August 5, 2014 - John Thavis: Former bureau chief for the Catholic News Service. Twin Cities Archbishop John Neinstedt said last week he has no plans to resign amid calls that he do so. In his first broadcast interview since a series of MPR news reports about the scandal launched nearly a year ago, Neinstedt also said he had not discussed resigning with higher-ranking Vatican officials. The MPR series also includes reporting about how previous St. Paul and Minneapolis archbishops addressed the scandal. It comes at a time when, from the Vatican's perspective, Pope Francis recently met for the first time as pontiff with victims of clergy sex abuse, begged their forgiveness and vowed to hold bishops accountable. A New York Times editorial recently connected those two stories, arguing the pope should see through on that vow by looking first at the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. But in a church with so much hierarchy, how will bishop accountability play out in Rome? John Thavis, a long-time Vatican reporter, observer and Minnesota native, joins The Daily Circuit.
August 19, 2014 - With the announcement of author Louise Erdrich winning National Book Award for book “The Round House,” The Daily Circuit presents a rebroadcast of a 2012 interview with Erdrich about her book. The novel tells the story of a crime on a North Dakota reservation in 1988.
September 10, 2014 - Penumbra Theatre is hosting a conversation about events in Ferguson, Mo., where the killing of an unarmed young black man by a white police officer unleashed demonstrations and racial unrest.
September 18, 2014 - The Daily Circuit presents a transgender panel discussion moderated by MPR’s Marrianne Combs. The group discuss that for many whose gender doesn’t conform to the traditional image of male or female, the barriers to success…and sometimes even to basic survival, are everywhere.
October 20, 2014 -
January 9, 2015 - On this The Daily Circuit program, MPR’s Tom Weber talks with Lee Pao Xiong and Chia Youyee Vang about the history of the Hmong migration to the U.S…a history that some are unaware of 40 years after the first arrivals.
January 16, 2015 -
January 22, 2015 -
January 30, 2015 - Anton Treuer grew up on the Leech Lake reservation with a deep interest in history and language. He writes in the introduction to one of his books on Native history: "The borderland I grew up in was more than an awkward physical nexus of races and communities." Today-a conversation about how that "nexus" still influences his work and writing.
November 13, 2015 - MPR’s Tom Weber presents a rebroadcast of a documentary from 2014 MPR Special reporting project on climate change. It collects stories on extreme weather, warming trends, species adaptation, jet and streams.