There are many Minnesotans who have left home and gone on to become famous. And when we think about the athletes on that list, one name definitely comes to mind.

Briana Scurry is considered one the best women’s soccer players to ever play the game. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist who graduated from Anoka High School. She has broken barriers as a Black woman and as an openly gay athlete.

And now she has written a book, “My Greatest Save,” that tells her story. 

Briana Scurry joined MPR News host Angela Davis to share stories about growing up in Minnesota, rising to the top as a professional soccer player, and then watching her life fall apart after a head injury ended her soccer career.

Guest:

• Briana Scurry is a women’s soccer player and a two-time Olympic gold medalist who graduated from Anoka High School. 

Income inequality is deepening in America. Economic gains in recent decades have been unevenly dispersed, with the vast majority of the wealth going to those already on top. Part of that discrepancy is rooted in the inability to buy property.

Owning your own home is a key part of building wealth in the U.S., thanks to federal tax policy. But for many people of color, the door to home ownership has long been closed. In fact, Minnesota has one of the largest racial homeownership gaps in the country. Why is this, and what can be done to narrow the gap and set families of color on the road to solid housing and wealth creation?

Listen to this recorded In Focus event as MPR News host Angela Davis leads a discussion about the racial wealth gap in Minnesota with panelists from across the state. 

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Now that the right to an abortion has been overturned, America enters a new phase. Some states, like Minnesota, will continue to offer abortion care. Many others will prevent all access. Some will even criminalize anyone who helps a pregnant person get an abortion in a state that makes it legal.

Writer and activist Robin Marty saw this day coming — but she admits she didn’t think it would happen so quickly. In 2019, she wrote “Handbook for a Post-Roe America,” as she watched laws severely restricting abortion sweep many regions of the country. This spring, she released an updated version. And now, with the Supreme Court overturning Roe, it’s become a handbook for women reeling from the decision and wondering what to do next.

Wednesday, on a special edition of Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller spoke with Marty, who recently moved from Minnesota to Alabama to become the operations director for the West Alabama’s Women’s Center. They discussed her book, what she thinks will happen next, and how the hopscotched nature of abortion rights going forward will impact pregnant people, especially women of color.

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To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

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One of the most hotly anticipated new restaurants in Minneapolis opened earlier this month. Mara, a posh Mediterranean eatery, is the latest creation from chef Gavin Kaysen. 

Kaysen, who is also the owner and chef at Spoon and Stable and Demi, grew up in Minnesota. He has won James Beard awards, cooked at restaurants around the world, and competed on cooking shows like “Iron Chef.”

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Kaysen about why he still believes in downtown Minneapolis, the importance of hospitality, his role with the new Iron Chef season and balancing family and work.

Guest:

Gavin Kaysen is an award-winning chef. He is the owner and chef of the Minneapolis restaurants Mara, Spoon and Stable and Demi.

Roe v. Wade is one of the very few U.S. Supreme Court cases that many ordinary people know by name. The landmark 1973 decision made abortion legal in America. Now, a majority of the current court says that ruling was “egregiously wrong,” opening the way for states to restrict abortion or ban it entirely.

Abortion is still legal under current Minnesota law. Could that change? And what does the decision mean for other states and the country as a whole?

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two law professors about abortion rights and access in a post-Roe world and other implication’s of last week’s ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

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Everyone needs a break from their routines and daily stress. But for many people, a big summer vacation away isn’t affordable or even desirable. 

The idea of a “staycation” became popular during the Great Recession of 2008.  It returned during the COVID pandemic as people reluctant or unable to travel rediscovered their neighborhoods and nearby tourist attractions. As we head into summer, inflation and lingering COVID concerns are making nearby vacations appealing again. 

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two travel writers about finding Minnesota’s hidden vacation spots and low-cost ways to find rest and renewal close to home. 

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It’s not an exaggeration to call Minneapolis musician Gary Hines legendary. 

Hines is the music director and producer for the three-time Grammy Award-winning musical group Sounds of Blackness. He has been a fixture in the Twin Cities music scene for more than 50 years. 

He’s performed with Sounds of Blackness in cities across the world. He’s worked with artists ranging from Aretha Franklin to Dolly Parton. And he teaches across the country and internationally about the history, impact and evolution of African-American music and culture. 

MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with Hines about his career, Sounds of Blackness and what he is working on now. 

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

Summertime means sunshine. But all that sun isn’t necessarily good for our skin. 

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer and case rates are rising. The American Cancer Society estimates that almost 100,000 new melanoma cases, the most serious and third most common type of skin cancer, will be diagnosed this year. Minnesota has one of the highest rates of melanoma in the country.

But skin cancer is usually preventable. Protecting skin from the sun and avoiding the cell damage caused by tanning and sunburn can mean a much lower risk of cancer decades later.

MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with two dermatologists about skin cancer rates, who is most at risk, common ways we misuse sunscreen and how to keep your skin healthy.

Guests

The number of businesses started by women of color is on the rise, despite deeply entrenched barriers to success.

MPR News with Angela Davis shares the stories of several women of color entrepreneurs in a special broadcast of the podcast “small change: Money Stories from the Neighborhood.” Podcast co-hosts Chris Farrell and Twila Dang talk with the founders of four Minnesota small businesses about solving problems, leaving a legacy, building wealth and the importance of their businesses to their communities.

“small change” highlights smart, practical, and collaborative money skills developed by people living with lower and unstable incomes.

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

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

Is there a song that you just love? Do you have a favorite jam? Or are you a fan of a certain genre of music and will listen to anything that falls in line with it?

MPR News host Angela Davis introduced us to the team at The Current behind Carbon Sound, the new music stream available online and via mobile app dedicated to celebrating Black musical expression from hip-hop and R&B to Afrobeats, funk and electronica.

Carbon Sound launched on Thursday and is a collaboration between The Current and KMOJ/The Ice. The project is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Other stations launching as part of CPB’s initiative include Radio Milwaukee and WJSU-FM in Jackson, Mississippi.

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