About the Podcasts

Get your Loop-fix with the In the Loop podcast, a weekly dose of insight and humor from Minnesota Public Radio's show "In the Loop". Our mash-up of stories, music and unexpected interviews brings life to topics in the news.

To subscribe, click here if you have iTunes (or a comparable podcasting program) already installed on your computer.

...or paste this URL into your podcast software:

http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=510148

More podcasts from Minnesota Public Radio

Recent Podcasts:

May 1, 2008: Story Slam - "Achilles' Heel"
(Length: 1 Hour) The one-hour version of the Story Slam features stories from Laura Bidgood, Lucie Amundson, Bobby Wilson, Sarah Martin, Anton Jones, Kathleen Westgard, and Gabe Heller.

April 25, 2008: "The Week" from In The Loop
(Length: 25 min.) We talk with a member of Zimbabwe's opposition party and the "polygamy" beat reporter from the Salt Lake Tribune; and Sanden helps us get to know the leaders of Canada and Mexico (quick, can you name them?)

April 19, 2008: How is the election playing in Indian Country?
(Length: 50 min.) Listen to our roundtable conversation with American Indian voters about how they see the candidates and issues in the 2008 election.

April 12, 2008: In The Loop "Under_Score" pilot
(Length: 30 min.) A test-version of a weekly wrap-up show we made. Four Iraq vets sharing a house in Wisconsin give us their take on the week in Iraq; a prescient North Carolina stockbroker talks about the next shoe to drop in the economy; the Presidential candidates leave us their economic personal ads; and an Olympic-hopeful kayaker explains why politics and sport ought to mix.

March 26, 2008: "Beat The Odds:" A special In The Loop conversation
(Length: 30 min.) Our latest podcast features a conversation with three remarkable young people. Every year Childrens Defense Fund Minnesota gives its Beat The Odds scholarship to high school seniors who have overcome exceptional challenges. Fadumo Hassan, Justin Haynes McKizzie, and Maipacher Her joined Jeff Horwich for a conversation about growing up through the most difficult of circumstances. Read more about them (PDF)

March 7, 2008: Story Slam - "Payback! PART 2"
(Length: 54 min.) Seven more great stories from our latest Story Slam, featuring Allison Broeren, Curt Lund, Nanci Oleson, Allegra Lingo, Lucie Amundsen, Vicki Joan Keck, and Dave Mondy.

March 1, 2008: Story Slam - "Payback!"
(Length: 58 min.) An amazing night at the Bedlam Theater in Minneapolis. Storytellers brought their A-Game, with tales from the political to the personal, raucus to heart-rending. Features stories from Mike Fotis, Amy Salloway, Talee Vang, Katherine Glover, Gabe Heller, Nancy Donoval, Kate Mudge, and Lane McKiernan. With special appearances by a witch, a kidney, a Senate candidate, and Alanis Morissette. Of course, there a couple boffo tunes from Jeff and The Smarts.

February 25, 2008: Best of The LoopCast
(Length: 47 min.) Before In The Loop went weekly, there was a little thing called The LoopCast. We collected some of our favorite clowning from those glory days, including 'This American Loop' and 'Public Radio Laboratories.'

January 31, 2008: Super Tuesday election special
(Length: 48 min.) With "Super Tuesday" around the corner, we got listeners together to dig into what younger voters make of this election...and added our usual touches of humor and music.

December 13, 2007: The Year According to You
'Tis the season...for the Year in Review. You know the deal. News shows, newspapers and magazines highlight the big moments of the past year. For this episode, In The Loop turns the tradition on its head with an hour full of stories suggested by our network of listeners. It's the year in review you won't hear anywhere else. (58 minutes)

December 6, 2007: Finding Your Fit
Fitting-in is a challenge we all of face. For many people, the effort to fit-in defines them. How far will we go to change ourselves just to fit in? How much help do we offer people who struggle to find their place? And what happens if nowhere fits you? This week's episode of In the Loop examines the meaning of fitting-in—with stories from teenage girls, immigrants living in Minnesota, plus a transgender woman's thoughts on gender and what it's like to have a "Nancy day."(58 minutes)

November 30, 2007: Flip-Flop Fever
With primary season just weeks away, the politicos and pundits are on the watch for the dreaded "flip-flop." In The Loop goes political with an informative, sometimes irreverant, look at that toxic phrase. From the etymology of "flip-flop" and famous "flop-flops" in history to politicians talking straight about the effects of "flip-flop" attacks. And yup, we've got "flip-flop" songs too. (58 minutes)

November 24, 2007: Your Exposed Life! (rebroadcast)
Love it or hate it, the internet is messing with our sense of identity. Just a few minutes spent online shows how much of our personal tastes and history - our identities - are laid out for all the world to see. Forever. What should we do with this new exposed life... Embrace it? Try to control it? And how much does it control us? Love it or hate it, it's...Your Exposed Life. (58 minutes)

November 18, 2007: Charity - What Gives?
The U.S. is number one in world rankings of charitable giving. In particular, we give lots to our communities, places of worship, and cultural institutions.

In The Loop digs behind that generous number to look at the trends of who gives and who gets: stories from church, Singles Volunteers, and the backrooms of competitive charity marketing; music from the barbershop to the sultry, charitable donations from our audience; and the one-time-only gameshow—"Let's Make a Donation!" (58 minutes)

November 09, 2007: Bullying for Grown-Ups
Bullying doesn't stop just because we turn 18 years old. Those demoralizing power dynamics are every bit a part of our adult lives but adults don’t always spot bullying for what it is.

In this week's episode, In the Loop shines a bright light on the dark, confusing, sometimes amusing places where adult bullying happens. It's a trip through the courtroom, diplomatic backrooms, boot camp, Kinkos and that very adult playground—the Gym. Plus, our musical take on how to bully your way into the CEO's job. (58 minutes)

November 02, 2007: Why Am I Spending So Much?
There's a big difference between what we want and what we need—and these days want is definitely winning. Spending on the little stuff—those small-ticket items we can't seem to resist—can be so satisfying. We're all exposed to big doses of pro-spending messages, but where does free-will enter into the transaction? And what happens in tough economic times?

In this episode, host Jeff Horwich and the In the Loop cast survey spending in our times—from the habits of high school kids at the Fond du Lac reservation and "A.G." from Debtor's Anonymous, to a shopping cart full of our audience's own impulse purchases. (58 minutes)

October 26, 2007: Story Slam III - Disguise
Every now and again, In The Loop goes slamming instead of producing a regular show. Our third Story Slam happened in front of a big crowd at the Suburban World Theatre in Minneapolis. The theme: Disguise. Yup, just in time for Halloween. We recorded more than a dozen storytellers riffing on the topic, then squeezed as many as possible into our one hour radio show. (58 minutes)

October 21, 2007: Democracy - Is It In You?
Democracy is pretty darn appealing as a solution to the world’s problems. The idea of giving everyone an equal say sure feels good in theory but how often do we put it into practice? This week, In The Loop has an unconventional take on democracy’s flaws and appeal — asking former members of a cult, a high school debate team, a band and our studio audience what they think. Is democracy our natural inclination? Can one size fit all? And how does Elmo fit into it? (58 minutes)

October 12, 2007: Your Exposed Life
Love it or hate it, the internet is messing with our sense of identity. Just a few minutes spent online shows how much of our personal tastes and history - our identities - are laid out for all the world to see. Forever. What should we do with this new exposed life... Embrace it? Try to control it? And how much does it control us? That’s the theme of our next show – Your Exposed Life. (58 minutes)

October 6, 2007: Best of Season One
It's the best of our In The Loop memories from last season. Our latest show is a collection of greatest hits from the past ten episodes. There's the song of a tax auditor, the story of two buddies and a mugging, George Bush and Nancy Pelosi work on their relationship skills, and much more. From the serious to the playful, think of it as a guided tour of In The Loop and our network of audience participants. It's what you can expect from the show as we launch into our new season next week. (58 minutes)

September 23, 2007: Story Slam II: "Losing"
Our second-ever Story Slam, recorded live at the Bryant Lake Bowl.  Our storytellers cut lose on the theme of "losing."  Featuring Matt Peiken, Nancy Donoval, Dawn Brody, Sam Osterhout, Dave Mondy, and Lorena Duarte, with our band The Smarts. (58 minutes)

September 28, 2007: Free-form to long-form
Starting next week the Loopcast will feature all new hour-long episodes of In The Loop! So, to bid a fond farewell to the free-form Loopcast, Jeff and Sanden put together a mix of radio stories loosely based around the theme of new homes and new beginnings. (17 minutes)

September 17, 2007: Kids 'n' hobos
We flash back to a fun school bus ride. And though you might think we won't hear from Sanden...we do. (12 minutes)