December 28, 2003
Mondale Lectures on Public Service
Minnesota Public Radio presents the recent Mondale Lectures on Public Service at Macalester College in St. Paul. What are the challenges facing U.S. security and the responsibilities of power in the 21st century? We hear comments from former Vice President Walter Mondale; William Perry, former U.S. Secretary of Defense during the Clinton administration; and Zbigniev Brzezinski, former national security advisor to President Carter.

December 21, 2003
"It's All About Health"
Half of the people who die of a heart attack each year in the United States and Canada were never aware of the symptions ahead of time. Learn how to cut your risk of dying from a heart attack from the experts who treat them at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and at other leading medical centers across the country.

December 14, 2003
Robert Rubin and Stiller & Meara
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement, with supporters and detractors still debating its present worth and future impact. We hear from one of the architects of U.S. global trade policy, former Clinton administration Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin in a recent appearance at the Commonwealth Club of California. Then it's Garrison Keillor's Comedy College featuring one of the greatest husband and wife comedy teams in America: Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.

December 7, 2003
James Steyer and Lenny Bruce
Parents are more concerned than ever about media's influence on their children and how, if at all, they can control that influence. We hear from Professor James Steyer, chairman and CEO of Common Sense Media, a resource for families and educators who are concerned about quality media choices for children. Then it's Garrison Keillor's Comedy College, featuring the controversial comic voice of the 1950s and '60s—Lenny Bruce.

November 30, 2003
Dr. Pedro Jose Greer and Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks
Hear a Westminster Town Hall Forum appearance by Dr. Pedro Jose Greer about the need for affordable health care and housing for all Americans. Then it's Garrison Keillor's Comedy College, featuring Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks and the adventures of The 2,000-Year-Old Man.

November 23, 2003
Robert Kennedy Jr. and Mort Sahl
Listen to a National Press Club appearance by Robert Kennedy Junior, now senior attorney of the National Resources Defense Fund, on America's environmental destiny. Then it's Garrison Keillor's Comedy College featuring one of the most prominent political satirists in the 1960s and '70s, Mort Sahl.

November 16, 2003
"The Middle East at a Junction" and Betty Walker
This week, hear a debate between leading Arab intellectuals on the future of democracy in Iraq and peace in the Middle East, co-sponsored by the BBC and Radio Jordan, called "The Middle East at a Junction." Then it's Garrison Keillor's Comedy College featuring actress and early television comedienne Betty Walker.

November 9, 2003
Brooke Gladstone and Minnie Pearl
We wrap up our week-long series, "Whose Democracy Is It?" with the host of On The Media, Brooke Gladstone, in a Twin Cities appearance speaking about the role of media in a democracy. Then it's Garrison Keillor's Comedy College, this week featuring Grand Ol' Opry legend Minnie Pearl.

November 2, 2003
Ted Halstead and Anna Russell
We begin our week-long "Whose Democracy Is It?" series with author Ted Halstead on the "radical center"—the need for a new social contract in America, built on the best ideas from both the right and the left. Then it's Garrison Keillor's Comedy College, this week featuring famed Canadian musical satirist Anna Russell.

October 26, 2003
Chris Hedges and Henny Youngman
Author and journalist Chris Hedges spent 15 years as a foreign correspondent for The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and National Public Radio, and shared his impressions on the ethics of war during a recent Twin Cities visit to the Westminster Town Hall Forum. Following the speech is an installent of Comedy College featuring "The King of the One-Liners"—Henny Youngman.

October 19, 2003
David Halberstam and David Halberstam
In the 1960s, author David Halberstam won the Pulitzer Prize for his war coverage and subsequent book on the Vietnam war, The Best and the Brightest. He shares his impressions of U.S. involvement in Iraq during a recent Twin Cities visit to the Pen Pals Lecture Series. Then it's Garrison Keillor's Comedy College—this week featuring Tom and Dick Smothers.

October 5, 2003
Stephen Carter and Tom Lehrer
Award-winning author Stephen Carter says the need for positive role models for America's kids has never been greater—for kids' sake as well as for the country's future. Then it's Garrison Keillor's Comedy College, featuring a college campus favorite and one of America's foremost satirists: Professor Tom Lerher.

September 28, 2003
Anne Garrels and Sophie Tucker
National Public Radio's senior foreign correspondent, Anne Garrels, was one of just 16 American reporters who stayed in Baghdad during the war—and now she is out with a book about her experiences titled Naked in Baghdad. Then it's Garrison Keillor's Comedy College featuring one of the queens of vaudeville humor and the "Last of the Red Hot Mamas" ... Sophie Tucker!

September 21, 2003
John Ashcroft and Ruth Draper
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft was in Minneapolis this week to address state law enforcement officials on the Patriot Act and what it means for national security and individual rights. Then, the next installment of Comedy College features international humorist Ruth Draper, whose one-person sketches and subtle observations inspired many of America's top comedians throughout the 20th century.

September 14, 2003
John Glenn and Gilda Radner
We hear former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn speak on the 100th anniversary of the first flight of the Wright Brothers, followed by the debut of the new season of Garrison Keillor's Comedy College, this week featuring the unforgetable Gilda Radner.

September 7, 2003
Garrison Keillor's "Love Me"
Fresh Air's Terry Gross interviews Garrison Keillor on his new book, "Love Me: A Novel."

August 31, 2003
Forty years after the march on Washington
The Civil Rights Movement's march on Washington celebrated its 40th anniversary Thursday. On August 28, 1963, 250,000 people made the trip to the demonstration. To note this historic date, we hear the entire "I Have a Dream" speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a speech by historian Roger Wilkins about King and his life.

August 24, 2003
Rekindling the Spirit
For more than a century the U.S. government tried to stop American Indians from expressing their spirituality. The fabric of a culture was ripped apart, but American Indian spirituality survived. Today a spiritual rebirth is happening on reservations across the country. Many Indians believe reclaiming their spirituality will help save their culture.

August 17, 2003
James Welch
MPR's Mike Edgerly speaks with one of the world's best-known American Indian writers, James Welch. Welch died last week in Montana. He is well known for his latest book "Heartsong of Charging Elk" and his non-fiction book "Killing Custer: The Battle of the Little Bighorn and the Fate of the Plains Indians."

August 10, 2003
Katharine Hepburn remembered
A remembrance of Katharine Hepburn talks about her life and love for Spencer Tracy. Minnesota Public Radio's Katherine Lanpher talks with A. Scott Berg, author of Kate Remembered.

August 3, 2003
Doctors Kenneth Shine and Harry Hull
Dr. Kenneth Shine, founding director of the RAND Center for Domestic and International Health Security, speaks to the City Club of Cleveland on developing community health security systems to quickly protect citizens from health threats caused by terrorism and natural phenomena. We also hear from Minnesota State Epidemiologist Dr. Harry Hull with the regional perspective on this issue.

July 27, 2003
American RadioWorks: "Korea: The Forgotten War"
Fifty years ago, the Korean War ended in stalemate. Over 2 million Koreans and Chinese were dead, along with almost 37,000 Americans. The Americans who fought in Korea returned home not to parades—but silence.

July 20, 2003
Justice Talking: "Supreme Court Review"
The U.S. Supreme Court tackled our biggest national controversies this term—from affirmative action and the rights of homosexuals to cross burning. In this episode of Justice Talking, conservative former U.S. Senator Bob Barr and former Clinton Chief of Staff John Podesta review the high court's most significant decisions, and debate what it means for Americans and the future direction of the Court.

July 13, 2003
University of Minnesota Great Conversations: Desmond Tutu
President Bush spent the week on a five-nation tour of Africa—while facing growing international pressure to send U.S. troops to the war-divided West African nation of Liberia. Hear a conversation with Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu on an amazing African success story: the defeat of apartheid in South Africa. Tutu recently participated in the University of Minnesota's "Great Conversations" series.

July 6, 2003
The World special presentation
MPR presents a special edition of The World, examining the challenges facing the United States and the global community in the aftermath of the war in Iraq. Host Lisa Mullins and The World's top correspondents cover a range of pressing issues, including regional attitudes toward America, the process and progress of reconstruction, creating a multicultural ideal, and more.

June 29, 2003
Dr. Atul Gawande at the Commonwealth Club of California
The recent Medicare overhaul before Congress and rising medical costs has Americans thinking more about the quality of their health care, too. Dr. Atul Gawande—a surgeon and medical writer for The New Yorker—thinks the medical profession often promises more than it can deliver. In a speech at the Commonwealth Club of California, he discusses how medicine works—and sometimes doesn't work—why mistakes are made, and why so many unexplained and unexpected things can occur.

June 22, 2003
Speaking of Faith: "Progressive Islam in America"
Islam in America is evolving. This special presentation of Speaking of Faith will look behind the headlines and explore a new conversation among American Muslims—one critical of extremist theologies. Many say Islam is finding a true spiritual home in this country. Host Krista Tippett will explore an energetic convergence of thinkers, scholars and activists that has gone largely unnoticed in American public life.

June 8, 2003
Voices of Minnesota: Vern Sutton and Bonnie Morris
Our Voices of Minnesota interview series with prominent Minnesotans resumes. This evening, we meet two of Minnesota's most prominent theater figures. Vern Sutton talks about his career as a professor and performer, and Bonnie Morris talks about her nearly 30 years of work as a founder of the Illusion Theater in Minneapolis.

June 1, 2003
"The Memoirs of Frank Stanton"
This is the story of a man who fought one of the earliest free-speech battles in broadcasting—Frank Stanton, president of CBS for more than 25 years. Stanton stood up to Congress in 1973 to defend the controversial CBS documentary, The Selling of The Pentagon. That legendary defense helped lay the groundwork for the Constitutional protections broadcast journalists enjoy to the present day.

May 25, 2003
American RadioWorks: "Days of Infamy"
Within the living memory of Americans are two deadly surprise attacks against the United States: Japan's assault on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Both times, the Library of Congress sent people out to record the voices of ordinary Americans as they reacted to a changed world.

May 18, 2003
Ted Turner at the Commonwealth Club of California
Media mogul Ted Turner, the man who started the nation's first superstation and then went on to launch CNN, the nation's first all-news channel, spoke recently at the Commonwealth Club of California. He was there to receive the club's Centennial Medallion, awarded to "individuals who have shaped our era."

May 11, 2003
Robert Caro and Michael Beschloss at the University of Minnesota
This week: Rememberances of the Johnson/Humphrey years in the White House and the tidal wave of liberal legislation that marked the 89th Congress. We hear the remarks of Pulitzer-prize winning historian Robert Caro, author of the three-volume LBJ biography, "Master of the Senate," and also from noted historian Michael Beschloss, both in recent appearances at the University of Minnesota.

May 4, 2003
Ira Glass in Minneapolis
This American Life host Ira Glass came to Minneapolis recently to demonstrate his craft to a sold-out crowd. He discusses the making of This American Life and how he and his crew create the "sound pictures" you hear every week.

April 27, 2003
Religion and Our World in Crisis
Speaking of Faith host Krista Tippett joins Christian philosopher and former '60s radical Richard Mouw in a discussion of the War on Terror, the growth of evangelical and fundamentalist religion, Christian and Muslim relations in a post-9/11 world, Christian attitudes toward Israel, and more.

April 20, 2003
Chris Hedges at Minnesota State University
Chris Hedges, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former war correspondent for the "New York Times," and author of "War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning," has become an outspoken opponent of war. He recently spoke at Minnesota State University in Mankato on his view of war and how combatants, civilians, and reporters will likely feel the effects of the latest Iraq war for a long time to come.

April 13, 2003
Peter J. Gomes at the Westminster Town Forum
Peter J. Gomes is Harvard University's Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and minister to the university's Memorial Church. Gomes spoke recently Westminster Town Hall Forum in Minneapolis on how "the good life" will help people with hardships.

March 30, 2003
Speaking of Faith: "Religion in a Time of War"
More than any crisis in modern memory, the War on Terror is being debated in religious, usually Christian, terms. We explore the nuances of that debate with a former war correspondent, a political theorist, and a renowned preacher. We ask how and whether Christian principles really make a difference at this moment in our national life.

March 16, 2003
American RadioWorks: "Hard Time"
After an historic, generation-long prison expansion, American prisons are now releasing more than 600,000 inmates each year. The punishment doesn't end at the prison gates, however. On the outside, ex-prisoners face tattered connections to family and more closed doors. They also pose a challenge for the places they go home to. American RadioWorks explores life after prison.

March 9, 2003
Broadcast Journalist Series Presents Robert Siegel
Robert Siegel, host of NPR's All Things Considered, outlines his observations on how the media contributes to the knowledge and ignorance of the American public in his speech, "NPR News: From Daily Reports to the Coverage of Crisis."

March 2, 2003
Marketplace: "The Home Front"
Marketplace presents a special report focusing on the questions and challenges Americans face in a wartime economy, including practical advice about how to prepare domestically. The program will examine assumptions about the economics of war and America's sense of economic security, with topics including oil, consumerism, the threat of retaliation, media coverage, and government spending.

February 16, 2003
William W. George at the Westminster Town Forum
Businesses across the nation have felt the effects of ethical challenges in recent years, raising questions about the responsibilities of corporate leaders. Workers wonder what they can reasonably demand of their management. Who sets the standards? William W. George, former CEO of Minnesota-based Medtronic, spoke recently on this subject at the Westminster Town Hall Forum in Minneapolis.

February 9, 2003
Civil rights leader Roger Wilkins
Civil rights leader and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Roger Wilkins, in a recent speech at the University of Minnesota, including his personal recollections of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Wilkins was in the Twin Cities to speak at a program honoring John Powell, the founder and director of the University of Minnesota's Institute on Race and Poverty and we'll hear some excerpts from his comments at the program as well.

February 2, 2003
Voices of Minnesota
February is Black History Month, and in this latest edition of Voices of Minnesota, MPR's Dan Olson speaks with Chuck McDew, founder and first chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, and Willie Mae Wilson, one of the thousands who marched with SNCC organizers to end segregation in southern cities.

January 26, 2003
BBC: "The History of Iraq"
For the second time in a decade, America may soon find itself at war with Iraq. Few Americans know much about Saddam Hussein's background—how he came to power and how he has exercised that power. And even fewer Americans know what came before Saddam, and how it laid the groundwork for this impending war. The BBC's Fergus Nicoll presents this BBC World Service special report.

January 19, 2003
Oh Freedom Over Me
Hear about one of the most remarkable chapters in the Southern Civil Rights movement: Freedom Summer—the Mississippi summer project of 1964. This one-hour report tells the story of Freedom Summer through the voices of organizers, student volunteers, and black Mississippians, and through archival tape of the music and people that drove the movement.

January 12, 2003
American RadioWorks: "Remembering Jim Crow"
Jim Crow lasted about 80 years. It seized every state in the American South. People died because of it, went hungry because of it, lived in fear and misery because of it. Race relations today are still deeply marked by the experience. In this American RadioWorks special, blacks and whites tell their stories of Jim Crow.

January 5, 2003
Powerline Blues
In the late 1970s, a mass protest swept through the normally conservative farm country of west-central Minnesota. Farmers tried to stop construction of a 400-mile-long transmission line that would cross their land between North Dakota and the Twin Cities. MPR's Mary Losure looks back the conflict through the eyes of the people who lived it.