September 3, 2008 - MPR’s Elizabeth Baier talks with to two gay veterans in St. Paul to see how the so-called "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the military has affected their lives, both during -- and after -- their years in the military.
October 7, 2008 - Midday presents an American RadioWorks documentary titled "What Killed Sergeant Gray?" Sergeant Adam Gray made it home from Iraq only to die in his barracks. Investigating his death, American RadioWorks pieces together a story of soldiers suffering psychological scars – because they abused Iraqi prisoners.
January 19, 2009 - Former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell gives the keynote address at Martin Luther King Day breakfast in Minneapolis. He reflects on how the struggle for civil rights changed his own life, and is still transforming the country.
January 19, 2009 - MPR listeners and special guests discuss what it means on this MLK Day as Barack Obama, the the nation's first Black U.S. president, is to be inaugurated in the coming day.
March 26, 2009 - As Minnesota lawmakers spar over the state's education budget, Midday broadcasts education experts Kati Haycock and Rudy Crew discussing what Minnesota can do to close the achievement gap between white students and students of color. At Minnesota Meeting, a project of The Minneapolis Foundation, the two nationally recognized experts discuss this issue.
April 15, 2009 - Ahmed Samatar, dean of the Institute for Global Citizenship at Macalester College in St. Paul; and Hussein Samatar, founder and executive director of the African Development Center in Minneapolis, discuss the major concerns of Somalis living in Minnesota, including whether young men are being recruited to fight with terrorists. The two Somali men who are longtime Minnesota residents and U.S. citizens.
April 24, 2009 - MPR’s Laura Yuen profiles Somali activist Omar Jamal, who has both supporters and detractors inside his own community. Yuen tracks Jamal's media footprint and has this profile.
May 11, 2009 - Brandt Williams reports on nearly 200, mostly Hmong people, demonstrating in front of the U.S. courthouse in downtown St. Paul. They came to rally support for the family of Fong Lee, who was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2006.
May 29, 2009 - MPR’s Laura Yuen reports on the multiple killings of young Somali men in the Twin Cities, and the fight to stop the violence. The slayings represent a tragic irony for a community that escaped the bloodshed and clan warfare of its home country.
June 2, 2009 - Minnesota 5th District’s Keith Ellison, America's first Muslim member of Congress, reflects on his recent trips to the Mideast and previews President Obama's speech in Egypt. Ellison comments on how to rebuild U.S. relations with Muslim world and answers listener questions.