MPR News with Angela Davis

Depression, anxiety and other mental health issues are the most common complications during and after pregnancy, yet 75 percent of postpartum problems go untreated. The consequences can be devastating. Suicide and overdoses are leading causes of maternal death in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first-ever pill specifically aimed at postpartum depression, but most health plans don’t cover the medication. This special program looks at the under-recognized public health issue of postpartum depression and the challenge of treatment. We’ll hear first-hand from people who have experienced it. Join Call to Mind host Kimberly Adams for Birth & Depression: The Unspoken Conversation a one-hour broadcast special.

Schizophrenia affects about 24 million people worldwide. It can be a disruptive illness, making it difficult to find a meaningful job, attend school or manage relationships. People with schizophrenia require lifelong treatment, but there is hope. A growing body of research shows that with new interventions it’s possible to live well with the illness. This program shares stories about schizophrenia that don’t make the headlines. We’ll hear from people living with this illness and from leading experts about new treatments that make it possible to manage. Join Call to Mind host Kimberly Adams for Schizophrenia: Finding Hope on a Hard Road, a one-hour broadcast special.

Nearly half of incarcerated Americans have a history of mental illness — that’s twice the prevalence of mental illness in the adult population of the United States. People with serious mental illnesses encounter law enforcement and the court system for many reasons. This program brings together stories of people who have lived with mental illness while incarcerated. We also meet mental health providers calling for increased mental health care in prisons and jails, and legal experts pioneering new systems. Join Call to Mind host Kimberly Adams for Incarcerated with Mental Illness, a one-hour broadcast special.

Black women and girls experience discrimination, microaggressions and stereotypes every day. Living with daily racism has a profound impact on the mental health, well-being and lives of all those coping with it. This special program explores the unique mental health burdens of Black women and girls in the United States. Through interviews with mental health providers and people sharing their personal stories, we’ll explore the effects of racism and how care systems can shift to better help Black women thrive. Join Call to Mind host Kimberly Adams for The Burden of Being, a one-hour broadcast special.

Homelessness in the United States reached a record high in 2023. On any given night, more than 650,000 people experience homelessness. People living homeless have higher rates of untreated mental illnesses and substance use disorders than the general population. That can make it difficult to find a permanent place to live. This program will take you to the streets of New York City to hear directly from people who have lived homeless about what they needed most. You’ll also hear from experts who say the best mental health care for people living homeless is no-strings-attached housing. Join Call to Mind host Kimberly Adams for The Homelessness Crisis & Mental Health, a one-hour broadcast special.

Journalist Lee Hawkins grew up in Maplewood, Minn., but Alabama has always haunted his family. In a new podcast, Hawkins uncovers his family history, his father’s painful nightmares and the long-lasting impacts of Jim Crow far beyond segregation. What Happened in Alabama? is a long-form limited series podcast about the intergenerational ripple effect of slavery and his efforts to heal. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Hawkins about the podcast, out May 15. And join MPR News for a free event Wednesday, May 22 as Angela Davis and Lee Hawkins explore the topic of intergenerational trauma in the Black community at a North Star Journey Live event: Ending cycles of trauma in Black America. Get your tickets at MPRevents.org.

Listen back to highlights from some of our favorite Wellness Wednesday shows from MPR News with Angela Davis. Find out how much you do and don’t know about your nose, hear the latest research on colon cancer and learn why more people are experiencing loneliness.

Vernon Neal isn’t your classic classical music host. He spent his childhood in Belize where his mom hosted a reggae and soca program at a local radio station. He joined YourClassical MPR in 2022, after running a strength and conditioning gym and immersing himself in the sounds of hip-hop, jazz, pop and metal as a self-taught musician and audio engineer. Now, he’s discovering a passion for classical music alongside his listeners. Last year, he took over as host for the Rhapsody in Black podcast from APM, a weekly, five-minute take on a Black composer, performer or other contributor to the world of classical music, past and present. MPR News host Angela Davis goes behind the scenes with host Vernon Neal to talk about his experience hosting, Black artists and how to make classical music accessible to more people. Guest: Vernon Neal is a national host and producer for YourClassical MPR and host of Rhapsody in Black, a podcast from APM that turns up the voices of Black artists in the world of classical music.

Every Monday here on MPR News with Angela Davis, we talk about money and the economy. And some of our favorite shows are “news you can use” — giving you personal advice for living your best financial life. We revisited some of our favorite shows with personal finance advice. You’ll hear words of wisdom for Gen Z, tips on networking and ideas for saving money for fun and travel.

America’s partisan divides are getting deeper. That means there’s a wider gap between what young progressives and young conservatives think. And that’s playing out in the dating world, where politics have increasingly become a relationship deal-breaker. Eighty-six percent of Americans think it has become harder to date someone from the opposite political party, according to a 2020 poll from market research firm YouGov. MPR News host Angela Davis is talked about it as part of our “Talking Sense” series — a yearlong reporting project helping us navigate difficult political conversations. Guests: KC Gammage is a Minneapolis-based licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in trauma and family conflict. Lyz Lenz is an Iowa-based writer and the author of four books, including her latest, ‘This American Ex-Wife: How I Ended my Marriage and Started My Life.’

Our bones are constantly breaking down and remaking themselves. In fact, an adult human skeleton replaces itself every five to 10 years. As we get older, that creation of new bone can’t keep up with the loss of old bone. Our bones get weaker and more brittle, a condition called osteoporosis, and that puts us at higher risk of breaking a hip, a rib or something else if we fall. But there’s a lot we can do at all ages to build stronger bones. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two doctors about how diet, exercise and medications can build our bone density and help prevent fractures as we age. Guests: Dr. Jad Sfeir is an endocrinologist and gerontologist and an assistant professor at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in Rochester. He specializes in osteoporosis and age-related decline in bone strength. He also sees patients with rare bone diseases. Dr. Suzanne Hecht is an associate professor with the Program in Sports Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School and a sports medicine physician with M Health Fairview. She’s also a team physician for University of Minnesota Athletics and U.S. Figure Skating and is a member of the USA Gymnastics National Healthcare Referral Network.

Bartenders do more than mix cocktails and mocktails. They’re rubbing elbows with politicians and entrepreneurs, with people celebrating and people down on their luck, with regulars from down the block and tourists from across the world. Our guests are bartenders at the St. Paul Grill, inside the St. Paul Hotel in downtown St. Paul. We’ll hear stories and tricks of the trade from their decades on the job. Guests: Wesley “Wes” Winfield and Jacob “Jake” Zimmerman are bartenders at the St. Paul Grill in downtown St. Paul.

How much is too much when it comes to the financial support of adult children? With the rising cost of living, more parents are supporting adult children for longer. One recent survey from Pew Research Center found a third of people in their early 30s received financial help from their parents. Many parents struggle with where to draw the line between helping and enabling. How do parents support grown children in ways that help them move forward, toward a secure financial future? And how can parents make sure they’re not putting their own financial future at risk by supporting their grown kids? MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a Washington Post personal finance columnists and listeners about parenting, adult children and money. Michelle Singletary is a nationally syndicated personal finance columnist for the Washington Post. Her award-winning column is called “The Color of Money.” And she’s written four personal finance books, including, “What To Do With Your Money When Crisis Hits: A Survival Guide.”

When many people think of autism, they think of children. But as awareness about autism grows, more adults are also being diagnosed with autism. About two percent of adults are on the autism spectrum, which includes a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with sensory sensitivities, social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. MPR News host Angela Davis hosts part two of an April Autism Awareness Month conversation about what it’s like to be an adult with autism, how to get diagnosed and the pros and cons of disclosing you’re autistic in your school or workplace. Guests: Daren Howard is deputy director of the Autism Society of Minnesota (AuSM) and sought his own diagnosis with autism spectrum disorder after his child received a diagnosis. He moved to Minnesota several years ago from California, where he consulted and led nonprofit organizations focused on giving children and teenagers access to after school and summer programing. Zephyr James is director of marketing and communications with the Autism Society of Minnesota. They were diagnosed with autism as a young adult.

We’re approaching the two-year anniversary of the end of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that guaranteed the right to an abortion for half a century. The fall of Roe has heightened the intensity of a battle over reproductive rights across the country. And here in Minnesota, it’s inspiring activists to continue to pursue an Equal Rights Amendment that would enshrine gender protection and reproductive justice into the state Constitution. MPR News host Angela Davis talked about where the Equal Rights Amendment stands in the Minnesota legislature today and the state of gender inequality in 2024.

What happens when a tightwad marries a big spender? Disagreement over money and how to spend it is a source of conflict in many close relationships and marriages. The families we grow up in shape our behavior around money. That can lead to trouble if you start sharing your life with someone who has a very different approach to spending and saving. Coming up at 9 a.m. on Monday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a researcher and a financial therapist about why so many couples fight over finances and how to resolve the inevitable disagreements. Guests: Scott Rick is the author of “Tightwads and Spendthrifts: Navigating the Money Minefield in Real Relationships,” published earlier this year. He’s an associate professor in the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan where he studies consumer behavior and decision making. Lindsey Konchar is a certified financial therapist based in Chaska, with a master’s degree in social work from Minnesota State University Mankato. She offers financial therapy to individuals and couples through her business, Coping with Lindsey.

As a child in Georgia, Reatha Clark King picked cotton for $6 a day to help her family make ends meet. Then, buoyed on the hopes and expectations of her family and church, she blazed a trail from a one-room schoolhouse in the segregated South to college. She pushed past gender and racial barriers as a Black woman to become a research chemist in the 1960s, contributing to NASA’s moon landing. She went on to become a college dean, university president and a philanthropist and a vice president of a major corporation. Earlier this week, she was honored at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota with a reception and celebration of her recent biography, “Find a Trail or Blaze One.” MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Minnesota trailblazer Reatha Clark King about her life. Guest: Reatha Clark King worked as a research chemist for the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C. In the 1960s. She moved to Minnesota to become president of Metropolitan State University from 1977 to 1988. She was a vice president of General Mills Corporation and president and executive director of the General Mills Foundation until she retired in 2002. Her biography “Find a Trail or Blaze One” was published in 2021.

One in three Americans has cheated on a partner, according to a YouGov survey from 2022. Cheating can be devastating on a personal level and tumultuous for the relationship. But many couples figure out a way to work through it. Many people are able to move on and move forward. MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talked about infidelity: Why it happens and how to deal with it — whether you’re the person who has been cheated on, or the person who has done the cheating. Guests: LaReesa Hooper is a therapist and founder of Therapeace Counseling in St. Paul. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed alcohol and drug counselor. Shanelle Wenell is a therapist with Therapeace Counseling in St. Paul. She is a licensed associate marriage and family therapist with additional expertise in equine therapy.

Minnesota communities have spent the last few years debating the role of police in schools. In 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, the Minneapolis school board voted to end its contract with police and removed school resource officers, or SROs, from Minneapolis Public Schools. Many other districts across the country also phased out SROs, including St. Paul. Then last year, the state Legislature passed a law that limited how officers could physically restrain students. Some law enforcement agencies raised concerns that the new restrictions left them open to lawsuits and pulled their SROs from schools just before the start of this school year. That brings us to the present moment. In March, updated legislation that clarified restraints and provided for more training and a uniform school resource officer policy was signed into law. As some law enforcement agencies prepare to return SROs to schools, basic questions remain: Do school resource officers make schools safer? Can a trusted police officer in a school building prevent violence and support students in crisis without leading to more students being suspended, expelled or arrested? At 9 a.m. on Tuesday, MPR News host Angela Davis explored the role of SROs with current and former school resource officers. Guests: Rudy Perez is president of the National Association of School Resource Officers. He relocated to Minnesota in 2023 to serve as assistant chief of police for the Golden Valley Police Department, where he oversees patrol services including school resource officers. He previously served 22 years in the Los Angeles School Police Department, as an SRO and later as a lieutenant overseeing school resource officers. He joined MPR News from St. Cloud where he’s attending a Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association training. Charles Adams III was a police officer with the Minneapolis Police Department for 20 years and a school resource officer until 2020 at North Community High School in Minneapolis. He still coaches the North Polars football team and was featured in the 2023 Showtime documentary “Boys in Blue” which followed the team during the 2021 season. He’s now director of team security for the Minnesota Twins. Todd Mohr has been a school resource officer for the Mankato Department of Public Safety for nine years. He works mainly out of West High School in Mankato.

About 40 percent of workers over age 40 say they’ve experienced ageism at work, according to a recent AARP survey. That means sometimes getting passed up on opportunities for promotions. Or not getting hired at all. But unemployment is so low, many hiring managers are having a hard time finding workers. And that’s good news for older workers facing bias and stigma in the hiring process. MPR News guest host Chris Farrell and his guests talked about what ageism looks like in 2024, and how to reframe our ideas about aging and older workers. Guests: Kate Schaefers, Ph.D., is director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Minnesota and volunteer state president for AARP-MN. Rajean Moone, Ph.D., is associate director of education for the Center for Healthy Aging and Innovation in the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health, and a member of the Governor’s Council on an Age-Friendly Minnesota.