September 24, 2015 - Penumbra Theatre co-artistic director Sarah Bellamy moderated a discussion "On The Front Lines," featuring Nekima Levy-Pounds, University of St. Thomas professor and the president of the Minneapolis Chapter of the NAACP; John Harrington, Metro Transit Police chief and former State Senator; Signe Harriday, local artist and activist; and Dave Ellis, a consultant. The panelists talk about the racial tensions between police and community.
November 19, 2015 - Each year since 1938, the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania has commemorated the Gettysburg Address and rededicated Soldiers' National Cemetery where Lincoln spoke. This year Garrison Keillor was picked to give the Gettysburg keynote address in 2015.
January 22, 2016 - MPR’s Brian Bakst details the appointment of Margaret Chutich to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Chutich is the first openly gay justice on court.
March 17, 2016 - Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential biographer Jon Meacham has written about Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, and President George H.W. Bush. Meacham says he writes biography rather than history, because history is shaped by individuals who, despite their flaws, do the right thing in moments of crisis.
December 20, 2016 - MPR News with Tom Weber presents a program on The Dakota Access oil pipeline, which winds hundreds of miles from the oil fields of North Dakota to a pipeline hub in southern Illinois. In 2016, it was almost entirely built — except for a section under Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir just south of Bismarck, N.D. Members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and a coalition of other groups camped out near the site of the river crossing in an effort to stop pipeline construction.
December 22, 2016 - Andrew Carnegie, the 19th century Pittsburgh industrialist, was one of the richest Americans ever, and also a benevolent civic patron. David Nasaw, a self-described "lunatic researcher," wrote a biography simply titled "Andrew Carnegie." Early in December he shared what he learned at the Minnesota Historical Society's History Forum in St. Paul.
January 19, 2017 - This MPR News with Tom Weber feature takes a look back to January 20th, 1977, when Minnesota’s Walter Mondale was sworn in as the Vice President of the United States. Segment includes interview excerpts, descriptions of Inauguration Day, and audio of the complete swearing in of Mondale.
June 16, 2017 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann provides a recap of the murder trial verdict of Jeronimo Yanez, the St. Anthony police officer who shot and killed Philando Castile during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, a St. Paul suburb.
October 20, 2017 - MPR’s Tim Nelson profiles Nekima Levy-Pounds, a local civil rights activist who is a candidate in the Minneapolis mayor’s race. Levy-Pounds gained prominence as a Black Life Matters spokesperson and a leader in numerous public protests.
November 8, 2017 - MPR’s Peter Cox profiles Melvin Carter, who won in his election for the mayoral seat of St. Paul. Carter received more than 50% of the vote in a field of ten candidates.