Monday April 14: Democracy of Data
with Secretary of State Mark Ritchie,
Otto Doll, City of Minneapolis Chief Information Officer and
Bill Bushey, Co-Founder of Open Twin Cities
Secretary of State Mark Richie, City of Minneapolis Chief Information Officer Otto Doll, and Open Twin Cities’ Bill Bushey will tell us about making government data more readily available to citizens. All three have been working to make government more transparent and efficient through data. We’ll ask why anyone would want all the city’s records on cats getting stuck in trees, and why the monicker “hacker” is considered a dirty word.

Monday April 21: A Council Member Walks into an Improv Show
with Minneapolis Council Member Lisa Bender
City of Minneapolis Council Member for Ward 10, Lisa Bender joins us on stage. She’ll talk about the big issues at City Hall, what efforts she hopes the city will address in the coming months, and how it feels to have the god-like powers of a city council member.

Monday April 28: A Show with Two Views
with Rep. Pat Garofalo and
Dan McGrath, Executive Director of Take Action Minnesota
Two voices from two very different political perspectives will prove it’s still possible to have respectful, civil, yet lively conversations in public. Republican State Representative Pat Garofalo and Take Action Minnesota Executive Director Dan McGrath take our stage together to talk about the big issues facing Minnesota.

Thursday May 1: Can We Pay Teachers in Apples?
with Denise Spect, president of Education Minnesota
Our guest, Denise Spect, is the president of Minnesota’s largest teacher’s union, Education Minnesota. She’ll answer your questions about teachers, students, class size, and snow days. Bringing her an apple is optional.

Thursday May 8: Out-of-School Time—Not Just for TV Anymore
with Eyenga Bokamba, Director of Sprockets 
Sprockets, St. Paul’s out-of-school time programs network, has a new director and she’s going to join us on the show. Eyenga Bokamba will talk to us about why students need to keep learning even after the school day ends. In addition to her work leading this diverse coalition of programs, Bokamba is a visual artist in her own right, and a Harvard graduate. Consider us intimidated.

Thursday May 15: Explain, Trains, and Automobiles
with Met Council Chair Sue Haigh
Think coming up with your own five-year plan is a challenge? Try coming up with a 20-year plan for the entire Twin Cities region. That’s just part of the charge for our guest, Susan Haigh, chair of the Metropolitan Council. We’ll ask her all about what visions they hear from Minnesotans for the future of the Twin Cities.

Thursday May 22: Designing the Perfect Fruit
with Dr. David Bedford and Dr. James Luby
Did you know that 80% of the apples grown in Minnesota are creations of the University of Minnesota breeding program? We will talk to one of the people behind the University’s apple program, scientist David Bedford about how you create new apple varieties, how our ways of producing food are changing through science, and if anything will ever be as great as the Honeycrisp.