KFAI's MinneCulture Presents

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...

Stay Young, Go Dancing  from MinneCulture Is there any debate about the most legendary venue in Minnesota history? Well, some say it’s definitely not First Avenue, or even that it is anywhere near the Twin Cities. Deep in the middle of the corn and soybean fields of rural Sibley County, behind a chain link fence topped with barbed-wire, there sits a massive  building  complex that was once considered to be the  polka  capital of the world: The  Gibbon Ballroom . Tonight, in this award-winning documentary, we present the colorful history of this infamous Midwest venue, as told through the voices of the musicians, dancers, and local residents who loved it. Produced for  KFAI  by  James Napoli  and edited by Melissa Olson.   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 Ball...

Palmer's Patio Preview from Live from Minnesota ~ This Saturday at Palmer’s Bar , KFAI’s “Live from Minnesota” will present an eclectic lineup of Twin Cities musicians featuring Congolese Soukous and Rumba guitarist Siama , SotaRican rapper and Boricua singer Maria Isa , and the punky sludge-pop trio Wannabianca . All sets will be recorded for later broadcast on both KFAI and the St. Paul Neighborhood Network . To prepare for the show, we're going to preview the artists on the bill. We'll be airing live Siama performances from the programs Live from Studio A in Duluth and The Roadhouse from WTIP - North Shore Community Radio in Grand Marais. You'll also hear stories from MinneCulture’s Ryan Dawes and a Minnesota Music Profile from Jazz 88 ’s Phil Nusbaum. Lastly, we'll close with a previous "Live from Minnesota" Marisa Isa session and recent tracks from both her and  Wannabianca 's latest EPs. EVENT INFO: Taping of "Live from Minnesota" a...

Your Brain on Stories  from Battery Radio ~ From infancy to old age, nursery rhymes to novels, finger puppets to stage and screen, our lives are immersed in stories . Whether it's Hamlet or Han Solo, a story casts an irresistible spell over all of us. Why? Traditionally, scholars of literature find the answer in story structure, characters, and plot lines. But recently, storytelling has come under the gaze of anthropologists , cognitive scientists, and evolutionary psychologists. They seem to believe the answer is found in our evolution . These two installments of Your Brain on Stories examine how both fiction and non-fiction storytelling may have given early humans a very critical evolutionary advantage.

Old School from Hearing Voices ~ A back to school special and reminder of what school USED to sound like. Featuring work from producers Hillary Frank , Richard Paul, Katie Davis, and others about the joys, fears, boredom, and excitement of a regular school day from yesteryear. We'll also hear a from commencement speech Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich . Plus poetry from Taylor Mali, Meryn Cadell , Jelani, alongside some great  music  --  it's educational!

A Living History of the Boundary Waters by Joe Friedrichs ~  In the fall of 2020, a group of Minnesota paddlers set out to retrace the steps of a journey made by wilderness pioneer and conservation champion Arthur Carhart . His path was made a century ago and through what we now call the  Boundary Waters Canoe Area  Wilderness. In this half-hour special, producer Joe Friedrichs takes us along on the trip and examines what the term ‘wilderness’ really means in relation to the BWCA. Bde Maka Ska: It's Name Tells Us A Story by Kiin Aden ~ A year after the name Bde Maka Ska was restored as the official name of a popular lake in Minneapolis, youth producer Kiin Aden set out to know more about the meaning of the lake’s name in the Dakota language. Along her journey, she began to wonder if K-12 students in Minnesota might also benefit from learning Indigenous languages in their classrooms. BYO Boat at Float-In Theater  by  Paul Brohaugh  ~  As...

Celebrating Blue from Paul Ingles ~ A one-hour in-depth examination of one of the most heralded albums of all time. We'll learn from musicians, fans, and music critics about what makes Joni Mitchell's  Blue  so compelling and how it has left a distinctive fingerprint on rock and roll history. The landmark record was rated #30 Rolling Stone 's Top 500 Albums of All-Time; the highest rank by any female musician in the 2003 list. The magazine also called her "one of rock's most daring and uncompromising innovators." Along with her confessional lyrics, innovative open guitar tunings, and jazz-inflected vocals, Mitchell put the experience of being a woman on revolutionary display. In this special, we also hear lots from Mitchell herself in both archival interviews as well as her music. Released on June 22nd, 1971, this month marks the 50th anniversary of the album.

Dylan Part Four: Oh Mercy from Joyride Media ~ Bob Dylan has always been a unique American voice, and some believe that's most evident in the music he's made since the late 1980's. Returning to his roots in folk and blues, Dylan has fine-tuned American music with the mind of a poet and the bravado of a rock and roller . In this hour, we'll hear the maturity and grace of Dylan's artistic ideas covering the years from 1989 to 2007. The special is hosted by Patti Smith and features interviews with David Kemper, John Cohen, David Gans , Carolyn Wonderland, Josh Ritter, Ian MacLagen , John Hiatt, and many more.

Dylan Part Three: Shelter from the Storm  from Joyride Media ~ In the 1970s and 80s, Bob Dylan continued to expand his artistic world. His songs ran the gamut, from very personal stories to Homeric epics and everything in-between. By the late 70s, Dylan became a born-again Christian, and for several years he sang only religious material. By the late 80s, Dylan had supported Live Aid, Farm Aid, and joined the Traveling Wilburys . In this hour, we'll hear highlights from this period of dizzying artistic and personal growth. The special is hosted by  Patti Smith  and features interviews with Bill Flanagan, Roger McGuinn , David Mansfield, Ray Benson, Ian McLagan , and more.

Dylan Part Two: Like a Rolling Stone  from Joyride Media ~ With the mantle of folk protest singer off his shoulders, Bob Dylan launched into a flurry of creativity in the mid-1960's. His sound exploded with electric instruments and a blend of folk, rock, blues, and gospel influences. By the late 60's, Dylan was in Nashville singing country music like that which he had grown up on. His lyrics still commented on the world, but through a wider lens that mixed personal reflection with mystical and surreal images. In this hour, we'll hear how Dylan found his own unique voice , and how that changed rock and roll for a long time to come... if not forever.

Dylan Part One: Blowin' in the Wind from Joyride Media ~ Just a few years after his move to New York City in 1961, Minnesotan Robert Zimmerman had become Bob Dylan and was now being lauded as the "voice of a generation." The young troubadour wasn't so interested in being that, but Dylan's meteoric rise to fame was no fluke. In his songs, Dylan captured the social consciousness of the time and took it beyond as he rejected the role of protest singer. In this hour, we'll hear about Dylan's early years as he moved from folk singer-songwriter to rock and roll star. The special is hosted by Patti Smith and features interviews with George Wein, John Hammond, Suze Rotolo , Sean Wilentz, Greil Marcus, Anthony DeCurtis, and more.

The Peril of Spring Snow in Minnesota by Mike Moen ~  This spring marks the 80th anniversary of the 1941 blizzard that killed dozens of people in Minnesota and North Dakota. The region has a reputation for extreme winters , but a late season storm could still catch people off-guard. For Indigenous people, timing for such events had consequences as they transitioned to warmer months. Mike Moen reports on the history behind their winter survival techniques. Art in Motion Brings Artwork, Bands, and Biking to the Lake Wobegon Trail by Colleen Cowie ~  The Lake Wobegon Trail is a 10-foot wide strip of pavement that guides bicyclists through Central Minnesota’s trees, lakes, and fields of cows. Now, there’s a new destination along the trail: Art in Motion , an art gallery and café in the small town of Holdingford. Railroads & Fire by Laurie Allmann ~  Since the first rail line was completed in Minnesota in 1862, the railroad has had a storied existence in t...

Poetry, Minnesotan Style  from MinneCulture ~ Celebrate  National Poetry Month  with the crew of MinneCulture producers! This episode will feature some of KFAI's best stories about Minnesotan poets like  Danez Smith ,  Linda LeGarde Grover ,  Sun Yung Shin ,  David Mura , and  Anthony Ceballos . We'll also hear profiles of Twin Cities spoken-word-scene giants  Adina Burke  and  Danny Klecko , plus  Nicholle Ramsey , who has redefined the Winona poetry scene. Poet song-writers  Dessa  and  Brian Laidlaw  will get to have their say too. This episode features stories from  Emily Bright ,  Britta Greene ,  Britt Aamodt ,  Jared Goyette ,  Diane Richard ,  Sylvia Thomas , and sound artist  Dixie Treichel .

Listening to the Arctic from the National Science Foundation ~ When you hear statistics that convey oceans are warming and glaciers are melting, do you ever wonder where those numbers come from? Well, it's from scientists measuring precisely what exactly is happening in the Arctic and what that could mean for all of us. In this program from the National Science Foundation and producer  Richard Paul , we go to the top of the world to meet scientists who are trekking over glaciers, diving into oceans, and engineers building brand new tools to figure out what’s going on up there and how it impacts our lives down here. They are all helping one another to discover the problems and cooperating to find solutions.

Taylor Seaberg and the Art of the Revolution by Sheila Regan ~ Living just blocks away from where George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis Police, musician Taylor Seaberg wanted to enact change and turn strife into music and healing. Seaberg and fellow artists set out to create a safe outlet which could approximate community during the pandemic. So, they decided to perform a revolutionary, outdoor, socially-distant concert at the George Floyd memorial site. KFAI's Sheila Regan talked with Seaberg about the concert and a new single which features Kory LaQuess. Live from Minnesota: Taylor Seaberg from MinneCulture ~ Minneapolis jazz-punk-hip-hop musician Taylor Seaberg recruited Portuguese singer and rapper Beatriz Correia Lima , Blvck Madonna bassist Roderick Glasper , and former Lizzo drummer Glory Yard for this installment of KFAI's MinneCulture's “Live from Minnesota.” Responsibly staged at St. Paul Neighborhood Network 's on October 24th, 2020 without a live studi...

Crossing Borders from Hearing Voices ~ Crossing Borders, a Peabody award-winning documentary , is a snapshot of America's immigration debate. It's shocking how little has changed in the 15 years since it was first produced; between its interviews of anxious border-bound immigrants and weary agents of  the Border Patrol, it could have been recorded yesterday . Its vivid audio mural shows how and perhaps why thousands try to immigrate to the United States illegally as well as what their harrowing and hazardous desert journeys can entail. Though the courage and hope we see in the migrants can be inspiring, we also learn that the fates which can befall them are equally horrifying . The great Scott Carrier helps to create a sonic portrait that makes both a desert and a political issue live and breathe.

Tapestry Turns Fifty from Joyride Media ~ Carole King's 1971 masterpiece celebrated its half-century anniversary on February 10th, 2021. All these decades later, it’s easy to take Tapestry for granted. For many, it has just always seemed to be there. But last year Rolling Stone labeled it as the 25th Greatest Album of All Time and, upon its initial release, it was the Number One record in the country for an astonishing 15 weeks straight. In this music-heavy one-hour special, we'll hear insightful interviews with King herself, producer Lou Adler, her friend Graham Nash, and journalist David Wild of Rolling Stone. Their comments touch on nearly every aspect of the album's production, its impact on the music industry, Carole King's songwriting process, and how her career developed from the Brill Building to Tapestry . This documentary was produced by the team of Paul Chuffo and Joshua Jackson at Joyride Media and is hosted by Rita Houston .

Sonic Flavor: The Lyricism of D Mills by Dixie Treichel  ~ A sonic portrait of Minneapolis rapper Diane Miller aka D Mills who creates thought provoking hip hop work that expresses her authentic self and engages the audience with a fusion of sonic flavors. Thunder Chases Lightning: Vicky Emerson's Music and Mentorship  by Dixie Treichel  ~ Vicky Emerson is a Minneapolis based singer/songwriter/producer of Americana music. She co-founded Front Porch Music Group and mentors women with producing their own albums. Her most recent album is Steady Heart . Time Signatures Explained, Then Deranged by Sheila Regan  ~ These Twin Cities musicians go beyond the metronome in their explorations of odd measures. Using uncommon time signatures or, in some cases, no time signatures at all, their shifting uses of time offer a window into the limitless musical possibilities. KFAI’s Sheila Regan visits the Cedar Cultural Center for this Minnesota music story. Genre Bending Music by...

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 ...

The Invention of Race from the Center for Documentary Studies  ~ Tonight, we trace the development of racial, and racist, ideas, from the ancient world -- when "there was no notion of race," as historian Nell Irvin Painter puts it -- up to the founding of the United States. Our country was fundamentally a nation of and for white people despite the "all men are created equal" language found in the Declaration of Independence. We'll also hear from National Book Award-winning historian Ibram Kendi and the Racial Equity Institute. Host and reporter John Biewen ultimately tells us a storied history of racism and names names: The Portuguese writer who was commissioned in the 1450s by the slave-trading leaders of his country to literally invent blackness and whiteness. The enlightenment scientist who first divided humanity into five "races." The runaway indentured servant in 17th century Virginia whose capture, and sentencing to lifelong servitude, mark...

Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio from Mighty Writers ~ Starting in the 1950s, Black radio stations around the country became the pulse of African-American communities, and served as their megaphone during the Civil Rights and Black Power movements --  at a time when the mainstream media wasn't covering stories from a Black perspective .  "Going Black" examines the legacy of Black radio, with a special focus on the legendary WDAS in Philadelphia. Hosted by Sound of Philadelphia ( TSOP ) music producer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Kenny Gamble . It's the story of great radio personalities, leaders, and music that would have gone undiscovered otherwise. We'll also learn about the many ways the radio medium  landscape has changed in the last half century.

Driving While Black from the Doc Project ~ One evening in 2015, Montrealer Kenrick McRae was pulled over by police. The officer told him his license plate lights weren’t bright enough. He looked into it and, despite the dealership verifying his lights were working just fine, Kenrick installed an additional light. He simply wanted to ensure he would never be given that same reason again for a traffic stop -- he still was. In fact, no matter how scrupulous he is, Kenrick seems to continually and continually get stopped  Montreal police . After being handcuffed and detained during later traffic stop in 2017, Kenrick lodged a formal complaint with Quebec's police ethics committee. He was now determined to prove that what is happening to him is due to nothing other than the color of his skin. This is his personal and even ongoing story of being racial profiled by police -- but it also speaks to much broader issues and larger problems in our society. 

A Fiery Unrest: Why Plymouth Avenue Burned  by Nancy Rosenbaum ~ During the  Long Hot Summer  summer of 1967,  Plymouth Avenue  in North Minneapolis went up in flames. Frustrations about racial discrimination and a lack of opportunity for black Americans were  erupting  on city streets across the country. Here in Minnesota,  those tensions  came to a head between July 19-21 on Plymouth Avenue. It was the commercial heart of a racially and ethnically mixed neighborhood; home to the city's largest concentration of African-American residents as well as many Jewish-owned businesses. For some black Minnesotans, Plymouth Avenue was a brick and mortar reminder of racial inequality that could no longer be silently tolerated. In this hour-long documentary, producer  Nancy Rosenbaum  examines what happened, why, and how people in Minneapolis responded.

Ty Yule Remembers Pi: “The Dyke Bar of Our Dreams  by Sheila Regan ~ Pi Bar infused the Twin Cities with an ecstatic, high-energy jolt of queerness for the year and a half it was open . The bar was established in South Minneapolis in 2007. They catered to lesbians and queer women, but was also open to the entire LGBTQ scene and made its embrace of the transgender community explicit. In his recent memoir, “ Chemically Enhanced Butch ,” former Pi proprietor Ty Yule reflects on Pi’s brief but impactful existence in the Twin Cities. KFAI’s Sheila Regan reports. BYO Boat at Float-In Theater  by  Paul Brohaugh  ~ As COVID Summer 2020 heated up, Minnesotans got creative about socially distant summertime events. Parks and outdoor recreation venues saw a surge in visitors and drive-in theaters are back in style.  MinneCulture ’s Paul Brohaugh took his family to  Silverwood Park  in St. Anthony, just north of Minneapolis, to see their version of a so...

Sharp Imagery and Precise Language: Heid Erdrich's Little Big Bully by Sheila Regan. Heid E. Erdrich's latest volume of poetry, Little Big Bully , is brutal and beautiful. It won the National Poetry Series, and was released just before the 2020 election. A major theme throughout the book of poems is poor behavior, manifested in numerous ways. An Anishinaabe poet and member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe , Erdrich writes of violence and erasure with aching clarity, in one case, comparing the disappearance of bird species with that of Native nations. Erdrich talks to KFAI's Sheila Regan about her latest work and why folks get hoodwinked by bad people. Courtroom Theater by Rob McGinley Myers. There’s been an experiment going on in the Hennepin County Government Center, applying the tools of art to the world of criminal justice. Reporter Rob McGinley Myers went to investigate.  At Studio Payne, Bones and Pine Cones Comprise The Art by Dixie Treichel. Cameren Torgerud ...

Theater Artist Kim Hines Authors Novella for Young Adults by Dixie Treichel. The Young Adult Novella Wingo Fly  revolves around Christy Wingo, a 10 year old Black girl in 1965 Minneapolis, Minnesota. The book which was published in 2020 is filled with humor, mystery and social justice issues. Based in Minneapolis, Kim Hines  has been a theater artist for 50 plus years and this is her first book. Driven by Hope: Paul Deng Kur and the Story of a Lost Boy by Britt Aamodt. As a rideshare driver, Paul Deng Kur had heard hundreds of stories. But this passenger's loss had left the man feeling suicidal. So when they reached the destination, Kur turned off the car and they talked -- for two hours.  Britt Aamodt spoke with Paul Kur, author of " Out of the Impossible: The Hope of the Lost Boy ," about the power of stories. From Aisles to the Art Gallery, Juxtapositions of Opposites by Sheila Regan. Who would have thought 2020 would bring a shortage of toilet paper, flour, and Clor...

A New Territory Of Dance Party by Dixie Treichel. DJ Shannon Blowtorch &  Mpls Adonia have had years of experience working the crowds and pumping up the energy in the room. To keep their love for entertainment alive during Covid-19, they presented "Quarantine Live: Online Dance Party" on Tuesday nights. Delivered with an upbeat, raw energy, it was an interactive event which streamed live and somehow managed to keep homebound booties shaking. Scarce Paper, Extreme Historical Phenomena by Sheila Regan. Polish American artist Piotr Szyhalski turned to drawing during pandemic stay at home orders. Working in his basement, he responded to virus news reports by making incisive drawings that utilize sharply drawn humor to criticize America's response to the coronavirus crisis. Taylor Seaberg and the Art of the Revolution  by Sheila Regan. Living just blocks away from where George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis Police, musician Taylor Seaberg wanted to enact change and tu...