Dealing with climate change can feel overwhelming. Efforts to address it can feel futile. But climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe insists all is not lost. In this week’s conversation about big books and bold ideas, MPR News host Kerri Miller talks with Hayhoe about her new book, “Saving Us: A Climate Scientist&#39;s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World.” Hayhoe argues that collective action is still possible when it comes to climate change, and she offers practical and thoughtful ideas on how to pull the debate from the quagmire of politics and division. Guest: Katharine Hayhoe is a climate scientist and the chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS.

MPR News with Kerri Miller

Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe says all is not lost

Host Kerri Miller’s second Talking Volumes event of the season took place on Thursday, Sept. 30, with Kate DiCamillo, whose latest book is “The Beatryce Prophecy.”

Talking Volumes: Kate DiCamillo on 'The Beatryce Prophecy'

In his new novel, award-winning author Richard Powers probes an essential question: How can we tell our children the truth about this beautiful, imperiled planet? Called an “ecological parable,” Powers’ latest book, “Bewilderment,” tells the story of a widowed astrobiologist as he struggles to raise his precocious son alone, in the midst of our all-too-real climate crisis. “We really are in need of a change in cultural consciousness,” Powers told MPR News host Kerri Miller. “Or we need a new way of thinking about ourselves, on the Earth. Not as something separate from the nonhuman, but as an integrated neighbor, situated in a real place, not one that we&#39;re trying to master and dominate.”   Guest: Richard Powers is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist. His latest book is “Bewilderment.” Use the audio player above to listen to their conversation. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts , or RSS.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Powers discusses his new novel 'Bewilderment'

Losing a parent at a young age shapes a person. In her debut memoir, “Seeing Ghosts,” Kat Chow pours her grief onto the page and examines how the loss of her mother when she was only 13 both marked her and made her into who she is today. She also looks back at past generations of her family to examine how their journey from China and Hong Kong to Cuba and America both marked and made them. Her book asks what it means to reclaim and tell your family story. Is it a form of exorcism? Or is it a way to hold on to those we loved and lost? Listen to Kerri Miller’s fascinating conversation about big books and bold ideas, as she talks with Chow about her new book and family identity.

Kat Chow chronicles her loss to help us navigate our own

Host Kerri Miller kicks off the fall season of Talking Volumes with a conversation with novelist Lauren Groff, whose latest book is “Matrix.”

Talking Volumes: Lauren Groff on 'Matrix'

When she was still in training, Dr. Leana Wen led a student organization whose motto was, “It takes more than medical school to make a physician.” It also takes more than “M.D.” after your name to be the kind of courageous, unflagging, ethical public health leader that this country needs. Dr. Wen’s memoir, "Lifelines: A Doctor&#39;s Journey in the Fight for Public Health,” shows why. She has lived the advice from a mentor and close friend: “Turn your pain into passion, your passion into purpose.” Dr. Wen joined host Kerri Miller for a conversation about her memoir and how her personal story has shaped the public health leader she has become. Guest: Dr. Leana Wen is an emergency room doctor and professor of public health at George Washington University and a former health commissioner for the city of Baltimore. 

Dr. Leana Wen reflects on her memoir and the importance of public health

On Friday morning, we talked books — and we received plenty of your recommendations. 

Summer reading with Minnesota’s beloved booksellers

As the delta variant surged last month, more Americans got vaccinated against COVID-19. But one in four Minnesota adults is still unvaccinated against the virus, and their reasons for turning down the shots are varied and personal. Guest host Catharine Richert talked with a family doctor and a family therapist about what’s behind vaccine hesitancy and how to have conversations with people who are vaccine hesitant. She also spoke with a community organizer about the reasons why he hasn’t gotten a vaccine shot. Guests: Dr. Eduardo Medina is a family physician at HealthPartners Park Nicollet Clinic in Minneapolis. Bill Doherty is a family therapist and professor of family social science at the University of Minnesota. He’s co-founder of Braver Angels, an organization that brings together reds and blues to try to depolarize America.  Tommy McBrayer Jr. is a community organizer in south Minneapolis and vaccine hesitant. Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Reaching out to people who are unvaccinated for COVID

During the pandemic, Minnesota’s theater companies lived their industry’s credo: The show must go on. Some worked outdoors, others offered livestreams and virtual performances and some went deep with pandemic-specific programming.  Now that Broadway has reopened and many local venues are returning with masks and social distancing, theater companies are applying what they learned during the quarantine to their futures. Guest host Euan Kerr checked in with Minnesota theater directors on life during the pandemic and returning to the stage in all its forms. Guests: Joseph Haj is the artistic director of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis Kevin West is general manager, artistic associate and director of the Capri After School Theater in Minneapolis Lily Tung Crystal is the artistic director of Theater Mu in St. Paul Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Exploring the future of Minnesota’s live theater scene

As a Black girl adopted by Scottish communists, growing up in Glasgow in the 1970s, poet Jackie Kay developed a passion for Bessie Smith. Her father introduced her to the blues, and Bessie Smith was the wild spirit who helped her find her true self. She tells the story in her new book, “Bessie Smith, A Poet’s Biography of a Blues Legend.” Writer Jason Mott grew up Black in the American south. When he went on book tour for “The Returned,” it was so odd and hilarious that he wrote about it for his next novel. But when the news filled up with the chaos and violence of Black men being killed by the police, he changed that story. His new book, “Hell of a Book,” is part comedy, part tragedy, all truth about America. Both authors joined guest host Euan Kerr to talk about their new work, reading, writing and keeping on. Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. 

Bessie Smith and 'Hell of a Book'

It has been a challenging year and a half for Gov. Tim Walz. He joined host Mike Mulcahy to talk about governing during a pandemic, social upheaval and climate change. Plus, in the second half of the hour: fires and drought. What’s the current situation with the Greenwood Fire and other Minnesota wildfires, and how might things change this weekend? MPR News reporters Dan Gunderson and Dan Kraker give an update on the state of Minnesota’s landscape. Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Gov. Walz joins MPR News to reflect on governing through pandemic

Electric cars are still rare in Minnesota — representing less than one percent of all cars sold each year. But we’ll be seeing more of them soon. Gov. Tim Walz signed Minnesota rules that will force manufacturers to increase the number of electric cars for sale in the state and President Joe Biden has signed an executive order that calls for half of all passenger vehicles sold in 2030 to have zero emissions.  The push for electric vehicles is designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions and address global warming.  MPR guest host Mike Mulcahy talks about what this means for consumers with Rolf Nordstrom, president and CEO of the Great Plains Institute; Lisa Thurstin, coordinator for the Minnesota Clean Cities coalition, which is based out of the American Lung Association; and Scott Lambert, president of the Minnesota Auto Dealers Association. Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Electric cars are revving up in Minnesota

According to the Uniform Crime Report released last month by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the number of reported violent crimes in Minnesota last year went up by 17 percent over the previous year. Much of those numbers are driven by rising crime in larger cities. But some suburban communities are also experiencing upticks in certain kinds of crime. Recently the police chiefs of Crystal, Maple Grove, Plymouth, and New Hope told FOX-9 TV that this year, they’re seeing a level of violence they haven’t seen before.  Guest host Brandt Williams talked with two criminologists and a public policy expert about how crime trends are impacting Minnesota&#39;s smaller towns and communities. Guests: Ralph Weisheit is a distinguished professor of criminal justice at Illinois State University Walter DeKeseredy is director of the Research Center on Violence and a professor of sociology at West Virginia University Julie Tesch is president & CEO of the Center for Rural Policy & Development Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Violent crime has risen in cities across the nation. What about rural areas?

What is your summer song for 2021? What does it mean to you? Every summer has a song that defines it — the song that seems inescapable, that’s always playing in the background of your summer social gatherings, that perfectly sums up your mood. Guest host Brandt Williams talked with two music journalists about what makes the perfect summer song and their picks for 2021’s song of the summer. And we heard from listeners about their personal songs of the summer. Guests: Jim McGuinn is the program director for The Current  Charlie Harding is a songwriter and host of the Vulture podcast Switched on Pop  Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

What’s your song of the summer?

Earlier this month, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported that “a hotter future is essentially locked in.” The news of the changing climate and its effects can have psychological impacts, which experts call “climate anxiety.”  According to recent studies, Millennials and members of Generation Z think and worry more about climate change than people in older generations. Brandt Williams talks to a professor of psychology who focuses on how climate change affects our mental health, and to two young people who are working towards a better outcome for the planet.  Guests: Susan Clayton is a professor of psychology at the College of Wooster. She studies the psychological impact of climate change.  Niki Narasimhan is a 17-year-old incoming senior at Wayzata High School and high school leader with Youth Environmental Activists Minnesota.  Sophia Curran-Moore is a 17-year-old incoming senior at St Louis Park High School and a high school leader with Youth Environmental Activists Minnesota.  Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS. 

How the climate crisis affects our mental health

Conversations on news and culture with Kerri Miller. Weekdays from MPR News.

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MPR News with Kerri Miller

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