Although Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, the Civil War prevented it being enacted in much of the South. Emancipation Day, now known as Juneteenth, commemorates June 19, 1865, when around 250,000 enslaved people were declared free in Texas. NHPR's Peter Biello talks with historian Annette Gordon-Reed, whose book, On Juneteenth, gives a view of the country’s road to Juneteenth, recounting both its origins in Texas and episodes from her life growing up in Texas. In 1965, she was the first child to integrate her town’s all-white schools. Juneteenth became a N.H. state holiday in 2019.

Robert Frost famously said “good fences make good neighbors” and if you’re out for a walk in the woods in New Hampshire, you will likely find a stone wall. We talk with Kevin Gardner, a master stone builder and author of several books on the subject, about the on-going appeal of stone walls and how to build them. He explains the philosophy behind the craft of placing stone and examines the mythology of the stone wall and its place in the New England imagination.

The Exchange presents a special broadcast of Writers on a New England Stage with Rebecca Carroll. Carroll is an award-winning author, podcast host and Black culture critic.

The Exchange presents a special broadcast of Writers on a New England Stage with Diane Rehm.

The Exchange presents a special broadcast of Writers on a New England Stage with economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman.

The Exchange presents a special broadcast of Writers on a New England Stage with environmental activist Erin Brockovich.

The Exchange presents a special broadcast of Writers on a New England Stage with Kevin Kwan. Host Peter Biello talks with the author of the bestselling Crazy Rich Asians about his latest book, Sex and Vanity.

First responders are looking for workers’ compensation agreement amid the COVID-19 outbreak

Schools will remain closed; a new coronavirus testing plan

A new budget report is due; more pressure on Gov. Walz to reopen businesses

Lawmakers ponder their next steps on the budget

It’s the last week of the legislative session, sort of

Gov. Walz to lay out next steps on reopening; remembering Steve Anderson

The legislative session ends, but a special session is coming; Ellison goes to court to try to stop bar owner from reopening

Walz takes heat from those saying he’s moving too slowly on reopening businesses and churches

Six months after Gov. Tim Walz first declared the peacetime emergency, where is Minnesota in the response to the pandemic and what will the next few months bring? On this week’s Politics Friday, MPR News host Mike Mulcahy talked with Walz, discussing some of the pressing issues in Minnesota and taking listener questions from around the state. 

Sen. Tina Smith and her Republican challenger Jason Lewis sparred over the coronavirus response, public safety, climate change and immigration Friday during a debate on MPR News. 

What’s being done to confront the coronavirus and stem the economic fallout from the pandemic are central to this year’s election campaigns. That was clear when the candidates in Minnesota’s 2nd and 6th Congressional Districts met in separate MPR News debates Friday.

The front-runners in Minnesota’s 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts took part in telephone debates on Politics Friday.

The candidates for Congress in Minnesota’s 7th and 8th districts debated the major issues, on Politics Friday with host Mike Mulcahy.

Is there really such a thing as a "shy Trump voter"? Who is contacted to take part in pre-election polls? And are they reliable or not?

Striking machinists voted to reject an agreement that would have boosted wages by 35 percent. It’s another blow for Boeing, which reported a $6 billion quarterly loss on Wednesday.

State environmental regulators and a group of northeastern Minnesota residents have filed separate lawsuits to block a proposed $45 million resort development near Ely and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

The Borealis route is Amtrak’s second daily train from St. Paul to Chicago and hit a ridership milestone on Oct. 24.

Pensions are a major sticking point between Boeing and its striking machinists union. Many workers want the company to restore the pension plan they lost a decade ago, but Boeing hasn’t budged.

Over 200,000 people canceled their subscriptions in the first few days following news that The Washington Post would not endorse any presidential candidate.

Older homes are the only ones many Americans can afford, but they are costly to fix and maintain, especially for seniors. A patchwork of programs to help are underfunded and have years-long waitlists.

Boeing overcharged the Air Force nearly $1 million for spare parts on C-17 cargo planes, including an 8,000 percent markup for simple lavatory soap dispensers, according to the Pentagon’s inspector general.

Spending on campaign ads is up $1 billion from four years ago, according to data from AdImpact, analyzed by NPR. The state that's been the target of the most money is Pennsylvania.

A Washington D.C. based company announced it will build a $5 billion sustainable fuels production facility in Moorhead. The plant is expected to create 650 jobs and be operational by 2030.

Warren Buffett is now sitting on more than $325 billion cash after continuing to unload billions of dollars worth of Apple and Bank of America shares this year and continuing to collect a steady stream of profits from all of Berkshire Hathaway’s assorted businesses without finding any major acquisitions.

What would a McDonald’s be without its temperamental McFlurry machines? We may be closer to finding out.

Xcel Energy wants to build the roughly 170-mile power line from Garvin in Lyon County to Becker in central Minnesota. It would connect solar and wind energy from southwest Minnesota to the electrical grid.

Gen Z does a good job taking sick days, unlike their older coworkers. MPR News host Angela Davis talks about how the mix of generations in today’s workforce is redefining how we work.

A strike by 33,000 Boeing factory workers is coming to an end after more than seven weeks. The aerospace giant's unionized machinists voted on Monday to accept a company contract offer that includes a 38 percent wage increase over four years.

Molson Coors says move will consolidate operations at company’s main Milwaukee Brewery in early 2025.

The billionaire businessman has spent weeks campaigning relentlessly for Donald Trump. That dedication could lead to major benefits for him and his companies.

If you feel like your drive to work has gotten longer recently, it’s not just you. New research shows that the return of traffic has led to fewer jobs being reachable within 30 minutes by car.

Rolf Nordstrom, president and CEO of the nonpartisan nonprofit Great Plains Institute, and Gregg Mast, executive director of Clean Energy Economy Minnesota, weigh in on what the election results will mean for the energy transition already underway.

A Christian falsely charged with blasphemy in three cases was released on bail this week after prosecutors failed to produce evidence against him, his attorney said.

This year’s International Day of Prayer for the persecuted Church comes as worldwide tensions have turned up pressure on Christians, challenging the global Body of Christ to keep pace in aid and supplication.

Buffer zones around abortion facilities went into effect in England and Wales, a development that pro-life advocates contend criminalizes silent prayer and offering pregnancy help information to women and families in need of resources. 

Fulani herdsmen kidnapped four Christians in an attack on villages in north-central Nigeria.

The Africa Mission Association is on a mission to help churches in Africa establish mission associations in all 54 countries from the current seven in the continent.

Messages of congratulations from world leaders began pouring in after former President Donald Trump’s historic political comeback and election victory. Here's a list of five reactions from around the world.

Rioters in the same city where Anne Frank hid during the Holocaust hunted down Israeli soccer fans, beating them and forcing them to say “Free Palestine” in an outbreak of violence that many have likened to Kristallnacht during the Nazi regime in Germany. 

Angola’s Criminal Investigation Service claims that the murder of an American missionary was orchestrated by his wife in a plot involving an alleged illicit romance and financial promises. Authorities say that Jackie Shroyer, 44, enlisted the help of three Angolan men to kill her husband, Beau Shroyer, in a remote part of the country.

Two strong earthquakes measuring 5.9 and 6.8 on the Richter scale surprised the Cuban population on Sunday.

A British man has been found guilty of sexual assault and other crimes for tricking a pregnant woman into drinking a liquid that contained abortion drugs to induce a miscarriage, unbeknownst to the victim.