January 24, 2006 - There was a memorial held in Collegeville for the late Senator Eugene McCarthy. McCarthy, who died in December, graduated from St. John's University in 1935 and taught there in the 1940s, before moving on to a career in politics.
January 25, 2006 - That's Minneapolis author Robert Alexander, his new novel is "Rasputin's Daughter." He embarks on a national book tour tomorrow, but will be back in Minnesota later this spring. He'll appear with Minnesota Public Radio's Kerri Miller on March 10th at Saint Scholastica college in Duluth, for a Mid-morning book club event.
January 26, 2006 - Dominic Papatola, Minnesota Public Radio arts commentator and St. Paul Pioneer Press theater critic, talks with MPR’s Cathy Wurzer about Norwegian playwright and poet Henrik Ibsen.
January 31, 2006 - One night a year, three Twin Cities musicians come together to perform before a live audience. The three men come from different generations and musical backgrounds, but they have two things in common; they all play keyboard instruments, and they all resist attempts to pigeonhole their music. MPR’s Marianne Combs talks with the the three pianists about their annual concert creation, Keys Please!
January 31, 2006 - You may know Camille Paglia from her wide-ranging columns on culture and politics on Salon. Or from her breakthrough book: "Sexual Personae, a treatise on decadence in the history of art." It's fair to say her thoughts are often provocative, causing controversy with feminists and cultural conservatives alike. In her most recent book, she goes back to basics, and turns to her academic roots: poetry. And she rails against what she terms "post -modernist" theories of poetry. The title -- "Break, Blow, Burn" -- comes from a line of one of John Donne's Holy Sonnets. It's a collection of essays on 43 poems Paglia teaches in class: from lyrics to a song by Joni Mitchell, to classics like Shakespeare and Donne.
February 1, 2006 - A writer, who has traveled the world searching for the secrets of a long life, is now working to fight obesity in children. In partnership with MPR's Sound Learning, Dan Buettner is launching the Blue Zones Challenge. It is named for the so-called blue zones, places in the world where people live longer than the rest of us. Buettner is the author of "Secrets of Long Life" which was the cover story in November's National Gegraphic magazine. Dan Buettner joins me this morning in the studio.
February 3, 2006 - When is a candidate for governor NOT a candidate for governor? Governor Tim Pawlenty and several of his potential opponents disagree on that question. The governor's rivals say Pawlenty is clearly running for reelction so he should cancel his weekly radio show. But the governor and the station that airs the program says legally Pawlenty is not a candidate...and his opponents should not expect to get equal airtime. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
February 3, 2006 - For nearly a decade the Commonweal Theatre in Lanesboro has made the most of February's dreariness with its Ibsen festival. Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen is best known for works including "A Doll's House" and "Hedda Gabler." This year is the centenial of the playwright's death. The Commonweal is marking the anniversary with a production of his final play.
February 7, 2006 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill reports that a team of researchers has been trying to track down possible sources of the bacteria on the beaches of lake Superior in Duluth. What they've found so far is surprising, and it raises a big question about the standard way of testing for beach contamination.
February 7, 2006 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports on Hennepin County District Court Judge Charles Porter's ruling which states the Twins' lease at the Metrodome expired in 2003 and the team can leave at the end of the upcoming season.