In 2017, candidate Jacob Frey promised to end homelessness in five years. By 2023, he was instead crushing encampments and endorsing dehumanizing rhetoric about people experiencing homelessness and mental illness. In 2025, Donald Trump is marching the military into major cities and bragging about sweeping out unhoused people. How did we get here? We are joined by Flannery Clark, volunteer with the Sanctuary Supply Depot, and Frank, a friend who has experienced homelessness and mental illness. We talked about this rhetoric, the ignorance behind it, and the real solutions just waiting for political will and courage. Recorded 8/24/25.

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A minor obsession over political labels has broken out this year, with the Frey faction painting a picture of DSA extremists versus pragmatic progressive champions. But what do these labels really reveal, or hide? And what is conservativism, anyway? We dive in to explore this idea with inspiration from Corey Robin, author of The Reactionary Mind. Recorded 8/6/25.

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We break down the historic result from the DFL city convention last weekend: the endorsement of Sen. Omar Fateh for Mayor. What made this possible, when almost everybody (including us) was predicting an outcome of no endorsement? We were joined by angela olson, who participated as a delegate, to share a direct account of what it felt like on the floor. Stick around for the second half, when we dive into the question of WHY these conventions are so painful, and how we think they could be a lot better. Recorded 7/23/25.

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With the DFL city convention right around the corner, what should we expect a mayor to champion? What challenges face the people of Minneapolis in 2025? How are these campaigns talking about public policy responses to those challenges, and what policies should WE be talking about? In this in-depth episode, we walk through a number of major policy areas: public safety, federal fascism, housing, climate change, transportation, workers rights, the economy and more! Recorded 7/9/25 and 7/11/25.

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With the DFL city convention right around the corner, what should we expect a mayor to champion? What challenges face the people of Minneapolis in 2025? How are these campaigns talking about public policy responses to those challenges, and what policies should WE be talking about? In this in-depth episode, we walk through a number of major policy areas: public safety, federal fascism, housing, climate change, transportation, workers rights, the economy and more! Recorded 7/9/25 and 7/11/25.

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On election night, will we see the progressive wing of the council increase to a majority of 8 members, or drop to a minority of 5? With three open seats and three incumbents in real contests, there is a lot at stake. We look at how policy divisions have played out under the current council to provide a sense of what could change if elections swing the balance. And we go race-by-race through the six wards where we see a real contest, to evaluate the candidates, their support, and the positions and framing they lead with. Recorded 6/25/25.

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With unprecendented big money pouring into a full slate of city elections, we assess the Minneapolis political landscape, with special guest Robin Garwood. This episode features a deep dive on new phenomenon of political action committees acting as stealth political parties. In this context we ask the question: what could lead to the mayor getting re-elected or defeated?

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In May, Jacob Frey gave the official campaign speech for the city... no wait, we mean State of the City speech. Cam and Jesse share highlights from the claims he made about Minneapolis and react.

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