KFAI's MinneCulture Presents

Art and Repair on Lake Street  by Sheila Regan ~  The empty lot where the former Roberts Shoes Building once stood has become a lively art space connected to the community around Lake Street. KFAI's Sheila Regan talked with artists involved with the Lake Street Truth Collective about how the empty lot has become a vibrant new center of artmaking and truth-telling. Wordless and Riveting, “felt / not said” by Mankwe Ndosi and Body Memori Comes From the Body  by Sheila Regan ~  Mankwe Ndosi & Body MemOri’s riveting lyric-less album, " felt/not said ," features Ndosi using her voice as a wildly versatile instrument. Created in collaboration with Cellist Tomeka Reid, Contrabasso player Silvia Bolognesi, and percussionist Davu Seru, with mixing by Greg Schutte, the album explores the notion of healing through sonic sounds and rhythms. Ndosi, spoke to Sheila Regan about the origins of her technique, how the album came together, and what it means to be an artist in th...

Dogs + Skis = Skijoring   by Ryan Dawes ~ Cross-country skiing and dog sled racing are among Minnesota's more popular winter sports. But what if you combined the two? KFAI’s Ryan Dawes reports on an outdoor activity called " skijoring ." A Violinist Grapples with Death   by Ryan Dawes ~ Near the end of his life, Franz Schubert composed "Death and the Maiden." Two centuries later, violinist  Patricia Kopatchinskaja  grappled with the dark subject as she and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra brought the piece to life for new audiences.  Their recording  won a Grammy award.  Washboard For The Modern Folk   by Ryan Dawes  ~ Minneapolis percussionist Mikkel Beckman doesn't want the spotlight. He'd rather settle into the groove of his bandmates . He's a washboard percussionist who stretches the boundaries of his instrument beyond the hills and hollers of American folk music. Unfamous Rock Manager Tells All   by Ryan Dawes  ~ Owen Husney i...

I Am All Day and Night by Philip Coulter ~  This month, we will be airing a three-part series examining the  legacy  of iconoclast  Frank Zappa . The extraordinary musician was born on December 21, 1940 in Baltimore, Maryland. In December of 1993, he died just shortly before his 53rd birthday.  Frank Zappa  incorporated many genres in his sound and left an  indelible mark  on the American music scene. He embraced everything from rhythm and blues, to do-wop, jazz, and classical. He made popular music that was challenging alongside serious music that was easy to listen to. The series written, narrated, and produced by Philip Coulter explores Zappa as a composer, through the memories of some of the people who knew him best: his family, his friends, and the musicians who worked with him. You’ll hear from Zappa’s wife, Gail Zappa,  Ruth Underwood , the percussionist who first heard him at a famous concert at the Garrick Theatre in 1967; ...

National Book Award-winning poet and translator, Robert Bly from New Letters on the Air ~ Minnesotan Robert Bly , the poet, translator, and cultural commentator has died . We’re celebrating Minnesota's first poet laureate with an hour of the author reading his work. Our main feature is an episode of New Letters on the Air which was recorded a decade ago at Rockhurst University’s Midwest Poets Series . Bly was there with world- renowned  sitarist David Whetstone in October of 2011 and reading from his latest collection of poems, Talking Into the Ear of a Donkey . He also treated the audience to selections from My Sentence Was a Thousand Years of Joy: Poems -- his uniquely American adaptation of the Mideastern ghazal form. Since 1977, New Letters on the Air has produced a weekly half-hour literary radio program from Kansas City, Missouri. We'll also hear a number of recitations and recordings of Bly in the studio over the years with Whetstone and top-tier tabla player ...

We Don't Talk Like That: 'Fargo' and the Midwest Psyche  by 2 Below Zero ~ In 2016, Todd Melby made an audio documentary about the 1996 movie 'Fargo'. His research started him down a rabbit hole which would eventually lead to the publication of his  fantastic  new book  A Lot Can Happen In the Middle of Nowhere: The Untold Story of the Making of Fargo .  W e're going to listen back to that original doc and remember what all the fuss was about. Initially, 'Fargo' stirred widespread curiosity about snowy winters,  funny accents , and bloody mayhem on the frozen tundra. It also won two Oscars and inspired a popular  television series . But how well did it actually capture and reflect the region? Producers  Diane Richard and Todd Melby  unravel the mystery behind the parkas, prowlers, and wood chippers in interviews with actors  William H. Macy , John Carroll Lynch, Stephen Park, Tony Denman,  dialect coach   Liz Himelstein , women...

Miss C.H. Lippincott: Seedswoman of Minneapolis   by Britt Aamodt ~  In 1886, no one expected much from Carrie H. Lippincott . She was a single woman in desperate need of money. Then she launched what would become one of the most successful seed businesses of the era. In fact, she became so successful that two seemingly similar rivals popped up in her own backyard. KFAI's Britt Aamodt tells the story of this pioneering, entrepreneuring seedswoman of Minneapolis. Add Toni Stone to the Roster of Minnesota Baseball Legends  by Mike Moen ~  This fall marks the 30th anniversary of one of Minnesota’s most celebrated baseball moments: the Twins ’ 1991 World Series championship . But this year, there was another milestone tied to the region’s baseball legacy. As KFAI’s  Mike Moen  reports, it involves a player who broke barriers in more ways than one. Can You Dig It? Shaft Turns 50  by  Todd Melby  ~  Before Shaft, badass movie dete...