KFAI's MinneCulture Presents

That's right, you angelheaded hipsters who listen to hydrogen jukeboxes, we're airing "The Song of Hiawatha!" Join us this Thanksgiving Eve as we listen to excerpts from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1855 epic poem recorded by Harry Fleetwood in 1956. Though the poem is based partly on both Ojibwe and Scandinavian myth s and stories, Longfellow borrowed the name Hiawatha from an already legendary Iroquois hero. A scathing review by a jerk at the New York Times said THIS about the poem: "The song of Hiawatha is e ntitled to commendation" for "embalming pleasantly enough the monstrous traditions of an uninteresting, and, one may almost s ay, a justly exterminated race." However, "As a poem, it deserves no place" because there "is no romance about the Indian." He complains that Hiawatha's deeds of magical strength pall by comparison to the feats of Hercules and even to those of "Finn Mac Cool, that big stupi...

The Dead Can’t Do You Nothin’ by Katie Mingle Katie goes on a quest to find ghosts in a "pauper's graveyard" in New Orleans. Along the way, she meets a little boy who has lost his father, visits with some gravediggers who don't believe in ghosts, and of course learns some haunting lessons about life and death throughout her journey. Showman's Rest by Shannon Heffernan Forest Park is the last subway station on the Chicago's Blue Line. Famous for its multitude of graveyards, the suburb is quite literally the final stop for many Chicagoans. In a place with more dead residents than living ones, one particular grave site catches visitor's attention: Showman's Res t , a graveyard for circus performers from around the world. The story of the graveyard begins with a tragic circus train wreck in 1918. The Sisters Fox from The Memory Palace On March 31, 1848 two sisters, Katherine and Margaret Fox, ages 11 and 13, claimed they heard inexplicable r...

That's right, you angelheaded hipsters who listen to hydrogen jukeboxes, we're airing "Howl," the great Allen Ginsberg poem - in full.

Ghost Hunter Walk-through by Jake Warga We tag along with Jake and his Amateur Ghost Hunting group to an interview with some potential clients. Their goal is to determine if it’s worth doing an actual, involved investigation of the house. The house was built in 1919, they’ve been there 2 years. Claire has experienced numerous events, initially frightening her. She believes in ghosts. Rick does not - but confesses he doesn't have an explanation. All events happen at night. This is a very normal scenario: women are more likely than men to believe in ghosts ...and everything seems to happen at night. Guardian of the Murder House by Michael Paul Mason A retelling of a terrible crime, but also a profile of a man whose life is intimately affected by his ownership of a home which is ranked as one of the 50 most paranormal sites in America. In the small town of Villisca, Iowa on June 10, 1912, an entire family and their two overnight guests were brutally murdered with an axe. The crim...

Paris-based reporter Sarah Elzas reports on same-sex couples who want to have children. They face many hurdles, more than one might imagine.

If you could understand one thing about how the world works, what would it be? Three radio producers (Ari Daniel Shapiro, Emily Corwin and Pien Huang) asked budding school-age scientists what they want to know -- and then we took those questions to some of the brightest scientists in Cambridge. After taking a stab at the questions, we asked the scientists what big unanswered questions they most wanted to understand, and took those sometimes cosmic and often existential questions back to the kids, for answers. The program was produced in conjunction with the Cambridge Science Festival , and aired earlier this year on a public radio station in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo by Juhan Sonin)

We're handing the mic over to some kids so they can share their thoughts on the coming school year. Back To School by Eve Abrams Those who starting junior high school share their excitements and anxieties. Home School to High School from Teenage Diaries A turbulent year in the life of Nick, a 15-year old who hates school but must somehow learn to make friends.