August 19, 2008 - Minnesota native L. Bruce Laingen was charge d'affaires of the American Embassy in Iran when radicals took over the building and held 52 Americans hostage from November 1979 to January 1981. Laingen is back in Minnesota to donate artifacts from that experience to the Minnesota Historical Society, and he joins Midday to talk about his experience during the hostage crisis.
August 21, 1998 - Retired Admiral Eugene Carroll, Deputy Director of the Center for Defense Information and Ambassador Bruce Laingen, the Minnesota native who was Charge D'Affaires at the US Embassy in Tehran and held captive for 444 days starting in November 1979, discuss strategies for dealing with terrorism. Osama Bin Laden is briefly mentioned. Carroll and Laingen also answer listener questions. Laingen is now President of the American Academy of Diplomacy in Washington. MN Congressman Jim Oberstar also makes appearance on program.