Main Street

Monday, September 18, 2023 - Ami Vitale, National Geographic photographer and founder of Vital Impacts is speaking at an upcoming symposium at Concordia College about the importance of image making and storytelling. We also visit with symposium organizer and English professor Scott W. Olsen. ~~~ Meet the producers and hosts of Chainz 2 Changed, a podcast recorded inside the walls of the North Dakota State Penitentiary. Zach Schmidkunz has been incarcerated for 20 years and is serving a 30-year sentence. Antonio Stridiron, known throughout the prison as "Dread" has been incarcerated for 16 years and is serving a life sentence. Both are also mentors at U.N.I.T.Y. Village, a restoring-promise housing unit for young adults between the ages of 18 and 25.

Friday, September 15, 2023 - Longtime Prairie Public Director of Radio Bill Thomas is retiring. He joins me to share a few of his favorite moments. ~~~.Dave Thompson recaps the week in news. ~~~ Matt Olien sends us into the weekend with another movie review.

Thursday, September 14, 2023 - Company: The Radically Casual Art of Cooking for Others is the latest book from James Beard-award winning author and chef Amy Thielen. From working ahead to planning a menu, the book is full of tips for stress-free home entertaining. She's coming to Zandbroz on September 16. ~~~ Sue Balcom is here for this week’s Main Street Eats to talk about borscht.

Wednesday, September 13, 2023 - Today we feature two of our favorite interviews from earlier this year. We begin with Bill Vossler. Despite being abandoned by his father at age three, the painful Biblical rantings of "Apocalypse Granny," and the effects of an alcoholic home – he was "saved" by an empty lot across the street as he recounts in his memoir, “Days of Wonder.” ~~~ Back in August we stopped by the NDSU Equine Center to visit with Erika Berg about Bison Strides, a program that uses horses as therapy for people with various challenges.

Tuesday, September 12, 2023 - Dr. Scott Acton is a Wavefront scientist for Ball Aerospace, and spent decades of his life working on the James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope launched from earth Christmas Day in 2021, and has performed well beyond expectations since. In this encore conversation from last February, Dr. Acton discusses his incredible history with the project and what may be next for one of our country’s most brilliant physicists. ~~~ An episode of BirdNote

Commissioner Svihovec talks about current labor and workforce issues in our region.

Monday, September 11, 2023 - We get an update from the North Dakota News Cooperative from reporter Michael Standaert. ~~~ We have a lot of sky in the state, and grain elevators. Organizers in Minot are taking advantage of those to create the largest public art project in the state - the Union Silos Public Art Project in Minot. Ashley Thornberg caught up with co-organizer Chelsea Gleich.

Friday, September 8., 2023 - We preview Sunday’s episode of “Why? Philosophical Discussions About Everyday Life,” when host Jack Weinstein will visit with Dan Savage on the topic of “How to Give Sex Advice.” Savage is known for his column, “Savage Love.” ~~~ News director Dave Thompson joins us for our weekly news chat. ~~~ And Matt Olien is here for this week’s movie conversation. Today’s topic is the phenomenon of Taylor Swift’s concert film that is setting pre-sale records.

Thursday, September 7, 2023 - Wednesday, September 13, 2023 - Author Andrew Krivak is coming to North Dakota as part of the National Endowment for the Arts "Big Read" event. We visit about his book, The Bear. ~~~ The University of North Dakota will be hosting Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Tawakkol Karman of Yemen for its Eye of the Hawk lecture series on September 7th. Karman, known as “the lady of the Arab Spring,” won the prize in 2011 at the age of 32. Today we share a story from NPR about Karman that aired in 2011, before the peace prize announcement. ~~~ Sue Balcom is here for Main Street Eats to discuss fried green tomatoes.

Wednesday, September 6, 2023 - Umpire Javarro January joins us to discuss what it’s like to work the minor leagues. ~~~ The next “Marilyn Hudson Brave Conversation” sponsored by Humanities North Dakota will feature Raffi Andonian, book author and “celebrity historian.” Andonian will provide a guide for understanding contested histories, and he joins us to preview the October 5th event, which people can attend in person, or online.