Leid Stories

Last Friday, the City of Minneapolis approved a $1,181,500 budget to hire a cadre of specialists. They are called "influencers," and they were to start this week, coinciding with the trial of Derek Covin, charged in the  controversial knee-on-the-neck killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.

But yesterday, on the eve of the trial, word went out about the "influencer" squad, and it caused a public-relations nightmare. The city shut down the idea even before launch.

Though short-lived in Minneapolis, the idea may have new life or new versions elsewhere.

Leid stories looks at this development, discussing its possible wide-ranging effects on the justice system, its implications for trial integrity, and the conflicts and contradictions that inevitably will arise.

Donald Trump, who closed the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend in Orlando, Fla., teased a gleeful audience with the possibility of another presidential run in 2024.

Additionally, what do you think gives Trump reason to be optimistic about being elected again?

It's "Free Your Mind Friday" on Leid Stories.

We dispense with our regular program format and become a free-wheeling, unscripted open forum in which callers choose their own topic and make their best case either for or against the key issue(s) it raises

Leid Stories host Utrice Leid discusses the role of journalism in a democratic society, and troubling signs that journalism is an endangered institution.

Haiti is in a state of utter chaos, with the daily deterioration of internal order due to strife among political parties vying for power, a general breakdown of governmental systems and pervasive poverty that continues to plague most of its people.

Recently, the situation has become more dire, with predictions by Haitians of imminent national collapse. 

Trump is out and Biden's in. Have you stopped the stopwatch on Biden, giving him and the Democratic Party a grace period to see how they perform on issues that matter to you, or are you keeping your options open on finding a third party more in line with your politics?

So, what we've been experiencing as a nation these past few months, what do we call it?  Is it the only thing, or the biggest thing, affecting us right now? 

Are you confident that the government has control of the situation? Do you believe that citizens would be doing a disservice to the country if they question or openly oppose governmental policies?

Fifty-six years ago today, the Black world was shaken and angry to its core -- the horror of the brutal assassination of Malcolm X (as he prepared to give a talk at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem the previous afternoon) seared in their memory. 

It's "Free Your Mind Friday" on Leid Stories!

Every Friday we dispense with our regular program format and become an open forum in which callers express their views on a subject or issue on which they believe they have a unique perspective. It's very popular with Leid Stories listeners.

Have a point you want to make? Let's hear it! Call 888-874-4888 and free your mind.

What's Our Political Game Plan? (Part 2)

Yesterday's program--titled, "What's our Political Game Plan?"--generated more calls than we were able to accommodate. 

No surprise, therefore, that we're continuing the dialogue today.

To recap: We know where the political system and the ruling elite stand with respect to their interests--and even ours. But where do we stand with our own? 

What systems or mechanisms do we have and control that protect our interests?