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Podcasts

Explain Trains and Automobiles

Brandon Boat

Think coming up with your own five-year plan is a challenge? Try coming up with a 20-year plan for the entire Twin Cities region. That’s just part of the charge for our guest, Susan Haigh, chair of the Metropolitan Council. We asked her all about what visions they've heard from Minnesotans for the future of the Twin Cities.

Out of School Time - Not Just for TV Anymore

Brandon Boat

Sprockets, St. Paul’s out-of-school time programs network, has a new director and she joined  us on the show. Eyenga Bokamba talked to us about why students need to keep learning even after the school day ends. In addition to her work leading this diverse coalition of programs, Bokamba is a visual artist in her own right, and a Harvard graduate. Consider us intimidated.

Democracy of Data

Brandon Boat

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, City of Minneapolis Chief Information Officer Otto Doll, and Open Twin Cities’ Bill Bushey will tell us about making government data more readily available to citizens. All three have been working to make government more transparent and efficient through data. We’ll ask why anyone would want all the city’s records on cats getting stuck in trees, and why the moniker “hacker” is considered a dirty word.

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing

Brandon Boat

Judges, prosecutors, and even the United State Attorney General have been pushing for reform of Mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines, which require certain penalties for crimes regardless of circumstance. Proponents of reform say the sentencing guidelines are too arbitrary and are a leading cause of prison over-crowding. But will legislators risk being called “soft on crime” in order to loosen some of the restrictions? Listen to our guest, Sarah Catherine Walker, Founder of the Minnesota Second Chance Coalition.

States Rights...Or American Civil War 2.0

Brandon Boat

What do guns, marijuana, and until recently, gay marriage all have in common? They are all issues where state laws have challenged federal authority. Whether it’s Washington and Colorado legalizing a controlled substance for recreational purposes, or Missouri attempting to bar authorities from enforcing federal gun laws, there are constitutional battles everywhere you look. We’ll ask professor Dale Carpenter for a primer on state’s rights and whether we’re headed for an American Civil War II.

Enter the RT Rybak

Brandon Boat

Less than a week after the election to choose his replacement, Minneapolis’s outgoing mayor joined The Theater of Public Policy for a "This is Your Life" retrospective. We dug into the political highs and lows of eleven years in office and opened it up for the audience to ask about what’s next for the former mayor.Did he announce his aspiration for a higher office?