September 29, 1981 -
October 1, 1981 - Midday presents a National Town Meeting about the great American novel with authors Francine Gray and Larry McMurtry.
October 1, 1981 -
October 3, 1981 - Bruce Benidt, local commentator and educator at Mankato State, looks at the mindsets of Minnesota students entering college. To Benidt, it is both enlightening and humorous.
October 3, 1981 - MPR’s Dale Connelly talks with Minnesota writer Carol Bly about the Midcontinent Forum for the Future of Literature. The conference of theme is on literary funding options as writers find less federal government and foundation money available.
October 7, 1981 - MPR's Nancy Fushan interviews 1980 Nobel Prize for Literature winner Czeslaw Milosz. Born in Poland but now living and teaching in the United States, Milosz talks about his poetry, the United States, his native country of Poland, and writing.
October 13, 1981 - Dr. Thomas Pearsall of the Department of Rhetoric at the University of Minnesota answers live listener questions on language use, the history of English language, and changes in the way people write and speak on this call-in program with Bob Potter.
October 14, 1981 - Don Fraser, Minneapolis mayor, speaking at Macalester College on the economic, military and defense policies of the Reagan administration. Program includes a brief introductory report from MPR’s Bob Potter.
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.
October 23, 1981 - Local historian Virginia Kunz comments on Jonathan Raban’s book Old Glory: An American Voyage and on history of the Mississippi River.