What’s on MPR News – 2/5/19

Tuesday Feb. 5, 2019
(Subject to change as events dictate. This page is updated throughout the day.)

9 a.m. – MPR News with Kerri Miller
The governor of Virginia met with his cabinet and other administrative members on Monday morning to discuss his future. Host Kerri Miller talks with political science professor, Dr. Adolphus Belk Jr. about Governor Ralph Northam’s ability to lead the state in the wake of this controversy.

9:20 a.m. – MPR News host Kerri Miller sat down with Sally Field on Oct. 23 at the Fitzgerald Theater for Talking Volumes. They talked about Field’s new book and what it has been like for a shy woman to be one of the most famous actresses of our day.

10 a.m.- 1A with Joshua Johnson
It’s been 40 years since millions of Iranians cheered the return of the Ayatollah. The 1979 Islamic revolution proved one of the most consequential events in modern history. And for many, it established Iran as a state-sponsor of terror. Born through revolution, is the Republic capable of reform?

Guests: Robin Wright, analyst and fellow, Woodrow Wilson International Center; Jamal Abdi, president, National Iranian American Council; Behnam Ben Taleblu, research fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies; John Limbert, professor, United States Naval Academy.

11 a.m. – MPR News with Angela Davis
Minnesota can be a tough place for professionals of color. Employees of color report all sorts of reasons living and working in Minnesota is a challenge. Meanwhile, the state is known for having some of the highest racial disparities in the country.

Guests: Josie Johnson, civil rights pioneer; James Burroughs, Chief Inclusion Officer for the state of Minnesota; Dara Beevas, co-founder and CEO of Wise Ink.

12 p.m. – MPR News Presents
Part 2 of the two-hour documentary “Making Obama.” WBEZ documentaries hosted by Jennifer White. Part 2 covers Obama’s unsuccessful run for Congress in 2000 through the moment he arrived on the national stage at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, and his “Yes We Can” campaign for president.

1 p.m. – The Takeaway
The hunger strike at the El Paso Processing Center in Texas, where nine men are being force fed under federal court order; the paywall behind access to federal judicial court records and why there is growing pressure for courts to change the 10 cents per page fee; the political moment in El Salvador with a look back at the country’s political history; as the civil war in Yemen continues amid the backdrop of what has been called the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, all sides are fighting on a battlefield littered with American made weapons.

2 p.m. – BBC NewsHour
We’ll preview tonight’s State of the Union address. Also: a British football fan is arrested for wearing the wrong team shirt in the UAE. And is peace coming at last to the Central African Republic?

3 p.m. – All Things Considered
State of the Union preview; China’s science ethics; House climate hearings; GM holds a company town hostage; rural cell service really stinks.

6:00 p.m. – Marketplace
Smart doorbells were designed with home security in mind but some privacy experts are worried the cameras which come with those doorbells are recording more than they should.

6:30 p.m. – The Daily
Over the past decade, the Senate Republican leader has emerged as a skilled legislative warrior, obstructing President Barack Obama’s agenda and enabling President Trump’s. But what does Mitch McConnell himself actually believe in?

Guest: Charles Homans, the politics editor for The New York Times Magazine.

7 p.m. – The World
There’ll be several special guests attending tonight’s State of the Union address, and we’ll be hearing from two of them today.

Carlos Vecchio is the ambassador of Venezuela’s opposition in Washington, and will be there tonight as a guest of Sen. Marco Rubio. Vecchio tells host Marco Werman about his job drumming up support for Juan Guaido, the US-recognized interim president of Venezuela.

We also hear from Marco Villada, a former DACA recipient who grew up in California but ended up stranded in Mexico while trying to clarify his immigration status. He was invited to attend the State of the Union by California Rep. Lou Correa.

Plus, Marco speaks with Fawzia Koofi, a member of the Afghan parliament who is in Moscow today for talks with the Taliban. Koofi was also the first female deputy speaker in the assembly. She tells Marco what it’s like to be in negotiations with the Taliban, a group she has denounced for its misogyny and tyranny.

And the story of Peppa Pig, a cartoon character that ran afoul of China’s government censors, only to be rehabilitated this year just in time to help ring in the Year of the Pig.

8 p.m. – Live coverage of the State of the Union address
President Trump will give his State of Union address from the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives. Former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will give the Democratic response. MPR News will carry both of these speeches live along with analysis from NPR News reporters.

NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly will anchor this coverage along with Mara Liasson, Susan Davis and Scott Horsley.