MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the power of poetry with Junauda Petrus, the poet laureate for the city of Minneapolis. Junauda says poetry is “soul medicine” that can unite us in our shared humanity. Angela also hears from poet and performer, Tish Jones, about what poetry means to her.

Guests:

• Junauda Petrus is the poet laureate for the city of Minneapolis. She is an author, playwright, filmmaker and co-founder of the experimental artist collective, Free Black Dirt. She is the author of the Coretta Scott King Award-winning young adult novel, “The Stars and the Blackness Between Them,” and the children’s book, “Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers?” 
• Tish Jones is a poet, performer and educator in St. Paul. She’s also the founder and executive director of TruArtSpeaks. 

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a Twin Cities rapper and mindfulness instructor who says yoga saved his life.

If you’re single, you’ve probably heard it — or said it to yourself: Dating feels impossible right now.

The numbers back it up. A Pew Research study found that nearly half of Americans say dating is harder than it was a decade ago.

So, what’s changed? Why is dating so difficult for so many people?

Dating apps have transformed how we can meet, but it’s not clear if they are helping or hurting. In the 1990s, nearly 20 percent of couples met in a bar or restaurant. Today that number is down to just 8 percent.

MPR News host Angela Davis revisits a conversation she had earlier this year with a dating coach and a therapist to help break down the challenges of modern dating — and provide some advice for what you can do to make it easier.

Guests:

• Deanna Pelley is a public speaker, podcaster and mental health therapist with Emerge Therapy based in Minneapolis.
• Alex Merritt is a Minneapolis-based dating coach, known as the “Love Engineer.” Alex leads relationship workshops and does one-on-one advising on how to find love.  

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. 

From its origins in Black American communities to its influence on artists all over the world, jazz has always been about innovation, expression and connection. 

Here in Minnesota, one radio station has been keeping that spirit alive for more than 50 years — Jazz88 (KBEM-FM).

Launched in 1970 as part of Minneapolis Public Schools, Jazz88 has been a hub for jazz lovers, educators and musicians, introducing generations to a timeless genre while adapting to changing times. 

MPR News host Angela Davis revisits a conversation she had earlier this year with some of the voices behind Jazz88, as well as a musician who performs around the Twin Cities. They explored the station’s impact, its evolution and the artists shaping jazz.  

Guests:

• Sean McPherson is the music director and afternoon host of Jazz88 (KBEM-FM). Previously he was an on-air host for The Current, Minnesota Public Radio’s alternative music station.  
• Emmanuel Hill is the executive producer of MPS Voices, a Jazz88 livestream focused on broadcasting student voices in Minneapolis Public Schools.  
• Eli Awada is a Twin Cities musician, pianist and keyboardist for the jazz collective Room3.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. 

Laurie Putnam is the superintendent of St. Cloud Public Schools, and the first woman to lead the district. 

Her husband, Aric Putnam, is a DFL state senator, representing District 14, which includes St. Cloud. 

Together, they’re navigating politics, education, family life and the challenges of leading in the public eye.

MPR News host Angela Davis continues her Power Pairs series with a conversation about how they support each other and why they picked careers that serve their community.

Guests:

• Laurie Putnam is the superintendent of St. Cloud Public Schools.  
• Aric Putnam is a DFL state senator representing District 14, which includes St. Cloud and surrounding communities. 

Check out Angela’s previous Power Pair conversations.  

Do you know a Power Pair?

We’d love to hear your ideas for Power Pairs to interview. Send us your suggestions.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed into law the major domestic policy bill that cuts about $1 trillion dollars from federal Medicaid spending over the next ten years.

The changes to Medicaid are estimated to result in nearly 10 million more people going without health insurance by 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office.  

Medicaid is the public insurance program that covers most health care and long-term care for 83 million low-income and disabled people in the United States. Nearly a quarter of Minnesota’s residents are on the state’s Medicaid program, which is known as Medical Assistance. 

MPR News host Angela Davis talks about what this means for Minnesotans, including new work requirements and restrictions that will reduce funding for the program.  

Guests:

• John Connolly is deputy commissioner and state Medicaid director for the Minnesota Department of Human Services.   
• Sue Abderholden is the executive director of NAMI Minnesota, the Minnesota chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Steve Grove’s career spans journalism, public service and Big Tech.  

He helped shape content at Google and YouTube, led Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development, and now serves as publisher and CEO of the Star Tribune. 

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Grove about the future of media, the role of public service, the influence of technology and what it means to come home to the Midwest.

Guest:

• Steve Grove is the CEO and publisher of the Minnesota Star Tribune. He was commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development during Governor Tim Walz’s first term. Before moving back to his home state, Steve built a career in Silicon Valley as an executive at Google and YouTube. He is the co-founder of Silicon North Stars — a nonprofit he started with his wife, Mary — to educate and inspire young Minnesotans to pursue careers in technology. He is also the author of the new book, "How I Found Myself in the Midwest." 

Retirement is often seen as the time to finally slow down, enjoy life and live off your years of savings. But that’s not reality for many people.  

More older Americans are entering retirement weighed down with debt in the form of mortgages, credit card balances, medical bills and even student loans.  

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with guests about what’s behind the trend of rising debt in retirement, what lies ahead and ideas for tackling it.

Guests:

• Chris Farrell is the senior economics contributor at MPR News and Marketplace and author of the recent 12-part series on Marketplace and Next Avenue, Buy Now, Pay Later, about the debt burden of older Americans nearing and during retirement.
• Henry Rucker is associate director of Homeownership and Financial Coaching at Project for Pride in Living, a Minneapolis nonprofit organization that focuses on affordable housing and career readiness for low-income households.  

After a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd, calls for justice were loud and urgent. 

Some community leaders began asking: How do we make real, lasting change — especially when it comes to racial and economic justice? 

That question sparked the creation of the Groundbreak Coalition — a multibillion-dollar effort to close the racial wealth gap by rethinking how we invest in homes, businesses, and communities. 

Listen to a conversation moderated by MPR News host Angela Davis about how a moment of crisis inspired a long-term strategy to build Black wealth — and why economic justice is essential to racial justice. 

The discussion was recorded at a national conference in Minneapolis organized by the Council on Foundations.

Panelists:

• Tonya Allen is president of the McKnight Foundation whose leadership has helped shape a philanthropic vision rooted in equity and systemic change. She is also the chair of the Groundbreak Coalition. 
• R.T. Rybak is the CEO of the Minneapolis Foundation and former mayor of Minneapolis. 
• David Mortenson is the chairman of M.A. Mortenson Company — one of the nation’s leading construction and real estate development firms. He also serves on the board of directors for the Mortenson Family Foundation. 

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.     
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.     

Many of us have an intuitive sense that spending some time outside is good for us — and in recent years, science is backing that up.  

Whether it’s going on a walk down a tree-lined street, splashing in a lake or just eating outside with a view of a garden, spending time in a natural setting can boost our mood.  

And that’s not all.

Growing research shows that spending time in nature can lower blood pressure, improve attention and reduce symptoms of ADHD, prevent near sightedness and strengthen the immune system.

MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talks with a health researcher and the director of a nature center about the healing power of the outdoors and ways to incorporate more nature into your summer.

Guests:

• Cathy Jordan is a pediatric neuropsychologist and a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Her research interests focus on how environments, especially natural environments, shape children’s physical and mental development and health. She is also a consulting research director for the Children & Nature Network based in St. Paul.
• Colleen Foehrenbacher is the executive director of Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center in Lanesboro. The center is situated in 250 acres of restored prairie and mixed hardwood forest and runs a nature-based preschool, field trips for and other outdoor education programs for children, families and adults.