What’s on MPR News -12/26/18

Wednesday December 26, 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)
The U.S. economy is predicted to slow in 2019. But that doesn’t mean your personal finances have to take a hit. According to a Fidelity Investments survey, almost one-third of Americans plan to make a money resolution for the new year, with 48-percent planning to save more and 29-percent aiming to pay down debt. How to do it?

Guests: Jacquette Timmons is a self-described financial behaviorist who runs her own financial advice firm and is the author of “Financial Intimacy: How to Create a Healthy Relationship with Your Money and Your Mate”; Ramona Ortega is the CEO and founder of “My Money My Future”, a mission-driven financial tech company that combines tailored content and simple to use tools to help Millennials, particularly young women and minorities, manage their money with confidence.

10 a.m.- 1A with Joshua Johnson

The first components of the International Space Station went into space 20 years ago. Two years later, the first crew arrived. The station has been occupied ever since, hosting nearly 60 expeditions of astronauts from around the world but not from China.

We talked to two of them.

11 a.m. – MPR News with Angela Davis
We accumulate stuff and people around this time of year. We feel obligated to hold on to that gift from Mom and to see that aunt. But what if you could just let it all go?

Guests: Dr. Yvette Erasmus, therapist;Christine Daves, Professional organizer at Think Organized.

11:45 a.m.
– Climate and snowfall. We’re talking to a climatologist about the warm winter and the potential snow storm.

Guest: Kenny Blumenfeld, Senior Climatologist, Minnesota State Climate Office

12 p.m. – MPR News Presents
Arthur Brooks on “Happiness.” (from Aspen Ideas Festival) Trained as a classical musician, Arthur Brooks went on to become a social scientist. He’s a behavioral economist, a columnist for the New York Times, a best-selling author. Arthur Brooks says he has a formula for finding happiness and success in every stage of your life. His ideas come from a combination of neuroscience, behavioral economics, art, music and poetry. (Rebroadcast from 7/30/18.)

1 p.m. – The Takeaway
Utah is becoming the first state to lower the legal alcohol limit to .05. Will it catch on? Also: a look at the Veteran Affairs audit that found that the agency’s campaign to address veteran suicide has dropped off significantly in support and spending. And what’s behind the Federal Reserve’s increase in interest rates to a range of 2.25 to 2.5 percent.

2 p.m. – BBC NewsHour
Australia, New Zealand and the conservation group Greenpeace have bitterly criticised Japan’s decision to resume commercial whale hunting next year.

3 p.m. – All Things Considered
The Trump administration has so drastically cut the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. that some advocates fear the refugee system is collapsing. Hear more about the fallout from the cuts.

6:00 p.m. – Marketplace
Data breeches, congressional hearings, and privacy scandals. It’s been a wild year for U.S. tech. What it will take for tech companies to get serious about privacy.

6:30 p.m. – The Daily
Nearly 70 years ago, Sylvia Nam’s grandfather left for North Korea and never returned. She went to look for him.

7 p.m. – The World
We look into something that President Donald Trump has talked about frequently. Trump says the US economy has done so well since his inauguration, that hundreds of companies are returning to America’s shores to get in on the booming US economy. The World’s Jason Margolis did some digging into those numbers.

We have a report from Spain, probably the most welcoming country in Europe for taking in migrants. But some in Spain worry that the country doesn’t have a real plan to integrate these newcomers. Reporter Catarina Fernandes Martins tells the story of two men who embody this tension.

News reports say Israel attacked Syria on Tuesday. If so, it wouldn’t be the first time. But what’s at stake now for the Israelis after the Trump administration said it’s pulling US troops out of Syria? Marco talks with Anshel Pfeffer, defense correspondent for the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz.

And, reggae and dancehall star Buju Banton returns to Jamaica after serving seven years in a US prison on drug charges. He’s getting a hero’s welcome. But Buju Banton is known for his 1993 anti-gay song Boom Bye Bye. And Staceyanne Chin, a LGBT activist and poet from Jamaica, says that Banton’s legacy is a complicated one.

8 p.m. – Fresh Air
We continue our series this week of favorite interviews of the year, with Michael Pollan about his new book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence. It’s about the history of psychedelic drugs, and current experiments with them in therapeutic settings. As part of his research, Pollan experimented with LSD and psilocybin, with the help of guides. Pollan is also the author of the bestsellers The Omnivore’s Dilemma and The Botany of Desire. He teaches writing at Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley.(REBROADCAST)