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The Warming House
Sean McPherson, Nina Moini and Tiffany Hanssen

Ep. 13: Be the change!

A man stands in the forest
Dudley Edmondson, nature enthusiast, filmmaker and author from Duluth.
Photo by Nancy Latour-Edmondson

Go Deeper.

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The warm weather has us thinking about all the ch-ch-ch-changes on our horizon, admittedly some closer than others. An end to the pandemic? Our first 70 degree day? It'll happen! In that spirit, we brought an album into The Warming House by an artist who really represents that spirit of transformation: Alice Coltrane's 1977 album "Radha-Krsna Nama Sankirtana."

She was an amazing jazz pianist, and one of only a few jazz harpists, a skilled improvisationalist and bandleader. Later in her career, she turned to Hinduism, changed her name and joined an ashram. Co-host Sean McPherson said of the album, "I heard this music for the first time sitting with my wife on an empty beach in Hawaii while greeting a sunrise. It washed over me and I felt this understanding for the world that I had never felt before. I felt more alive than I ever had before. I thought the record was ours alone, like no one had heard it until that very moment." Transformative, indeed!

Sean also took a couple profs — Dr. Keith Mayes (U of M) and Dr. Christopher Lehman (St. Cloud State) — to school in a friendly game of Twins Trivia. He also led Kurt Mead from Tettegouche State Park in Silver Bay on a hike through some very "sota-esque” questions re: agates, moose, loons and the Ely Marathon during our game of Smarter Than a Naturalist.

Co-host Nina Moini caught up with Duluth-based author Dudley Edmondson about his new exhibit coming this fall to the Minnesota Maritime Museum in Winona, birdwatching and being a nature enthusiast of color. She also spent some time with the owner of Saint Dinette in St. Paul, Tim Niver, dishing on their carryout menu and the possibility of picnics!

And the moment we were all waiting for was *drumroll* the unveiling of results from our first round of voting in the Great Minnesota Burger Bracket. The upshot: Val’s in St. Cloud and The Nook in St. Paul both move forward in the competition! Way to go!! This week, Matt’s in Minneapolis goes up against Gordy’s Hi-Hat in Cloquet and The Royal Bar in Park Rapids vs. The Rusty Nail in Battle Lake. Vote here.

Guest list:

  • Dr. Keith Mayes, associate professor of African American and African Studies at the University of Minnesota

  • Dr. Christopher Lehman, professor at St. Cloud State, chair of the Department of Ethnic, Gender and Women's Studies and author of “Slavery’s Reach: Southern Slaveholders in the North Star State”

  • Dudley Edmondson, nature enthusiast and author of the landmark book “Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places”

  • Kurt Mead, Interpretive Naturalist Tettegouche State Park

  • Tim Niver, owner of Saint Dinette