What’s on MPR News – 12/27/18

Thursday December 27, 2018
(Subject to change as events dictate. This page is updated throughout the day.)

9 a.m. – MPR News with Kerri Miller (Chris Farrell hosts)
As more baby boomers retire there are a lot of questions about what Social Security benefits look like, but wait times for consultations have increased. What’s the best time to use those benefits? Is social security a sustainable program in the long term?

Guests: Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of Economics and policy analysis and author of “Rescuing Retirement: A Plan to Guarantee Retirement Security for All Americans” ; Mark Miller, journalist covering trends in retirement and aging.

10 a.m.- 1A with Joshua Johnson
The incoming House of Representatives will have more women lawmakers than ever before. Voters in Minnesota and New York selected progressive candidates of color like Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to represent them in the House. In the Senate, Democrat Jacky Rosen won in Nevada and Marsha Blackburn, a Republican, was victorious in Tennessee.

We also saw women reach creative heights in 2018. The Time’s Up Foundation started at the beginning of this year as well. The organization reported that it raised more than $22 million for its legal defense fund, which supports women who have survived sexual misconduct in the workplace.

Many are hailing 2018 as the year of the woman.

Is it? While there were significant achievements in politics, art, pop culture and sports in the last 12 months, there were also reminders of consistent inequality and continuing challenges.

What has changed – and what hasn’t – for women in the last year?

11 a.m. – MPR News with Angela Davis
More than 10,000 people are living behind bars in Minnesota prisons. They are in correctional facilities in Stillwater, Faribault, Moose Lake, Shakopee and other cities. Another 20,000 people are under Department of Corrections community supervision. The incoming commissioner of the Department of Corrections will oversee all of this and has to tackle the multiple challenges facing the department.

Guests: Paul Schnell, current chief of the Inver Grove Heights Police Department

11:45 a.m. – It’s been a good year if you like to listen to podcasts. Old favorites like “The Daily” and “Reply All” remained strong, while tons of new shows and series cropped up. MPR’s Meg Martin has worked on podcasts in the MPR newsroom and is herself an avid podcast listener. She’ll join Angela Davis to look back at the year.

12 p.m. – MPR News Presents
A Marketplace special “Divided Decade.” 2018 is the 10th anniversary of the financial crisis, and Marketplace spent the year exploring how it changed America.

1 p.m. – The Takeaway
New year, new you? The co-hosts of the By the Book podcast tell us what you really need to know about how to read those self-help books that are piling up ahead of 2019.

Also: the expectations of medical treatment with U.S. Custom and Border facilities and local hospitals in light of the death of another migrant child; more than 400 people are dead in Indonesia after a tsunami hit the Sunda Strait between the islands of Sumatra and Java over the weekend; a look at Japan’s official announcement that it will pull out of the International Whaling Commission.

2 p.m. – BBC NewsHour
American troops in Iraq were pleased to see President Trump on his surprise visit, but were Iraqis? And we’ll be predicting foreign policy trends for 2019.

3 p.m. – All Things Considered
A look at 2018’s dearly departed; fierce females in film; crowdfunding and healthcare; an iconic rail sign could be retired; Marxists v. Marxists in China.

6:00 p.m. – Marketplace
2018 was a wild year for trade with tariffs, trade deals, and a lot of testimonies. Now: a look at what’s next for the trade war.

6:30 p.m. – The Daily
We spoke with a migrant father who crossed the United States border with his daughter just as the Trump administration was ramping up its “zero tolerance” immigration policy.

7 p.m. – The World
An Iraqi writer based in Canada offers his thoughts on President Trump’s Christmas visit to Iraq.

Also, Thailand legalizes medical marijuana. But you can still get in a lot of trouble for recreational weed.

Plus, our favorite music from 2018.

8 p.m. – Fresh Air
Writer, director, songwriter, comic, Bo Burnham made his debut as a director with the critically acclaimed film Eighth Grade. It’s about an awkward young girl who makes YouTube videos about how to be more confident and make friends.