October 8, 2019 - MPR’s Marianne Combs reports on how the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis is being forced to revisit a grim part of its past as it works to resolve lawsuits that charge it with failing to protect young people from sexual abuse.
October 7, 2019 - MPR’s Marianne Combs reports on how the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis is being forced to revisit a grim part of its past as it works to resolve lawsuits that charge it with failing to protect young people from sexual abuse.
April 3, 2019 - MPR’s Marianne Combs presents a profile of Josie Johnson, renowned local civil rights activist. Feature includes interview with Johnson about her life and book, and comments from Vernon Jordan and Walter Mondale, amongst others. Johnson’s memoir is titled "Hope in the Struggle."
February 25, 2019 - MPR’s Marianne Combs reports on gusting winds and drifting snow that trapped hundreds in areas of Minnesota. Combs interviews some of those that were trapped and officials who rescued them.
January 11, 2019 - MPR’s Marianne Combs talks with Susan Kimberly about her play "When Superman Became Lois Lane." At its heart, the play is a conversation between the person she was and the person she is. Kimberly is transgender and transitioned from male to female in 1983 before serving as deputy mayor of St. Paul under Norm Coleman in the mid-90s.
September 14, 2018 - In the stage adaption of Mary Shelley’s classic story, the monster and his creator wrestle with timeless questions at the Gutherie Theater.
August 30, 2018 - MPR’s Marianne Combs reports on allegations of harrassment and abuse at Minnesota Renaissance Festival. Carr Hagerman, the fair’s entertainment director, is facing criminal sexual misconduct charges alleging he raped a freelance photographer on festival grounds in Shakopee.
May 29, 2018 - MPR’s Marianne Combs profiles Patrick’s Cabaret, a local Minneapolis creative venue that is closing its doors. Since 1986, Patrick’s Cabaret has provided a space for artists to develop new work. The queer-led organization has focused on supporting emerging artists of diverse backgrounds and artists whose work didn’t fit into more traditional molds. Now, with the institution closing, there is concern at what’s being lost and why.
April 4, 2018 - MPR’s Marianne Combs reports on “Dead King Mother,” a composition created by local composer Davu Seru, who calls piece a "blues for chamber ensemble." The subject matter is a 1968 incident in which Clarence Underwood, a Minneapolis Black man, who upon hearing the news of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, told his wife, "My King is dead." He vowed to kill the first white man he found. Underwood went on to murder John F. Murray, a white man in neighborhood.
February 26, 2018 - MPR's Marianne Combs interviews poet Bao Phi and illustrator Thi Bui about their children's book, "A Different Pond," a 2018 Caldecott Honor Book. The book depicts a father and son going on early morning fishing trips to a pond in Minneapolis, and a father's story about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam. Combs also interviews Dr. Sarah Park Dahlen, Professor of Library and Information Science of St. Catherine University, regarding diversity in children's literature. In the latter half of the segment, Dr. Dahlen also answers listener questions.