June 26, 1981 - Dr. Gough Reinhardt, physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California; and Dr. Frank Barnaby, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, debate at the Science Town Hall Meeting titled, “Nuclear Weapons Technology: Do We Need It?” The meeting was held at the St. Paul-Ramsey Arts and Science Auditorium and presented guests' differing views of nuclear weapons technology and the value and uses of nuclear science. MPR’s Rich Dietman moderated debate.
August 22, 1981 - Maggie Arzdorf-Schubbe, director of the Minnesota Battered Women Program, and Catherine Settanni, a member of Women Against Women Against Women, discuss Women Against Violence Against Women and the annual "Take Back the Night" march in Minneapolis.
October 21, 1981 - Ralph Nader, author and consumer activist, speaking at the annual convention of the Minnesota Education Association in Minneapolis. Nader’s address was on the topic of consumerism. He also talks on various topics such as contaminants and competency tests. Nader has been active in consumer affairs for nearly two decades. Auto safety, hazards in the workplace and contaminants in the environment are just a few of the areas that Nader and his associates have investigated. A few years ago, the Nader organization examined the competency tests given to students seeking college admission.
December 2, 1981 - Marilyn French, feminist writer and novelist, shares her thoughts on writing, the feminist movement, and society. French’s books include “The Women’s Room” and “The Bleeding Heart,” amongst others.
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.
February 26, 1982 - In this Science Town Meeting, held at Arts and Science Center Auditorium in St. Paul, Dr. Arthur Harkins, Associate Professor of Future Studies at the University of Minnesota, speaks on co-existence of humanity and robots. Harkin’s address is titled "A Robot in Your Life." Following Harkins address, a counter-response is given by Dr. Arthur Norberg, director of the Charles Babbage Institute for the History of Information Processing and associate professor of computer science at the University of Minnesota. Norberg speaks on negative aspects in culture, and the unknown of technological use and response. After speeches, Harkins and Norberg answer questions from the audience.
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 16, 1982 - Archbishop John Roach, Archbishop of the Minneapolis/St. Paul archdiocese and President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops speaking at St. John's University. Archbishop Roach addressed the topic "Episcopal Leadership and Social Justice.”
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.