Monkeypox is in Minnesota. There are 38 confirmed cases in the state as of Tuesday.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organization declared that monkeypox is a global public health emergency. And this week, California and Illinois joined New York state to call the virus a public health emergency.
The virus is spread through close contact, and can cause a fever, headaches and a rash.
About 5,800 cases of monkeypox have been reported nationwide, including 1,400 in New York, 800 in California and 500 in Illinois.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two infectious disease doctors about monkeypox, how it’s spread, who is most at risk and how to prevent it.
And we’re taking your questions: What questions do you have for our experts about monkeypox? Are you, a family member or friend in a high-risk category? What questions do you have about prevention? Are you feeling overwhelmed by news about a new infectious disease when we’re still dealing with COVID-19? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Dr. Nick Lehnertz is the medical adviser for the Minnesota Department of Health infectious disease division.
- Dr. Rebecca Wurtz is an associate professor and infectious disease physician at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
Bicycling is growing in more ways than one in Minnesota. During the COVID-19 pandemic bike sales shot up and more people started biking recreationally.
City and regional planners are also encouraging bicycling with the expansion of protected bike lanes and trail networks that let you get from point A to point B without riding on the road. But, today’s cyclists are a diverse pack, including fast racers, slow beginners, kids, commuters and electric bike riders. How can everyone share the paths?
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with two avid bicyclists about how to get into bicycling and tips on using trails and bike lanes.
Guests:
- DeWayne Combs is a physical education teacher at Murray Middle School in St. Paul. He’s worked for St. Paul Public Schools for 31 years and was a finalist for Minnesota Teacher of the Year in 2020 for his work introducing hundreds of students to bicycling. He’s also raced mountain bikes and commutes from Stillwater to St. Paul by bike.
- Elissa Schufmanis director of strategic partnerships at Move Minnesota, a St. Paul-based advocacy group that promotes transit, biking, and walking. She also chairs the Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Board and commutes to work by bike.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
- Recent reporting Creating a safe space for Black bicyclists
Bicycling is growing in more ways than one in Minnesota. During the COVID-19 pandemic bike sales shot up and more people started biking recreationally.
City and regional planners are also encouraging bicycling with the expansion of protected bike lanes and trail networks that let you get from point A to point B without riding on the road. But, today’s cyclists are a diverse pack, including fast racers, slow beginners, kids, commuters and electric bike riders. How can everyone share the paths?
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two avid bicyclists about how to get into bicycling, where to go and tips on using trails and bike lanes.
And we want to hear from you, our listeners: What trails, roads and paths do you bike on? What do you like and what don’t like about where you bike? Did where or how you ride change during the COVID-19 pandemic? Tell us about it. Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- DeWayne Combs is a physical education teacher at Murray Middle School in St. Paul. He’s worked for St. Paul Public Schools for 31 years and was a finalist for Minnesota Teacher of the Year in 2020 for his work introducing hundreds of students to bicycling. He’s also raced mountain bikes and commutes from Stillwater to St. Paul by bike.
- Elissa Schufmanis director of strategic partnerships at Move Minnesota, a St. Paul-based advocacy group that promotes transit, biking, and walking. She also chairs the Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Board and commutes to work by bike.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Tipping after meals at restaurants is almost second-nature for many Americans. But the practice is changing as more people begin to question why we tip.
In many states, employers are allowed to pay a tipped staff a lower minimum wage. Minnesota is one of the few states in the nation that requires employers to pay tipped employees full state minimum wage before factoring in tips.
Tipping also has a dark history in the United States. Tipping has been linked to the end of slavery, when employers wanted an excuse to pay recently freed Black Americans less.
More restaurants are beginning to eliminate tipping, opting instead to charge a service or hospitality fee.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the history of tipping in the United States, how it’s changing and the push for higher wages for service workers.
Guests:
- Saru Jayaraman is the President of One Fair Wage and Director of the Food Labor Research Center at University of California, Berkeley. She is also the co-founder of the Restaurant Opportunities Center United, a non-profit that advocates to improve wages for restaurant workers.
- Paul Bagdanis a Professor of Hospitality at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, where he researches guest service and tip elimination.
- Teófilo Reyesis the Chief Program Officer for Restaurant Opportunities Center United.
Tipping after meals at restaurants is almost second-nature for many Americans. But the practice is changing as more people begin to question why we tip.
In many states, employers are allowed to pay a tipped staff a lower minimum wage. Minnesota is one of the few states in the nation that requires employers to pay tipped employees full state minimum wage before factoring in tips.
Tipping also has a dark history in the United States. Tipping has been linked to the end of slavery, when employers wanted an excuse to pay recently freed Black Americans less.
More restaurants are beginning to eliminate tipping, opting instead to charge a service or hospitality fee.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis is talking about the history of tipping in the United States, how it’s changing and the push for higher wages for service workers.
And we want to hear from you, our listeners: How do you decide when and how much to tip? If you are a restaurant or service worker, what changes and trends are you seeing in tipping? How important are tips for your income? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Saru Jayaraman is the President of One Fair Wage and Director of the Food Labor Research Center at University of California, Berkeley. She is also the co-founder of the Restaurant Opportunities Center United, a non-profit that advocates to improve wages for restaurant workers.
- Paul Bagdanis a Professor of Hospitality at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, where he researches guest service and tip elimination.
- Teófilo Reyesis the Chief Program Officer for Restaurant Opportunities Center United.
A heatwave is coming to the Midwest next week. Highs are expected to hit near 100 degrees in Minnesota as August starts.
And we aren’t the only ones struggling with extreme heat. This has been happening all over the world.
Last week, the U.K. had its hottest day on record. Blistering temperatures in the Northeast United States left more than85 million Americans under excessive heat advisories on Sunday. And wildfires are raging in California right now.
This is becoming the norm as climate change creates more extreme weather and more frequent heatwaves.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with three experts about how cities are responding to and trying to mitigate extreme heat caused by climate change.
Guests:
- Emily Ziring is the sustainability manager for the City of St. Louis Park.
- Ladd Keith is an assistant professor of Planning and Sustainable Built Environments at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
- Ludovica Martella is the climate heat health program coordinator in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Even in normal times, our minds wander. Research finds we’re thinking about something other than what’s right in front of us about half the time. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic has created whole new levels of stress and dramatic shifts in our routines. New concerns pull our attention in a hundred directions and make it even harder to stay focused.
Not all mind wandering is bad. Some drifting thoughts can lead to creative ideas and make us happier. But circling back to regrets and worries leave us feeling rotten and all of us have times when we need to keep our mind on what we’re doing.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two cognitive psychologists about mind wandering and how to reclaim our focus when we need it.
Guests:
- Amishi P. Jha is a professor of psychology and director of contemplative neuroscience at the University of Miami and author of “Peak Mind: Find Your Focus, Own Your Attention, Invest 12 Minutes a Day.”
- Caitlin Mills is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on mind wandering and its impact on learning.
Do you remember a teacher who really made a difference in your life as a child? A teacher who really saw you and encouraged you?
Minnesota schools have a persistent opportunity gap, with Native American children, Black children and other children of color less likely to graduate high school than their white peers.
Research has shown that having teachers and school staff of color can help students of color succeed. But nationally only 7 percent of teachers are Black, and only 2 percent are Black men.
American Public Media special correspondent Lee Hawkins spoke about identity, curriculum, recruitment and more with four Black men who are educators.
Guests:
- Michael Walker, the Director of Black student achievement for Minneapolis Public Schools
- Michael Thomas, superintendent of Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools
- Eric Robinson, a retired teacher
- Derek Francis, Executive Director of Equity and School Climate for Minneapolis Public Schools. He previously managed the district’s counseling services.
Even in normal times, our minds wander. Research finds we’re thinking about something other than what’s right in front of us about half the time. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic has created whole new levels of stress and dramatic shifts in our routines. New concerns pull our attention in a hundred directions and make it even harder to stay focused.
Not all mind wandering is bad. Some drifting thoughts can lead to creative ideas and make us happier. But circling back to regrets and worries leave us feeling rotten and all of us have times when we need to keep our mind on what we’re doing.
Coming up Wednesday at 9 a.m., MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two cognitive psychologists about mind wandering and how to reclaim our focus when we need it.
And we want to hear from you too. Are you having a hard time focusing on your work or even the conversations you’re having? What distracts you and when does it happen? Tell us how your wandering mind is affecting relationships or your job performance. And, what helps you stay focused on a task? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Amishi Jha is a professor of psychology and director of contemplative neuroscience at the University of Miami and author of “Peak Mind: Find Your Focus, Own Your Attention, Invest 12 Minutes a Day” (2021, Harper Collins).
- Caitlin Mills is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on mind wandering and its impact on learning.
Do you remember a teacher who really made a difference in your life as a child? A teacher who really saw you and encouraged you?
Minnesota schools have a persistent opportunity gap, with Native American children, Black children and other children of color less likely to graduate high school than their white peers.
Research has shown that having teachers and school staff of color can help students of color succeed. But nationally only 7 percent of teachers are Black, and only 2 percent are Black men.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, we’ll bring you a conversation with American Public Media special correspondent Lee Hawkins and four Black men who are educators.
Guests:
- Michael Walker, the Director of Black student achievement for Minneapolis Public Schools
- Michael Thomas, superintendent of Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools
- Eric Robinson, a retired teacher
- Derek Francis, Executive Director of Equity and School Climate for Minneapolis Public Schools. He previously managed the district’s counseling services.
Many people are just one medical emergency away from a financial crisis.
A hundred million Americans live with medical debt, or about 41 percent of adults, according to a survey by Kaiser Family Foundation.
To pay off medical bills, many people have taken on other debt, including credit cards, personal bank loans, or loans from family and friends. Medical debt creates stress and prevents people from renting homes and buying cars. It makes people less likely to seek the medical care they need. It contributes to bankruptcy.
The number of Minnesotans with medical debt is low compared to other parts of the country, mostly due to state health insurance programs for people with low incomes. About two percent of Minnesota households have medical debt in collections compared to a national average of 13 percent. But that rate is double in communities of color.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke about tackling medical debt with a financial counselor, an elder law attorney and the leader of a national nonprofit organization that relieves medical debt.
Guests:
- Allison Sesso is the president and CEO of RIP Medical Debt, a national nonprofit organization that uses donations to buy and forgive medical debt.
- Kim Miller is a certified financial counselor with Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota.
- Laura Orr is a senior attorney in elder law at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services based in St. Paul.
Many people are just one medical emergency away from a financial crisis.
A hundred million Americans live with medical debt, according to a survey by Kaiser Family Foundation.
To pay off medical bills, many people have taken on other debt, including credit cards, personal bank loans, or loans from family and friends. Medical debt creates stress and prevents people from renting homes and buying cars. It makes people less likely to seek the medical care they need. It contributes to bankruptcy.
The number of Minnesotans with medical debt is low compared to other parts of the country, mostly due to our state’s health insurance programs for people with low incomes. About two percent of Minnesota households have medical debt in collections. But that rate is double in communities of color.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks about tackling medical debt with a financial counselor and the leader of a national nonprofit organization that relieves medical debt.
And we want to hear from you too. Do you have medical debt? Are you struggling to pay hospital bills? Or maybe you’re trying to manage high bills for mental health services or personal care assistants or dental care? How is this debt affecting you? Or do you have questions for our guests. Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Allison Sesso is the president and CEO of RIP Medical Debt, a national nonprofit organization that uses donations to buy and forgive medical debt.
- Kim Miller is a certified financial counselor with Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota.
- Laura Orr is a senior attorney in elder law at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services based in St. Paul.
Reading a good book is a way to step into another world, if only for a couple chapters.
We read to escape daily routines and stress, to explore other people’s experiences and to better understand our own.
Many of us found more time to read during the pandemic. Sales of print books in 2021 were up almost nine percent.
MPR News Host Angela Davis spoke to booksellers and listeners about what we’re reading for pleasure as we hit the middle of summer.
Guests:
- Pamela Klinger Horn is the event coordinator for Valley Booksellers in Stillwater and founder of Literature Lovers Night Out, a series that brings local and national authors to independent bookstores in Minnesota.
- Anthony Ceballos is a bookseller and events coordinator at Birchbark Books & Native Arts in Minneapolis. He is also a writer and performance poet.
- Mary Taris is the founder of Strive Publishing and the new Strive Bookstore in Minneapolis, which focus on Black authors in Minnesota.
Book recommendations from the guests and our listeners:
“Be Frank with Me” by Julia Claiborne Johnson
"Brood" by Jackie Polzin
"Changing Planet, Changing Health" by Dan Ferber and Paul R. Epstein
“Chronicles of a Radical Hag” by Lorna Landvik
The Cork O’Connor Mysteries by William Kent Krueger
“The Dragon Keeper” by Mindy Mejia
The Emigrants series by William Moberg
“The Evening Hero” by Marie Myung-Ok Lee
“Gratitude” by Oliver Sacks
“Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice” by Rupa Marya and Raj Patel
“Jayden’s Impossible Garden” (children) by Mélina Mangal
“Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus
“Life on the Mississippi” by Rinker Buck
"The Midnight Library" by Matt Hague
“Nightcrawling” by Leila Mottley
"A Psalm for the Wild-Built" by Becky Chambers
“Red and the Egg Pie” (children) by Donna Gingery
"The Sentence" by Louise Erdrich
“The Ski Jumpers” by Peter Geye
“The Tale of Halcyon Crane” by Wendy Webb
"Under the Whispering Door" by TJ Klune
"Uprooting Racism" by Paul Kivel
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Summertime can be one of the most creative seasons for home cooks, with fresh local produce spilling out of backyard gardens and farmers’ markets.
But the hot summer months pose their own challenges. Schedules are thrown off with kids out of school for summer break. No one wants to spend a lot of time in a sweltering kitchen and some of us are just plain tired of cooking. This year, families are also dealing with the skyrocketing prices of food in the grocery store.
MPR News Host Angela Davis talks with two food writers about finding inspiration for summer cooking at home.
Guests:
- Melissa Clark is a staff reporter for the New York Times Food section, where she writes the popular column “A Good Appetite” and appears in a weekly cooking video series. She's also the author of several cookbooks.
- Amalia Moreno-Damgaard is a chef and entrepreneur in the Twin Cities. She is author of “Amalia’s Mesoamerican Table” and “Amalia’s Guatemalan Kitchen.” She is also president-elect of the National Association of Women Business Owners-Minnesota.
Recipes to try Guest Melissa Clark and colleagues at the New York Times come to the rescue with 20 Easy Salads for Hot Summer Days, including Melissa’s twist on a classic Cobb salad, a lemony shrimp platter with crunchy celery and a pasta salad featuring cubed mozzarella, salami ribbons and sliced cucumber.
Guest Amalia Moreno-Damgaard shared these recipes:
Ensalada de Repollo — Spicy cabbage slaw with lime Recipe by Amalia Moreno-Damgaard
Serves 4 to 6 people
Ingredients:
3 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup green bell pepper strips
1 cup red or multicolored grape or cherry tomatoes, whole or halved
¾ cup shaved red onion
1 serrano pepper thinly sliced, veins and seeds included
½ cup parsley leaves, chopped
½ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
The juice of 2 limes
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and add the salt, pepper and lime juice, right before serving. Mix well. Serve.
Ensalada de Pepino y Tomate — Cucumber, tomato, red onion, and corn with sour orange
Courtesy of Amalia Moreno-Damgaard
Ensalada de Pepino y Tomate
Recipe by Amalia Moreno-Damgaard
Serves 4 to 6 people
Ingredients
1 thinly sliced English cucumber
2 thinly sliced Roma tomatoes
½ cup tablespoons thinly sliced red onion
1/3 cup freshly squeezed sour orange (or equal parts orange and lemon juice)
½ to ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup cooked corn kernels
Curly parsley sprigs (optional)
Instructions
Layer the ingredients on a platter starting with cucumber, onions, and tomatoes, and repeat until all ingredients are used. Or, mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Combine the sour orange juice with the salt and dissolve well and add it to the vegetable mixture. Garnish with parsley.
Inflation hit a new high last month of over nine percent.
Grocery bills are 12 percent higher than a year ago. Gas prices dropped a bit last month, but Minnesotans are still paying about $4.50 per gallon, about $1.50 more per gallon than last summer. New car prices are also up 11 percent over 2021.
The Federal Reserve has stepped in to slow inflation by raising interest rates, but some experts worry that may lead to higher unemployment and a recession.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with three financial experts about the uncertain economy and how to stretch your dollars so you can be ready for what may come next.
Guests:
- Henry Rucker is the financial coaching and homeownership manager at Project for Pride in Living in Minneapolis, which helps people with lower incomes prepare for better paying jobs and qualify to buy a home.
- Chris Farrell is senior economics contributor at Minnesota Public Radio and APM’s Marketplace. He's also co-host of the podcast, small change: Money Stories from the Neighborhood.
- Ross Levin is founding principal and president of Accredited Investors Inc. in Edina, a wealth management firm. He also writes the monthly “Gains and Losses” column for the Star Tribune.
After two years of pandemic uncertainty, movie goers have returned to theaters. Blockbusters like “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jurassic World Dominion” have done well at the box office, and raked in millions.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with two movie critics about their favorite summer movies, the state of movie theaters and their recommendations on what to watch. Plus, she talked with MPR Cube Critics Aron Woldeslassie and Samantha Matsumoto.
Guests:
- Ruth Maramis is a film critic for the blog FlixChatter. She is based in the Twin Cities.
- Alissa Wilkinson is a film critic and senior culture reporter at Vox.
- Aron Woldeslassie is an associate producer at MPR News, and co-host of the MPR Cube Critics.
- Samantha Matsumoto is an associate producer at MPR News, and co-host of the MPR Cube Critics.
As of July 1, 2022, edibles containing small amounts of hemp-derived THC are legal in Minnesota.
Under the law, Minnesotans can buy food and beverages that contain up to 5 milligrams of THC per serving, with a limit of 50 milligrams per package. THC is the psychoactive compound that delivers the “high” associated with marijuana. This is the biggest step Minnesota has taken towards legalizing recreational marijuana.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with two lawyers who specialize in cannabis law about Minnesota’s new law, how it compares to cannabis laws in other states and what all this means for Minnesotans.
Guests:
- Jay Wexler is a professor of law at Boston University. He is the author of the forthcoming book, “Weed Rules: Blazing the Way to a Just and Joyous Marijuana Policy.”
- Jason Tarasek is an attorney, the founder of the Minnesota Cannabis Law firm and a board member of the Minnesota Cannabis Association.
Below are highlights from the discussion. Quotes have been edited for length and clarity. Listen to the full conversation using the audio player above or by searching MPR News with Angela Davis wherever you get your podcasts.
What exactly does this new law in Minnesota do and what doesn't it do? Tarasek: It's a groundbreaking piece of legislation. For the first time ever in Minnesota, consumers can purchase THC infused food and beverages. Of course that THC needs to be hemp-derived which makes us unique in the country. So we're not a full adult use marijuana state but we have taken a big step towards that. There are no restrictions on who can sell and where it can be sold.
What’s the difference between hemp and marijuana? Tarasek: It’s kind of confusing. Cannabis is sort of the catch all term and that can refer to both hemp and marijuana which many people are surprised to learn is the same plant. So the distinction is a legal one.
The federal law and regulations and the state law and regulations around this say hemp is defined as a plant or its derivatives containing 0.3 percent delta 9 THC or less. Anything over that threshold is considered marijuana. So that's the distinction but it's the same plant, looks very much the same, smells the same, the THC is the same but that is the distinction.
What kinds of products are allowed under this new law? Tarasek: The thing that retailers were stocked for since this was sort of a surprise to a lot of us were gummies. So most people right now are going to be consuming gummies that they can buy in packages up to 50 milligrams. But the serving size is recommended to be 5 milligrams. And there's no limit on how many bags you can buy.
Have you kept in touch with those store owners? How are they doing two weeks out? Tarasek: They were not necessarily stocked for the demand. And they sold out. The retailers that I spoke to sold out in a matter of days. And so they are scrambling now trying to get more product. I am doing my best to connect them with gummy manufacturers and other states. So we're hoping to have them restocked soon. But you know, it was pretty obvious. There was a lot of pent up demand among Minnesota consumers for this. And I think the politicians are going to take take note of that.
Tell us more about the packaging. Tarasek: The legislators, to their credit, went to great lengths to make sure this is an adult use product. So this can't be marketed to children. You can't manufacture them. You can't call them like fruit loop gummies are things that would appeal to children. They're tamper proof. So we've taken strides to make sure they don't fall into the hands of children or teens.
What stands out about this law compared to those in other states? Wexler: The law is completely unique among all cannabis legalization laws in the states so far. What happens in pretty much every state that's legalized for recreational use up till now is the people of the state or the legislature of the state basically vote to make cannabis legal. And then they delegate authority to some sort of agency.
And that agency takes a long time coming up with regulations that authorize retailers and cultivators to become licensed, and they get a license. And then they're regulated by the state pretty closely about how much they can grow and what conditions they have to grow under, what environmental regulations they have to follow. And retailers have to follow a whole set of regulations as well.
Then there's a long process where companies apply to get licenses. And there's usually a bunch of controversy over who gets the licenses and then it's a long process. Finally, the stores open up and you go in there and the only thing you can get in the in the stores are marijuana products. And the people who are working there are trained bud tenders who know who can advise customers about what they're getting. So this Minnesota approach is completely different.
Tarasek: [In Minnesota]there are no restrictions on who can sell and where it can be sold.
For folks who are concerned about safety, should we be? Wexler: I don't know exactly about how this works in practice. But there's a testing requirement from what I understand, and manufacturers have to contract with a lab in order to get their products tested.
But the results don't necessarily have to be filtered through or sent to any kind of government agencies, which makes it very different from other states. So it’s hard to know if those testing labs, whether they're good, I assume they're high quality, but it's a little different from other states.
Tarasek: The THC has to be derived from certified hemp. So in Minnesota, we have a hemp program where the growers and the processors are licensed. And then, at the point of sale, the actual product has to confirm that indeed this did go through the correct process that checks those boxes, and that it did meet the testing requirements. So again, it's under the 0.3 percent delta 9 THC threshold.
Caller question: What about delta 8? And does a consumer of THC in Minnesota have any guarantee that there's any safety in this product? Tarasek: Delta 8 THC, which was getting extremely popular because it sort of benefited from a loophole in both the federal law and the state law that put restrictions on delta 9 THC. So a lot of people said, and frankly, there are some courts that agree with them, that delta 8 THC was fully legal everywhere, so long as it was hemp-derived and you're correct that that delta 8 THC occurs in very tiny amounts naturally in the plant. But entrepreneurs saw an opportunity and they are using a chemical process to extract delta 8 out of CBD. And there were some health concerns about that because people were using it in vapes and there wasn't any regulation around that.
And this law actually aims to address that because this law does not allow for vapes and allows only point 0.3 percent delta eight THC. The law is it references THC generically, so you can have delta 8, you can have delta 10. I'm expecting most of these products are going to have delta 9 THC, which is the more traditional THC because you don't need to go through that extra chemical induced process to extract it. So I hear what you're saying. I believe that this law was drafted by the legislators and the Board of Pharmacy to address the health concerns about delta 8 and I expect the products you're gonna see food and beverages are gonna mostly contain hemp derived delta 9.
What is the average cost? Tarasek: I wish I knew the answer, but I think it's relatively inexpensive, $20 or so for a bag.
Caller question: If you get pulled over or if you're going to a concert how does this new law effect possession requirements? Tarasek: These hemp derived products, they're legal anywhere. You can possess them, you can use them, you can sell them. I think perhaps it's obvious to everyone that there's still work to be done here because there's no licensing requirement.
We're not capturing any special tax through the sale of these products. We don't have a cannabis control board. All those ideas and regulations exist in the adult use marijuana legislation that the DFL controlled House passed a few years ago. And I expect that when the legislature reconvenes here in Minnesota in January, they may be trying to extract some portions of that law and that the Republican controlled Senate refused to pick up because I think everyone is going to recognize that these hemp derived products perhaps require more regulation. And we need, perhaps, a little more guidance on how this law is gonna be allowed to proceed.
Have people had some legal problems because they tested positive and even though they were using a legal form of the substance? Wexler: Sure. That's a major issue around the country in states that have legalized cannabis for recreational and medical use. Somebody uses cannabis off-site for a medical purpose that they absolutely need to help them with, say Crohn's disease, or PTSD or something like that. But the employer can still in most states test employees for the presence of THC in their bloodstream, which does not tell you when the person has consumed THC. THC stays in the bloodstream, or stays in the body for for up to 30 days. So even if you test positive today, it doesn't mean that you had just used THC, you could have used it a week ago or so.
And so people do get fired regularly for using cannabis off the job. And there have been many cases in different jurisdictions about whether that's OK or not. I don't know where Minnesota was stands on it.
Tarasek: Minnesota's Medical program has legislative protections for people who consume medical cannabis, there's no such similar protection for people using these new products. So people need to be careful.
Caller question: Are any of these over the counter products equivalent to medical cannabis products, for someone who just doesn't want to be part of the state medical program? Tarasek: This is hemp-derived THC in very small amounts, so it's not going to compare whatsoever to the products that would be available through the medical program. There are cannabis pharmacists who work for our medical marijuana dispensaries who could advise you on this, I expect it may provide some relief. But I am not a cannabis pharmacist.
Wexler: There's so much that we don't know about THC and CBD’s medical benefits, because there just hasn't been as much research as we would have liked for the last 40 years, the federal government has made it illegal, largely, to research the benefits of cannabis. And so, we're just now I think learning which strains and which forms of THC and CBD are effective for which conditions. And so that’s partially a problem that’s linked to the ongoing prohibition at the federal level. And hopefully, as that sort of loosens up over time, we're gonna learn a lot more about which strains work for which conditions but it is frustrating.
Caller comment: If you are not a U.S. citizen, then you still need to worry about federal rules, because it can affect your immigration status. Wexler: That's absolutely right. The federal government continues to make all cannabis illegal except for hemp and I think an open question is about what federal law says about a unique thing like Minnesota’s law. I'm sure the intent of the Federal Congress would be to keep those products illegal.
There’s lots of discussion about alcohol consumption compared to the consumption of cannabis products. Tarasek: I get some weird looks when I say cannabis is safer than alcohol because it is so baked into our society. You know, alcohol is celebrated and there's such a stigma around cannabis. But the slogan that worked in Colorado when they pass their ballot initiative in 2012, was that cannabis and marijuana in particular is safer than alcohol. I'm not going to tell you that marijuana is safe or healthy, but is it safer than alcohol, 100 percent. And there is a culture shift underway certainly among the millennials where they are are not consuming alcohol like older generations did. And there's a transition going on culturally away from alcohol and toward THC. And this new law in Minnesota gives consumers an alternative that they did not have before. And it is in the interest of public health. We banned vapes, I think out of the interests of public health and allowing more THC in the marketplace here in Minnesota is a public health initiative.
Wexler: What we really need I think, are places to socially use cannabis, the sort of equivalent of the bar. And those are referred to as social use establishments or cannabis cafes. Some states allow for them, but only in a very sort of begrudging way. And very few have opened across the country, a few in California, a few in Colorado, here and there. But until that happens, I think it's going to be hard to normalize cannabis. So I think it's really important that legislatures and state agencies push for social places to use cannabis, so that we can use cannabis instead of alcohol and still have that social gathering together.
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AskMPRNews What questions do you have about Minnesota's THC law?
Two years ago, important business corridors in the Twin Cities were damaged by civil unrest that followed the police killing of George Floyd — most notably, Lake Street in Minneapolis.
Many of these businesses were owned by immigrants and people of color. Some of them were completely burned to the ground.
Today, many businesses have reopened, and Lake Street is on its way to recovery from the damage and the setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with nonprofit leaders and business owners about the efforts to rebuild and revitalize businesses on Lake Street.
Guests:
- Allison Sharkey is the executive director of Lake Street Council.
- David Nicholson is the Vibrant and Equitable Communities program director at the McKnight Foundation.
Many people got into birdwatching during the COVID-19 lockdown. For some, it was a way to spend time outdoors in nature. For others, it was simply a way to slow down and notice what was happening outside the window.
And, once people started paying attention to birds, many never stopped.
Here in Minnesota, summer is a great time to keep an eye out for nests and baby birds. This week also is the start of the fall migration. That’s right, some shorebirds are already starting their flight south.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with Sharon Stiteler, also known as the “Birdchick," about what the birds are up, where to spot them and small things everyone can do to protect them.
Guest:
- Sharon Stiteler, also known as the “Birdchick," fell in love with birds at age 7 when someone gave her a Peterson Field Guide to Birds. She’s now an avid bird watcher and author of several books, including “North American Bird Watching for Beginners: Field Notes on 150 Species to Start Your Birding Adventures,” published this spring. She splits her time between Alaska and Minnesota.
When it comes to guidance on the COVID-19 pandemic, you may feel like you are on your own.
Mask mandates have been lifted. There’s little guidance from our elected leaders and public officials. And it’s hard to even get an idea of the spread of the virus, because states are reporting infection data less frequently.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with The Atlantic magazine’s science writer Ed Yong about what he describes as the “figure it out for yourself” phase of the pandemic. We also heard from a community group in Minneapolis that is working to fill the gaps in information and aid.
Guests:
- Ed Yong is a staff writer at The Atlantic where he covers science and the pandemic.
- Elizabeth Wrigley-Fieldis an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota. She is also a member of Seward Vaccine Equity Project.
- Inari Mohammed is an epidemiology doctoral student at the University of Minnesota. She is also a member of Seward Vaccine Equity Project.
There are many Minnesotans who have left home and gone on to become famous. And when we think about the athletes on that list, one name definitely comes to mind.
Briana Scurry is considered one the best women’s soccer players to ever play the game. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist who graduated from Anoka High School. She has broken barriers as a Black woman and as an openly gay athlete.
And now she has written a book, “My Greatest Save,” that tells her story.
Briana Scurry joined MPR News host Angela Davis to share stories about growing up in Minnesota, rising to the top as a professional soccer player, and then watching her life fall apart after a head injury ended her soccer career.
Guest:
- Briana Scurry is a women’s soccer player and a two-time Olympic gold medalist who graduated from Anoka High School.
Income inequality is deepening in America. Economic gains in recent decades have been unevenly dispersed, with the vast majority of the wealth going to those already on top. Part of that discrepancy is rooted in the inability to buy property.
Owning your own home is a key part of building wealth in the U.S., thanks to federal tax policy. But for many people of color, the door to home ownership has long been closed. In fact, Minnesota has one of the largest racial homeownership gaps in the country. Why is this, and what can be done to narrow the gap and set families of color on the road to solid housing and wealth creation?
Listen to this recorded In Focus event as MPR News host Angela Davis leads a discussion about the racial wealth gap in Minnesota with panelists from across the state.
Guests:
- Kim Smith-Moore is the senior director of homeownership programs at MN Homeownership Center.
- LeAnn Littlewolf is the co-executive director of the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO), based in Duluth.
- Karla Benson Rutten, executive director of the St. Paul campus of the Jeremiah Program, which works with single moms and their children to break the cycle of generational poverty.
Now that the right to an abortion has been overturned, America enters a new phase. Some states, like Minnesota, will continue to offer abortion care. Many others will prevent all access. Some will even criminalize anyone who helps a pregnant person get an abortion in a state that makes it legal.
Writer and activist Robin Marty saw this day coming — but she admits she didn’t think it would happen so quickly. In 2019, she wrote “Handbook for a Post-Roe America,” as she watched laws severely restricting abortion sweep many regions of the country. This spring, she released an updated version. And now, with the Supreme Court overturning Roe, it’s become a handbook for women reeling from the decision and wondering what to do next.
Wednesday, on a special edition of Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller spoke with Marty, who recently moved from Minnesota to Alabama to become the operations director for the West Alabama’s Women’s Center. They discussed her book, what she thinks will happen next, and how the hopscotched nature of abortion rights going forward will impact pregnant people, especially women of color.
Guest:
- Robin Marty is the operations director for the West Alabama Women's Center, and the author of “A Handbook for a Post-Roe America.”
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One of the most hotly anticipated new restaurants in Minneapolis opened earlier this month. Mara, a posh Mediterranean eatery, is the latest creation from chef Gavin Kaysen.
Kaysen, who is also the owner and chef at Spoon and Stable and Demi, grew up in Minnesota. He has won James Beard awards, cooked at restaurants around the world, and competed on cooking shows like “Iron Chef.”
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Kaysen about why he still believes in downtown Minneapolis, the importance of hospitality, his role with the new Iron Chef season and balancing family and work.
Guest:
Gavin Kaysen is an award-winning chef. He is the owner and chef of the Minneapolis restaurants Mara, Spoon and Stable and Demi.
Roe v. Wade is one of the very few U.S. Supreme Court cases that many ordinary people know by name. The landmark 1973 decision made abortion legal in America. Now, a majority of the current court says that ruling was “egregiously wrong,” opening the way for states to restrict abortion or ban it entirely.
Abortion is still legal under current Minnesota law. Could that change? And what does the decision mean for other states and the country as a whole?
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two law professors about abortion rights and access in a post-Roe world and other implication’s of last week’s ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
Guests:
- Laura Hermer is a law professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul and the author of the article, “Covid-19, Abortion, and Public Health in the Culture Wars.”
- Jill Hasday is a professor of constitutional law, family law and legal history at the University of Minnesota Law School and the author of two books: “Family Law Reimagined” and “Intimate Lies and the Law.”
Roe v. Wade is one of the very few U.S. Supreme Court cases that many ordinary people know by name. The landmark 1973 decision made abortion legal in America. Now, a majority of the current court says that ruling was “egregiously wrong,” opening the way for states to curtail abortion access or ban it entirely.
Abortion is still legal under current Minnesota law. Could that change? And what does the decision mean for other states and the country as a whole?
Coming up 9 a.m. on Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two law professors about abortion rights and access in Minnesota in a post-Roe world.
And we want to hear from you: How does the Roe v Wade decision sit with you? How does it impact you personally or in your work? What questions do you have about the decision and how the law might affect abortion access? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Laura Hermer is a law professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul and the author of the article, “Covid-19, Abortion, and Public Health in the Culture Wars.”
- Jill Hasday is a professor of constitutional law, family law and legal history at the University of Minnesota Law School and the author of two books: “Family Law Reimagined” and “Intimate Lies and the Law.”
Everyone needs a break from their routines and daily stress. But for many people, a big summer vacation away isn’t affordable or even desirable.
The idea of a “staycation” became popular during the Great Recession of 2008. It returned during the COVID pandemic as people reluctant or unable to travel rediscovered their neighborhoods and nearby tourist attractions. As we head into summer, inflation and lingering COVID concerns are making nearby vacations appealing again.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two travel writers about finding Minnesota’s hidden vacation spots and low-cost ways to find rest and renewal close to home.
Guests:
- Lisa Meyers McClintick is a travel writer and photographer based in St. Cloud and author of the guidebook “Day Trips from the Twin Cities.”
- Lizanne Dooner is a travel writer and blogger and creator of the blog Lizanne Lately.
It’s not an exaggeration to call Minneapolis musician Gary Hines legendary.
Hines is the music director and producer for the three-time Grammy Award-winning musical group Sounds of Blackness. He has been a fixture in the Twin Cities music scene for more than 50 years.
He’s performed with Sounds of Blackness in cities across the world. He’s worked with artists ranging from Aretha Franklin to Dolly Parton. And he teaches across the country and internationally about the history, impact and evolution of African-American music and culture.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with Hines about his career, Sounds of Blackness and what he is working on now.
Guest:
- Gary Hines is the music director and producer of the Grammy Award-Winning Sounds of Blackness.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Everyone needs a break from their routines and daily stress. But for many people, a big summer vacation away isn’t affordable or even desirable.
The idea of a “staycation” became popular during the Great Recession of 2008. It returned during the COVID pandemic as people reluctant or unable to travel rediscovered their neighborhoods and nearby tourist attractions. As we head into summer, inflation and lingering COVID concerns are making nearby vacations appealing again.
Friday at 9 a.m., MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two travel writers about finding Minnesota’s hidden vacation spots and low-cost ways to find rest and renewal close to home.
And we want to hear from you: Have you taken a vacation close home? Or have you made the most of a day at home that was an escape from your routine? What did you do? Or tell us about what’s worth exploring in your corner of Minnesota. Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Lisa Meyers McClintick is a travel writer and photographer based in St. Cloud and author of the guidebook “Day Trips from the Twin Cities.”
- Lizanne Dooner a travel writer and blogger and creator of the travel blog Lizanne Lately.
Summertime means sunshine. But all that sun isn’t necessarily good for our skin.
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer and case rates are rising. The American Cancer Society estimates that almost 100,000 new melanoma cases, the most serious and third most common type of skin cancer, will be diagnosed this year. Minnesota has one of the highest rates of melanoma in the country.
But skin cancer is usually preventable. Protecting skin from the sun and avoiding the cell damage caused by tanning and sunburn can mean a much lower risk of cancer decades later.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with two dermatologists about skin cancer rates, who is most at risk, common ways we misuse sunscreen and how to keep your skin healthy.
Guests
- Dr. Ingrid Polcari is a pediatrician and dermatologist and an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
- Dr. Dawn Davis is a pediatrician and dermatologist and a professor at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
The number of businesses started by women of color is on the rise, despite deeply entrenched barriers to success.
MPR News with Angela Davis shares the stories of several women of color entrepreneurs in a special broadcast of the podcast “small change: Money Stories from the Neighborhood.” Podcast co-hosts Chris Farrell and Twila Dang talk with the founders of four Minnesota small businesses about solving problems, leaving a legacy, building wealth and the importance of their businesses to their communities.
“small change” highlights smart, practical, and collaborative money skills developed by people living with lower and unstable incomes.
Guests:
- Sabrina Jones is the founder of SJC Body Love Products in the Twin Cities.
- Esperanza Lopez and her daughter Stephanie Lopez are the founders of Spurs Bar & Grill in Willmar.
- Denise Paradas, sister Tracey Dagen and daughters Dani Pieratos and Nikki Pieratos are members of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa and founders of Harvest Nation in Tower.
- Arielle Grant is founder of Render Free in Minneapolis
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Is there a song that you just love? Do you have a favorite jam? Or are you a fan of a certain genre of music and will listen to anything that falls in line with it?
MPR News host Angela Davis introduced us to the team at The Current behind Carbon Sound, the new music stream available online and via mobile app dedicated to celebrating Black musical expression from hip-hop and R&B to Afrobeats, funk and electronica.
Carbon Sound launched on Thursday and is a collaboration between The Current and KMOJ/The Ice. The project is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Other stations launching as part of CPB’s initiative include Radio Milwaukee and WJSU-FM in Jackson, Mississippi.
Guests:
- Julian Green is the content director of Carbon Sound. He previously served as program director at Radio K at the University of Minnesota and founded their online hip-hop stream The Vanguard.
- Sanni Brown is the host of Carbon Sound. She also hosts The Message, The Current’s hip-hop and R&B show that airs on Wednesdays. The Message will now also be heard on Carbon Sound. She has more than 10 years of broadcast experience at stations including KMOJ-FM, KFAI-FM and 107.1 MyTalk.
- Andre Griffin is the community engagement specialist for Carbon Sound. He has worked as a youth mentor at Banyan Community and as a community outreach specialist for the Pan-Afrikan Student Union at Augsburg University.
As Father’s Day approaches, you may be reflecting on your relationship with your father or father figure.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a St. Paul poet and author who has written about fatherhood, and a Twin Cities performer who has served as a mentor and father figure to young artists.
Guests:
- Michael Kleber-Diggsis a poet, essayist and literary critic in St. Paul. He is the author of the poetry collection “Worldly Things.”
- T. Mychael Rambois an actor, vocalist, educator and community organizer based in the Twin Cities.
Minnesotans who have experience with the child welfare system understand the unique challenges children and families face. They also know that the system designed to help isn’t perfect.
Take foster care. While it sometimes leads to better outcomes for at-risk children, we also know it has a disproportionate impact on some communities. Native American children, Black children and multi-racial children in Minnesota were significantly more likely to be in foster care than white children.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two Bush fellows who have dedicated their careers to addressing problems within Minnesota’s child welfare and foster care systems. With more than 13,000 children in Minnesota placed in foster care in 2020, these two leaders are working toward a world that no longer needs foster care.
Guests:
Hoang Murphyis the founder and executive director of Foster Advocates. He is a 2022 Bush Fellow.
Amelia Franck Meyeris the founder and CEO of the national non-profit Alia Innovations. She is a 2015 Bush Fellow.
The pandemic stretched many parents to their limits. Two-thirds of working parents are showing signs of exhaustion and chronic stress, according to a report released in May from researchers at Ohio State University.
In fact, most parents are so stressed juggling demands of work and home that they meet the criteria of burnout, a term usually reserved for people experiencing unrelenting stress in the workplace.
The loss of regular schooling and support systems over the last two years took a toll. Many parents are still feeling overwhelmed and isolated. It can show up as increased irritability, emotional detachment or simply feeling like you have nothing more to give.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two mental health providers who work with parents about burnout and how to cope.
Guests:
- Jenny Britton is licensed independent clinical social worker and director of children and family services at Washburn Center for Children where she works with parents and caregivers.
- Katie Thorsness is a perinatal psychiatrist with Hennepin Healthcare’s Mother-Baby Program and the Redleaf Center for Family Healing.
The pandemic stretched many parents to their limits. Two-thirds of working parents are showing signs of exhaustion and chronic stress, according to a report released in May from researchers at Ohio State University.
In fact, most parents are so stressed juggling demands of work and home that they meet the criteria of burnout, a term usually reserved for people experiencing unrelenting stress in the workplace.
The loss of regular schooling and support systems over the last two years took a toll. Many parents are still feeling overwhelmed and isolated. It can show up as increased irritability, emotional detachment or simply feeling like you have nothing more to give.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two mental health providers who work with parents about burnout and how to cope.
And we want to hear from you, too. Have you been overwhelmed as a parent? Why? What has helped you endure or even rebound from the chronic stress of pandemic parenting? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Jenny Britton is licensed independent clinical social worker and director of children and family services at Washburn Center for Children where she works with parents and caregivers.
- Katie Thorsness is a perinatal psychiatrist with Hennepin Healthcare’s Mother-Baby Program and the Redleaf Center for Family Healing.
After COVID-19 shuttered live performances and left theater seats empty for nearly two years, live theater returned to the Twin Cities in late 2021 and early 2022.
But performing arts companies face ongoing challenges. They continue to deal with the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. And many are working to address racism and discrimination in theater after the racial reckoning in 2020.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with two leaders in Minnesota theater, Joseph Haj at the Guthrie in Minneapolis and Christopher Harrington at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul.
Guests:
- Joseph Haj is the artistic director of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.
- Christopher Harrington is the president and CEO of the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul.
Solar power still accounts for less than 4 percent of electricity generated in Minnesota, but it’s growing fast as a way to reduce carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels. Utility companies in the state are on track to get 10 percent of their electricity from this renewable source by 2030.
But there are still challenges to developing solar, including connecting far-flung solar arrays to the electrical grid and tariffs that boost the cost of importing solar panels manufactured overseas.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with two solar developers about the state of the solar industry.
Plus, MPR News senior economics contributor Chris Farrell shares the latest economic news.
- In booming solar industry How to avoid ‘bad actors’
Guests:
- Eric Pasi has been involved with developing solar in Minnesota for more than 15 years and is chief development officer at Impact Power Solutions, a large solar developer based in Roseville. He's also the author of "CleanWave: A Guide to Success in the Green Recovery."
- Jamez Staples is founder and CEO of Renewable Energy Partners in north Minneapolis. The company develops solar projects and trains people to work in green energy jobs.
Solar power still accounts for less than four percent of electricity generated in Minnesota, but it’s growing fast as a way to reduce carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels. Utility companies in the state are on track to get 10 percent of their electricity from this renewable source by 2030.
But there are still challenges to developing solar, including connecting far-flung solar arrays to the electrical grid and tariffs that boost the cost of importing solar panels manufactured overseas.
Coming up at 9 a.m. Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the state of the solar industry.
Plus MPR News senior economics contributor Chris Farrell shares the latest economic news.
And we want to hear from you: Have you installed solar on your home or business or are you thinking about it? What is your experience? Or do you have questions about those solar panels you see going up everywhere? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Eric Pasi has been involved with developing solar in Minnesota for more than 15 years and is chief development officer at Impact Power Solutions, a large solar developer based in Roseville. He's also the author of "CleanWave: A Guide to Success in the Green Recovery."
- Jamez Staples is founder and CEO of Renewable Energy Partners in north Minneapolis. The company develops solar projects and trains people to work in green energy jobs.
It’s turning into a boom year for weddings.
Many engaged couples canceled their weddings in 2020 or simply delayed tying the knot because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now they’re making plans to celebrate in 2022.
Minnesota weddings took a dip in 2020, came back in 2021 and are revving up in 2022 with a predicted 33,000 weddings this year, up about 13 percent from pre-pandemic numbers, according to The Wedding Report, a trade group that gathers data by surveying couples and wedding vendors.
The pandemic trends of small weddings and elopements are still popular. But big bashes are back, too. The average cost of a Minnesota wedding in 2021 was close to $25,000 and the median cost was about $15,000, according to The Wedding Report.
Alyssa Lund Photography
Mary Carlson, left, is a wedding planner and owner of Pure Event Planning in Duluth.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two wedding planners about how couples are celebrating their marriages.
Julia Mary Photography
Josey Stafford is a wedding planner and owner of Sixpence Events & Planning based in Bloomington.
Guests:
- Mary Carlson is a wedding planner and owner of Pure Event Planning in Duluth. Before that she worked at several venues in the Twin Cities area.
- Josey Stafford is a wedding planner and owner of Sixpence Events & Planning based in Bloomington. She also hosts the podcast Under the Veil: Witty Wedding Advice.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
It’s turning into a boom year for weddings.
Many engaged couples canceled their weddings in 2020 or simply delayed tying the knot because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now they’re making plans to celebrate in 2022.
Minnesota weddings took a dip in 2020, came back in 2021 and are revving up in 2022 with a predicted 33,000 weddings this year, up about 13 percent from pre-pandemic numbers, according to The Wedding Report, a trade group that gathers data by surveying couples and wedding vendors.
The pandemic trends of small weddings and elopements are still popular. But big bashes are back, too. The average cost of a Minnesota wedding in 2021 was close to $25,000 and the median cost was about $15,000, according to The Wedding Report.
Alyssa Lund Photography
Mary Carlson, left, is a wedding planner and owner of Pure Event Planning in Duluth.
Coming up at 9 a.m. Friday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two wedding planners about how couples are celebrating their marriages.
And we want to hear from you: Are you planning a wedding or did you recently have one? What was on your mind as you planned it? What advice do you have? Do you have friends or family getting married? What are you seeing? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Julia Mary Photography
Josey Stafford is a wedding planner and owner of Sixpence Events & Planning based in Bloomington.
Guests:
- Mary Carlson is a wedding planner and owner of Pure Event Planning in Duluth. Before then she worked at several venues in the Twin Cities area.
- Josey Stafford is a wedding planner and owner of Sixpence Events & Planning based in Bloomington. She also hosts the podcast Under the Veil: Witty Wedding Advice.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Heavy rain and high winds have caused trouble for many Minnesota farmers this spring. And that’s just the latest challenge. Following last year’s historic drought, farmers are now dealing with supply chain issues, rising costs, avian influenza and instability caused by international conflict.
Gov. Tim Walz recently signed an agriculture omnibus bill that will fund drought relief, rural broadband and support for emerging farmers.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with Minnesota’s agriculture commissioner and representatives from the Minnesota Farmers Union and the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association about the state of farming.
If you are a farmer struggling with stress or mental health concerns, you can contact the Minnesota Farm and Rural Helpline at 833-600-2670 or by texting FARMSTRESS to 898211.
Guests:
- Thom Petersen is the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
- Anne Schwagerl is the vice president at the Minnesota Farmers Union. She owns and operates a farm in Browns Valley, Minnesota.
- Mike Skaug is the president of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association. He owns and operates a farm in Beltrami , Minnesota.
Click the audio player above to listen to their conversation.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify.
Heavy rain and high winds have caused trouble for many Minnesota farmers this spring. And that’s just the latest challenge. Following last year’s historic drought, farmers are now dealing with supply chain issues, rising costs, avian influenza and instability caused by international conflict.
Gov. Tim Walz recently signed an agriculture omnibus bill that will fund drought relief, rural broadband and support for emerging farmers.
Coming up at 9 a.m. Thursday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Minnesota’s agriculture commissioner and representatives from the Minnesota Farmers Union and the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association about the state of farming.
And we want to hear from you: If you are a farmer, how are you doing? How are rising costs and bad weather affecting your farm? And if you are a consumer, what concerns do you have about how rising costs will affect you? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Thom Petersen is the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
- Anne Schwagerl is the vice president at the Minnesota Farmers Union. She owns and operates a farm in Browns Valley, Minnesota.
- Mike Skaug is the president of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association. He owns and operates a farm in Beltrami , Minnesota.
We’re heading into a third summer with COVID-19 and a lot of people are finding it hard to assess their risk in this new stage of the pandemic.
Most of Minnesota, including the Twin Cities, seems to be coming out of a small surge, but cases are rising in southern Minnesota.
By now, two thirds of Minnesotans have had at least two doses of a vaccine. Even more have likely had the virus. The CDC estimated in April that almost 60 percent of people had been infected. Other studies put that number higher, and it’s sure to have gone up with the recent waves of infection.
But, we also know that being vaccinated or recovering from COVID-19 once doesn’t protect people from getting it again. New strains keep popping up. Wastewater samples from the Twin Cities show that people now are spreading a third version of the omicron variant that hit in January.
More than ever, our individual risk of catching the virus or falling ill boils down to our individual situation.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm and infectious disease expert, Dr. Greg Poland, about the risk of variants, masking advice, when to time a booster, new vaccines coming in the fall and how to cope with a virus that isn’t going away.
Below are highlights from the show that have been edited for length and clarity. Listen to the full conversation by clicking the audio player above.
When you look at the most recent number of cases in Minnesota, how do you describe what they show? How are we doing? Malcolm: It's even hard to count how many waves we've had now and some of the waves really never ended before the next one kicked in. Certainly, over the last couple of months, we've seen cases going back up but at a slower rate than we did with the original omicron strain in December and January.
We've watched this kind of slow build. I think thanks to vaccination and boosting and treatments, hospitalizations have not risen to the same degree. Over the last week or two weeks, we've seemed to be stabilizing a bit.
What about deaths? Malcolm: We have been grateful that we haven't seen as many deaths in this most recent wave. We’ve pretty much been in the single digits. Still, we've lost over over 12,600 Minnesotans over the last two years. Even when we're having five and 10 deaths a day, that's five and 10 too many.
Dr. Poland, how about you? Are you seeing reasons for us to be optimistic now or not? What do you see in how we're doing right now as a state? Poland: We seem to be divided into two categories: People who believe in science, who believe in the effectiveness of public health measures. And those that don't. Those that I would say, sort of live in a world of hesitancy, doubt and rejection of the scientific method.
And so, you see nationwide, it's almost hard to say, almost unbelievable, that since COVID started, one out of every 320 Americans is now dead of COVID. Over a million people, more than we had during the 1918 influenza pandemic. So, as a health care provider you're caught in this odd world where I go into a room and especially early on people were saying, “When can I get the vaccine?” Now we'd go into a room and say, “I notice you haven't had the vaccine.” (And they say) “I don't want that. That's dangerous.”
The problem we're having now is really a complex matrix of time since last booster, the development of new variants and psychological human issues. “COVID fatigue,” as it's being called, should have no rational place in deciding what do I do to protect my life and the life of my family and my community members. And yet, in Minnesota and elsewhere, the majority of people are pretending that the pandemic is over. It is not.
For example, during the omicron wave we’ve just come through, we had more people die in four months than we did with six months of delta last year. That's stunning. We should have learned as a population that wearing masks indoors makes a lot of sense. Social distancing makes sense. Getting my vaccine and my booster makes sense. And yet we've got a sizable minority that doesn't believe that and don't follow those recommendations.
Caller question: Some in my family are getting over their first bout of COVID, but others in the same household continue to test negative. Why? And what should we do to stay safe this summer? Malcolm: The pattern of who gets it and who doesn’t can be a mystery. One of the most important things that we can do at this point is to stay up to date with vaccines and the boosters. It's very clear now that these new variants can evade immune protection, whether that's from a prior illness or from a from a shot that has worn off.
I really appreciate how Dr. Poland laid out the logic case. There’s a lot of virus out there, certainly outdoor environments are much safer. But when you're in an indoor environment around other people, you might just as well expect to that you're going to encounter folks who are infectious. So stay up to date with those boosters and wear masks indoors.
Poland: One thing to remember, when we talk about evasion of immune response, it's not that there's no protection, it's that each of these new variants requires higher levels of antibody to perform an actual lower level of neutralization. So your age, your medical condition, your genetic background, the time since your last vaccine and which variant is circulating, all play a complex role in in determining this.
There's no strict time limit or time interval between when you got infected and when you get your booster. In general, I'd let you recover and wait a month or so and then get the booster as recommended.
What do the new variants mean for our chances of getting reinfected? Poland: Let me be clear to the point of maybe being blunt: If you're not somebody who has been immunized or who's wearing masks indoors around people who are not your family, you will get infected, and you will get infected repeatedly as new variants arise.
These variants will continue to arise as long as large numbers of people are getting infected. And that will occur through both mutation and what's called recombination. That is what these RNA viruses do. I've studied them for almost 40 years. And this is playing out exactly as you would predict, given the distortion of human behavior happening in the context of a worldwide pandemic.
For people who have recovered from the virus recently, how long are we protected from getting it again? Poland: I could have told you the answer to your question with omicron, which is almost certainly what you got infected with. I don't know the answer to your question in the face of BA.2.12.1. I particularly don't know what the answer to your question is should BA.4 or .5, currently ravaging South Africa, spread here. It's changing so fast that it is almost impossible to develop the scientific data fast enough.
How do we time our booster shots if you’re trying to stay fully vaccinated? Poland: If you tested and it was positive, we would consider that the equivalent of a booster. Now, what's going to happen is sometime this summer, we are expecting a variant focus booster. That'll be important because for the second booster the recommendation is based on two pieces of data, both from Israel.
One showing that (the variant focused booster) decreases the risk of death by about 78 percent. Now stop a moment to think about that. What that means is you reduce your risk from .1 percent to .03 percent. A measurable real difference, but a real fractional one. Why? Because you are gaining the value of the previous three doses that you got.
It reduced the risk of severe or serious illness by about two-fold and moderate illness by about that same amount. But that effect only lasted four weeks, and by eight weeks was gone, highlighting the need for updated boosters, or so called variant focused boosters.
Caller question: I was exposed to COVID, had a negative test, I’ve had one booster. What’s my quarantine protocol? Malcolm: Those are difficult decisions. The abundance of caution is still advised even if you’ve tested negative. I’m guessing you used a rapid test, which are optimal when you use them for a couple of days in a row.
Poland: If you have no fever or symptoms, then what I personally would do would be to consider going, but wearing a proper mask properly. Like a KN95, or 94. And wear it properly, crimped around your nose, no air spaces around your face, not below your nose, not below your chin, as you see so many people doing. And maintain some physical distance. That way, I think you're probably protecting other people should you be harboring an asymptomatic infection.
Caller question: What’s on the horizon for vaccines? Poland: We will likely have a vaccine recommendation for children down to six months. I can tell you definitively that, for example, Moderna has done studies looking at a combination COVID and influenza vaccine. The real triple winner is the idea of making a COVID, flu and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine. All of those are being worked on. Whether they would get through the approval process in time for the beginning of this flu season is anybody's guess. We'll get them eventually but I don’t know how quickly.
What do you want people to know about long COVID? Malcolm: We're just now starting to get a little bit better data. Potentially, 20 plus percent of all people, depending on age and underlying conditions, who even who had a very mild case, can come down with long-term complications and a very confusing array of symptoms. I don't think we even know yet the full extent of organ damage and other things that might be happening.
So there's a lot of work to do to support people who have long COVID and to support clinicians who are trying to help them. Certainly, a lot of the actual clinical research will be done at the national level, but here at the state level we are working get better educational information out there to folks about resources that might be able to help.
Poland: We know that about 60 percent of the long COVID cases are in females. Why is there a disproportionality? We know that it is more likely to occur in young to middle ages, not so much in young kids. Not as common in elderly. We know severity has something to do with it. We know that it can be in part prevented by having gotten prior immunization.
And the public does not understand this well, because they tend to track on “well, you know, my next door neighbor had it and she didn't die.” Here's the problem with that kind of thinking. The risk of a subsequent mental health diagnosis goes up 40 to 60 percent. The risk of subsequently developing Type 2 Diabetes, even after a mild case goes up 40 percent. The risk of some 20 different cardiovascular diseases for the next year goes up considerably.
This is not a benign flu-like infection. It has consequences that we don't generally see.
When will a vaccine be available for babies and toddlers? Poland: So the plan is that the FDA is going to meet in mid-June. They're going to review a Moderna and a Pfizer application. The Moderna application is going to request a 25-microgram dose that's one-fourth the adult dose, and there'll be two doses roughly a month apart. And this will be for kids six months to five years of age.
Pfizer's going to ask for approval for a three-microgram dose. Remember, the adult dose is 30, so one-tenth of it. But they will get three injections at zero, three weeks and 12 or more weeks after the second dose for kids 6 months to 4 years old. The Moderna study, we don't have full data on, but it shows about a 40 to 50 percent reduction in symptomatic disease. The Pfizer data show about an 80 percent decrease in symptomatic disease, at least during the omicron outbreak. How either of these will operate in the face of future variants is unknown.
If the FDA meets in mid-June and if they approve it. If it then goes to the CDC and the CDC approves it, by early July, kids would be able to get the vaccines and complete, at least in the case of Moderna, the full series, and in the case of Pfizer have the three doses prior to going to school.
Caller question: Could I have my antibodies measured and use that as a marker of whether I am protected? Poland: The answer to that is generally no. And the reason for it is we don't know what level of antibody protects you against what complication of the disease or even against infection.
Obviously, the higher the antibody level, the better. If there were no antibody or if it was very, very low, we might have some level of concern. But remember that that level of protection is going to vary by which variant you get infected with. So we do not have, the formal name for it is, a “correlative protection.”
How has testing changed over the past few months? Malcolm: We do continue to offer both rapid testing and PCR testing at a number of state sites. We want to make sure that whether they're tests at pharmacies at health care providers, or other kind of community locations, that everybody around the state has access to tests.
You are able to order online free tests from the federal government as well as from the state. And currently, while we're in a federally declared public health emergency, insurance companies have to cover the cost of tests without copayments, up to eight per month.
And testing does remain important. People can protect themselves and others if they know their status before they are doing something social, are going to a big, eagerly awaited event. Testing continues to be one of the tools in the toolbox. It's good idea to have a supply of rapid tests at home for that kind of use.
What can you tell us about the new antiviral medications? Poland: In terms of treatment, there are four things that can be used Paxlovid; remdesivir; which is administered intravenously; one monoclonal — we only have one monoclonal now that we can use to treat because the variants have outwitted it; and, then a third antiviral, Molnupiravir.
Paxlovid is the one that you most hear about. There's difficulties in accessing it. I think we should make it easier. It's generally for people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised or people 65 and older who have a positive test and are at high risk of complications.
You have to take it for five days. There's beginning to be some concern of so-called Paxlovid rebound, which means we may have to treat people longer than the normal five days. And the one difficulty with it that is there are a large number of medications, herbs and supplements, that you cannot be taking while you take Paxlovid. What's the value of it: about an 89 percent efficacy in preventing death and severe disease.
No one actually intends to waste food, and yet, it happens.
Even if you’re great at meal planning and buy only the food you know you’ll need over the next several days, life sometimes gets in the way. And then fresh produce goes bad and gets thrown out.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 40 percent of food is thrown out.
And our farming, grocery and restaurant industries all contribute to food waste as well.
But we could do better. Wasted food could instead help feed people who are struggling financially. And if we cut down our food waste, we are helping to cut back greenhouse gas emissions.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with expert guests about how we can prevent food waste.
Guests:
- Kelly Kunkel is a health and nutrition educator with the University of Minnesota Extension in Mankato.
- May Klug is the garden and foodshare coordinator for North Country Food Alliance, a worker-run non-profit that works to build a more sustainable local food system in Twin Cities Metro area
- Cauê Suplicy is the founder of Barnana, a snack company that focuses on reducing food waste in banana and plantain farms
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
George Floyd’s murder was a tragedy and a wake-up call that sparked a global racial reckoning. And for more than two years, our young children have been watching it all.
So how do we help them make sense of what they’re seeing and hearing?
In this one-hour special from the team behind Early Risers, host Dianne Haulcy gives listeners practical tips and insights from a variety of early childhood experts about how to talk with very young children about race and racism.
Editor’s Note: This is a special broadcast episode of the Early Risers podcast, which is a co-production of Minnesota Public Radio and Little Moments Count. Early Risers delivers frank facts, engaging stories and practical tips for anyone who cares about raising children with a clear-eyed understanding of cultural differences, race and implicit bias.
The baby formula shortage in the United States has put many parents in dire situations. As of mid-May, an increasing number of stores reported having no formula or very low stocks.
And breastfeeding is not an easy solution. Health, economic and time constraints can impact a parent’s ability to breastfeed. Breastfeeding and pumping throughout the day can be challenging for working parents. And Black, Indigenous and Hmong parents are less likely than white parents to breastfeed.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the disparities in who breastfeeds, and how to better support parents and their babies.
Guests:
- Shashana Craft is a indigenous lactation consultant, certified perinatal educator and indigenous doula.
- LaVonne Moore is a certified nurse midwife, women’s health care nurse practitioner and lactation consultant. She is also the founder and CEO of Chosen Vessels Midwifery Services. She has a PhD in nursing practice.
- Ellen W. Demerathis a professor of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota. She has a PhD in anthropology.
Wednesday marks two years since George Floyd, a Black man, was murdered by a white Minneapolis police officer.
His death brought anger and deep sorrow over America’s racist legacy to the forefront. Many people are grieving not only his death but also the deep wounds of racial injustice.
At the same time, the pandemic has thrown us loss after loss. Loved ones have died from COVID-19. The pandemic has stolen life milestones, jobs and our sense of security.
And now the month of May brings new collective grief with the deadly shooting in a grocery store in Buffalo, New York and this week’s shooting in a Texas school.
Like stress, grief can accumulate, sometimes without us recognizing what we’re feeling.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two therapists about the waves of loss many people experienced over the past two years and how people can cope with prolonged grief and trauma.
Guests:
- Bravada Garrett-Akinsanya is a psychologist who specializes in African-American mental health. She is the president and founder of Brakins Consulting & Psychological Services and the executive director of African American Child Wellness Institute, Inc. in Plymouth.
- Fiyyaz Karim is a lecturer in the University of Minnesota's masters programs for integrated behavioral health and addictions counseling. He has worked in the areas of grief and loss associated with unemployment, relationship break ups, chronic illness, addictions and, most recently, the pandemic.
In 2022, state lawmakers across the country have introduced an unprecedented number of bills that target the rights of LGBTQ children and their families. And regardless of whether the bills pass, they can take a toll on LGBTQ youth mental health. A survey by the Trevor Project found that 85 percent of trans and non-binary youth reported that news of anti-trans legislation has negatively affected their mental health.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about how the surge in anti-LGBTQ bills affects young people locally, and how Minnesotans are responding. She talks with a transgender youth advocate and their mother about advocating for a safe, inclusive space in school. And she talks with a healthcare leader about how anti-LGBTQ hate affects children’s health.
Guests:
Dr. Angela Kade Goepferd is the chief education officer and chief of staff for Children’s Minnesota, the medical director of Children’s Minnesota Gender Health Program and a pediatrician in the Children’s Minneapolis Primary Care clinic.
Christy Hall is Senior Staff Attorney at Gender Justice, where she represents clients challenging gender discrimination.
Hildie Edwards is an advocate for transgender youth.
Hannah Edwards is Hilde’s mother and an advocate for transgender youth.
May is traditionally the month when many high school seniors make their final decisions about where they’ll go to college.
But so much has changed with college: Admissions requirements have shifted, college enrollment has declined and more people are questioning the cost of college — especially if it involves years of repaying student loans.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a school counselor and admissions director about about the state of college. Do young people view the value of a college education differently than previous generations? And why are so many colleges re-thinking how they approach admissions?
Guests:
- Derek Francis is the manager of counseling services at the Office of College and Career Readiness for the Minneapolis Public Schools.
- Brian Jones is the Director of Admissions at Minnesota State University, Mankato and is the president-elect of the Minnesota Association for College Admission Counseling.
Each Sunday we bring you a selection of stories from the MPR News North Star Journey series about the history and culture of Minnesota communities.
This week, journalist Lee Hawkins talks to the substitute teacher that was so influential in his life, MPR News reporter Hannah Yang shares memories of a special dish Korean mothers make for their daughters, and MPR News contributor Melissa Olson explores a planned land transfer from the federal government back to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.
North Star Journey is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Next Wednesday marks two years since George Floyd, a Black man, was murdered by a white Minneapolis police officer. Floyd’s death prompted many Minnesota institutions to pay new attention to racial disparities in Minnesota.
Some Minnesota churches and Christian institutions also have been grappling with how they supported racial prejudice and inequality in the past and what they can do now to address it.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about churches and racial justice, specifically how white evangelical Christians are responding to calls for racial equity.
She’s joined by two leaders in the evangelical church and MPR News education reporter Elizabeth Shockman, who is reporting on a group of Black students pushing for equity changes at the University of Northwestern, a small evangelical school in Minnesota.
Guests:
- The Rev. Edrin C. Williams is the lead pastor at Sanctuary Covenant Church, which was started in 2003 in north Minneapolis as an intentionally multicultural congregation associated with the Evangelical Covenant Church.
- Carl Nelson is president and CEO of Transform Minnesota, a network of evangelical Christian congregations across Minnesota.
- MPR News reporter Elizabeth Shockman covers education.
Music can be a source of healing, catharsis and inspiration. And it can also be used as a tool for learning, growth and building community.
That’s part of the vision behind Walker West Music Academy, a St. Paul music school founded in 1988 by musicians Rev. Carl Walker and Grant West. The school provides affordable music education to children and young adults, and it is believed to be the oldest community music school founded by Black musicians in the U.S.
Now, the academy’s executive director Braxton Haulcy is leading the school through a new transition: He is leading a campaign and he is working on plans for the academy to move to a new building.
MPR News host Angela Davis sits down with Haulcy to talk about music education, and the history and future of Walker West.
Guest:
Braxton Haulcy is the executive director of Walker West Music Academy in St. Paul.
In 2021, leading medical groups and the U.S. Surgeon General declared youth mental health a national emergency, citing increased rates of depression, hopelessness and thoughts of suicide.
The percentage of teens reporting “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” jumped from 26 percent to 37 percent between 2009 and 2019. In 2021, it was 44 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Tuesday, American Public Media’s Call to Mind initiative explored the mental health experiences of young people across the nation. And it took a close look at schools’ role on the frontlines of the youth mental health crisis.
On Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis continued the conversation. She talked with three guests about how the mental health crisis is affecting Minnesota youth and schools.
Guests:
- Daniel Knewitz is the legislative chair of the Minnesota School Psychologists Association and a licensed school psychologist.
- Sandy Lewandowski is the Superintendent of Intermediate District 287.
- Sierra Grandy is a volunteer with NAMI Minnesota.
Minnesota sees a big jump in employment when the weather warms. Seasonal businesses are hiring workers now to do everything from scooping ice cream to paving roads, landscaping yards and waiting tables at resorts.
The tight labor market means businesses are struggling to find workers. They’re also hiring people they may have overlooked before, including teenagers. More than half of teens have some sort of paid employment, more than at any point over the last decade since the Great Recession according to a report from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a resort owner and director of a youth employment program about how the labor shortage is affecting seasonal employment and summer jobs, particularly for teens.
Plus MPR News senior economics contributor Chris Farrell shares the latest economic news.
Guests:
- Abbey Pieper is chief sales and marketing officer and a managing partner at Madden’s on Gull Lake, a resort in the Brainerd lakes area of central Minnesota. She’s part of the third generation running the family-owned resort.
- Shaina Abraham is program supervisor of Right Track, the city of St. Paul’s youth employment and internship program.
Minnesota sees a big jump in employment when the weather warms. Seasonal businesses are hiring workers now to do everything from scooping ice cream to paving roads, landscaping yards and waiting tables at resorts.
The tight labor market means businesses are struggling to find workers. They’re also hiring people they may have overlooked before, including teenagers. More than half of teens have some sort of paid employment, more than at any point over the last decade since the Great Recession according to a report from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
Coming up at 9 a.m. Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a resort owner and director of a youth employment program about how the labor shortage is affecting seasonal employment and summer jobs, particularly for teens.
Plus MPR News senior economics contributor Chris Farrell shares the latest economic news.
And we want to hear from you, too. Are you a business owner looking for seasonal workers? This year are you more likely to hire less experienced workers, like teenagers? Have you had to change the way you recruit and train workers? Or, are you or a teen in your life looking for seasonal work? What’s been your experience? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Abbey Pieper is chief sales and marketing officer and a managing partner at Madden’s on Gull Lake, a resort in the Brainerd lakes area of central Minnesota. She’s part of the third generation running the family-owned resort.
- Shaina Abraham is program supervisor of Right Track, the city of St. Paul’s youth employment and internship program.
After an abnormally long, cold spring, it’s finally starting to warm up in Minnesota. That means it’s time to start working on your spring garden.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two master gardeners about their tips for what to plant this spring, how to manage your lawn and how to plant a climate-resilient garden.
Guests:
- Julie Weisenhorn is an extension educator and associate extension professor in the University of Minnesota’s department of horticultural science.
- Catherine Grant is a horticulturalist and greenhouse manager in the Department of Biology at the University of St. Thomas.
Minnesota has suffered from persistent racial disparities for years. This we know. But what can be done? It’s time to bring it all into focus.
In Focus is a mix of community-engaged reporting, live discussions, original digital content and more—all centered on what our communities need to thrive.
MPR News host Angela Davis revisits some of the perspectives shared during three recent In Focus conversations:
- Celebrating intersectional identities in Minnesota’s LGBTQ+ communities
- Sustainability in Indian Country
- BIPOC businesses’ inclusion in Minnesota’s economy
Are you new to Minnesota? You might have heard people say Minnesota is a hard place to break into, with its cold winters, hot summers and insular culture.
But Minnesota can be a wonderful home for the many transplants who move here.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Minnesota transplants about what you need to know when you are new to Minnesota, and about efforts to attract and retain people in the Twin Cities.
Guests:
- Em Cassel is a co-owner and editor at Racket, a Twin Cities journalism website founded by a group of former City Pages editors. Racket recently had an article about things transplants to the Twins Cities should know.
- Matt Lewis is the vice president of strategic initiatives at Greater MSP. Its initiative Make It MSP works to recruit and retain people to the Minneapolis-St. Paul region.
MPR News has a new reporting project called North Star Journey, focusing on the history and culture of Minnesota’s diverse communities.
Since the project launched in March, MPR News reporters have produced a wide range of stories. Some look back at the history of communities, including Black migration to Fargo-Moorhead after the Civil War and the multi-ethnic mosaic of West Side Flats in St. Paul.
Other stories explore how communities today are finding solutions to problems that disproportionately impact communities of color, including stories about boosting Somali homeownership in St. Cloud, Worthington’s fast-growing communities of color and schools in Duluth trying to bridge the city’s long east-west divide.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two editors about what led to the series, highlights from the reporting and what’s next.
Guests:
- Sarah Glover is managing editor of MPR News.
- Brandt Williams is editor of the Race, Class & Communities team at MPR News.
North Star Journey was made possible in part with funds from the Legacy Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
When COVID-19 hit Minnesota in March of 2020, Tameka Jones' work as a cosmetic and make-up artist disappeared overnight. So, Jones did what millions of people did during the last two years. She started her own business.
Her brand Lip Esteem, sells 40 shades of lipstick, liner and gloss along with a message of inclusiveness. After success online and at farmers markets she opened a St. Paul storefront in April.
The last two years were brutal for many small businesses. But it’s also been a time of record business start ups. The pandemic forced people out of jobs and caused many more to reflect on what they wanted to do with their life and work.
A whopping 4.4 million people in the United States, including Jones, took a risk to chase a dream in 2020, setting a record for new business applications. The number was surpassed in 2021 with 5.4 million new business applications.
It’s too soon to say how many of these young startups will succeed, but the surge in entrepreneurship is already yielding successes. Among them is Quebracho Empanadas, started by Belén Rodríguez, who lost her job as a hospital translator at the start of the pandemic. Rodríguez turned her catering side hustle into a frozen food business. Her empanadas, inspired by family meals in Argentina, are now sold in 130 stores.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Jones and Rodríguez about the ups and downs of starting a business during the pandemic.
Plus, MPR News senior economics contributor Chris Farrell talks about a recent episode of his podcast small change: Money Stories from the Neighborhood featuring Arielle Grant, founder of a collaborative workspace for women of color called Render Free.
Guests:
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Tameka Jones is founder of the cosmetic company Lip Esteem, which opened a storefront in April in St. Paul.
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Belén Rodríguez is founder of Quebracho Empanadas, which sells frozen empanadas in more than 130 stores in seven states.
- Chris Farrell is MPR News senior economics contributor.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Each Sunday we bring you a selection of reporting from the MPR News North Star Journey series. Today, reporter Jon Collins brings us a story about how Black Farmers in Minnesota are reconnecting to the land. Then, reporter Peter Cox explains how COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on Minnesota's Hmong community. And finally, reporter Tim Nelson explains why some groups are pushing to change the images on Minnesota's flag. North Star Journey is a celebration of communities in Minnesota and the champions who are doing the work that we should be bringing a voice to. We hope to bring new understandings of our state and what brought us to today. The series was made possible in part with funds from the Legacy Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Next weekend is the annual Governor’s Fishing Opener in Minnesota. Each year during the fishing opener, about half a million Minnesotans go out to lakes, rivers and streams to cast their lines and catch some fish.
Fishing is a long tradition for many Minnesotans. For others, it’s a new hobby. On Friday, MPR News host Angela Davis talked all about fishing, what it means to Minnesotans and where to start if you want to learn more.
Guests:
- Benji Kohn is the Fish and Wildlife Outreach Mentor Network Coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
- Bradley E. Harrington is a tribal liaison for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
More than a generation ago, the construction of Interstate 94 dug a deep trench through the middle-class Black neighborhood of Rondo in St. Paul.
The freeway destroyed hundreds of houses. More than 600 Black families were forced to move. Homeowners never saw fair compensation for the destruction of their homes. Renters got nothing.
Now, community members are pitching ideas for how to repair some of that harm. A group called ReConnect Rondo has proposed putting a concrete cap over a stretch of the highway roughly between Lexington Avenue and Dale Street and using the new space to build a Black cultural district. The goal is to bring green space, housing, jobs and economic renewal to the surrounding neighborhood.
The local effort is part of a larger national conversation about how new transportation projects could be used to rectify historical injustice.
On Thursday, MPR News host Angela Davis talked about the history and future of the historic Rondo neighborhood.
Guests:
- Nina Moini is an MPR News reporter.
- Keith Baker is executive director of Reconnect Rondo.
- Jonathan Palmer is executive director of the Hallie Q Brown Community Center, Inc., which has provided services for nearly 100 years in the Summit-University neighborhood, which includes much of historic Rondo.
North Star Journey was made possible in part with funds from the Legacy Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
More than a generation ago, the construction of Interstate 94 dug a deep trench through the middle-class Black neighborhood of Rondo in St. Paul.
The freeway destroyed hundreds of houses. More than 600 Black families were forced to move. Homeowners never saw fair compensation for the destruction of their homes. Renters got nothing.
Now, community members are pitching ideas for how to repair some of that harm. A group called ReConnect Rondo has proposed putting a concrete cap over a stretch of the highway roughly between Lexington Avenue and Dale Street and using the new space to build a Black cultural district. The goal is to bring green space, housing, jobs and economic renewal to the surrounding neighborhood.
The local effort is part of a larger national conversation about how new transportation projects could be used to rectify historical injustice.
Coming up at 9 a.m. Thursday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the history and future of the historic Rondo neighborhood.
Guests:
- Nina Moini is an MPR News reporter.
- Keith Baker is executive director of Reconnect Rondo.
- Jonathan Palmer is executive director of the Hallie Q Brown Community Center, Inc., which has provided services for nearly 100 years in the Summit-University neighborhood, which includes much of historic Rondo.
The pandemic posed new challenges for patients and providers during pregnancy and childbirth.
Pregnant people are at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19, especially if they are unvaccinated. More than two years after the start of the pandemic, health care professionals have protocols in place to address COVID transmission risks and to treat parents and newborns who have COVID. In Minnesota and across the U.S., though, there are historic health problems that have yet to be solved.
Over the past couple of years, the pandemic has highlighted racial health disparities and large gaps in access to care. And there are new questions about legal rights to reproductive health care, which could complicate and worsen those gaps.
Data from the Minnesota Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Institutes of Health indicates that Black women are more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women, and to experience medical conditions like preeclampsia. Black women are more likely to experience preterm labor and birth, which can lead to medical complications for newborns.
On Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with health care experts about how the pandemic has shaped pregnancy and childbirth. They also discussed new research in racial health disparities, how racism contributes to poorer health, and how anticipated restrictions in abortion care could affect reproductive health outcomes.
Guests:
- Rachel Hardeman, PhD, MPH is a tenured Associate Professor in the Division of Health Policy & Management at the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health, the Blue Cross Endowed Professor in Health and Racial Equity, and the Founding Director of the Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity.
- Dr. Sarah Cross is an OBGYN and assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health at the University of Minnesota. She directs the Birthplace, Pregnancy Special Care Unit and the Newborn Family Care Center at M Health Fairview.
The pandemic posed new challenges for patients and providers during pregnancy and childbirth.
Pregnant people are at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19, especially if they are unvaccinated. And studies suggest greater hesitancy among patients during pregnancy to get vaccinated against COVID and the flu.
More than two years after the start of the pandemic, health care professionals have protocols in place to address COVID transmission risks and to treat parents and newborns who have COVID. In Minnesota and across the U.S., though, there are historic health problems that have yet to be solved.
Over the past couple of years, the pandemic has highlighted racial health disparities and large gaps in access to care. And there are new questions about legal rights to reproductive health care, which could complicate and worsen those gaps.
Data from the Minnesota Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Institutes of Health indicates that Black women are more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women, and to experience medical conditions like preeclampsia. Black women are more likely to experience preterm labor and birth, which can lead to medical complications for newborns.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis will speak with health care experts about how the pandemic has shaped pregnancy and childbirth. They’ll also discuss new research in racial health disparities, how racism contributes to poorer health, and how anticipated restrictions in abortion care could affect reproductive health outcomes.
And we want to hear from you, our listeners. Did you go through a pregnancy during the pandemic? What was that experience like? Are you a labor and delivery nurse or a midwife? How was your work affected? What are your questions about pregnancy and COVID? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828.
Guests:
- Rachel Hardeman, PhD, MPH is a tenured Associate Professor in the Division of Health Policy & Management at the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health, the Blue Cross Endowed Professor in Health and Racial Equity, and the Founding Director of the Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity.
- Dr. Sarah Cross is an OBGYN and assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health at the University of Minnesota. She directs the Birthplace, Pregnancy and Special Care Unit at M Health Fairview.
Ignacio “Nachito“ Herrera has been playing jazz piano since he was a child. At age 12, he performed with the Havana Symphony Orchestra. Now at 55, he has played on stages around the world, and won numerous awards, including City Pages Best Jazz Artist for four years, Emmys, Grammys, Minnesota Music Awards and the Immigrants of Distinction Award.
Herrera moved from Cuba to Minnesota in 2001. In 2020, Herrera’s battle with COVID-19 left him in a coma-like state for 14 days.
On Tuesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talked with Herrera about his career, his battle with COVID, his upcoming performances and why he’s decided to continue calling Minnesota home.
Guest:
Nachito Herrera is an award-winning jazz pianist who has lived in Minnesota since 2001.
Here are a few things Nachito Herrera said during the conversation with Angela Davis:
“Latin jazz gives you that kind of combination where you are in the United States, but at the same musically you can take a tour to Cuba or Brazil.”
“Music is a wonderful, beautiful language. It is always to unite. It is always to get people together.”
“Never think about tomorrow. Think about today. It doesn’t matter if you have in the audience one, two, three, three thousand, thirty thousand people. Always play from the bottom of your heart, because they are spending time to go to see you there.” – on advice he got from his classical piano teacher about performing
“Music is always a beautiful thing to do. Music is something that has always helped to (bring) people together. If any of your kids, you see they are leaning toward becoming a musician, please give them the chance.” – on what he would say to families whose children are interested in music
A human rights investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department concluded that the overarching culture at the Minneapolis Police Department encouraged a “pattern or practice of racial discrimination.”
The two-year investigation was launched in June 2020 after the murder of George Floyd and conducted by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. The sweeping findings, released on April 27, describe flawed training that emphasizes a paramilitary approach to policing and city and department leadership that does not hold officers accountable for misconduct.
Overall, Black residents in Minneapolis are more likely to be treated aggressively by police officers and almost twice as likely to be pulled over and searched while driving, compared to white citizens in similar circumstances.
The report also describes how Minneapolis officers created fake social media accounts to monitor and engage with Black individuals and Black organizations, outside of any criminal investigation and for no public safety reason.
On Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis spoke about reactions to the findings and possible next steps.
Guests:
- Matt Sepic is a MPR News correspondent.
- Angela Rose Myers is former president of the Minneapolis NAACP and currently serves as co-chair of the organization’s political action committee.
- Steve Beltonis president and CEO of the Urban League Twin Cities.
- Kami Chavis is a nationally known criminal justice expert and a law professor at Wake Forest University in N.C. She is transitioning into a new role as founding director of the Center for Criminal Justice Policy and Reform at William & Mary in Virginia.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Hear their conversation using the audio player above and read the highlights below.
“Our investigation identified that there has been a vacuum of collective action, of collective sustained action, from key city and MPD leaders. And the organizational culture at MPD has existed unchecked, resulting in unlawful discriminatory policing. It undermines public safety and it's been going on for at least the past decade,” said Rebecca Lucero, Commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.
Steve Belton shared his reactions to findings that Black residents of Minneapolis are more often stopped and arrested. “All of these things are racially driven. And this report provides really irrefutable evidence that that’s occurring. And it was alarming. And it made me very angry,” he said.
The investigation included a review of hundreds of hours of body camera footage, thousands of interviews with community members and police officers, and years of reports. It also revealed officers’ use of racist, sexist, dehumanizing language against Black and Somali American men, members of the community and other officers, MPR News reporter Matt Sepic confirmed.
Chavis said the culture within the Minneapolis Police Department must be addressed: “If you have those officers within the department that know this is happening, and they see that others are able to get away with it, why would they act any differently? Why would they bother to tell a superior about the behavior if they're only going to be retaliated against, and, and the other person, not punished? This is where accountability comes in.”
A consent decree will help to establish a framework, she said, whereby members of the MPD are held accountable for their actions. Actions could include discipline, dismissal or retraining officers where appropriate, Chavis added.
Alongside police reform, Angela Rose Myers is focused on improving access to resources for those who need assistance with mental health, drug use, employment and housing. She said that to strengthen the local community, police outreach and enforcement is not enough.
“Maybe they shouldn't be taking on these tasks, handling issues within schools, within families, things like that,” she said. “Maybe they shouldn't be the ones that are our sole providers of saving our community.”
In this latest selection from the MPR News North Star Journey series, editor Brandt Williams interviews Chad Montrie, who recently published a book about racial exclusion in Minnesota. You’ll also hear a report from Mark Zdechlik about efforts to expand financial literacy education, and a story from Kirsti Marohn about efforts to bridge the homeownership gap in St. Cloud. These stories are made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Minnesotans are fighting climate change. Whether it’s taking coal-fired power plants offline, trading in gas guzzlers for electric cars or installing solar panels, there are concrete steps to repair the damage. MPR News host Twila Dang hosted this virtual discussion exploring some of the meaningful and culturally specific ways environmental justice is being addressed in our state.
Women and people of color are more likely to have their symptoms dismissed by health care providers, according to multiple studies. They show doctors are slower to diagnose women with cancer and heart disease compared to men.
African American patients are less likely to receive treatment for cardiovascular disease, and to receive worse treatment for a variety of conditions including cancer and HIV, studies show.
Some have come up with a new phrase to describe the way doctors dismiss patients’ concerns: medical gaslighting. On Wednesday, guest host Chris Farrell spoke with medical experts about medical gaslighting, why it happens and how to respond.
Guests:
- Chloe Bird is a senior sociologist at RAND. She studies women's health and gender differences in health care. She has a PhD in sociology.
- Dr. Lisa Saul is a perinatologist with Allina Health, and president of the Mother Baby clinical service line in partnership with Allina Health and Children’s Minnesota.
If you’ve thought about buying a new car, you probably noticed two things: fewer cars on lots and skyrocketing prices.
The average price for a new vehicle purchased in December of 2021 was over $47,000, up nearly $6,000 from a year earlier.
Car manufacturers are still dealing with a microchip shortage and production will likely be squeezed for at least another year, according to industry analysts.
The shortage of new cars has had a ripple effect. Used car prices have also shot up as more people look for a less expensive alternative to a new car. And, more people are holding onto their vehicles for longer, opting to repair them instead of trading them in.
On Monday, MPR News guest host Chris Farrell spoke with an automotive journalist and electric car expert about how consumers can cope with the high-cost car market and where it might be headed.
Guests:
- Jukka Kukkonen is founder of Shift2Electric, a Minnesota-based electric vehicle consulting and training company. He drives an electric car and in 2012 founded the MN EV Owners group, which has become one of the largest and most active regional plug-in vehicle owner groups in the nation.
- Sean Tucker is an automotive journalist who has written for U.S. News and World Report, Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader. He's based outside Washington, D.C.
Each year, drug overdoses kill more Americans than car crashes, homicides or guns. Drug overdose deaths reached a record high in 2021, according to the CDC. And synthetic opioids like fentanyl were involved in about two-thirds of those deaths.
At 9 a.m. Thursday, MPR News guest host Chris Farrell talked about fentanyl in Minnesota and the work being done to prevent overdose deaths.
Guests:
- Pearl Evans is an overdose prevention coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Health.
- Peter Hayden is the founder of Turning Point, a north Minneapolis agency that provides culturally specific substance use disorder treatment.
- Dr. Joseph Lee is the President and CEO of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.
You may not think you know the opera “Carmen,” but you probably do. It’s full of catchy tunes that are easy to hum.
In the same way, you may not think you know Denyce Graves, but you probably have heard her powerful voice. Graves is regarded as one of the greatest “Carmen” singers of all time and one of the great mezzo-sopranos of the 21st century.
She’s performed around the world with The Three Tenors. In 2020, she sang in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol where the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lay in state.
The first time Graves sang the role that made her famous was in the Minnesota Opera’s 1991 production of “Carmen.” The 19th century French opera by composer Georges Bizet tells the story of a soldier’s possessive infatuation for a Romani factory girl that leads to his downfall. This spring, Graves has returned to the Twin Cities, not to sing, but to direct the company’s production of “Carmen,” which opens in May.
At 9 a.m. Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with Graves about opera, growing up in Washington, D.C. and what it's been like to be a Black woman singing her way to the top of a traditionally white, European musical art form.
Guests:
- Denyce Graves is recognized as one of the great mezzo-soprano opera singers of our time. She’s performed at Metropolitan Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera House – Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera and on many other stages around the world. She is directing Minnesota Opera’s “Carmen,” which opens in May.
- Ryan Taylor is president and general director of the Minnesota Opera.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Hear their conversation using the audio player above and read the highlights below.
“The one thing that we reached for, that everybody reached for during COVID, were the arts,” Graves said. “And we could see how vital and essential the arts were… We’re watching movies, we’re watching plays, we would listen to opera. Listening to music, reading books – that was the anchor that everybody held onto. And that’s what opera has the power to do: to unite people.”
Graves grew up in Washington, D.C. and, with her mother’s guidance, she sang at church. Opera came later. “In the neighborhood that I grew up in, nobody was listening to opera,” Graves said.
A music teacher encouraged Graves throughout her early years – first as she expressed a love for music in kindergarten, then through junior high school chorus and finally as a student at a performing arts high school, where she discovered opera.
And she has distinct ties to Minnesota. “The relationship that I’ve had with Minnesota Opera has just been one that has defined my whole career,” she said.
She landed her first role, as Carmen, with Minnesota Opera. She said that role took her everywhere. “And I mean everywhere – there wasn’t an opera house that I didn’t sing in all over the world, with everybody. And now here I am, 30-something years later, directing…”
Once again, Graves will debut with Minnesota Opera, now as a director. “This first experience has changed the whole trajectory of how I see myself and where I’m going to go and what lies ahead. And so I’m just really, really grateful,” she said.
Besides directing “Carmen” for the Minnesota Opera, Graves keeps busy with her foundation, which invests in education to share the stories of African American musical figures. Graves said that work is inspired by opera singer Mary Cardwell Dawson, who, unable to find work in an environment permeated by racism after graduating from a conservatory in 1925, established her own music school and opera company.
Minneapolis therapist and author Resmaa Menakem is a leading voice in today’s conversation on racialized trauma. His work explores how racism and trauma affect our bodies and how a focus on our bodies can be an avenue for healing and growth.
He is the author of the national bestseller “My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies” and the forthcoming “The Quaking of America: An Embodied Guide to Navigating Our National Upheaval and Racial Reckoning.”
As the founder of the consulting firm Justice Leadership Solutions, Menakem also coaches leaders through civil unrest, organizational change and community building.
On Tuesday, MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with Menakem about his latest book, “The Quaking of America.”
Guest:
- Resmaa Menakem is a therapist, trauma specialist, the founder of Justice Leadership Solutions and a bestselling author. His latest book is “The Quaking of America.”
Chris Coleman served 12 years as mayor of St. Paul. Now, he’s leading Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, one of the largest Habitat affiliates in the nation.
The local nonprofit housing developer and mortgage lender just received a $13.5 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with Coleman about the housing crisis, Habitat’s work in the Twin Cities and how the nonprofit will use the money to move forward on its goal of expanding home ownership among Black Minnesotans.
Guest:
- Chris Coleman is president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity and former mayor of St. Paul.
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One of the things the pandemic revealed is how much many of us love our pets and what good boys and girls they are.
Social distancing and staying home as much as possible gave us more time with the dogs, cats and other pets that live with us. They were by our sides and in our laps as many people worked from home or attended online school. Some became new pet owners by rescuing puppies and kittens from animal shelters and welcoming them into the family.
But what was happening inside the clinics where veterinarians were working to care for all these pets? What changes took place with the workload and the mental health of veterinarians and other vet clinic workers?
In 2018, even before the pandemic began, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showed veterinarians in the U.S. were at an increased risk of suicide, a trend that has spanned more than three decades. Female veterinarians were three and a half times more likely to die from suicide than the general population. Male vets were twice as likely.
Host Angela Davis spoke with a veterinarian about how things are going in veterinary clinics in Minnesota and took listener questions about all things pets.
Guest:
- Dr. Justine Lee is a veterinarian and a board-certified specialist in both emergency critical care and toxicology. She’s also the author of two books: “It’s a Dog’s Life but it’s Your Carpet” and “It’s a Cat’s World … You Just Live in It.”
Like many other public spaces, libraries were forced to restrict public access during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, librarians shifted how they offer their services and what services they offer. They moved programs online and offered curbside pick-ups. They helped provide resources to people who were homeless, and provided valuable information about pandemic safety to the public.
Many libraries have since reopened, but their role in their communities continues to evolve.
In addition to pandemic-related changes, digital technologies are also changing libraries, forcing them to reimagine what services they need to offer. And some libraries are facing staffing shortages.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with two Minnesota library leaders and an education writer about the changes they’ve seen and what they think Minnesota’s libraries might look like in the future.
Guests:
- Karen Lemke is the Library Director at the Rochester Public Library.
- Pang Yang is the deputy director at Ramsey County Libraries.
- Scott Carlson is a senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education. He recently wrote a report on academic libraries called “The Library of the Future.”
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Hear their conversation using the audio player above and read the highlights below.
“One service that libraries provided pre-internet was that they were a kind of filter on fake news,” Scott Carlson said. “The role of the librarian to sort of designate what is a valid piece of information and what is not really has grown.”
He added that librarians are struggling with budget constraints as they work to serve students, academia and their communities.
A listener, Andrew, called in to share his memories of growing up in North Dakota and visiting the library just a few blocks away from his grade school. In the children’s section, he said, “there was a bathtub lined with pillows and painted with an octopus. So, you could go and sit in the bathtub and read your books.” He said that at 47, he could still tell you where to find the library’s copy of “The Boxcar Children.”
Todd called in to share his appreciation for how well libraries have served his kids. “Some of the Hennepin County libraries have little rotating spaces that let them pretend to be, you know, post office workers or bakers, and they love browsing the shelves and seeing books,” he said. “I get to follow their enthusiasm, which is a wonderful thing for parents to do.”
At the Rochester Public Library, director Karen Lemke said the pandemic demonstrated that “when individuals don’t have a home, and there is a stay-at-home order, there’s an issue.” She said that in 2020 they worked with Olmsted County, the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, city teammates, community organizations and volunteers to provide access to essentials like a bathroom and running water.
Now, social workers can help visitors at the Rochester Public Library access services. “Not everyone is comfortable walking into a traditional government building,” Lemke said. “So, this is a really natural fit of meeting people where they feel comfortable.”
At Ramsey County Libraries, deputy director Pang Yang spoke about librarians as “social-first responders.”
Yang said during the pandemic, libraries fielded a range of calls – from needing help on a computer to concerns about a family member’s mental health. “Part of it is making sure that we center staff, and we center the community,” she said.
Yang said they provide staff training to use the resources they have, and that they partner with organizations and departments to address community members’ more specialized needs.
A listener, Melissa, called in from Sioux Falls. “My high school library probably, like, saved my life,” she said. “I had a really rough childhood. And I would disappear into books a lot.” Library staff took notice, and encouraged her to work with them as a librarian’s aide. She shelved and repaired books.
“That one simple course was the best experience I had through my high school entirely,” Melissa said.
“We want to connect people to information because we do believe in the value of good, quality information, but sometimes the resource isn’t information,” Lemke said. “It really is about helping people and being here for our community.”
Yang added that during the pandemic, Ramsey libraries worked with the county to provide laptops and internet hotspots for people without access at home. They will keep working to provide internet services for community members who need it.
Did you kick start your day with a cup of coffee or get through the afternoon slump with an energy drink? Many people rely on caffeine to give them a boost of energy. But is it good for us?
Caffeine is naturally present in coffee, tea and chocolate. Over the last couple decades it’s been added to a growing variety of other foods and products, including soft drinks, energy drinks, diet pills and even chewing gum and lotions.
For the most part, research has found that adults can consume moderate amounts of caffeine without harm, and it may even do us some good. Caffeine is associated with lower rates of depression, Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, gallstones and liver cancer.
But caffeine can also disturb sleep, worsen anxiety and increase the rates of miscarriage for pregnant women. In rare cases, a large quantity in a short time can be fatal.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with a doctor and a journalist about what caffeine does and why we crave it.
Guests:
- Dr. Donald Hensrud is an internal medicine doctor and medical director of the Mayo Clinic’s Healthy Living program in Rochester.
- Murray Carpenter is a journalist and author of “Caffeinated: How Our Daily Habit Helps, Hurts, and Hooks Us.” He lives in Belfast, Maine.
Do you hate meetings? Do you feel like they are taking too much of your work day? If so, you are not alone. A recent study by Microsoft found that by the end of 2020, the number of meetings had doubled since the beginning of the pandemic. By 2022, they had hit an all-time high.
The increase in meetings has also contributed to longer workdays, Microsoft found. The average workday has lengthened by about an hour, according to the company’s research, and more people are doing work later in the evening.
MPR News host Angela Davis talked with Derek Thompson, a staff writer at The Atlantic who recently wrote about the rise in meetings. She also spoke with two business and management experts about the culture of meetings, how meetings affect our workdays and what we can do about it.
Guests:
- Derek Thompsonis a staff writer at The Atlantic and the host of the “Plain English” podcast on the Ringer.
- Jody Thompsonis the founder of the consulting group CultureRx.
- Marcella De La Torreis the director of the Center for Innovation in the Business of Health Care at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business.
Jobs in fields like construction, automotive repair and robotic manufacturing generally require fewer years of expensive schooling than a bachelor’s degree and they pay well. Enrollment is up nationally in two-year programs at technical schools.
MPR News host Angela Davis talked about workforce development and efforts to help young people get into the trades.
Each Sunday, MPR News host Angela Davis brings you stories from North Star Journey, a series from MPR News focusing on the history and culture of Minnesota communities. This episode includes stories from MPR News contributor Melissa Olson and reporters Dan Kraker and Vicki Adame.
In the shift to casual clothes during the pandemic, many of us have been hanging out in our favorite t-shirts. Maybe you’re wearing one now. And it probably says something about you.
Our closets are full of t-shirts connected to schools, past vacations and sports teams. Maybe you still have that ratty old tee from the first concert you attended. Some t-shirts drift into our lives from charity and corporate events. Others we carefully choose because a graphic or silk-screened slogan perfectly captures a bit of our life philosophy.
How did what was once a men’s undergarment become a blank canvas to express our identity and affiliations, and for advertisers to use as walking billboards?
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a fashion professor and head of a local t-shirt screen printer about the history, appeal and production of the humble t-shirt.
Guests:
- Jacque Lee is CEO of Silva Screenprinting, which prints about 25,000 t-shirts every day at its facility in Northeast Minneapolis.
- Anupama Pasricha is a professor and department chair of fashion design and merchandising at Saint Catherine University in St. Paul.
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Who taught you about money and when?Some of us learned about personal finance from our parents or other adults in our lives. Others learned from teachers in school. And some had to figure it out on their own.
Minnesota doesn’t require that students take a stand-alone course on personal finance before graduating. But more states are beginning to mandate these classes. And advocates say that financial literacy can be a tool to reduce wealth gaps.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two guests who work in economic education and financial literacy.
Guests:
- Julie Bunn is the executive director of the Minnesota Council on Economic Education, an economist and a former state legislator.
Jennifer Garbow is an educator and associate extension professor for the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Family Development.
North Star Journey was made possible in part with funds from the Legacy Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
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It’s spring in Minnesota—and that means the return of allergies.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about seasonal allergies with two allergists. We’ll discuss allergies to everything from snow mold to pollen, and how you can treat them.
Guests:
- Dr. Niladri Aichbhaumik is an allergist at the St. Paul Allergy and Asthma Clinic.
- Dr. Pramod Kelkar is an allergist with Allina Health.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began more than two years ago, reported violence and hate incidents targeting Asian Americans spiked.
The national organization Stop AAPI Hate recorded close to 6,300 reports of hate incidents against Asian Americans in 2021. That’s a 35 percent increase from the year before. And more than half of those hate incidents happened to Asian women.
One-third of Asian Americans say they fear threats and physical attacks, according to a 2021 survey by the Pew Research Center.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two Asian American women in Minnesota about how they are doing and how their communities are responding.
Guests:
- Naomi Ko is a performer, filmmaker, activist and founding member of Funny Asian Women Kollective.
- Rep. Samantha Vang is a DFL lawmaker in the Minnesota House of Representatives. She represents Brooklyn Center.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began more than two years ago, reported violence and hate incidents targeting Asian Americans spiked.
The national organization Stop AAPI Hate recorded close to 6,300 reports of hate incidents against Asian Americans in 2021. That’s a 35 percent increase from the year before. And more than half of those hate incidents happened to Asian women.
One-third of Asian Americans say they fear threats and physical attacks, according to a 2021 survey by the Pew Research Center.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two Asian American women in Minnesota about how they are doing and how their communities are responding.
Guests:
- Naomi Ko is a performer, filmmaker, activist and founding member of Funny Asian Women Kollective.
- Rep. Samantha Vang is a DFL lawmaker in the Minnesota House of Representatives. She represents Brooklyn Center.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
The COVID-19 pandemic was an economic blow to small businesses, especially restaurants, gyms, retail shops, event businesses and anyone in hospitality.
But the last two years also saw a boom in business startups as people furloughed from jobs struck out on their own. Meanwhile, businesses in some sectors found new opportunities and others changed their focus to not only survive but grow.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with business owners about the luck and hard work that helped them find the economic silver lining of the pandemic.
Guests:
- Sabrina D. Jones is founder and CEO of SJC Body Love, a skincare, health and beauty product company based in the Twin Cities.
- D'Angelos Svenkeson is co-founder and CEO of NEOO Partners, Inc., a planning and commercial real estate company based in the Twin Cities.
- Chris Farrell is senior economics contributor for MPR News.
Each Sunday, MPR News host Angela Davis brings you stories from North Star Journey, a series from MPR News focusing on the history and culture of Minnesota communities. This episode includes stories from Brandt Williams, Nina Moini and Hannah Yang.
The COVID-19 pandemic was an economic blow to small businesses, especially restaurants, gyms, retail shops, event businesses and anyone in hospitality.
But the last two years also saw a boom in business startups as people furloughed from jobs struck out on their own. Meanwhile, businesses in some sectors found new opportunities and others changed their focus to not only survive but grow.
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with business owners about the luck and hard work that helped them find the economic silver lining of the pandemic.
And we want to hear from you, our listeners: Do you have a business that saw growth during the pandemic? Did you start a business the last couple years? Did you pivot and change your company’s focus to find new opportunities? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour. Or you can tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
- Sabrina D. Jones is founder and CEO of SJC Body Love, a skincare, health and beauty product company based in the Twin Cities.
- D'Angelos Svenkeson is co-founder and CEO of NEOO Partners, Inc., a planning and commercial real estate company based in the Twin Cities.
- Chris Farrell is senior economics contributor for MPR News.
The four top college women's basketball teams will face off in Minneapolis this weekend in the NCAA Women’s Final Four tournament.
Last year, the NCAA came under fire for gender disparities in how its men’s and women’s tournaments were run. In response, the NCAA commissioned a report on its gender inequities. The report, released in August 2021, found that the NCAA has prioritized men’s basketball over women’s teams, and outlined a number of suggestions to address the disparities.
This year is the first time that the Women’s Final Four is branded as March Madness alongside the men’s tournament. And basketball fans and athletes hope to see increased resources, branding and attention for the women’s tournament this weekend.
MPR News host Angela Davis on Friday talked with a coach for the University of Minnesota’s women’s basketball team and an expert on women in sports about the Final Four Tournament and gender disparities.
Guests:
- Nicole LaVoi is the director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota.
- Carly Thibault-DuDonis is the associate head coach for the University of Minnesota’s women's basketball team
Historically, violent conflict around the world has led to a flurry of international adoptions by Americans. It happened most notably after the Korean war. But since 2005, the rate of Americans adopting from other countries has steadily declined. On Thursday, host Angela Davis explored how the pandemic has affected international adoption and whether the war in Ukraine could lead to another international adoption spike.
Brain fog. Memory problems. Mood changes. Those are some of the signs that COVID-19 is affecting our brains, according to many researchers. Though much is still unknown, some studies have found that the virus can cause long-term damage to our brains.
One study from the U.K. found that COVID-19 may cause gray matter and tissue damage. Another study from late 2021 found that about 13 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients developed a new neurological disorder soon after they were infected.
On Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with two researchers who are studying how COVID affects our brains.
Guests:
Dr. James Meschia is a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla. He is leading a study on the link between COVID and increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia.
Gülin Öz is a professor of radiology at the University of Minnesota. She holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and is leading a multiyear study aimed at understanding how long COVID impacts our brains.
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Hear their conversation using the audio player above and read the highlights below.
Gülin Öz said conventional imaging has detected a range of problems.
“Especially in the hospitalized population, the neurological effects can be quite severe, spanning stroke, seizures, various lesions, an altered mental state,” Öz said.
She added that for patients who experience chronic neurological symptoms like brain fog or fatigue for months after infection with COVID-19, brain imaging can appear normal.
Dr. James Meschia said patients with broad symptoms such as headache, fatigue, weakness and trouble focusing are too often written off.
“I think one of the things we can say about patients with COVID or recovering from COVID is that there is now objective evidence for neurologic injury at some level,” Meschia said.
Different brain imaging technology has shown metabolic differences in patients who previously had COVID, too, Öz added.
Lucy, a St. Paul hospital chaplain, called in to talk about her interactions with patients who are struggling.
“I am often referred to patients who are experiencing brain fog after COVID. And sometimes their care providers are thinking of it as a spiritual problem or a psychological problem,” she said.
“It's very painful, because I think the hardest part is the feeling that there's something wrong with them, but they can't quite get their finger on it. … And so just I see a lot of ... self-blame and confusion,” she added.
Deciphering different symptoms and causes can be difficult, Meschia said. “No matter what, regardless of the cause — or what we say in medicine, the etiology — the patients need to be treated with dignity and respect, and their symptoms need to be taken seriously.”
Through his research, he hopes to answer questions about whether COVID-related neurologic injury could predispose patients to future cognitive impairments or neurodegenerative processes, like Alzheimer’s disease.
Have you been experiencing lingering impacts from a COVID-19 infection? Tell us about your experience.
Click to share your thoughts.
Union membership has declined across the country for decades but the Minneapolis teachers strike put collective bargaining back in the spotlight. Host Angela Davis talks with a labor economist and a labor historian about the history, role and future of unions.
The 94th Academy Awards are this Sunday. And movie lovers have a lot of questions: Will Netflix finally win big? Which winners will make history? And who will take home the coveted Best Picture prize?
But there’s another big question lingering over the awards: Will people tune in to watch?
Last year, the viewership for the Academy Awards declined to the lowest in history. Though the decline was almost certainly linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, viewership for the Oscars has been declining for years.
That decline in viewership – coupled with controversies around diversity and inclusion – has led some critics to question whether awards shows like the Oscars are still relevant.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two entertainment journalists about the future of awards shows like the Oscars, and what they’re expecting to see when they tune in on Sunday.
Guests:
- Sonia Raois a pop culture reporter for the Washington Post.
- Chris Hewitt is the theater and film critic for the Star Tribune.
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Researchers predict consumer prices will rise by 7% in 2022. What does that mean, and what will it look like for regular Americans?
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for regular household expenses like utility bills, gas, and groceries. How do economists use the CPI? We get inflation when prices rise faster than wages and the purchasing power of money. Is inflation solely responsible for these current sky high prices? What about the supply chain? Are inflation and supply chain connected?
Consumers are responding with strategies for buying in bulk, switching high interest credit cards for cash, using public transportation, turning down the heat and putting on warmer clothes. But is that enough?
On Monday MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with a pricing expert and an economic analyst about consumer prices, inflation and how to cover the gap between your earnings and your bills.
Guests:
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Chris Farrell is MPR’s Senior Economics contributor
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Mark Bergen is the James D. Watkins chair in marketing at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
What is a podcast?
The answer is simple: It’s an audio production that you can listen to on demand. But that’s where the simplicity ends.
Right now, there are so many podcasts available through apps on your phone, computer, tablet – even your watch – that you’d need to listen all day every day for the rest of your life to get through a fraction of them.
Audio books have been around for decades, but podcasts are a relatively new way to listen. The internet made them possible, but the wide range of public interest makes them popular. From true crime, to design history, to self help and extreme sports, whatever you’re interested in, there’s a podcast about that.
And now we have podcast networks: businesses that make money through creating and distributing podcasts. How are they doing that? On Thursday, host Angela Davis talked with two podcast executives about the business of podcasting.
Guests:
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Jessica Cordova Kramer is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Lemonada Media and the executive producer of the “Pod Save The People” podcast.
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Alex Schaffert is the chief operating officer of APM Studios.
After decades of focusing on their retirement, Baby Boomers and aging Gen Xers are reconsidering a life of leisure and choosing instead to continue working. The movement to not squander their collective wit and wisdom means more creative older workers continue to thrive.
On Monday, guest host Chris Farrell spoke with a professor of management and a celebrated writer about thriving professionally after 50.
Are you one of those people that freeze up when you need to calculate a 15 percent tip on the restaurant tab? Do you hope a friend will volunteer to figure it out? You might have a bit of math anxiety. A lot of adults and kids think they’re bad at math and say they don’t like it. But learning to be comfortable with numbers and patterns is vital to holding many jobs, being a smart consumer and being a good citizen. We revisit a conversation MPR News host Angela Davis had in January 2022 with two math educators about how parents and teachers can kindle success in math.
The birth rate in the U.S. declined for the sixth straight year in 2020, and according to the Pew Research Center, more people say they don’t plan on having children. In this rebroadcast of a popular conversation host Angela Davis had in January, a sociologist and a novelist weigh in on their personal decisions to not have children. And listeners share their stories.
Late last year, President Joe Biden once again extended the pandemic pause on federal student loan payments — this time until May 1.
And just last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced it would expand the number of borrowers who are eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. That means that $6 billion of student loans will be canceled under the program.
The pause on student loan payments has reignited the debate on what to do about student loans. Student loan borrowers in the U.S. owe $1.7 trillion in federal and private loans. Some advocates and lawmakers are calling for Biden to forgive $50,000 per person, and others are advocating that student loans be forgiven altogether.
We listen back to a conversation MPR News host Angela Davis had in January 2022 with two researchers about the debate on student loan debt and whether canceling debt is the best way to address the student debt crisis.
Guests:
- Jalil Mustaffa Bishop is an assistant professor at Villanova University in Villanova, Pa. He researches how student loan debt affects Black borrowers.
- Jason Delisle is a senior policy fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. He studies higher education finance and student debt.
The idea of intersectionality came up frequently during a recent gathering of Minnesotans who are part of LGBTQ+ communities across the state. The multilayered and interconnected nature of our identities can lead to distinct individual experiences with discrimination and marginalization.
So, what do we need to better understand about intersectionality and how it affects Minnesotans? More specifically, how does intersectionality affect members of our LGBTQ+ communities across the state who are also navigating a pandemic while pushing for systemic change?
Join MPR News for In Focus: Celebrating intersectional identities within Minnesota’s LGBTQ+ communities — a virtual community conversation, sponsored by UCare, taking place at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 23. MPR News host Angela Davis will talk with three guests who will bring voice and meaning to the experiences of intersectionality in Minnesota’s LGBTQ+ communities.
Updated: 4 p.m. The war in Ukraine is reminding the world how quickly a normal life can turn to uncertainty, suffering and terror.
As Russia expands its air attacks into the western regions of Ukraine, residents of several encircled southern cities are going without food, water and power. The U.N. refugee agency says 2.7 million people, including more than a million children, have already fled Ukraine.
Guest host Chris Farrell talks with a Ukrainian in Minnesota who is watching the war destroy his homeland and gets an update on the humanitarian crisis unfolding on Ukraine’s borders from the head of a refugee advocacy organization who just returned from a trip to Poland. Plus, we’ll learn how the trauma of surviving war has lingered for many Minnesotans who experienced previous conflicts.
Guests:
- Taras Rafa is from Western Ukraine and an engineer with Abbot in Little Canada.
- Eric Schwartz is president of Refugees International. He served previously as dean of the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration.
- Jill Davidson is a social worker for the Center for Victims of Torture based in St. Paul.
- Amal Hassan is a psychotherapist and education coordinator for the Center for Victims of Torture in St. Cloud. Her family escaped war in Somalia.
Hear their conversation using the audio player above and read the highlights below.
Taras Rafa moved to Minnesota from western Ukraine in 2005 and many of his family members are still in Ukraine. His cousin, who plays clarinet for the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra, has joined civilian defense forces.
“We’ve been really worried about him because knowing that it’s a port city, it has direct access from the sea, and it will be one of the first attacks from Russian forces, which actually happened. So he managed to take his family and drive to the Polish border, let them cross … and then he returned back, basically home, and signed up for the military service,” Rafa said.
Eric Schwartz, who is the president of Refugees International, said many of the refugees who fled Ukraine have been crossing into Poland.
“I met with Europeans from Germany, from Finland, from the Czech Republic, who had driven to Poland for the purpose of transporting refugees who wanted to go to other countries,” Schwartz said.
He said European governments have established a directive to allow refugees from Ukraine to live and work within the European Union for up to three years.
Amal Hassan, an education coordinator at the Center for Victims of Torture in St. Cloud, Minn., fled from civil war in Somalia when she was a young child — first to Kenya and then to Minnesota.
“It was very cold, right in the middle of winter,” Hassan said. “Children from refugee and immigrant and asylum backgrounds have to negotiate between two cultures. … So that was the larger challenge … trying to maintain my own identity but also adapt to American culture.”
Ayan Abdinur called in to share her experience of coming to Minnesota when she was 11 years old. She, too, fled civil war in Somalia with her mother and newborn sibling. Their journey was long and dangerous, she said.
“I didn’t understand as a child at the time… that emotion, that trauma. But as I’ve grown, and looking back to these stories and remembering things, it just makes my heart feel, like, what my mom actually went through,” she said.
“We have many, many people here in our Minnesota community who’ve gone through these things, whose family members currently are experiencing these traumatic events,” said Jill Davidson, a social worker for the Center for Victims of Torture in St. Paul.
She said they are “finding ways to cope with these types of traumatic events, these types of losses, on a daily basis.”
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Do you love reality TV? If you do, you aren’t alone. Reality TV – from game shows to candid camera to dating competitions – has captured our attention for decades. Coming up Friday, host Angela Davis talks all about reality TV, why we love it and what that says about us.
Have you heard the phrase “climate anxiety?” It’s not just a useful description of worrying about climate change, it’s a psychological condition plaguing many Americans.
According to a recent study from the Pew Research Center, millennials and Gen Z say climate anxiety affects their daily functions and their plans for the future. Feeling powerless in the face of monumental damage is expected. Having agency as an individual can help. So can working with other people in a collective to make small changes. And small changes add up.
On Thursday at 9 a.m., host Angela Davis spoke with two spiritual stewards about addressing climate anxiety through spiritual practice.
And we heard from you, too. You answered our questions: What steps have you taken to address your climate anxiety? Do they involve your faith? Are you part of a community working to slow down climate change? How’s it going? Have you found strength in collective action? Is there something you do regularly that helps quell your fears about climate change? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour. Or you can tweet @AngelaDavisMPR.
Guests:
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Dan Wolpert is the executive director of MICAH, the Minnesota institute of contemplation and healing in Crookston, and the author of several books, most recently, “Creation’s Wisdom: Spiritual Practice and Climate Change.”
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Julia Nerbonne is the executive director of Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light. She teaches classes at the University of Minnesota on climate action and environmental justice.
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Long-term care facilities were ground zero for COVID-19 deaths early in the pandemic. Then, residents struggled with profound isolation after family members and friends were banned or discouraged from visiting to keep out the virus.
Now there’s a new crisis facing long-term care. Overwhelmed by long hours, low pay and COVID exposure, people who work in long-term care facilities are quitting their jobs in record numbers. As the pandemic stretches into a third year, the chronic staffing problem in nursing homes and assisted living facilities has intensified. As of this fall, three quarters of long-term care facilities in Minnesota were limiting admissions.
Gov. Tim Walz responded to the labor shortage by sending National Guard nursing teams to struggling facilities and promising to train more certified nursing assistants. Last week, President Joe Biden released a list of proposals to improve long-term care, including a call for minimum staffing levels. Many nursing home operators are wondering where they’ll find workers.
MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with long-term care experts about the quality, cost and future of long-term care in Minnesota.
Guests:
- Rajean Moone is the faculty director for long-term care administration in the College of Continuing and Professional Studies at the University of Minnesota. He also serves as associate director of education for the Center for Healthy Aging and Innovation in the School of Public Health.
- Aisha Elmquist is deputy ombudsman for long-term care for the state of Minnesota, a program of the Minnesota Board on Aging. The ombudsman office has representatives around the state and acts as an advocate for the health, safety and rights of long-term care consumers. For more information or to raise a concern or complaint visit www.mn.gov/ooltc.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Hear their conversation using the audio player above and read the highlights below.
There are more than 23,000 care positions vacant in Minnesota, said Rajean Moone, an expert in long-term care administration at the University of Minnesota. “This is all hands on deck. If you work in a nursing home, you may be an accountant, but some days, you may also be working in the kitchen serving food.”
“Since the pandemic, it is worsened considerably,” said Aisha Elmquist, Minnesota’s deputy ombudsman for long-term care. At one facility, Elmquist said that one day residents were served only peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, with no breakfast or dinner.
She called it an “extreme example” — but one that reflects a trend her office now sees with lack of proper staffing.
“These are vulnerable adults, and somebody has to have a voice for them, and it has to be us,” said Barbara, a registered nurse and caller from St. Louis Park. She said that to encourage health workers to stay in the long-term care profession, they should be paid like professionals.
“According to the most recent numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we're looking at about $14 an hour for a certified nursing assistant in a nursing home,” said Moone. “A certified nursing assistant in another health care setting would make significantly more than that.”
When understaffed facilities close, residents and their families can find themselves stuck. Jacob, a caller from St. Paul, said his family had recently been notified that the long-term care facility where his disabled sister lives, would soon be forced to close. He said she would end up in a crisis care center. “We don’t have any other options for her,” he said.
For others, the cost of long-term care is enormous, and families might pay tens of thousands or more than $100,000 in a year, for a resident to live in a private room with access to 24-hour skilled care. Those who depend on Medicaid waivers have more limited options, Elmquist said.
In Minneapolis, Beth called in to share her experiences from coordinating staffing at a local nursing home. “It’s chaos,” she said. “Every day people leave the floor openly weeping. This was 2018. This was pre-COVID. We needed the National Guard in 2018.”
- Share your story Have you been impacted by short staffing in long-term care?
Several cases of racist harassment and hate speech have recently been reported at Minnesota schools. In late February, two school districts announced their athletics teams would not compete against New Prague High School after students yelled racist taunts at student athletes. During that same week, a Prior Lake High School basketball player found a racist note in her gym bag, prompting the team to cut its season short. Prior Lake High School also received national attention in November 2021 when a video of two students berating a Black student with a racist slur went viral.
These incidents can be traumatizing for everyone, particularly for students of color. So why do they keep happening? And what can educators and parents do to address them?
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a school counselor, a psychologist and Minnesota students about racism in schools, how students are impacted and how to address racist incidents when they happen. And she’ll also talk with a Minnesota lawmaker about how the state legislature is trying to address discrimination and bullying in schools. .
Guests:
- Derek Francis is the manager of counseling services for Minneapolis Public Schools and he is on the board for Minnesota School Counselors Association.
- Virginia Huynh is a professor at California State University, Northridge. She studies how racism and discrimination affects the academic, psychological and physical well-being of children and adolescents of color.
- Rep. Hodan Hassan is a DFL lawmaker in the Minnesota House of Representatives. She is the vice chair of the House Education Policy Committee
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The ides of April — or April 15 — is Tax Day. The day has been immortalized in everything from specialty cakes to pop songs. This year, the 15th is a Friday, so you get the weekend and don’t have to file until Monday the 18th. If those two extra days are when you plan to get your taxes done, we feel you.
The U.S. tax code is famously complicated and confusing. But does it have to be?
The tax code has changed and evolved over the centuries as the country has changed and evolved. For instance, the United States was once income-tax free. Did you know that? Do you know what your income taxes pay for? What about your property taxes? And how are those taxes different from sales tax and estate tax and corporate taxes?
The U.S. tax code has also been derided as unfair since the moment it was installed. So, how can we better understand its intentions as well as its impact?
At 9 a.m. Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with a tax expert about the history of our tax code — who pays the most and why, and how we all benefit from taxes.
And we heard from you. You answered our questions: How did you learn about the tax code? Have your taxes changed as your life has changed? Have you ever done anything to avoid paying taxes? Do you have questions about who has the power to change the tax code and how it’s done?
Guest:
- Paul Gutterman is director of the Masters of Business Taxation program at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and has over a decade of experience in the tax area, including at the firms of Dorsey and Whitney and Ernst & Young.
- Willie Gregg is the tax and financial services manager at Prepare & Prosper in Saint Paul.
Last week, St. Paul and Minneapolis dropped their mask mandates, following many cities and counties across the nation who have lifted their mandates in recent weeks. And under new CDC guidelines, most Americans no longer need to wear masks or social distance.
Under the new guidelines, about 70 percent of Americans live in areas where COVID-19 poses a low or medium impact to hospitals, and no longer need to wear a mask. The CDC still recommends masking in areas with a high risk of COVID-19.
However, individual cities and counties, as well as private businesses, can set their own rules. And the CDC still recommends wearing a mask in medium risk areas if you are immunocompromised.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with infectious disease specialists about the new guidelines for masking, and what to weigh when deciding whether to wear a mask.
Guests:
- Dr. Rebecca Wurtz is an infectious disease physician and an associate professor in the University of Minnesota’s Division of Health Policy and Management
- Dr. Jill Foster is a pediatric infectious disease physician at the University of Minnesota Medical School and M Health Fairview
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Have you heard about the Minnesota Shuffle? It’s not the latest dance fad – it’s that slow, careful, determined walk we all do when we’re paying close attention to not falling down because of hazardous conditions on the sidewalk.
For some people, getting around in winter is a hassle. For others, it’s downright impossible.
In Duluth, an effort is underway to increase accessibility in the winter for everyone trying to get around, particularly those for whom walking is a challenge. What’s the strategy and the goal? Can it be reproduced in other parts of the state? What can we learn about how our cities and towns function from the people who need help navigating during the winter?
On Friday, host Angela Davis spoke with two Duluth residents and accessibility advocates about navigating the far north during the deep cold.
Guests:
- Amanda Crosby is a member of the Duluth Commission on Disabilities and a Sidewalk Assistance Program volunteer.
- Kate Van Daele is the public information officer for the city of Duluth.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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On Wednesday, host Angela Davis talked to a policy expert and activist about the state of marijuana in Minnesota from medical usage to recreation.
Many teachers say the last two years have been the most stressful of their careers. First there was the instantaneous pivot to distance learning. Then came the prolonged uncertainty, political fights over public health measures and heightened tension around how to address racial inequalities.
The isolation of the pandemic also left many students with increased mental health needs and rusty social skills, adding another layer of challenge to already overwhelmed teachers and school staff.
Some burned out educators are leaving and others are doubling down, reluctant to abandon their students.
In this context, Minneapolis and St. Paul teachers unions have each filed an intent to strike as soon as March 8 — unless they reach an agreement with their districts.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with teachers and school staff from around Minnesota about the strain of the past two years.
Guests:
- Norma Garcés is executive director of Academia Cesar Chavez School, a K-8 charter school in St. Paul. She is a 2019 Bush Fellow and was previously director of a charter school Minneapolis and a teacher in Minneapolis Public Schools.
- Natalia Benjamin is an English language and ethnic studies teacher at Century High School in Rochester and was selected as Minnesota Teacher of the Year for 2021.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Both Minneapolis and St. Paul are among the many cities around the nation that have launched guaranteed income pilot programs in recent years. The programs guarantee monthly payments to low-income families. On Monday, host Angela Davis talks with two experts about what they’re learning through these pilot programs.
Three fired Minneapolis police officers were found guilty on all counts Thursday of violating George Floyd's civil rights.
Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao were on the scene of Floyd’s arrest May 25, 2020, as Derek Chauvin, the senior officer on site, pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. Floyd, handcuffed and face down on the pavement, pleaded that he couldn’t breathe. Thao, Kueng and Lane were accused of failing to provide medical aid to Floyd.
MPR News host Angela Davis discusses the verdict, the ramifications and what comes next.
Guests:
- Dr. Yohuru Williams is a professor of history and founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas
- Kami Chavis is a professor of law and director of the Criminal Justice Program at Wake Forest University School of Law
- Steven Belton is the president of the Urban League of the Twin Cities
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Does a good downward dog or warrior pose help you through a hard week? Host Angela Davis talks with a yoga researcher and a yoga instructor about people turning to yoga during the pandemic to relieve stress and find calm.
As President Joe Biden prepares to announce his nominee to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, host Angela Davis talks with two constitutional law professors about the nomination and confirmation process, the history and size of the Supreme Court and whether the highest court in the land was designed to reflect the American citizenry or not.
Have you heard of Steve Blumberg, the world famous book bandit? The St. Paul native stole over $5 million in rare books and stored them in a ruined mansion in Ottumwa, Iowa. The story is the stuff of fiction — except that it really happened.
No one expects mystery, thievery and millions of dollars to occur in the same sentence as the word “books.” But the Blumberg story is just one of many included in Gary Goodman’s new memoir, “The Last Bookseller: A Life in the Rare Book Trade.”
Goodman owned and operated St. Croix Antiquarian Books in Stillwater, Minn. He helped establish Stillwater as the first-ever official “book town” in North America.
Now semi-retired Goodman joins MPR News host Angela Davis to talk about the wild world of book dealing. Judith Kissner, the owner and operator of Scout & Morgan Books in Cambridge, Minn., joins the conversation to shed light on how the business has been transformed by the internet and the pandemic.
Guests:
- Gary Goodman owned and operated St. Croix Antiquarian Books in Stillwater and is the author of the memoir “The Last Bookseller”
- Judith Kissner owns and operates Scout & Morgan Books in Cambridge
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Host Angela Davis talks with associate producer Samantha Matsumoto about the making of MPR News with Angela Davis. And, New cube critics co-host Aron Woldeslassie makes a special appearance.
Many people have struggled with their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. For refugees in Minnesota who are already uprooted, traumatized and financially fragile, the strain can feel overwhelming.
Kahin Adam has worked throughout the pandemic with refugees in St. Cloud as a therapist and health educator. As a refugee himself, he brings empathy to their experiences of isolation and struggle.
After fleeing Somalia as a child with his large family, Adam lived, studied and worked in several countries before pursuing dual master’s degrees of clinical social work and public health at Columbia University in New York.
In 2021, he was one of two dozen Minnesotans selected annually by the Bush Foundation to receive a competitive Bush fellowship, a cash award in support of the recipient's personal mission. Adam's fellowship will help him address trauma in refugee communities and integrate Western mental health with traditional Somali approaches to wellness.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Kahin Adam about his own journey to Minnesota and his work in St. Cloud.
Guest:
- Kahin Adam is a community health specialist and psychotherapist with CentraCare Health in St. Cloud.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
“Is old music killing new music?” a recent article in The Atlantic asked. That article was written by music historian Ted Gioia. He believes that the market is shifting away from new music and to older songs instead, and his research found that the majority of new downloads are songs that are more than two years old. Is everything old new again?
MPR News host Angela Davis discusses the popularity of old music and what that means for the music industry with music journalist David Menconi.
And she also talks with The Current’s program director Jim McGuinn about what local artists he’s listening to and what concerts and events are coming up in the Twin Cities.
Guests:
- Jim McGuinn is the program director at The Current
- David Menconi is a music journalist and author in Raleigh, N.C.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
The University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs was founded in 1977, named after the Minnesota native, former United States Sen. and Vice President Hubert Humphrey. He was a legislator and statesman known all over the world for his contributions to improving the well-being of humanity.
In 2022 the school chose Nisha Botchwey as its new dean. She is the first Black woman and immigrant to serve as the school’s dean and comes to the Twin Cities from Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
In her message to her new academic community, Botchwey described her new job as having, “the opportunity to change people’s lives, shape public policy, and even bring about necessary justice — to be in service of one another and our fellow global citizens.”
MPR News host Angela Davis sat down with Botchwey recently to talk about her journey to the U.S., the Humphrey School’s future and what it means to be a global citizen.
Guest:
- Nisha Botchwey is the new dean of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. She holds master’s degrees in public health and urban planning and a Ph.D. in urban planning.
Love it or loathe it, Valentine’s Day is coming up. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two guests with two different takes on romance and Valentine’s Day.
First, we hear from romance writer Karen Booth who grew up in Minnesota and writes contemporary romance novels with a focus on heroines over age 35. We hear about what makes a romance swoon-worthy and about Booth’s own love story.
And we also hear from Twin Cities comedian Hannah Wydeven, who is performing a Valentine’s Day improv show called “Love Hurts: A Valentine’s Experience” at Huge Improv Theater in Minneapolis.
Guests:
- Karen Booth is a contemporary romance writer
- Hannah Wydeven is a comedian based in the Twin Cities
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Host Angela Davis checks in with an ICU nurse from St. Cloud who has been caring for COVID patients since the beginning of the pandemic. And, she talks with a Latina activist who hopes her father’s long battle with COVID-19 raises awareness about the sacrifices made by essential workers.
Senior editor Mike Mulcahy has been at MPR News on and off — mostly on — since 1985. He’s covered everything from a strike at the Hormel factory to the crash of Paul Wellstone’s plane to the Twins winning the World Series. He has thoughts on radio journalism before and after the digital age and what it means to cover state politics in a post 9/11 world.
Mike joined MPR News host Angela Davis for a look back at his storied career (don’t worry, he’s not going anywhere) and a look ahead to the coming election and baseball seasons.
Host Angela Davis checks in with an ICU nurse from St. Cloud who has been caring for COVID patients since the beginning of the pandemic. And, she talks with a Latina activist who hopes her father’s long battle with COVID-19 raises awareness about the sacrifices made by essential workers.
Evictions have increased in Minnesota since the moratorium began to phase out in 2021. That can have yearslong repercussions on people’s mental and physical health, educational outcomes and more. Host Angela Davis talks with two researchers about the lasting impacts of evictions.
Many people working from home during the pandemic love the flexibility but miss the camaraderie of the office. On Monday, host Angela Davis talks about the pros and cons of hybrid work.
Minnesotans react to the latest Minneapolis police shooting that is getting national attention and sparking outrage in communities across the state after the release of police bodycam video. The shooting that left 22-year-old Amir Locke dead after a group of Minneapolis police SWAT officers entered the apartment he was sleeping in, early Wednesday morning, has rattled Minnesotans.
Interim Minneapolis police Chief Amelia Huffman said officers were executing a search warrant at the request of St. Paul police who are investigating a homicide case. But Locke, who was shot and killed by officers nine seconds after they entered the apartment, was not named in the search warrant and it’s not clear if he figures into the St Paul case. In the one minute video Locke can be seen on a couch, wrapped in a blanket and then holding a gun as he starts to move.
- Bodycam video shows Man under blanket, holding gun before Minneapolis cop shoots
The fatal shooting is renewing the debate about the dangers of so-called “no-knock warrants” and upsetting people who already feel traumatized by the events of the last few years.
Guests:
- Jon Collins is a senior reporter for MPR News.
- Justin Terrell is executive director of the Minnesota Justice Research Center, a nonprofit organization that works for racial equity and criminal justice reform through research, education and advocacy. Prior to that he was the executive director of the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage.
- Dr. Joi Lewis is a coach, consultant, community healer and the author of the book “Healing: The Act of Radical Self-Care.”
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Do you love reality TV? If you do, you aren’t alone. Reality TV – from game shows to candid camera to dating competitions – has captured our attention for decades. Coming up Friday, host Angela Davis talks all about reality TV, why we love it and what that says about us.
Last year, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers caused a stir by saying, “Yeah, I’ve been immunized,” when asked about being vaccinated against COVID-19 during a summer press conference. He then tested positive for the virus later in the fall.
So, what does immunity mean in the context of COVID-19? How does immunity develop after we get an infection and how does it compare to immunity following vaccination? Why do variants pose a challenge and will we all need fourth boosters soon?
MPR host Angela Davis talks with two doctors about what immunity is, how it works and what shape we’ll be in as individuals and a community after the omicron surge.
Guests:
- Dr. Greg Poland is the founder and director of the Mayo Vaccine Research Group and the editor-in-chief of the medical journal “Vaccine.”
- Dr. Marc Jenkins is director of the Center for Immunology at the University of Minnesota Medical School and an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Grandparents have always stepped up to support grandchildren, but during the pandemic that love looks a bit different. Tuesday, host Angela Davis talks with two grandmothers — a journalist and an early childhood education leader — about how elders are providing childcare and trying to bridge the distance on Zoom.
For millennials, the list of anxieties is long: climate change, pandemic and a major immediate financial worry is retirement. Gone are the days of working hard for one company for 30 years, getting your gold watch and sailing your boat into the proverbial sunset.
Baby boomers and Gen Xers are looking forward to retirement, but millennials and Gen Z are terrified of it. Or, more accurately, they're terrified it might not ever happen for them. Why? What are the economic circumstances that allow for a healthy retirement for individuals and generations?
MPR News Host Angela Davis speaks with Senior Economics Contributor Chris Farrell and millennial money manager Jerry Brown about earning and saving for retirement — how young people can take care of their future and how the rest of us can help them in that effort.
And we heard from you, too. Our listeners answered our questions: Are you worried about retirement? What are your plans for retirement? Do you have questions about how to work and save enough to eventually retire? Are you a boomer or Gen Xer with tips or tricks for younger people?
Guests:
- Chris Farrell is MPR’s Senior Economics Contributor
- Jerry Brown is a financial adviser and blogger specializing in millennials’ money and securing the financial future of people of color
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
How about those Vikings? Not the football team. We’re talking about the ancient voyagers and raiders from the North. MPR News host Angela Davis talked with a Minnesota historian and an archeologist in the U.K. about Vikings in popular imagination and new research that challenges old ideas about who they were and where they went.
When COVID-19 forced stay-at-home orders and the beginning of remote work in early 2020, pundits and journalists predicted that the pandemic could dramatically change city life. They worried about an exodus to the suburbs and exurbs, the end of public transit and downtowns becoming obsolete.
City life has certainly not ended, as some had feared. But the pandemic is changing the way our cities look and operate. Remote work has changed commute patterns and raised questions about how we use downtown spaces. Cities around the world have expanded pedestrian spaces and outdoor dining.
MPR News host Angela Davis explores how the pandemic has redesigned our cities and whether those changes are here to stay.
Guests:
- Bill Lindekeis an urban geographer and columnist at MinnPost
- Fernando Burgais an assistant professor in Urban Planning at the University of Minnesota
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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For people in recovery, the pandemic presented some familiar and some new problems. And while the opioid epidemic continues to grow, access and affordability of rehab and counseling continues to be a challenge for many people. Host Angela Davis speaks with experts on entering or staying in recovery during the ongoing pandemic.
The birth rate in the United States declined for the sixth straight year in 2020, and according to the Pew Research Center, more people say they don’t plan on having children.
People are making that choice for a variety of reasons. Some are concerned about having children because of instability caused by climate change, political division and the COVID-19 pandemic. Others are concerned about the cost of child care, health care and education. And others are content being child-free and have no desire to have kids.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a sociology professor and an author about why more people are choosing not to have children.
Guests:
- Donna Freitasis a novelist and professor. Her most recent book is “The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano.”
- Amy Blackstone is a professor of sociology at the University of Maine and the author of the book “Childfree by Choice: The Movement Redefining Family and Creating a New Age of Independence.”
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
We’re paying about 90 cents more per gallon of gas compared to a year ago. Inflation hit 7 percent last year overall, affecting everything from food to furniture. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with personal finance experts about how to save money when consumer goods cost more.
Are you one of those people that freeze up when you need to calculate a 15 percent tip on the restaurant tab? Do you hope a friend will volunteer to figure it out? You might have a bit of math anxiety.
A lot of adults and kids think they’re bad at math and say they don’t like it. But learning to be comfortable with numbers and patterns is vital to holding many jobs, being a smart consumer and being a good citizen.
Math educators are thinking these days about how to help students get excited, not anxious, about math. The state of Minnesota is revising its math standards for the first time since 2007 — right in the middle of a math slump caused by the pandemic’s disruption to classroom instruction.
MPR News host Angela Davis talked with two math educators about how parents and teachers can kindle success in math.
Guests:
- Sara VanDerWerfis a mathematics specialist with the Minnesota Department of Education. She is a former middle and high school math teacher in the Minneapolis Public Schools and past president of the Minnesota Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
- Christopher Danielsoncreated the Math On-A-Stick play space at the Minnesota State Fair. He’s a former middle school math teacher and college instructor. He currently develops online math lessons for Desmos and blogs about math at talkingmathwithkids.com.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
The prolonged stress, uncertainty and grief of the pandemic is making people angry — and some of them are taking it out in public. A poll conducted by Monmouth University found that 41 percent of adults said the upheaval caused by the pandemic has made them angry. And that has caused people to have outbursts in grocery stores, on airplanes and other public places.
Anger is a normal and natural emotion, according to mental health experts, and it’s a response to the frustration, grief and fear that the pandemic has caused. But when anger is uncontrolled, it can lead to physical health problems, relationship issues and can be harmful to others.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the increase in pandemic bad behavior with a New York Times journalist. And she talks about the causes of our anger and how to better manage it with a psychologist and an advice columnist.
Guests:
- Sarah Lyall is a writer-at-large at the New York Times. She recently wrote an article about pandemic anger called “A Nation on Hold Wants to Speak With a Manager.”
- Dave Decker is a psychologist in St. Paul who specializes in anger management.
- John Paul Brammer is the author of the advice column ¡Hola Papi!
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Have you found love in the pandemic? Decided it was time to break things off with someone? Has the pandemic brought you and your partner closer together… or has it made your relationship more rocky?
The American Family Survey found in 2020 that 37 percent of married people reported that the pandemic has increased stress in their marriage. But on the flipside, that same survey found that 56 percent of those surveyed said the pandemic made them appreciate their partner more.
So how can we strengthen our romantic relationships during times of prolonged stress and trauma? And how do we navigate dating and starting new relationships?
MPR News guest host Twila Dang talks with a relationships and dating writer and a marriage and family therapist about navigating love during the pandemic.
Guests:
- Lisa Bonoswrites about dating and relationships for The Washington Post
- Steve Harrisis a professor in the Couple and Family Therapy Program in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota
- Yachao Liis an associate editor for the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships and an assistant professor of communication studies at the College of New Jersey
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
As the cost of shelter goes up, some people are turning to alternative ways to afford the roof over their head. MPR News guest host Twila Dang talks with experts involved with land trusts and housing cooperatives and takes listener calls about creative ideas for alternatives to rising rents and mortgages.
Robocalls. Identity theft. Fake websites.
Scams take many forms in the digital era. And they cost Americans serious money. In 2021, Americans lost about $30 billion to scam calls. And in 2020, they lost $56 billion to identity fraud.
According to the AARP, scammers often target older adults, and they use creative methods that reflect what is currently popular, including Zoom, COVID vaccine cards and online shopping.
MPR News guest host Chris Farrell talks about scams, how they affect older adults and how to avoid them with two experts.
Guests:
- Jay Haapala is the associate state director for AARP Minnesota. He specializes in helping the public understand and avoid scams.
- Marti DeLiemais an assistant research professor of social work at the University of Minnesota. She studies the risk factors associated with financial fraud.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Many adults can think back to a time when someone other than their close family took an interest in them, taught them a new skill or maybe helped them through an emotionally tough patch.
Mentors can play an important role in a young person’s life, especially children who may not have a lot of adult support or guidance. Sometimes they can make the difference between thriving and just surviving.
MPR News guest host Chris Farrell talks with two people who head up organizations that match young people with caring adults.
And, if you’re looking for a mentor or want to be one, check out the Mentoring Connector at MENTOR Minnesota.
Guests:
- Darrell Thompson is a former professional football player and president of Bolder Options, a nonprofit organization that matches children ages 10 to 14 with adult mentors in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Rochester.
- Susan Basil King is president and CEO at Wallin Education Partners in St. Paul, a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships and advising for low-income and first-generation college students.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
President Joe Biden has once again extended the pandemic pause on federal student loan payments – this time until May 1. While campaigning for president, Biden pledged to cancel at least $10,000 of student debt per person.
That has not yet happened. But the pause on student loan payments has reignited the debate on what to do about student loans. Student loan borrowers in the U.S. owe $1.7 trillion in federal and private loans. Some advocates and lawmakers are calling for Biden to forgive $50,000 per person, and others are advocating that student loans be forgiven altogether.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two researchers about the debate on student loan debt and whether canceling debt is the best way to address the student debt crisis.
Guests:
- Jalil Mustaffa Bishop is an assistant professor at Villanova University in Villanova, Pa. He researches how student loan debt affects Black borrowers.
- Jason Delisle is a senior policy fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. He studies higher education finance and student debt.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Incentives like gift cards aren’t working to get people vaccinated. Rates have stalled or dropped, and public health officials all over the country are nervous.
As omicron spreads, infection rates soar and hospitals are once again overwhelmed, do we need to rethink how we motivate people to get vaccinated? Would denying access to the public sphere increase the number of people getting their shots?
Guest host Kerri Miller speaks with two public health researchers on motivating the masses to get vaccinated for the common good.
Guests:
- Stefanie Friedhoff is part of the Brown University School of Public Health leadership team and works on public health communication strategy.
- Scott Ratzan is a public health communication expert at CUNY Graduate School of Public Health in New York, and is founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Health Communication.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Almost two years into the pandemic, many college students are once again deferring a return to campus and taking courses online or living with restrictions on campus. Host Angela Davis talks about how the pandemic has impacted college students.
Two years into the pandemic, restaurants are sometimes open depending on omicron surges and staffing, and grocery stores are struggling with supply chain issues. But your family is still asking, “What’s for dinner?” We are here to help.
From the growing popularity of air fryers to mushrooms predicted to be the ingredient of 2022, getting it done in the kitchen has gotten easier and more interesting, even if you have to do it three times a day, every day.
Host Angela Davis talks to food writer and cultural anthropologist Kelly Alexander about finding or renewing your passion for cooking and eating at home in 2022. And James Rone, the program manager for the Project Success Institute joins Angela and Kelly to talk about getting teenagers shopping, cooking and possibly doing the dishes (no promises on this last one).
Guests:
- Kelly Alexander is a food writer, cultural anthropologist, and professor in the American Studies Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- James Rone is the Program Manager at the Project Success Institute in Minneapolis.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
The president, members of Congress and many federal workers take an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution — against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
But what does that mean? What’s actually in our founding document?
If you grew up watching “School House Rock,” you likely can sing the preamble, but most of us can’t remember or quote the amendments. That not only affects our political conversations, but it also affects the job we do as citizens.
As we mark the one year anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection, we invite your questions about the U.S. Constitution.
Guests:
- Alan Rozenshtein is an associate professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School, where he teaches constitutional law, criminal procedure and courses on legislation and regulation and cybersecurity law.
- T. Anansi Wilson is an associate professor of constitutional and criminal law at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. They teach courses in constitutional civil liberties and criminal procedure and seminars about sexuality, race and the law.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
COVID-19 cases are once again surging in Minnesota after the holiday season with the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant. Two years into the pandemic, the new variant has raised questions about how and when the pandemic will end.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about how to cope with a pandemic that keeps stretching on. She spoke with an infectious disease expert, a child psychologist and a psychologist who studies the way uncertainty affects our minds.
Guests:
- Kate Sweeny is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside. She specializes in how uncertainty affects our minds and mental health.
- Sarah Jerstad is a child psychologist at Children's Minnesota
- Dr. Jack O’Horo is an infectious disease expert at the Mayo Clinic
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Ann Bancroft was the first woman to reach the North Pole on foot with dog sleds in 1986. A few years later she skied across the ice to the South Pole with a group of three other women, inspiring students across the country with updates along the journey.
But polar expeditions aren’t her only legacy. Bancroft started a foundation 25 years ago that has awarded grants totaling more than $2 million to thousands of Minnesotan girls who have big dreams and need a boost.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Bancroft and the new executive director of the Ann Bancroft Foundation about encouraging and uplifting girls.
Guests:
- Ann Bancroftis an adventurer, author and teacher. She was the first woman to reach the North Pole on foot and sled and to complete a number of other expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. She’s the founder of the Ann Bancroft Foundation.
- Ethelind B. Kabais executive director of the Ann Bancroft Foundation.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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What’s on your list of New Year's resolutions? Do you want to spend less and save more? Do you plan to get in shape? Lose some weight? Read more books? Stay in better touch with loved ones? Eat healthier? Work more? Relax more?
Whatever kind of change you want to make, saying it out loud is the first step. Committing to getting it done is the second step. The third step? Well, that’s the hardest step of all, isn’t it? Sticking to your goals so that you can reach them is difficult for everyone. But understanding the psychology of sticking to your goals will help you get there.
Host Angela Davis talks with three experts on establishing and meeting your goals for 2022.
Guests:
- Theresa Nutt is a graduate faculty for the University of Minnesota’s Integrative Health and Wellbeing coaching program.
- Ayelet Fishbach is the Jeffrey Breakenridge Keller Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the author of “Get it Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation.”
- Chris Farrell is the senior economics contributor at MPR News.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
All this week, we’re listening back to some of the conversations we’ve had on this show over the past year. Associate producer Samantha Matsumoto joined MPR News host Angela Davis to share some of the shows that have stood out to her.
We take you back to Nobles County, the fastest diversifying county in the state. We traveled there earlier this year to talk to some of the residents about what life is like in their community. And we revisited a conversation about the complicated ways we describe our identities and the politics behind terms like BIPOC, Latinx and people of color.
We also listen back to an interview about a 2021 law that made Minnesota the first state in the country to stop separating incarcerated mothers from their newborn babies.
Tune in on Friday for host Angela Davis’s favorites from 2021 as we wrap up our look back at the past year on the air.
After more than a decade on the MPR News airwaves, Dr. Jon Hallberg says goodbye to host Tom Crann and all of you. Dr. Hallberg spent a final hour with MPR News listeners looking back on his long career and commenting on everything from the measles to back pain to flu shots and COVID. They also took questions from callers and previewed what’s next for Dr. Hallberg.
Guest:
Dr. Jon Hallberg is an associate professor in family medicine at the University of Minnesota and medical director at the Mill City Clinic. He co-hosted the MPR News podcast Hallberg's Picture of Health alongside All Things Considered host Tom Crann.
All this week, we’re listening back to some of the conversations we’ve had on this show over the past year. Associate producer Samantha Matsumoto joined MPR News host Angela Davis to share some of the shows that have stood out to her.
We take you back to Nobles County, the fastest diversifying county in the state. We traveled there earlier this year to talk to some of the residents about what life is like in their community. And we revisited a conversation about the complicated ways we describe our identities and the politics behind terms like BIPOC, Latinx and people of color.
We also listen back to an interview about a 2021 law that made Minnesota the first state in the country to stop separating incarcerated mothers from their newborn babies.
Tune in on Friday for host Angela Davis’s favorites from 2021 as we wrap up our look back at the past year on the air.