May 29, 1996 - MPR’s Eric Friesen speaks with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Conductor Hugh Wolff from the city of Sendai shortly after the second concert of a tour in Japan. The trip is being seen as an important opportunity to develop a Japanese following for the SPCO. Wolff says Japanese audiences have given the SPCO a warm welcome.
May 30, 1996 - MPR’s Dan Olson profiles playwright Rebecca Rice and her play Everlasting Arms, which is being performed at The Penumbra Theatre.
May 30, 1996 - Midday presents a live broadcast of the Westminster Town Hall Forum, featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough. His lecture is entitled, “American Society: Civil and Uncivil.”
May 31, 1996 - This Midday program features a live broadcast from the Republican State Convention with host Gary Eichten and MPR political commentators Bob Meek and Tom Horner. Program includes an interview with Republican State Convention Chair Chris Georgacas and listener questions.
June 3, 1996 - Midday’s Gary Eichten talks with with veteran broadcast journalist Sylvia Poggioli, who has been National Public Radio's Central Europe correspondent for years. Poggioli covered the civil war in the former Yugoslavia. She is in the studio to talk about post Cold War Europe, life as a foreign correspondent, and answers listener questions.
June 3, 1996 - Hour 2 of Midmorning, featuring Voices of Minnesota with Nina Archibald of the Minnesota Historical Society, David Noble, University of Minnesota professor of American Studies, and Susan Hill Gross, Upper Midwest Women's History Center.
June 5, 1996 - Spike Jones shares his views on why Black community members are wary to communicate with Minnesota police officers. Jones discusses efforts by residents in acting independently of police to curtail crime and bring about a safer environment in neighborhoods.
June 6, 1996 - Midday discusses same-sex marriage and the Defense of Marriage Act. MPR’s Gary Eichten gets different perspectives on the ‘definition’ of same-sex marriage from guests Fritz Knaak, attorney and former State Senator; and Minneapolis family law attorney Suzanne Borne. Knaak and Borne also answer listener questions.
June 7, 1996 - MPR’s Gary Eichten presents a retrospective of 1978 Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party State Convention. It was noted for a fierce battle within the DFL party over the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota. It fractured the party and paved the way for a Republican sweep in the November general election.
June 7, 1996 - Midday studio guest is U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone on the opening day of the DFL State Convention. Listeners call in with questions.