Listen to the very first episode of "Housing Values" a new podcast from The Theater of Public Policy all about the affordable housing conversation! Our first guest is Ryan Allen, Associate Professor of Community and Economic Development in the Urban Affairs and Regional Planning Department of the University of Minnesota.

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Zach Johnson is a fifth generation Minnesota farmer. The industry obviously looks much different than it did when his great, great grandfather was working the land. Yet there are very modern challenges as well, like a precarious trade situation and landscape impacted by climate change. We asked Johnson all about this, and how he finds time to maintain a YouTube channel while harvesting his crops.

Should gender equity be written into Minnesota law? For decades, advocates have been pushing for just that, and earlier this year they got a major win when the Minnesota House voted to put an Equal Rights Amendment in front of voters in 2020. Is this the time for the ERA in Minnesota? We asked Betty Folliard, founder of ERA Minnesota. (Hint: she says yes!)

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Who oversees police and public safety across the state of Minnesota? It’s former Metro Transit and St. Paul police chief John Harrington! Needless to say, Harrington has goals to diversify police departments across the state and improve police community relations.

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It’s a show with tools you can use in your next family dinner table debate! “De-escalation” is a way of approaching a potential conflict in a way that tries to lower the temperature instead of heightening it. Russ Turner, one of the state’s leading trainers in this methodology, joined us and talk us through how “de-escalation” works and how we can use it in our lives!

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Our quest to have all of Minnesota’s statewide elected officials on the show takes a big step forward as we welcome Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha. Her office looks for corruption and waste in city and regional governments across the state. She undoubtedly had lots of great stories of ways Minnesota cities spend money in “interesting” ways.

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Tawanna Black, Chief Executive Officer, Center for Economic Inclusion

The Twin Cities has a strong business sector, yet has huge disparities between the number of white and people-of-color owned businesses. Tawanna Black is working to change that, to make Minnesota’s economy inclusive for everyone. We asked her why this is so important for all Minnesotans.  

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The University of Minnesota has a new president. It’s a 24/7 job, overseeing five campuses serving 10,000s of students, and touching every part of the state. As Joan Gabel settles into the new job, she faced her greatest challenge yet, being a guest on our show.

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The Guardian UK's Parliamentary Sketch Writer, John Crace joined us for a night of Brexit talk and improv comedy! The United Kingdom is slated to leave the European Union on Oct. 31st, but the process is already on it's third Prime Minister. Will the UK and the EU face a no-deal Brexit or does newly elected Prime Minister have some tricks up his sleeve? Can they iron things out in time or should we start stockpiling Cadbury chocolate?

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Learn about the history of the Mississippi river with John Anfinson, Superintendent at Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. There are few people alive that know this stretch of the river better than John. Time machines don’t exist, but John is the next best thing.

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One year ago, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter joined us on The Theater of Public Policy in the early days of his term. Now more than a year and a half in, he joined us once again to discuss how the issues he campaigned on are working out in office. We asked him about the city’s new comprehensive plan, city efforts on early childhood education, and what the heck is the deal with trash collection in St. Paul. Seriously, what’s the deal with that?

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