March 23, 2015 - With the passing of Bruce Kramer, Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer takes a look back at her conversations with Kramer as he battled ALS. Bruce Kramer would always say he was, first and foremost, a teacher. He said that ALS taught him many things, and as difficult as those lessons were, he was grateful for them.
March 25, 2015 - MPR’s Laura Yuen, Sasha Aslanian, and Mukhtar M. Ibrahim report on three young men from southern Twin Cities suburbs who made a path to Syria in hopes of joining the terrorist group ISIS. One is now presumed dead in Syria, the other two intercepted by Federal agents at airports and charged with conspiring to assist a foreign terrorist organization.
April 13, 2015 - For the 40th anniversary since the first Hmong family settled in Minnesota, MPR’s Tom Weber interviews three Hmong American artists: spoken word and hip hop artist Tou Saiko Lee, painter Cy Thao, and writer Kao Kalia Yang. They discuss the value of the arts, through which personal and cultural pasts are melded with their present lives.
April 17, 2015 - MPR’s Marianne Combs reports on Internationally acclaimed author Louise Erdrich’s first-ever show of visual art, titled "Asynchronous Reading." Combs interviews Erdrich about items in the exhibit.
April 23, 2015 - On MPR News with Tom Weber, Kao Choua Vue previews Quia Dab Neeg Film Festival, held at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul. The sixth-annual Hmong film festival showcases films produced by Hmong artists from Minnesota, around the country, and from Laos.
April 24, 2015 - On the segment of MPR News with Tom Weber, a discussion on the book "It's Okay to Ask,” which is for people who aren't disabled, but might not know exactly how to interact when they meet someone who looks different. The book tells the stories of five children who have disabilities or medical conditions and are asked about things like their wheelchair or leg braces by other children. Weber interviews Richard DiPrima, a neuropsychologist at Gillette Children's; and Ellie Goodman, a teenage patient at the hospital.
May 19, 2015 - On this episode of Minnesota Sounds and Voices, MPR’s Dan Olson profiles Native American activist and White Earth band member Clyde Bellecourt.
June 10, 2015 - MPR’s Marianne Combs profiles One Voice Mixed Chorus of Unity Church Unitarian in St. Paul. The chorus bills itself as the largest LGBT and Allies chorus in the nation, with more than 125 singers and an additional 50 volunteers. For years the chorus has explored issues surrounding gender.
June 12, 2015 - MPR News host Tom Weber discusses social justice, police reform, and the 50th anniversary of Malcolm X’s assassination with Twin Cities journalist and activist, Mel Reeves, who is planning a conference around his practices and social justice at Harvest Prep School in Minneapolis.
June 26, 2015 - In the coming week several major arts organizations in the Twin Cities are saying goodbye to longtime directors, notably among them the Guthrie Theater. The end of June marks the end of the fiscal year for many organizations, making it a convenient time for leadership to change hands. But rarely have we seen such a confluence of major transitions.