May 1, 1999 - American RadioWorks presents the documentary “The Forgotten 14 Million,” which explores why both government and the free market are failing the most vulnerable young Americans.
May 20, 1999 - A high-school student opened fire today on his classmates in Conyers, Georgia... just one month after the deadly school massacre in Littleton, Colorado. President Clinton was in Littleton today, to offer consolation to the victims there. He called today's incident "deeply troubling" and asked all Americans to join in a national campaign to protect children from violence. Dr. Blanton Bessinger grew up near Conyers, Georgia and is currently the director of Child Advocacy for Children's hospital in Minneapolis . Bessinger who develops strategies for preventing juvenile violence, says Americans have been too tolerant of violent words and threats in school.
May 21, 1999 - "Walking Out of History: The True Story of Shackleton's Endurance Expedition," an American RadioWorks documentary about Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance Antarctica expedition. MPR’s John Rabe presents various interviews, readings, sounds, and commentary.
May 31, 1999 - A PRI presentation of "The Mississippi River: A River of Song" by Smithsonian Productions. This program in series is titled “Land of Lakes and Immigrant Songs.”
September 1, 1999 - American RadioWorks presents the documentary “The Fertility Race,” a summary of compiled reports on series about the social implications of infertility and the advanced reproductive techniques designed to correct the condition.
September 7, 1999 - A recent study by the U.S. Justice Department estimates that 283-thousand jail and prison inmates are mentally ill. That's four times the number of patients in state mental hospitals. Most mental institutions closed in the last few decades...under a policy aimed at moving the mentally ill back into the mainstream. But treatment programs aren't filling the gap, so, to a large extent, jails are.
September 8, 1999 - It's been five-and-a-half years since Greg Stampley died at Stillwater state prison. Stampley was a severely mentally ill inmate who died while locked in an isolation cell. The case raised questions about the treatment of Minnesota's mentally ill prison inmates. The state eventually aid Stampley's family to settle a lawsuit. In part two of our series on incarcerating the mentally ill, John Biewen of MPR's national documentary unit, American RadioWorks, reports on changes in the state prison system since Greg Stampley's death.
September 9, 1999 - The insanity defense tends to get attention in sensational high-profile cases: Ted Kaczynski, Lorena Bobbitt, and most notoriously, John Hinckley. But successful use of the insanity defense is rare, even for defendants who *are* profoundly mentally ill. Defendants are found not guilty by reason of insanity in just half of one percent of all felony cases. In part three of our series on jailing the mentally ill...John Biewen of MPR's American RadioWorks documentary unit takes an in-depth look at the case of one Minnesota man. The case illustrates the difficulties of claiming legal insanity.
September 10, 1999 - The Justice Department estimates that 16% of all inmates in the United States have psychiatric problems. In this last installment of our series on mentally ill criminals, we look at the place where many advocates for the mentally ill say that the such criminals should be...a hospital. The Minnesota State Security hospital in Saint Peter acts as like a prison - patients must stay within the hospital grounds without special permission- AND a treatment center. Of the 350 patients.the majority carry the label "mentally ill and dangerous". They are the criminals who pose a significant threat to themselves or others AND have a severe mental affliction. Only about 18 to 20 people a year in Minnesota receive this designation, even though many more of the state's incarcerated population are also mentally ill. The hospital is not only better at treating the mentally ill than prison programs, it also better protects public safety. American RadioWorks' Stephanie Curtis reports.
February 14, 2000 - In this special extended edition of Midday, Walter Mondale, former vice-president, speaks at the inaugural program of 50 Years: The Mondale Lectures on Public Service. Mondale’s address was titled, "Atlantic City Revisited: Mississippi Freedom Democrats and the Integration of the Democratic Party,."