Ellie 2.0 - Am950 The Progressive Voice Of Minnesota

The theme is idealists who unify rather than divide. We start with Larry Itliong, who organized Filipino farm workers in California’s Central Valley and joined with Cesar Chavez to win grape grower recognition in the mid-1960s; the Big Interview is with Brad Hart, the idealistic and nonpartisan mayor of Cedar Rapids, Iowa whose optimism and…

This week, I highlight John Delaney, a Maryland Congressman who’s running for president; he announced way back in 2017 and has already visited all 99 Iowa counties. I also talk about Marshall Medoff, and amateur scientist-idealist who very well may have discovered a new way to make fuel and plastic substitutes. In Block C, I…

An Ellie’s Talking Head show highlighting Hollywood idealists—Ellen DeGeneres and Tom Hanks. In Block C, I talk about an interaction with a grandmother and her grandson on a Minneapolis street; I found it in me to have compassion and overcome my fear of being panhandled.

This week’s idealist is St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, who’s ushered in a new era of imagination and energy to create a “St. Paul for everyone”; the Big Interview is with Hadeel Abouhasira, a young Richmond VA attorney of Palestinian descent who’s trying to give back; and in Block C, I talk about visiting beautiful…

The idealist for this week is Daniel Ellsberg, who in 1971 leaked the infamous Pentagon Papers as a way of changing the conversation about the Vietnam War, highlighting the government’s failure to be honest with Americans; in the Big Interview, I talk with David Liners, a priest-turned-nonprofit founder, who oversees WISDOM in Wisconsin—a collection of…

This week I focus on the incredible idealism of Colin Kaepernick, a man of principle and humility who is fighting oppression; I also return to the youngest member of Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who even before she takes the oath to serve is working to radically change the status quo. In Block C, I talk about…

Our idealist for this early December show is Eartha Kitt, famous for “Santa Baby,” who worked to help at risk youth and who wasn’t afraid to speak truth to power; for this Ellie’s Talking Head Show we’ll also talk about white journalist Ray Sprigle, who in 1948 posed as a black man while on a…

Our idealist for this week is Belva Davis, the first woman of color to be a new anchor on the West Coast—in the early 1970s; the Big Interview is with Tom Dzik, who has been “giving back” to the community all his life in remarkable ways—as Tom say, “Just do it.” In Block C, I…

Part of our theme this week is about prisons and those who are willing to “see” confined persons as human. Our idealist is the one and only Johnny Cash, whose many prison concerts (all for free) led him to champion prison reform in the early 1970s; the Big Interview is with Tonen O’Connor, a Buddhist…

This week’s idealist is Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, one of the Living Tree Synagogue shooting victims, who rushed to aid the wounded and was killed himself. The Big Interview is with Daryl Davis, a black man who bravely meets with Klu Klux Klan members to form friendships and who’s convinced some to renounce their Klan membership.…

The theme is about idealists who pay a price. Our idealist highlight is about Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who at the 1968 Olympics raised their gloved fists in protest of oppression of black people in the U.S.—both men were banned from further Olympic competitions. The Big Interview is with Fr. Harry Bury, an outspoken…

Our theme this week is “Idealist’s Under the Radar” and I highlight a pharmacologist with the Food & Drug Administration, Frances Oldham Kelsey, who in 1960 resisted drug manufacturer pressure to license thalidomide in the U.S. and in doing so, prevented thousands of American babies being born with birth defects. The Big Interview is with…

It’s an Ellie’s Talking Head Show! Our idealist highlight is of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who unseated a 10-term Democratic in this year’s NY primary. Block B is about racism and trauma—in part, a history lesson about the Tulsa race riot of 1921 and then how a personal health crisis (another form of trauma) can cause one…

This week’s idealist is the Rev. William Barber, II, a 2018 MacArthur Genius Grant recipient for his work in organizing North Carolina marginalized communities into a political force that unseated Pat McCrory as governor; the Big Interview is with 22-year-old Nick Alm, who founded Mossier MN.org to promote LGBTQ entrepreneurs in Africa as a way…

The theme this week is “befriending the untouchables” and in Block A, I talk about two white high school students who befriended the “Little Rock 9”—black students who sought to integrate Central High School in Little Rock in 1957; The Big Interview is with Fr. Harry Hartigan re: his work at MN’s Moose Lake facility…

Ellie’s Talking Head show re: the interplay of hope and idealism. I feature Daryl Davis, a black man whose mission in life has been to convert Klu Klux Klan members from hatred of “Other” to acceptance; Block B is about loss of hope and political hope; in Block C, I share about launching my first…

This week’s theme is “Thinking Big.” Block A highlights Jose Antonio Vargas, a young idealist, journalist, author and documentary director who is championing the rights of undocumented immigrants; The Big Interview is with Mark Goulston, a MD-neuroscientist who is trying to change the world by making us better listeners; and in Block C, I talk…

Our theme is “Changing the World.” Block A is a discussion of “Beware (of) Rich People Who Say They Want to Change the World,” (www.nytimes.com/2018/08/24/opinio…-fake-change.html) and the concept of “Fake Change”; the Big Interview is with a real idealist—Cathy Heying of the Lift Garage; and in C Block, I talk about wrestling with the decision…

This week’s theme is how idealism fuels philanthropy. My A Block is about the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—the largest in the world; the Big Interview is with Vanessa Tennyson, a transgender woman who transitioned from high level executive to philanthropist/entrepreneur/3:00 a.m. telephone crisis counselor for LGBTQ people; and in my C Block, I share…

Our theme this show is the intersection between the media and Idealism. I speak about Rachel Maddow’s rise from morning radio host in rural Massachusetts to MSNBC mega star; the Big Interview is with Chad Larson, KTNF station owner and “optimistic idealist”; and my C Block relates to how my daughter’s idealism and political activism…