Ellie 2.0 Radio

The show in part deals with religious pushback at religious intolerance; I start out by talking about how the Jesuits running Brefeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indiana refused an archdiocese order to fire a long-time teacher who happens to be gay. The Big Interview is with Minneapolis pastor Dan Collison, who has been defrocked by…

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It’s a hodgepodge show. I first speak about being on a panel of lawyers to discuss diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and how it’s important for straight, white-color cisgender men to step up and be allies to persons from marginalized communities. The Big Interview is with Michelle Seets of Minnetonka High School re:…

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Our theme is “speaking up for the outcasts” and we start with a Pride Month remembrance of Sylvia Rivera, a transgender activist who fought for societal acceptance of gender variant people; she also had to fight for acceptance by the gay and lesbian community. The Big Interview is with Dr. Thomas Adams of Better Futures…

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Today’s a mixture of idealists; we begin with Scott Warren of the organization, No More Deaths—he’s on federal trial in Tucson for smuggling undocumented humans simply because he provided food and shelter to two men who crossed the border; the Big Interview is with Elizabeth Brenner of Protect Students Abroad, whose idealism was borne out…

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This week’s theme is “Yearning for Change” and we highlight the anti-gun violence movement, #NeverAgainMSD, which arose out of the Valentine’s Day 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stone Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. The Big Interview is with local idealist Robin Wolpert, an attorney who seeks to “close the gap between what democracy promises…

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It’s an Ellie’s Talking Head Show; I highlight Lewis Hine, an early-20th century photographer whose photographs of child laborers in America helped usher in modern child labor laws; quite the idealist if you ask me! In lieu of an interview, I provide an update on black-color women participating in the Miss America and other pageants;…

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This show’s a real mixture; in the A-Block, I talk about the White Rose, a group of idealistic German university students (and a professor) who resist the Nazi regime in 1942-43 by spreading pamphlets calling for Germans to resist the war and Nazism. Some of those idealists paid the ultimate price as a result. The…

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We start talking about systemic racism and historical trauma in the context of constructing I-94 between Minneapolis and St. Paul and how it destroyed much of the Rondo neighborhood, which was predominately populated by black-color persons. The Big Interview is with two idealistic students (Angelo Bush and Jasmine McBride) and their idealistic instructor (Scott Herold)…

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An Ellie’s Talking Head show, the theme is about engineering change—societal and personal. In the A-Block, I talk about protests over the 1968 Miss America Pageant for its lack of color diversity and unfair representation of women, spawning the first-ever Ms. Black America Pageant. The B-Block has stories about LeBron James’ I Promise School in…

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In our A-Block, I talk about 80-year-old John Johnson of Wytheville, VA, who has a mission to identify the dozen long-dead white-color men involved in the last lynching of a black-color person in Virginia (in 1926; the victim’s name was Raymond Byrd); the Big Interview is with Donna Minter of the Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute;…

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The theme for this show is forgiveness and redemption. I highlight Marina Cantacuzino, founder of The Forgiveness Project, who curated an exhibit, “The F Word,” with personal stories about forgiveness and healing. The Big Interview is with John Anderson, an idealist who helped bring “The F Word” to Grace Lutheran Church in Andover MN. In…

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An Ellie’s Talking Head show, we learn about Peter Buttigieg, the 37-year-old gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana who is considering a presidential run; he’s an idealistic out-of-the-box thinker who is making people notice. I also share about how crowdfunding mechanisms are ways for us to exercise our empathetic hearts. Finally, in the C-Block, I…

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Our idealist this week is Carrie Ann Lucas, a disability rights activist who blazed an idealistic trail in Colorado before dying earlier this year at age 47; the Big Interview is with Susan Robertson, who is working to make the Presbyterian Church more LGBTQ-friendly. The C-Block has me talking about a keynote, “Bridging Divides,” that…

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We start off talking about South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its idealistic goal of healing the country after the horrors of apartheid; the Big Interview is with Dr. Kurt Nelson of the Lantern Group where we talk about what makes for someone to be idealistic; and in my C Block, I talk about…

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I talk about last week’s (Feb. 19) Day of Remembrance for Japanese Americans re: internment during WW2, including the only elected official to speak up against internment, Ralph Lawrence Carr, the Republican governor of Colorado; the Big Interview is with Jacki Trelawny of Family Tree Clinic in St. Paul; in my C Block, I talk…

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We start this week’s show with a report about two artist-idealists, photographer Sally Mann and Cameron Rowland, a conceptual artist. Both artists tackle issues around race-based cruelty and systemic racism. The Big Interview is with Tom Nelson, a Minneapolis attorney who’s used his leadership roles in local bar associations to push for greater diversity and…

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We’re talking about idealists who do remarkable things for their times. First off is Maurice Willows, who convinced the American Red Cross to provide relief to the Black community in Tulsa OK following the horrendous race riot of 1921 (it was the only relief organization to provide assistance); the Big Interview is with William Doherty,…

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The theme is idealists who unify rather than divide. We start with Larry Itliong, who organized Filipino farm workers in California’s Central Valley and joined with Cesar Chavez to win grape grower recognition in the mid-1960s; the Big Interview is with Brad Hart, the idealistic and nonpartisan mayor of Cedar Rapids, Iowa whose optimism and…

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This week, I highlight John Delaney, a Maryland Congressman who’s running for president; he announced way back in 2017 and has already visited all 99 Iowa counties. I also talk about Marshall Medoff, and amateur scientist-idealist who very well may have discovered a new way to make fuel and plastic substitutes. In Block C, I…

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An Ellie’s Talking Head show highlighting Hollywood idealists—Ellen DeGeneres and Tom Hanks. In Block C, I talk about an interaction with a grandmother and her grandson on a Minneapolis street; I found it in me to have compassion and overcome my fear of being panhandled.

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This week’s idealist is St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, who’s ushered in a new era of imagination and energy to create a “St. Paul for everyone”; the Big Interview is with Hadeel Abouhasira, a young Richmond VA attorney of Palestinian descent who’s trying to give back; and in Block C, I talk about visiting beautiful…

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The idealist for this week is Daniel Ellsberg, who in 1971 leaked the infamous Pentagon Papers as a way of changing the conversation about the Vietnam War, highlighting the government’s failure to be honest with Americans; in the Big Interview, I talk with David Liners, a priest-turned-nonprofit founder, who oversees WISDOM in Wisconsin—a collection of…

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This week I focus on the incredible idealism of Colin Kaepernick, a man of principle and humility who is fighting oppression; I also return to the youngest member of Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who even before she takes the oath to serve is working to radically change the status quo. In Block C, I talk about…

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Our idealist for this early December show is Eartha Kitt, famous for “Santa Baby,” who worked to help at risk youth and who wasn’t afraid to speak truth to power; for this Ellie’s Talking Head Show we’ll also talk about white journalist Ray Sprigle, who in 1948 posed as a black man while on a…

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Our idealist for this week is Belva Davis, the first woman of color to be a new anchor on the West Coast—in the early 1970s; the Big Interview is with Tom Dzik, who has been “giving back” to the community all his life in remarkable ways—as Tom say, “Just do it.” In Block C, I…

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Part of our theme this week is about prisons and those who are willing to “see” confined persons as human. Our idealist is the one and only Johnny Cash, whose many prison concerts (all for free) led him to champion prison reform in the early 1970s; the Big Interview is with Tonen O’Connor, a Buddhist…

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This week’s idealist is Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, one of the Living Tree Synagogue shooting victims, who rushed to aid the wounded and was killed himself. The Big Interview is with Daryl Davis, a black man who bravely meets with Klu Klux Klan members to form friendships and who’s convinced some to renounce their Klan membership.…

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The theme is about idealists who pay a price. Our idealist highlight is about Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who at the 1968 Olympics raised their gloved fists in protest of oppression of black people in the U.S.—both men were banned from further Olympic competitions. The Big Interview is with Fr. Harry Bury, an outspoken…

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Our theme this week is “Idealist’s Under the Radar” and I highlight a pharmacologist with the Food & Drug Administration, Frances Oldham Kelsey, who in 1960 resisted drug manufacturer pressure to license thalidomide in the U.S. and in doing so, prevented thousands of American babies being born with birth defects. The Big Interview is with…

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It’s an Ellie’s Talking Head Show! Our idealist highlight is of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who unseated a 10-term Democratic in this year’s NY primary. Block B is about racism and trauma—in part, a history lesson about the Tulsa race riot of 1921 and then how a personal health crisis (another form of trauma) can cause one…

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This week’s idealist is the Rev. William Barber, II, a 2018 MacArthur Genius Grant recipient for his work in organizing North Carolina marginalized communities into a political force that unseated Pat McCrory as governor; the Big Interview is with 22-year-old Nick Alm, who founded Mossier MN.org to promote LGBTQ entrepreneurs in Africa as a way…

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The theme this week is “befriending the untouchables” and in Block A, I talk about two white high school students who befriended the “Little Rock 9”—black students who sought to integrate Central High School in Little Rock in 1957; The Big Interview is with Fr. Harry Hartigan re: his work at MN’s Moose Lake facility…

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Ellie’s Talking Head show re: the interplay of hope and idealism. I feature Daryl Davis, a black man whose mission in life has been to convert Klu Klux Klan members from hatred of “Other” to acceptance; Block B is about loss of hope and political hope; in Block C, I share about launching my first…

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This week’s theme is “Thinking Big.” Block A highlights Jose Antonio Vargas, a young idealist, journalist, author and documentary director who is championing the rights of undocumented immigrants; The Big Interview is with Mark Goulston, a MD-neuroscientist who is trying to change the world by making us better listeners; and in Block C, I talk…

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Our theme is “Changing the World.” Block A is a discussion of “Beware (of) Rich People Who Say They Want to Change the World,” (www.nytimes.com/2018/08/24/opinio…-fake-change.html) and the concept of “Fake Change”; the Big Interview is with a real idealist—Cathy Heying of the Lift Garage; and in C Block, I talk about wrestling with the decision…

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This week’s theme is how idealism fuels philanthropy. My A Block is about the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—the largest in the world; the Big Interview is with Vanessa Tennyson, a transgender woman who transitioned from high level executive to philanthropist/entrepreneur/3:00 a.m. telephone crisis counselor for LGBTQ people; and in my C Block, I share…

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Our theme this show is the intersection between the media and Idealism. I speak about Rachel Maddow’s rise from morning radio host in rural Massachusetts to MSNBC mega star; the Big Interview is with Chad Larson, KTNF station owner and “optimistic idealist”; and my C Block relates to how my daughter’s idealism and political activism…

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This week is an Ellie’s Talking Head Show—there is no Big Interview. Our theme is the intersection of education and idealism, so we’ll first talk about Jane Elliott, the Riceville, Iowa teacher who wanted to teach her third grade class about discrimination. In 1968, just after Dr. King’s death, she imagined and created the “Blue…

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Block A commemorates the 49th anniversary of the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival and the idealist—Max Yasgur—who made it possible; The Big Interview is with Emily Hunt Turner, an activist-idealist, who founded Four Square, an initiative to give formerly incarcerated humans a second chance; Block C: The challenges of getting out my message about the…

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This week’s theme is the intersection of idealism and religion. Block A: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Protestant minister who resisted the rise of Hitler and Nazism and paid for that with his life; Block B, The Big Interview: Zen Buddhist teacher Bussho Lahn, about the similarities between Idealism and Buddhism—both require an awakened heart; Block…

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This show’s theme is politics—how it sometimes works with idealism but sometimes not. Block A: Minnesota’s own Paul Wellstone and how he came to fight for those who lack voices; The Big Interview: Richard Painter, candidate for U.S. Senate, and what fueled his need to speak up against greed; Block C: Why I don’t enter…

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Our theme is “standing up for those who lack voices.” Block A: Ralph Lazo, a Latino teenager who, as a show of support for his Japanese friends, voluntarily interned himself at the Manzanar interment camp during WWII after the U.S. gov’t dislocated 100K persons of Japanese ancestry. Block B: an interview with Jenny Schulz, founder…

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First expanded length show! Block A: Jerome Smith, a Freedom Rider who spoke truth to power when he was part of an informal meeting between Robert F. Kennedy; Block B: An interview with Stephanie Glaros of Humans of Minneapolis; Block C: My desire to do more to help make the world a better place and…

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Re-airing of the Montgomery Ala live show from 2/5/18.

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Block A: How each of us has some degree of idealism as part of how we approach the world; Block B: My first real shot at being an idealist—getting hired to found a legal access nonprofit.

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Block A: Leonard Riggio, the founder of Barnes & Noble and father of mass book retailing. Riggio understood that paperback books represented a way to allow middle class people to assemble libraries; he also subscribes to the theory that a single book can change one’s life; Block B: My experience in encountering people who are…

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Block A: James Meredith, the first African American to attend Ole Miss, the University of Mississippi, and his persistence; Block B: My persistence in learning how to “write like a human” (as opposed to writing as a lawyer) and writing/launching my book, Getting to Ellen: A Memoir about Love, Honesty and Gender Change (2013).

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Block A: Jackie Robinson, the all-American hero who broke the color barrier in professional baseball; Block B: My own experiences in encountering racism.

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Block A: My first attempt to do good in the world by establishing a nonprofit in Cedar Rapids—and how I failed; Block B: Remembering that on this Memorial Day, we all need to do our best to reclaim America’s authenticity and values.

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Block A: Zora Neale Hurston, a writer who’s grandparents on both sides were slaves; Zora wrote about living as a black person in the first half of the 20th century. She interviewed and wrote about Cudjo Lewis, the then last person living who had been brought to America as a slave; Block B: My recent…

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Block A: Dr. Megan Coffee, an under-the-radar idealist who has dedicated her life to improving medical conditions in Haiti; Block B: How I’ve heard that my message about human inclusivity isn’t always received well.

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Block A: The work of Harry and Bertha Holt, who founded the first international adoption agency following the Korean war; Block B: My own story as an adoptive parent to two Korean-born girls and my gratitude for the work undertaken by the Holts.

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Block A: Johan Van Hulst and others saved 500-1000 Jewish children and babies from Nazi concentration camps and certain death; he believed that the risk to his own life was worth it; Block B: How my human inclusivity trainings have sparked compassion from others.

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Block A: Commemorating the life of Linda Brown, the plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court Decision, Brown v. Board of Education; Block B: The price of being an idealist.

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Block A: Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer and contemporary idealist whose advocacy has saved 100+ from death row and who’s the architect of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama; Block B: Ellie’s audience-participatory “Identity Game” where people want to be known for being “compassionate.”

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Block A: Christopher “Tripp” Zanetis, who could have been our “first gay President” and the best that America had to offer; Block B: Ellie’s experience of speaking/training in “the bubble” of the Twin Cities compared to the greater Midwest re: being a transgender person.

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Block A: Marsha P. Johnson, a founder of the modern transgender human movement and a participant in the Stonewall Riots; Block B: Living as a transgender person in the Trump/Pence America and believing in the other, far larger more welcoming and accepting America.

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Block A: Viola Desmond, “Canada’s Rosa Parks”; Block B: Ellie as an advocate for women and on the value to mentoring to girls and young women via Big Sisters.

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Block A: Ami Dar, founder of Idealist.com; Block B: How a human connection is incredibly important to spur and inspire idealism.

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Block A: Parkland Fla. high school students leading our “leaders” on changing the gun rights conversation; Block B: Ellie as a whistleblower in college.

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Block A: Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center; Block B: Ellie’s unexpected acceptance by Mississippians during her South road trip.

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Block A: Harvey Milk, LGBTQ idealist who shook the world; Block B: Ellie’s experience with how a Talking Circle empowered humans and revealed “organizational PTSD.”

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Ellie Live from Montgomery, Alabama sharing about local civil rights history; how Court Square in Montgomery represents the worst and the best of America.

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Block A: The “Tougaloo 9” who sought to desegregate a white Library in 1961; Block B: Ellie’s upcoming Speaking and Listening Road Trip through the South.

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Block A: Emmanuel Mehsah, an immigrant hero who died saving others at a time when President Trump maligned those from “*hole countries”; Block B: Ellie’s experience meeting a true inclusionist in Baltimore.

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Block A: Jahkil Jackson, a 10-year-old boy who created blessing bags for the homeless; Block B: Meeting another idealist (Julie the Librarian) through Fate.

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About me and how I became and Idealist/Morris Dees Story

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