KFAI's MinneCulture Presents

A Brief History of Women in Bars: A Minnesota Story in Three Rounds from MinneCulture One hundred years ago, two major constitutional amendments went into effect. The 18th marked the start of Prohibition and the 19th granted many women the right to vote. It wasn’t a coincidence that these laws went into effect adjacent to one another. The movements were linked in some surprising ways. In this new documentary , Fulbright Fellow, historian, and podcaster Katie Thornton looks at how the state’s temperance movement set the stage for its women’s suffrage movement. But she also looks at how temperance leaders—and, by proxy, many early suffragists—failed to engage many women who weren’t wealthy, White, Anglo-Saxon Protestants. The Minnesota women who didn’t fit that bill empowered themselves in other ways—sometimes through the economic and social opportunities presented by the alcohol industry. The Bootleg Cocktail from MN90 Ah, the good old Prohibition days. Liquor was illegal and everyo

A Toast to the Original Champagne Lady from MinneCulture During the Great Depression, her voice lifted spirits. During the big band era, her beauty radiated from the stage of St. Paul's Prom Ballroom. But Lois Best-Herman will likely be best remembered for her work as  Lawrence Welk 's first "Champagne Lady." Herman died at the age of 98 in October of 2016. KFAI's Britt Aamodt shares this appreciation for the famed singer. For the Kim Loo Sisters, It Was About Jazz from MinneCulture The Kim Loo Sisters were another trio of boogie-woogie singing sisters from Minneapolis. During the thirties and forties they toured Europe, made numerous appearances in Hollywood films, and performed on Broadway. They shared top-billing with names like Frank Sinatra, Jackie Gleason, and Benny Goodman. Yet today, their legacy is largely forgotten. Now, the daughter of one of "The Kimmies" is making a documentary film  aiming to share the sisters' surprising story. KF

Coronavirus Conspiracism   from Open Source It is high season for   conspiracy . We are in an epic battle against coronavirus misinformation and all sorts of people are being blamed for Covid 19: Bill Gates, Globalism, Dr. Fauci, China. Plus, YouTube's endless stream of  propagandistic videos   can have a compelling voice, a high-quality documentary look, lots of added effects, and typically go for a hard sell. Some recognize it as propaganda while others hear galvanizing truth. This week, Open Source's Chris Lydon speaks with   Errol Morris , the documentary filmmaker, about the search for truth in visual media. We'll also hear from Vice's   Anna Merlan   and   Jay Rosen , a Professor of Journalism at NYU.