Studies show that one in four older adults live with a mental illness, such as depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. But many older people don’t get the help they need. And America’s aging population is expected to double by 2050. 

This program explores the unique mental health challenges of older adults, and the models in place to care for them. We’ll hear from mental health providers, direct care workers, and older Americans living with mental health issues. The program explores therapeutic solutions and improved treatment systems to help older adults and their wellbeing. 

Join Call to Mind host Kimberly Adams for “The Aging Mind,” a one-hour broadcast special.

An estimated 29 million Americans will suffer from an eating disorder in their lifetime. These mental illnesses can be profoundly disruptive to a person’s life and psychological wellbeing. And eating disorders can be deadly. Anorexia nervosa has one of the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric condition. Eating disorders strike a wide range of people, but deep-rooted assumptions about who suffers from these diseases often complicate the road to recovery.  

This special looks at eating disorders and the challenges of treatment. We’ll hear firsthand from people who have experienced these illnesses and experts who treat them.  

Join Call to Mind host Kimberly Adams for “Beyond the Mirror: The Challenge of Eating Disorders,” a one-hour broadcast special. 

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with her producers about what happens behind the scenes of her 9 a.m. show.

They’ll tell you all about how they pitch, research and select topics and guests and screen phone calls. 

Guests:

• Maja Beckstrom is a producer for MPR News with Angela Davis. She was a reporter at the St. Paul Pioneer Press for over 20 years before joining the 9 a.m. team almost five years ago. She was also a reporter for a newspaper in Southern California and for MPR stations in Rochester and Collegeville.
• Cari Dwyer is the senior producer for MPR News with Angela Davis. Before joining the 9 a.m. team, she helped create exhibits for the Science Museum of Minnesota and was a producer and newscaster at Wisconsin Public Radio.
• Nikhil Kumaran is the associate producer for MPR News with Angela Davis. He has also worked for The Current and was the music director at Radio K, the award-winning student-run radio station of the University of Minnesota. He is also a concert photographer and music videographer.

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.    

MPR News host Angela Davis revisits expert advice from recent Wellness Wednesday shows.

High blood pressure is one of the most common health risks in the U.S. and it is becoming more common among young people. It affects about fourteen percent of children and teens, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Angela talks with two cardiologists about the dangers of untreated high blood pressure and the medications and lifestyle changes that can protect your heart.

Plus, a sleep researcher talks about the link between poor sleep and dementia, and two runners share tips on starting a running habit.

Guests:

• Dr. Jamie Lohr is a pediatric cardiologist for M Health Fairview and an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
• Dr. Bhavadharini Ramu is an advanced heart failure cardiologist with M Health Fairview and an associate professor in the Cardiovascular Division at the University of Minnesota Medical School. 
• Dr. Michael Howell is a professor of neurology and a sleep researcher at the University of Minnesota.  For more information about volunteering for one of Dr. Howell’s research studies, go to the Pre-screening Survey or call 763-913-8367.  
• Dr.  Kenneth Poole is an internal medicine physician and founder and captain of the Twin Cities chapter of Black Men Run.
• Andrea Haus is the community and marketing manager at Mill City Running, a Twin Cities running shop that hosts running events throughout the Twin Cities. 

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.     

You’ve probably heard his voice guide you through some of Minnesota’s biggest news stories — steady, thoughtful and unmistakable.  

For 20 years, Tom Crann has been a trusted presence on MPR News, hosting All Things Considered on weekday afternoons and connecting with listeners across the state.  

Now he’s starting a new chapter, one filled with sonatas, symphonies and a different kind of storytelling. 

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Tom Crann about the highlights of his career in journalism and why he’s returning to his classical music roots as a host for YourClassical MPR.

Guest:

• Tom Crann is the former host of All Things Considered for MPR News. For nearly 20 years, he has covered Minnesota and national news. He is also known for his weekly “Appetites” segments about Minnesota’s vibrant culinary scene.  

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's board of directors to cease federal funding for NPR and PBS.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with her guests about how defunding NPR and PBS could affect public radio and TV stations around the country.

Guests:

• Maribel Pérez Wadsworth is the president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation based in Miami, Florida. She is the first woman and the seventh president to lead the Knight foundation, which supports informed and engaged communities through investments in journalism, the arts and research in media and democracy. She is also the former president of Gannett Media and is a former publisher of USA Today. 
• Katherine Maher is the president and CEO of National Public Radio. Prior to joining NPR, she was the CEO of Web Summit, an international technology conference. Before that, she was CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation, where she was responsible for the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia.  

For more than 30 years, AmeriCorps has been a powerful driver of national public service.  

The federally funded program was launched in 1993 under President Bill Clinton with a simple but powerful idea that people of all ages and backgrounds could serve their communities. 

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have joined AmeriCorps to tutor students, support seniors, clean up parks and rivers, assist during disasters and strengthen communities across the country, including here in Minnesota.  

That work is now at risk. 

Because of deep federal budget cuts by the Trump administration, 85 percent of AmeriCorps staff members are currently on administrative leave. Many have been told their jobs will come to an end this June.  

For the communities that rely on them — especially rural areas, low-income neighborhoods and schools already stretched thin—the loss could be staggering. 

MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the work AmeriCorps does in Minnesota and why it matters.

Guest:

• Brooke Rivers is a former AmeriCorps member and executive director of Reading Partners Minnesota, a nonprofit organization that recruits and trains people to teach reading to students in under-resourced schools.  
• Jesse Chang is a former AmeriCorps member and national service program director with Literacy Minnesota. He used to oversee the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits AmeriCorps VISTA program.   

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.     

In a little over three months, federal Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made sweeping changes to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its priorities.

The federal health department oversees agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks about how these changes are affecting public health across the country and in Minnesota.

Guest:

• Michael Osterholm is the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. He is an epidemiologist who studies infectious diseases. He is also the author of the New York Times best-seller, “Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs”, and '“Living Terrors: What America Needs to Know to Survive the Coming Bioterrorist Catastrophe.” He has a new book coming out this summer, “The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics.” 

About 4,500 people are released from Minnesota prisons each year. Many of them have spent years, if not decades, behind bars, separated from friends, family and community.

What happens when they finally return? How do they rebuild their lives during this complex and often precarious transition?

That was the topic at a collaborative Sahan Community Live and North Star Journey Live event recorded on April 24 at the St. Paul Neighborhood Network.

Co-hosted by MPR News senior editor Brandt Williams and Sahan Journal digital producer Alberto Villafan, formerly incarcerated Minnesotans shared first-hand stories of what makes reentry such a difficult process. Community leaders and reentry advocates also shared what helps and what holds back people as they exit incarceration and reintegrate into their community.

Guests:

• Antonio Williams is the founder and executive director of T.O.N.E. U.P., a grassroots organization dedicated to empowering formerly incarcerated individuals.
• Rea Smith is the Women’s Services Project Coordinator of the Behavioral Health Division at the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
• Erick Washington is the co-founder of the Kingsmen Project.
• James Becker is the assistant federal defender and federal defender representative in the District of Minnesota Reentry Court program.
• David Riley is an addictions counselor at RS Eden, a Minneapolis-based organization that offers treatment for drug addictions, housing assistance and reentry support.

Credit card debt has been rising at one of the fastest rates in history.

The amount Americans owed on credit cards hit an record high of over $1.2 trillion at the end of 2024.

And people are not only spending more on plastic, they’re also paying down less, carrying high balances and shelling out more in interest and also late fees.

A third of Americans now have more credit card debt than emergency savings, according to an annual survey from Bankrate.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks about why credit card debt is growing and strategies for tackling it.

Guests:

• Chris Farrell is a senior economics contributor for MPR News and Marketplace. His new 12-part series for Marketplace, “Buy Now, Pay Later,” focuses on the worrisome trend of older Americans carrying debt into retirement. 
• Joanne Lundberg is the financial counseling supervisor at LSS Financial Counseling, a service of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. She is based in Duluth.

Resources mentioned during the show:

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling provides advice on how to avoid and handle credit card debt and manage your credit score. It also provides referrals to nonprofit organizations that can work with people individually on reducing credit card debt.

The nonprofit organization LSS Financial Counseling runs a debt management program.