Bob Collins
Monday Dec. 31, 2018
(Subject to change as events dictate. This page is updated throughout the day.)
9 a.m. – MPR News with Kerri Miller
The biggest political stories of the year. From Congress to legislatures to the midterm elections, what were the most consequential political stories of the year? What were the significant moments or key legislative battles that shaped the year?
Guests: Ken Rudin, The Political Junkie; Samara Klar, associate professor of political science at the University of Arizona.
10 a.m.- 1A with Joshua Johnson
The year in review. Every time something surprising or unbelievable happened in the last 12 months, it seems the fastest explanation was “2018.” It was the noun for all seasons and even an adjective. How many times did someone tell you something was “very 2018?”
In the United States, it was a year of a strong economy, and a trade war. It was the year of Black Panther. It was the year that saw family separation at the border. And gun violence stats are grim.
And it was a year that news from the Mueller investigation put the president’s associates in court, the White House on edge and reporters constantly on call.
Internationally, President Trump met with North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un. Although denuclearization doesn’t seem to be happening as planned or hoped.
Talks for Brexit haven’t been smooth either. And honestly, we could spend more than this entire show just going over the negotiations from the last year.
The year ended with a continuously shifting explanation from Saudi Arabia about the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. And the crime seems to have put more of a split between President Trump and his fellow politicians than it has between the U.S. and the Saudis.
Guests: Eugene Scott, political reporter, The Washington Post; Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Washington correspondent, The New York Times; Domenico Montanaro, lead political editor, NPR; Hayes Brown, deputy world news editor, Buzzfeed News; Shane Harris, intelligence and national security reporter, The Washington Post; Jennifer Williams, foreign editor, Vox.
12 p.m. – MPR News Presents
A debate from the Intelligence Squared series. Four humorists, satirists and performers will debate this motion: “Is Trump bad for comedy?” You’ll hear political satirist P.J. O’Rourke, standup comedian Sara Schaefer, writer Kurt Andersen and Emmy Award-winning writer and producer Billy Kimball. (Rebroadcast at 9 p.m.)
1 p.m. – The Takeaway
Since the death of Felipe Alonzo Gomez, there has been even greater confusion at the border, and El Paso is at the center of it; over the weekend, Senator Lindsey Graham suggested that the President might be open to a slower approach to pulling U.S. forces out of Syria; a look back at the legislation put in place as a result of the #MeToo movement and what’s left to accomplish; the 10th anniversary of Oscar Grant’s death. Oscar was 22 years old when he was shot and killed by a police officer while lying on his stomach at the Fruitvale BART commuter rail station in Oakland, Calif. ; Rafer Guzman, a film critic for Newsday, joins The Takeaway on the day before the new year to share his movie highs and lows from 2018.
2 p.m. – BBC NewsHour
More anti-government protests in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum; the NASA spacecraft taking photographs of a brave new icy world; Stephen Sondheim on why he’s decided to keep a different kind of company.
3 p.m. – All Things Considered
How Vermont’s DMV assists ICE; best films of 2018; what migrants took on their backs; be your own bartender.
6:00 p.m. – Marketplace
Underemployed, unable to retire and facing a crisis.Ten years ago, Elizabeth White was doing well. She had a great job and earned good money. Then the Great Recession hit.
6:30 p.m. – The Daily
Days before the Democrats take control of the House, we take stock of what we’ve learned so far — and what we still don’t know — about the Trump family’s taxes.
7 p.m. – The World
Aid agencies in El Paso are struggling to take care of more than 1,500 migrants released by the government and now stranded in the Texas city. We’ll hear from Kathryn Schmidt, who normally works at a shelter for LGBTQ youth in El Paso, but is now helping stranded migrants find food and shelter.
Also, has President Trump changed his mind on withdrawing US troops from Syria? Or at least slowed down the timetable? Republican Senator Lindsay Graham seemed to suggest so over the weekend. We get a reality check from Josh Landis, director of Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.
Plus, host Carol Hills talks with Guyanese-born author Selwyn Seyfu Hinds about how hip hop and Marvel comics helped him feel at home after he moved to the US at the age of 11.
8 p.m. – Fresh Air
Musician and composer Jon Batiste is the music director and band leader of Stay Human, the house band The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. His latest album Hollywood Africans, is a mix of boogie woogie, blues, standards, and originals, including compositions inspired by classical music. We’ll hear music from this album and Batiste will play piano and sing in the studio for this interview. He has recorded and performed with artists in various genres of music including Stevie Wonder, Prince, Willie Nelson, Lenny Kravitz, Ed Sheeran, and Mavis Staples.
