July 29, 2020 - On this MPR News Presents program, an APM Reports documentary titled "Covid on Campus." The coronavirus pandemic represents the greatest challenge to American higher education in decades. Some small regional colleges that were already struggling won’t survive. Other schools, large and small, are rethinking how to offer an education while keeping people safe.
April 14, 2020 - MPR News Presents airs “Under a Watchful Eye,” an APM Reports & The Hechinger Report documentary that looks at colleges using big data to track students in an effort to boost graduation rates, but it comes at a cost.
August 26, 2019 - An MPR News Presents broadcast of the APM Reports education documentary “Students on the Move - Keeping uprooted kids in school.” A frank portrayal of the educational challenges facing kids whose housing is unstable by introducing listeners to kids experiencing homelessness, kids in migrant farmworker families, and some of the people trying to help them stay in school.
September 14, 2017 - An MPR News Presents broadcast of the APM Reports education documentary “Hard to Read - How American Schools Fail Kids with Dyslexia.” There are proven ways to help people with dyslexia learn to read, and a federal law that's supposed to ensure schools provide kids with help. But across the country, public schools are denying children proper treatment and often failing to identify them with dyslexia in the first place.
September 11, 2017 - The APM Reports documentary “Shadow Class: College Dreamers in Trump's America” looks at the rescinding of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive a deferred action from deportation and become eligible for an employment in the U.S.
September 11, 2017 - The APM Reports documentary “Shadow Class: College Dreamers in Trump's America” looks at the rescinding of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive a deferred action from deportation and become eligible for an employment in the U.S.
September 10, 2014 - Midday presents an American RadioWorks documentary titled “Greater Expectations: The Challenge of the Common Core,” which looks at how the United States is in the midst of a huge education reform. The Common Core State Standards are a new set of expectations for what students should learn each year in school.
May 16, 2013 - Two people from Red Wing, Minnesota who are important figures in Minnesota history, culture and the arts are featured in separate documentaries by Minnesota Public Radio's Stephen Smith. Part 1: "Song Catcher: Frances Densmore of Red Wing" and Part 2: "Artist Charles Biederman."
October 8, 2012 - Stephen Smith, host of Bright Ideas, talks with playwright Christopher Hampton. They discuss Hampton's long career and his new work, "Appomattox." Also a screenwriter, Hampton won the Oscar for "Dangerous Liaisons" and was nominated for "Atonement." Hampton visited Minnesota for a festival of his plays at the Guthrie Theater.
August 6, 2012 - In this Pen Pals Lecture Series appearance, Brian Greene of Columbia University discusses his best-selling books, "The Elegant Universe" and "The Hidden Reality." He says science is about big ideas, not technical details. MPR's Stephen Smith interviews Brian Greene at the Hopkins, Minn., Center for the Arts.