The great resignation is being attributed to the pandemic, but we know that some of you are quitting because you’ve had enough of your boss. Bad bosses are expensive — and not just because turnover costs money. There are hidden prices to pay when a manager is ineffective or downright damaging.

Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary suggests that part of the popularity of Ted Lasso is that he’s everyone’s dream boss. Michelle joins host Angela Davis to talk about the high cost of a bad boss for everyone who has to deal with the offender.

And our regular Monday guest, Chris Farrell, helps us understand how bad bosses affect the national and even the global economy, plus Le Betty Zhou from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota weighs in on self-regulation at work.

Minnesota’s new poet laureate Gwen Westerman works with language and fabric.

She’s an award-winning quilter as well as a poet, essayist and historian. As the first Native poet to be selected for the position, Westerman plans to use her role to shine a light on underrepresented poets in the state.

Host Angela Davis speaks with Westerman about how her creative work honors the land and reflects her Dakota and Cherokee heritage.

Guests: 

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

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During the early months of the COVID 19 pandemic, many of us worked from home to prevent the spread of the virus. Some of us still are.

But essential workers — including health care, transportation and grocery store employees  — continued to go to work in person. In 2020, MPR News host Angela Davis hosted a series of interviews with essential workers to hear about their working lives during the pandemic. 

Now, with vaccines widely available, we’re in a new phase of the pandemic. But essential workers still face challenges in their jobs. 

Angela Davis checks in with essential workers to hear about their work, how they are doing and what they want the public to know about their jobs. 

Guests: 

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

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We do a lot of listening while we go about our technologically connected lives — we listen to music, to podcasts, to the news, to traffic, teachers, politicians and, sometimes, to each other.

But what does it mean to listen and really hear what we are listening to, particularly when it involves our partners, our friends and our adversaries?

On Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis explored the art of listening with three experts — one who facilitates compassionate listening sessions between political foes, another who helps couples hear each other and a third who brokers understanding between divided parties on behalf of the state of Minnesota.

Plus, Dianne Haulcy, host of the Early Risers podcast joins Angela to talk about what she’s learned from listening to children.

Guests: 

The pandemic has put live music on hiatus, but many artists are once again touring and concert calendars are filling up — often with added COVID precautions.

Tuesday at 9 a.m., MPR News host Angela Davis talks with The Current’s program director Jim McGuinn about fall concerts and a new grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to partner with KMOJ. And they talk about how time has changed their minds about songs they used to dislike. 

Guests:

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

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After the murder of George Floyd, racial inequality became a focus of public conversation and talk turned to how to support Black-owned businesses. 

Black Americans are about 13 percent of the U.S. population — but own only 2 percent of small businesses with more than one employee. And, during the pandemic, Black-owned businesses have been more likely to struggle.

To address the gaps, nonprofit organizations, banks and corporations pledged to increase support for entrepreneurs of color. Magazines and other media compiled lists to steer socially conscious consumers to Black-owned restaurants and stores. 

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Black business leaders about whether that support showed up and whether it made a difference. 

Guests:

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.

Friendship is an important part of a happy and healthy life. And having friends who are much older or much younger can have unique benefits. MPR News host Angela Davis and MPR News reporter Nina Moini are decades apart in age — but quite close in every other way. 

Nearly 40 percent of adults have a close friend who is at least 15 years older or younger than they are, according to a survey by AARP. 

Host Angela Davis welcomes Nina onto the show, and together they dig into intergenerational friendships with a researcher from AARP.

Guest:

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What did you turn to for solace during the pandemic? Cooking and baking? Reconnecting with nature, your inner athlete or the bookworm you were while growing up?  

The poets among us turned to language, and they wrote. Some of that outpouring has been gathered into an anthology called “A 21st Century Plague: Poetry from a Pandemic.”

Four of Minnesota’s beloved poets are included in the book, and they joined host Angela Davis on Wednesday to talk about writing their way through the stress and pain of the pandemic. 

Guests:

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

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MPR News reporter Kirsti Marohn has covered Line 3, the impact of the prolonged drought on fish and farmers, the concerns of Somali immigrants, the needs of veterans and other stories from the middle of Minnesota. 

Get to know Kirsti as host Angela Davis talks with her about recent stories, where she gets her ideas and what it’s like to report during the pandemic. 

Guest:

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

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Minneapolis voters this November have the opportunity to weigh in on a proposal that would replace the Minneapolis Police Department in the city charter with a new Department of Public Safety. 

The proposal was put on the ballot after supporters gathered more than 20,000 signatures in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.

If the measure passes, the Minneapolis City Council would have to create the new public safety department from scratch. The Minneapolis Police Department would not be abolished but would no longer be required by the charter.   

MPR News host Angela Davis speaks with a supporter and an opponent of the ballot measure, and MPR News reporter Jon Collins explains the measure. 

Guests:

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.