Ellie 2.0 Radio

Another live show! This week’s featured idealist is Nicholas Kristof, a New York Times columnist and two-time Pulitzer winner, who has announced his intention to explore running for governor in Oregon, his home state. I also discuss the dangerous (and increasingly common) talk of America falling into a civil war. From there, I discuss how…

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This week is a live show! Our featured idealist is Frances Haugen, the Iowa-born-and-raised Facebook whistleblower. Then, in commemoration of National Coming Out Day (October 11), I talk about coming out as a transgender woman in May 2009. We also have a couple callers, to my delight! Hooray!

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We begin with our featured idealist, Pauli Murray, who broke barriers as a trans/nonbinary human, feminist, civil rights activist, and someone way before her time. The Big Interview is with Art Cullen, editor of The Storm Lake Times in Storm Lake, Iowa, who talks about a documentary, Storm Lake, that details a small town that’s…

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Our featured idealist is Dr. James Whitfield, a Colleyville TX high school principal (the first black high school principal) who in June 2020 wrote an impassioned letter to his school colleagues about the need to fight white supremacy; 14 months later, after only getting tremendous supportive responses to his letter, he was fired. Someone claimed…

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I begin the show by sharing about how 9/11 changed my life twenty years ago—it was the day that I realized I would die a coward if I didn’t accept my true gender as female. The Big Interview was a return visit with Michael Rexford (who I first interviewed in November 2019); we talked about…

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We begin this week’s show by featuring George McLaurin, who in 1948 at age 61 decided he would be the one to desegregate Oklahoma University, proving that idealism is ageless. The Big Interview is with Kevin Lindsey, Chief Executive Officer of the Minnesota Humanities Center, who talks about how—with wonderful imagination—the MHC is working to…

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It’s a rare live show! We start out with the Big Interview featuring Marcus Pope with Youthprise, a Twin Cities youth empowerment and advocacy nonprofit, and Dan Haugen, a board member of Youthprise. Together, they talk about the value of mentoring and highlight their 20+ year relationship of mentoring to each other in a variety…

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Ranae Lenor Hanson is the author of the new book Watershed: Attending to Body and Earth in Distress and she speaks with Ellie about the rural and urban cultural and political divides in Minnesota.  

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Ann Hopkins is Ellie’s Featured Idealist profile this week; Ellie talks about the rural/urban divide in Minnesota with Northern Minnesota-based author Ranae Lenor Hanson in the Big Interview.

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Ellie’s featured idealist is seminarian and activist Jonathan Daniels; Ellie’s Big Interview is an encore presentation of her August 2020 conversation with author Michael Fosberg; Ellie has a lot of updates for us in her C-block this week.

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Ida B. Wells is Ellie’s featured idealist, the Big Interview is with Jennifer Halpus, parent of a transgender student who filed suit against the Anoka-Hennepin school district for discrimination; Ellie speaks about her recent advocacy.

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With this being Pride Weekend in the Twin Cities, our theme is “Pride and Puppies.” We begin by highlighting the recent executive order of Governor Walz that directs health insurers in MN to attest that they don’t provide coverage for conversion therapy—the practice of trying to counsel LGBTQ youth to suppress their sexual or gender…

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It’s an Ellie’s Talking Head Show! We start with our featured idealist, Lauren Underwood, a second-term congresswoman who represents Illinois’s 14th District who at 32 was the youngest black woman ever elected to Congress. Her political trajectory was unusual—she started as an RN focusing on health care policy but became politically motivated when the ACA…

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This week’s featured idealist is the late Robert Katzmann, a judge who President Clinton appointed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in 1999. Judge Katzmann used his imagination and position to innovatively increase legal access, and as well, he gave diverse students a glimpse of how their lives can be different. The Big Interview…

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To commemorate today’s first-ever federal Juneteenth holiday, I talk about Opal Lee, a 94-year-old idealist who began pushing for federal recognition of June 19, 1865 (the date when federal troops ended slavery in Texas) when she was 89. The Big Interview is with Torrie Allen, executive director of Arts Midwest, which just received an $8…

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David Edgerton Jr fills in for Ellie on today’s show!

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We start out talking about the 1919 massacre of 200 black men, women and children in Elaine, Arkansas when white-color farmers/townspeople asserted Jim Crow power after black farmers sought to unionize in order obtain fair prices for their cotton crops. The Big Interview is with David Edgerton, Jr. of the DEJ Group, which provides diversity,…

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We begin this week featuring Mercy for Animals (MFA), an international animal protection nonprofit that works to prevent cruelty to farmed animals, and which promotes compassionate food choices and policies. One of the ways that MFA operates is through investigations where people go undercover into factory farms or animal processing sites to document and record…

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We have a rock star show this week! We being with the featured idealist: Liz Cheney—yes, I know, that Liz Cheney.  But there’s no getting around the fact that her brave stand against the former president and the Big Lie is about as idealistic as anyone can be. The Big Interview is huge—we have John…

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To begin, I share about how conservative media has coined the phrase “Critical Race Theory” as a way to attack the efforts of many who seek to end  America’s problems with systemic racism. The Big Interview is with Julia Gay of the Coalition of Asian American Leaders. In my C-Block, I talk about a recent…

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Our featured idealist is Van Jones, best-selling author, nonprofit creator, and CNN commentator, who’s used his imagination to change the social justice landscape. The Big Interview is with Fawzia Kahn, a physician-turned-artist, whose installation, “Becoming Visible,” highlights the invisible roles that women play. I’m happy to say that I was one of the women featured…

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This week’s show begins by highlighting Darnella Frazier, the then-17-year-old who videoed Derek Chauvin as he suffocated the life out of George Floyd. I refer Darnella as a “defacto idealist” who may not have intended to change the world that afternoon, but yet still did so in a way that few could ever seek to…

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Our featured idealist is Katie Porter, the California Congresswoman who represents Orange County and who’s known for using a whiteboard when questioning witnesses testifying before Congress. The Big Interview is with Sondra Samuels who shares about The Itasca Project’s “First Thousand Days” initiative aimed at protecting the physical and mental health of babies in their…

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We begin by learning about McKenzie Scott, the former Mrs. Jeff Bezos, whose estimated $63 billion net worth makes her the richest woman in the world. An accomplished author, she has signed onto the Giving Pledge, vowing to give away half her wealth before she dies. The Big Interview is an encore interview of Mary…

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This week’s idealist is Steven Donziger, an attorney who took on Chevron for polluting the Ecuadoran jungle and won a $9.5 billion judgment. When Donziger attempted to collect the judgment, Chevron fought back; now Donziger is on his 600th+ day of home confinement awaiting a contempt of court trial. The Big Interview is with Jamey…

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A Live Show! Our theme is “Making Amends” and we begin by highlighting “The Longoria Affair” that arose in 1949 when a Three Rivers, Texas funeral home refused to allow a wake at the funeral home for Felix Z. Longoria, Jr., a Latino Army private killed in WWII and whose body was returned 4 years…

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Our highlighted idealist is Marc Elias, an attorney who’s represented the Democratic National Committee and many other Dem entities; he also served as general counsel to the election campaigns of John Kerry and Hillary Clinton. Most importantly, he oversaw efforts to protect President Biden’s win versus the Big Lie about election fraud and he’s now…

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We begin with a story about Stockton CA’s experiment of giving 125 random people $500/mo. for two years, no string attached. The results of this experiment are in and they show that overwhelmingly, people didn’t spend the stipend on cigarettes or alcohol, but instead on necessities in ways that greatly improved their lives. I also…

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Our featured historical idealist is Chiune Sugihara, who as a Japanese diplomat posted to Lithuania in the summer of 1940 provided thousands of visas to Jews seeking to escape persecution. By some estimates, Chiune’s actions benefited 100,000 people (those who escaped and their descendants). The Big Interview is with Benya Kruas, co-founder of Lead for…

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With this Ellie’s Talking Head Show, I start out highlighting Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland’s 8th District, who served as impeachment manager for the second impeachment. I then pivot to a wonderful story about a Louisiana man buying a basketball hoop for an eight-year-old-boy he saw using a garbage can for a hoop. From there,…

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It’s a rare live Show! The theme is “Sacrificing for the Common Good”; would you be willing to give up money or resources or time or a luxury to benefit others who didn’t have the same opportunities as you? I also highlight U.S. Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman, who’s quick thinking and bravery on January…

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We start the show with an explanation of how Black History Month originated; from there, we pivot to Rosa Parks and the little-known story of the sacrifices she and her family made in the wake of her 1955 arrest for refusing to give up her Montgomery, Alabama bus seat for a white-color person. The Big…

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This week I give an update on Amanda Gorman, who’s been selected to read poetry at the Super Bowl—a first! I also share about a man who was spotted $12 by a Cedar Rapids HyVee checker; that man later launched a GoFundMe to honor the checker’s generosity. So far, the GoFundMe has raised $4700+. The…

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It’s an Ellie’s Talking Head Show and this week’s featured idealist is Amanda Gorman, the 22-year-old Poet Laureate who recited at the Inaugural. I also share about two instances of humans being good to other humans. In my C-Block, I make an offer to speak at schools and churches in my effort to spread a…

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We begin with an audio blog post by Frank Schaeffer, a former evangelical conservative turned liberal democrat who talks about the January 6th insurrection being the product of evangelical white nationalism. The Big Interview is with Jen Bowen of the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, which helps humans experiencing incarceration tell their written stories. In the…

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Our first show of ’21 has a nonprofit, Invisible People, and its founder, Mark Horvath, featured for their work in telling the stories of humans who are experiencing homelessness. The Big Interview is with U of M professor Dr. Keith Mayes, who talks about historical and current-day structural racism in the Twin Cities. In the…

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We’ve got a holiday show with Attorney Larry McDonough, a nationally-recognized expert on landlord-tenant law, who talks about the plight of renters in Minnesota and the eviction moratoriums that are in place. Larry—a man for all seasons—is also an accomplished pianist and vocalist, so in between important information sharing about how the virus has adversely…

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We start today’s show highlighting PandemicofLove.com, a mutual aid organization that directly matches donors with people in need; in barely 9 months, the organization has helped to transfer $40M in resources to folks in need. The Big Interview is with Kate Cimino of Citizens League, where we hear about the incredible work this 6-person nonprofit…

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It’s an Ellie’s Talking Head Show! We start out highlighting Poetic Justice, an Oklahoma nonprofit that teaches writing and poetry to women who are incarcerated. In lieu of The Big Interview, I talk about allyship and share stories of how a neighborhood in North Little Rock Arkansas showed unique support for a family that was…

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We begin by highlighting an Atlantic Magazine interview of the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II re: the need to avoid returning to “normal” (e.g. historical inequity) with the Biden-Harris Administration. The Big Interview is an encore of my March 2020 interview with Caitlin Rogers of Next Day Animations—you’ll love this young idealist’s spunk and…

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We start the show highlighting Melissa Statz, a fourth-grade teacher at Cooper School in Burlington, WI, who ignited controversy by teaching her students about Black Lives Matter and structural racism. The Big Interview is an encore of my interview of another Wisconsinite, Jessica Greb, from earlier this year—she had organized other women to support restaurant…

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Our featured idealist is soon-to-be First Lady Dr. Jill Biden; despite the cache of being married to Joe Biden for 30+ years, she’s taught in public schools and community colleges because she wanted to make a difference. The Big Interview is with Rachel Pilgrim, whose work in investigating the identities of five black women who…

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It’s a pre-election live show! For a break from politics, our featured idealist is Woody Faircloth, who has created a nonprofit to supply refurbished RVs to survivors of the Nov. 2018 Camp Fire that swept Paradise, Calif., destroying 14,000 homes and leaving 50,000 people homeless. The Big Interview is with Dr. Kurt Nelson, a behavioral…

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We start with our featured idealist, Pham Doan Trang, a Vietnamese journalist, blogger and author, who was imprisoned by the Vietnamese government on October 6th for advocating for democracy and freedom. The Big Interview is an encore of my January 6th interview of Hippy Feet founders Michael Mader and Sam Harper. In my C-Block, I…

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This week’s featured idealist is Delores Huerta, who helped galvanize migrant farm workers and who later championed women in politics; there’s so much she’s done to make the world a better place! The Big Interview is with Laura Belin, curator of the blog, Bleeding Heartland, which covers Iowa politics. In my C-Block, I talk about…

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It’s a rare live show! The first half includes me sharing about the origins of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and because we are live, we could take calls; one caller shared about being American Indian and how she saw firsthand young Native children being taken from their families and put in “Indian Schools.” It was a…

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Our featured idealist this week is Alexander Vindman, who spoke truth to power during last year’s proceedings to impeach President Trump; the Big Interview is an encore interview of Emily Hunt Turner from All Square, a chic grilled cheese restaurant that provides formerly confined humans an opportunity for a second chance. In my C-Block, I…

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For those interested in attending the RBG Tribute event on Oct. 3, here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/events/810170443144838 Our featured idealist for today’s show is Franz Jaegerstaetter, the inspiration behind the movie, A Hidden Life—he lost his life because he refused to swear allegiance to Hitler in 1943. The Big Interview is with Leslie Wright, an…

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This week I highlight a huge idealist just lost—Ruth Bader Ginsburg; she did so much to change the world for so many people! The Big Interview is with John Anderson, who is walking 8.46 miles everyday for 8 days to inspire others to stand-up to racism. In my C-Block, I talk about the President’s attempts…

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Today’s theme is lawyers as idealists. Our featured idealist is Benjamin Crump, the attorney for the family of George Floyd and many other black and brown people who have been harmed through police misconduct. The Big Interview is with St. Paul attorney Rachael Schromen regarding her pro bono and volunteer work. In my C-Block, I…

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This week I highlight the Milwaukee Bucks as idealists for their strike on August 26th, refusing to play and providing a statement about the need for the Wisconsin Legislature to address police violence directed at Black men. The Big Interview is an encore of my August 18, 2019 interview of Dan Blake, a man whose…

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Our featured idealist is Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American who has worked to curb police violence in NYC and on a larger scale, helped to organize the 2017 Women’s March on Washington. The Big Interview is with Michael Fosberg, author of Incognito: An American Odyssey of Race and Self Discovery, who shares about ways to get…

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This week’s featured idealist is Cori Bush, the progressive Democrat who unseated Lacy Clay in Missouri’s 1st congressional district. The Big Interview is with Jillian Chmiel, a champion of domestic violence survivors and presently a therapist with the Sojourner Project in the west metro. (Jillian is also a mentee and “Third Daughter” to me!) In…

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For our first show in a new time slot (2-3 p.m. Mondays), I give first-time listeners an introduction to me and the show’s mission. I then pivot to talking about the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization and its selection of Dr. Anthony Fauci and Colin Kaepernick as recipients of the 2020 Ripple of Hope…

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Our featured idealist is the late civil rights activist, Congressman John Lewis, where I focus on his early life, which included being arrested more than 20 times as he battled Jim Crow. The Big Interview is an encore of my August 2019 interview of Julieanna Richardson, founder of History Makers, a project that documents African…

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We begin by examining the “Third Wave,” a Palo Alto high school teacher’s experiment in 1967 to teach his students about how easy it is for fascism to take hold. The Big Interview is an encore of my interview with Bill Doherty of Better Angels, which is working to prevent fascism in America by encouraging…

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Our featured idealist is WNBA and MN Lynx star Maya Moore, who paused her red-hot career in part to work on criminal justice reform, which included working to free Jonathan Irons, who was wrongly-convicted of a crime at age 16. He’s now 40 and just released from prison thanks to Maya’s help. The Big Interview…

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I start out the show talking about reparations to make up for the wealth gap between white-color Americans and African Americans—the gap is due in part to white-color people accumulating wealth on the backs of enslaved humans. The Big Interview is with Abdi Sabrie, a Mankato MN school board member who experienced visible marginalization as…

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Our featured idealists are the Black Lives Matter movement and one of its founders, Patrisse Cullors. The Big Interview is with Mick (Monique) Dargis, who identifies as nonbinary and who has written a letter to the president of the University of St. Thomas (a conservative Catholic university) asking for it to increase recognition of transgender/nonbinary…

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Given how America is reacting in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, I begin this week’s show by talking about the glaring disparities that exist between white-color and people of other colors in Minnesota relative to educational attainment, family income and other things. The Big Interview is with Jessica Meyers, a Sioux Falls idealist who…

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Our featured idealist is Larry Kramer, an anti-AIDS activist who founded ACT UP to push for AIDS research in the 1980s; Kramer was also an author and playwright. The Big Interview is with Alabama District Court Judge Martha Reeves Cook, who shares about growing up in Selma and learning early on the value of getting…

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Happy Pride Month! In honor of Pride, our featured idealist is Dan Savage of the “Savage Love” advice column; while Savage has generated controversy for some of his statements and positions, he’s for sure an idealist—he founded “It Gets Better,” a website/project aimed at encouraging LGBTQ youth to persist despite bullying and societal challenges. The…

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This week, I speak about the “1619 Project,” a New York Times initiative about America’s history of enslaving humans that earned project creator Nikole Hannah-Jones the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. Our encore interview is with Dr. Mark Goulston, who talks about the neurobiology behind idealism. In my C-Block, I share about my first online…

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Our featured idealist is Elouise Cobell, an American Indian who took on the U.S. Department of Interior over its failure to pay decades of oil, gas and mineral royalties to Native American tribes and bands—and won! The Big Interview is with Mikki Morrissette, the owner/publisher of Minnesota Women’s Press. In my C-Block, I talk about…

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This week I talk about the 50th anniversary of “Earth Day” and feature its architect, Denis Hayes. The Big Interview is with Diane Muntean, who I worked with to help training 1200 people in Steamboat Springs CO last September. In the C-Block I talk about the first Earth Day in 1970, where my idealism was…

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Our featured idealist is the famed chef, Jose Andres, who created World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit emergency kitchen/meal organization to feed survivors of natural disasters and the Covid-19 pandemic. The Big Interview is an encore airing of my 2018 interview of AM950 owner and general manager, Chad Larson. In my C-Block, I talk about my…

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We highlight the late singer Bill Withers, whose music has been said to define “soulful selflessness.” The Big Interview is with Elisabeth Samson Lee, a sexual assault survivor/idealist who is working to make it easier to report sexual assaults by law enforcement personnel. In my C-Block, I share about “sprouts”—the joy of planting wildflower seeds…

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This week’s historical idealist is the Rev. Joseph Lowery, who was called the “Dean of the Civil Rights Movement,” and who passed at the end of March. The Big Interview is a repeat of my 2018 interview of Bussho Lahn of the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center. I’m my C-Block, I talk about reaching out to…

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We’re attempting to offer a dose of normalcy, so we start with idealist Catherine Hamlin, who in 1959, answered an ad to create a midwifery clinic in Ethiopia. Catherine would spend the rest of her life in Ethiopia helping women who suffer childbirth injuries. I also share about a NC police officer who befriended a…

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In light of the COVID-19 crisis, we have a special show. In the A-Block, I talk about facing our fears and how everyone has far more grit and resiliency than they believe; the Big Interview is with Dr. Kurt Nelson, who shares strategies for addressing fear and how to take a breath from all the…

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This week’s featured idealist is Rose Pastor Stokes, a cigar factory worker turned journalist turned union organizer in the early 1900’s. The Big Interview has Nick Alm of the LGBTQ-focused nonprofit Mossier return for an update on his work; did I mention that Nick is only 23 years old? In my C-Block, I talk about…

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Alright, it’s another Ellie’s Talking Head show, but don’t despair—we’ve got great stuff! In the A-Block, I talk about an unexpected—and for some, repulsive—idealist, Larry Flynt, the creator/publisher of Hustler Magazine. Say what you will about Flynt, but he was instrumental in helping to protect First Amendment rights to engage in parody—otherwise, Saturday Night Live…

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Our A-Block has me talking about my recent trip to South Dakota where I gave several press interviews and a community training on resetting the conversation about how we “Other” humans and the need to protect younger transgender humans from marginalizing laws. The Big Interview is with Caitlin Rogers of Next Day Animations—you’ll love this…

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Our featured idealist is Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates, columnist and author of Between the World and Me. The Big Interview is with Susan Williams, founder and executive director of The Transformation Project SD, which helps families of transgender children/youths and who is fighting South Dakota legislators’ attempts to criminalize health care for trans humans younger than…

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This week’s featured idealist is Ingrid Newkirk, the founder of PETA, the animal rights organization. The Big Interview is with Greta Kaul of MinnPost, who talks about Beltrami County MN’s decision to not accept refugees and who shares about being a “realist” rather than an idealist (which doesn’t mean that I didn’t urge her to…

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We’re celebrating Dr. King a week late—in the A-Block, I revisit his 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail; the Big Interview is with Rev. DeWayne L. Davis of All God’s Children Metropolitan Community Church in Minneapolis, who shares what it’s like to be an African American man in America and about being married to another…

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We start the show by talking about Bono, of the U2 rock group, who turns out to be quite the idealist for his work to eliminate the debt of 20+ African nations and who’s worked to combat AIDS. The Big Interview is with Rob Greenough and Jim Scheibel of Hamline University, who talk about unsuccessful…

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Our featured idealist is Native American Rosalie Fish, who as a high school long distance runner ran with a red handprint over her face to bring attention to the plight of murdered and missing Indigenous women. By all means, please listen to the show, but also check out an interview that Rosalie gave last year:…

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As we start the new year, our featured idealist is Nancy Pelosi—we all know the woman, but what’s the story behind her? The Big Interview is with Michael Mader and Sam Harper, founders of Hippy Feet, which puts homeless young people to work finishing sock products. In the C-Block, I share some resolutions for 2020…

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This week’s featured idealist is Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood; it turns out he was about as idealistic as a human can be. The Big Interview is with Sarah Drake of herARTS in Action, a St. Cloud nonprofit working to provide clean water and personal hygiene resources in Burkina Faso in West Africa. In…

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It’s show number 100 of Ellie 2.0 Radio! Ellie takes your calls and also speaks with Dr. Kurt Nelson of Behavioral Grooves.

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The featured idealist this week is Irene Morgan, who was arrested in 1944 for refusing to give up her bus seat in favor of white-color persons in Virginia. She kicked the sheriff who tried to take her off the bus and tore up the citation he gave her. Eventually, she was arrested but she took…

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This week’s featured idealists are the Gulabi Gang (which isn’t a gang at all but an organization) which mobilizes women and some men in India to press for reforms around domestic violence and unprosecuted rapes of women. The Big Interview is with Michael Rexford, a Los Angeles attorney and idealist who’s founded LightHopeLife.org, a suicide…

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Our highlighted idealist is Bayard Rustin, who began trying to change the world while in college and went on to be one of the most important civil rights organizers of the 20th century. The Big Interview is with me, moi, Ellie Krug; my producer Brett Johnson asks me about idealism and keeping hope in 2019…

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An Ellie’s Talking Head Show, we start out recognizing Brittany Spencer, a Fond du Lac, WI restaurant server who refused to wait on the table of two older customers who were making disparaging comments about a transgender customer in the restaurant—it was “morals vs. money.” We shift to the life and legacy of Elijah Cummings,…

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We start out featuring Fannie Lou Hamer, a Mississippi civil rights activist who suffered a horrific beating as she worked to register African Americans to vote in the early 1960’s. The Big Interview is with Benjamin Saulsberry of the Emmett Till Interpretive Center, who shares about how the death of Emmett Till has been called…

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An Ellie’s Talking Head Show; we start with Aimee Stephens, who was fired by her Michigan funeral home employer because she’s transgender and whose case will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 8. In Block B, I talk (emotionally, I’m sorry) about Sandeep Dhaliwal, the first Sikh hired as a Harris County…

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The theme this week is females making a difference. I highlight Greta Thunberg, the sixteen-year-old Swedish climate protection activist who speaks truth to power. The Big Interview is with Stephanie Glaros of Humans of Minneapolis talking about her work around empathy building. In the C-Block, I share the story of a dad who regretted for…

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This week’s show starts with remembering the 9/11/71 death of Margaret Ann Knott in Choctaw County, Alabama and how it’s taken local leaders 48 years to acknowledge her sacrifice. The Big Interview is with Richard Johnson of Auto Technical Inc., a nonprofit that repairs automobiles and donates them to people in need; the catch is…

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It’s another hodgepodge show; we start off featuring Dorothea Lange, a 20th century photographer who used her camera as a tool for social change. The Big Interview is with Dan O’Neil, the executive director of PeaceMaker Minnesota, which is working to eliminate bullying and violence in schools. In my C-Block, I talk about upcoming talks…

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We cover enslaved people, historical and modern day. I feature Cudjoe Lewis, the second-to-last formerly enslaved African to die in the U.S. (in 1935); he had been abducted from his West African village and smuggled into Alabama in 1860. The Big Interview is with Marshall Tanick re: how enslaved people were brought to Minnesota with…

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This week’s theme is idealists in or about education. Our featured idealist is Erin Gruwell, who is the heroine of the movie, The Freedom Writers. The Big Interview is with Michael Ciresi, a prominent Minnesota attorney whose foundation, the Ciresi Walburn Foundation for Children, is working to highlight the horrific educational achievement disparities between white-color…

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Our idealist is Judge Damon Keith, the grandson of slaves, who was appointed to the federal bench in 1967 and ten years later elevated to the Court of Appeals. Judge Keith wasn’t afraid to speak truth to power and told both Richard Nixon and George Bush II that they had violated the Constitution. The Big…

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I’m back from my writing sabbatical with a great show! I highlight Ed Dwight, who should have been the first black-color astronaut but for discrimination in the 1960’s. The Big Interview is with Julieanna Richardson, founder and executive director of The HistoryMakers (https://www.thehistorymakers.org/ ), which has recorded 3000+ interviews of black-color humans trying to survive…

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Our historical idealist is Vera Connolly, a cutting edge investigative journalist of the 1920-50’s who wrote about Native children, immigrants and girls working in sweatshops. The Big Interview is with Scott Herold, who works to empower youth and humans through music and video. My C-Block covers something I witnessed at this year’s Pride event at…

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