January 14, 1982 - MPR’s Lee Axdahl reports on the passing of Sigurd Olson, well-known environmentalist and author. Segment includes a brief summary of Olson’s life, a reading by former Elmer Anderson, and interview segments with Olson about his experiences along the Boundary Waters.
January 20, 1982 - Barry Goldwater, Arizona Republican Senator, speaking at the University of Minnesota, as part of the Carlson Lecture Series. Goldwater's address is titled, "The Conscience of a Conservative, 1982." Goldwater speaks on the failure of liberal leadership, the strengths and weaknesses of the Reagan administration, and shares his criticism of the “Moral Majority” movement.
February 2, 1982 - NPR’s Bill Buzenberg presents live coverage of the Inter-American Affairs Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on human rights in El Salvador, with witnesses including Thomas Enders, Assistant Under Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs.
February 24, 1982 - Ira Schwartz, research fellow at the Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs, speaking to the Citizens League about the institutionalization of juvenile offenders in Minnesota. For the past 15 years, the prevailing thought within juvenile justice circles has been away from youth confinement. Yet a new study being completed at the Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs shows that incarceration of juvenile offenders is on the upswing across the country. The study, under the direction of Schwartz, uses Minnesota as a test location.
March 2, 1982 - House Inter-American Affairs Subcommittee, meeting at Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., continues hearing on human rights progress in El Salvador, with witnesses including Congressmen James Oberstar of Minnesota and Tom Harkin of Iowa, both of whom have recently returned from trips to El Salvador.
March 17, 1982 - MPR's Bob Potter presents live hearing and debate coverage from the Minnesota capital.
April 3, 1982 - On this Weekend program, Jack Young, Minnesota Commissioner of Corrections, discusses prisons and the corrections system in Minnesota. Topics include new Oak Park Heights maximum security prison, funding, sentencing guidelines, and views on rehabilitation. Young also answers listener questions.
June 7, 1982 - Richard Snelling, Republican Governor of Vermont, speaking to the Humphrey institute at the University of Minnesota. Snelling spoke on a framework for a workable government, on the “New Federalism,” and how to make government work. Snelling was first elected Governor of Vermont in 1976, and he won re-election by a wide margin in 1978, and an unprecedented third term in 1980. He had served previously in his state legislature, serving as majority leader in the House. Since becoming a chief executive, he has assumed a larger role in national affairs, working among other things as chairman of the Republican Governors Association. He founded a hardware and ski manufacturing firm in 1959.
June 9, 1982 - Audio clip of former Minnesota U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy stating why he is running for U.S. Senate seat again.
June 18, 1982 - James Solem, director of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, and Kenneth Ford, principal planner at Saint Paul's Department of Planning and Economic Development talk about renting and owning homes. Topics include demand with upcoming impact of baby boomers entering house buying market, affordability, interest rates, and rental vacancy rates. Solem and Ford also answer listener questions.