The latest vaccines for COVID-19 have reached Minnesota. But should you get one? Can you find one? And will your insurance pay for it?

These are just some of the questions flying around following turmoil at federal health agencies.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, laid off workers, overseen changes in COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and replaced the committee that sets broad vaccine guidance for the nation.

Former leaders of the CDC under both Republican and Democratic administrations recently warned that the nation's public health system is a “raging fire” under Kennedy’s leadership.

MPR News guest host Chris Farrell talks with a pediatrician and a professor of public health about what this means for public health in Minnesota and for people just trying to get their fall shots.

Guests:

• Dr. Rebecca Wurtz is a professor in the division of Health Policy & Management at the University of Minnesota. She is also a board-certified infectious disease physician and has worked in public health roles in government and private sector settings.
• Dr. Gigi Chawla is a pediatrician and the chief of general pediatrics at Children's Minnesota.

Parenting can feel like a rollercoaster — equal parts joy and chaos.

We often second-guess ourselves: Am I doing this right? Am I messing my kid up forever?

Trust us, you are not alone.

And maybe you’ve heard the term “attachment” thrown around in parenting circles — the deep emotional bond that can form between a child and their primary caregivers.

But what does it really mean? And how does it shape a child’s development?

MPR News guest host Kelly Gordon and early childhood education reporter Kyra Miles talk with a developmental psychologist about how to create parent-child attachment and how to know if we’re getting it right.

Minnesota lawmakers from both parties say they’re open to returning to the Capitol to consider policy changes after last week’s deadly school shooting in Minneapolis. But what might come out of a special session — if one materializes — is harder to gauge.

MPR News guest host Catherine Richert talks with a pediatrician and a researcher about what we know about what works to prevent gun violence and what steps policymakers might take. 

Guests:

• James Densley is a professor and chair of criminology and criminal justice at Metro State University. He is also co-founder of the Violence Prevention Project Research Center at Hamline University.
• Dr. Marc Gorelick is a retired president and CEO of Children's Minnesota. He is a pediatrician, former pediatric emergency medicine physician and author of “Saving Our Kids: An ER Doc's Common-Sense Solution to the Gun Crisis.” He also serves on the MPR Board of Trustees.

Reading is often called the gateway to learning. It opens the door to almost every subject, from history to science.

But what happens when the words on the page or screen don’t come easily — when they blur, flip, or just don’t make sense?

For as many as one in five students, that’s the reality of dyslexia. It’s one of the most common learning differences, yet it’s still widely misunderstood.  

MPR News guest host Catharine Richert and her guests will talk about how dyslexia is assessed and how resources and teaching approaches can make reading easier for children and adults with dyslexia.

Guests:

• Liz Adams is a neuropsychologist who owns and manages Minnesota Neuropsychology, which specializes in assessing dyslexia, ADHD and other learning differences in children and adults. 
• Evelyn Haselmann is the CEO of the 20% Club, a dyslexia tutoring center based in White Bear Township, Minn. She also serves as a board member for Decoding Dyslexia Minnesota, an organization that advocates for awareness, teacher training and stronger policies to support students with dyslexia across Minnesota.  

It's back-to-school time, and for many families, the excitement is mixed with worry. 

Will my child make friends? Keep up with the schoolwork? And underneath it all — will they be safe? 

MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talks about the signs and causes of back-to-school anxiety and what parents can do to support their children and teens.

Guests:

• Katie Lingras is an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at the University of Minnesota Medical School and a licensed child psychologist with M Health Fairview.
• Amy Klinger is co-founder and director of programs for the Educator's School Safety Network, a non-profit that works with schools nationwide to identify and meet safety needs. She is also a professor of educational administration at Ashland University in Ohio. And she is a former elementary and middle-school principal.

Another mass shooting has left families devastated and neighborhoods shaken. 

Wednesday morning, a shooting during a worship service at the Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis left two children dead and 17 injured.

We hear about the violence and the investigation, but what often gets less attention is what comes after — the grief, anger, fear and the long and difficult process of healing. 

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two therapists and a violence prevention researcher about why this kind of loss is so difficult and what communities can do to support each other.

Guests:

• LaReesa Hooper is a therapist and founder of Therapeace Counseling in St. Paul. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed alcohol and drug counselor. 
• Jillian Peterson is a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Hamline University, director of their forensic psychology program, and executive director of the Violence Prevention Project Research Center at Hamline University.
• Shanelle Wenell is a licensed marriage and family therapist with Therapeace Counseling in St. Paul. She is a licensed associate marriage and family therapist, specializing in helping people heal from trauma, including neglect and abuse as children.

Students are getting ready to head back to school next week. Some have already started classes.

As teachers kick off the new school year, they may ask themselves, “Will I be able to reach that one struggling student? Will I make the difference they need?”

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a former secretary of the U.S. Department of Education who says teachers saved his life.

Join Angela when she talks with John B. King Jr., who says the best teachers didn't just teach him subjects — they taught him that he mattered, that his voice had value and that his dreams were worth pursuing.

Guest:

• John B. King Jr. is the chancellor of the State University of New York. He was secretary of the U.S. Department of Education during President Barack Obama’s administration. He has been a high school social studies teacher, a middle school principal and a college professor. He served as New York State Education Commissioner and was the president and CEO of the Education Trust, a national education civil rights organization. And he is the author of "Teacher By Teacher: The People Who Change Our Lives.”

Child care is one of the biggest expenses families face — and here in Minnesota, it's among the highest in the nation.

Infant care in the state averages nearly $1,900 a month — that's more than most families pay for a mortgage and is more than the cost of in-state tuition at some public colleges. 

And Minnesota isn’t alone. In more than 40 states, parents say child care is the single biggest expense in their households. 

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with leaders in early childhood education and child care policy to help us understand what’s behind these rising costs and what families are doing to make it work. 

Guests:

• Angela Clair is the director of early childhood services for the Wilder Child Development Center in St. Paul, an early childhood facility that provides care, education and family support to families across the Twin Cities. 
• Clare Sanford serves as Government Relations Chair on the board of the Minnesota Child Care Association. She is also vice president of government & community relations for New Horizon Academy, a family-owned, Minnesota-based child care provider.    

Here are some more resources that were mentioned during the show:

• Kids Count on Us Coalition
• Kids Count on Us Newsletter Sign Up

We’ve all been there — you get the invitation for dinner at a friend’s place. Maybe it’s a backyard barbecue, a holiday gathering or a spur-of-the-moment picnic.

Because you’re a thoughtful guest, you ask, “What can I bring?” And then you freeze. You wonder what you can pull off that everyone will love and will disappear from the table first.

So, what will you bring?

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a cookbook author who shares recipes designed to travel well, taste amazing and win you the title of ‘best guest ever.’

Guest:

• Casey Elsass is a food writer, recipe developer and cookbook author whose writing has appeared on Tasty, Epicurious, Food Network Kitchen, Delish, and Food52. His first solo cookbook is “What Can I Bring? Recipes to Help You Live Your Guest Life.” 

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