Podcasts about Minnesota, United States

"Happy Friday, unless you're a fan of the Boundary Waters." Adam Carter, sitting in on Chad Hartman, says it early in Arne Carlson & Major Garrett. He then brings on former governor Arne Carlson, who argues against copper mining near the wilderness in plain terms: an agreement that names no number of jobs, and water that "flows north." A day earlier, Garage Logic took up the same news in 4/16 Where do our sensibilities lie with mining approved for the Boundary Waters? and sounded far less sure. One voice admits "We don't know where to be on this," and the talk drifts to whether the mine might lower anyone's taxes.

The dispute is unresolved. In August 2026 an AP report set a conservation advocate's argument that copper mining threatens the Boundary Waters against Republican gubernatorial nominee Lisa Demuth's argument that mining can be done safely. The report described no shovel-ready project.

Those two episodes explain a lot about listening here. The sports shows keep asking what the mining episodes ask: who made this decision, and who answers for it. The Twins missed the playoffs again in September 2026, and on October 8 The SKOR North Twins Show - A Minnesota Twins Podcast titled an episode REPORT: Minnesota Twins for sale AGAIN? Owners and front offices get questioned like officeholders. Nearly every show here addresses Minnesota. Some address Minneapolis, and Minneapolis has its own page.

What Minnesota is

Minnesota is in the north-central United States and covers approximately 86,943 square miles. Its State Demographic Center estimated 5,891,109 residents in 2025. The state's economic-development agency describes a diversified economy spanning multiple industries, and the Boundary Waters wilderness is a prominent reference point for the state's environment and outdoor recreation.

The teams, with receipts

SKOR North puts the same two broadcasters, Phil Mackey and Judd Zulgad, on three franchises. Purple Daily - A Minnesota Vikings Podcast describes itself as "the only show in America that is dumb enough to keep track of our predictions with statistics." In Minnesota Vikings predictions: NFL Draft, Justin Jefferson and more, the panel reads out its own completion percentages before risking new calls. On The SKOR North Twins Show - A Minnesota Twins Podcast, Minnesota Twins manager search nearing its end? widens a hiring story into an argument about systems: one voice doubts the problem is talent and calls the manager "a cog in that machine." Flagrant Howls - A Minnesota Timberwolves Podcast treats BREAKING: Kevin Garnett will RETURN to Target Center on April 12! as a family matter. Its hosts wonder how parents who grew up on Garnett can share that feeling with children who love Anthony Edwards.

The fan-run shows bring other tools. MN for the Win - A Minnesota Twins Podcast is hosted by David Kuhfuss and Dan Thompson, and The Ober-Abel Piggyback (Orioles Series Recap, 3/26-3/29) includes series grades. In that episode David explains that Dan grades by rubric because he is an English teacher by trade. Minnesota Twins Podcast offers the inside view. Inside Twins: 2/29/26 is recorded in manager Derek Shelton's office in Baltimore after his first win. In Inside Twins: 4/12/26, the conversation reaches a stated personal belief that two wins in the Tigers series came from winning ball-strike challenges.

Basketball talk leans on outside expertise. On The Missing Lynx Podcast, Andrew Dukowitz brings in a physical therapist for Anthony Edwards' Runners Knee and Napheesa Collier's Ankle with Lucas Seehafer, Kinesiology PhD. Seehafer's soapbox about cam boots turns into a plain lesson in how rehab works. Please Understand Podcast calls itself "a little mom and pop pod." In Wolves Land Kuminga, Vikings Set Roster, Jenkins Called Up, Lynx Scuffling & Presidents Cup, the full crew reunites to digest an acquisition that broke minutes after their previous episode ended.

Elsewhere the mood swings. Locked On Wild - Your Daily Minnesota Wild Podcast celebrates POST CAST: Wild Smother Dallas in 6-1 Game 1 Win by opening a whiskey bottle that came as a housewarming gift, with the hope "to crack this open 16 times." On The Viking Age Podcast: A Minnesota Vikings Podcast from FanSided, Chris Schad pauses early in Minnesota Vikings “Worst Offseason” in NFL? Why That Take Is Flat-Out Wrong to remember his friend Jessi Pierce of Bardown Beauties: A Minnesota Wild and hockey podcast. Pierce died with her three children in a house fire.

Rinks, fields and the state tournament

In Talking Sports W/ Chris Long from KSTP-TV Ch. 5, Sports Done Wright w/ Vince Wright explains why high school tournaments matter here: "if there's a tv nearby the odds are that the state tournament's on it." The same conversation recalls a state title game in Maryland streamed from one camera, with no scoreboard, for about $14.95.

The Rink Live goes deeper into the brackets. Its listed episodes stop in 2024, so treat it as an archive. Minnesota Girls High School Section Tournament Preview & Ms. Hockey Favorites notes that Carly Bruns had 46 of Morris Benson's 63 goals. Minnesota Youth Ultimate Podcast brings the same close attention to its sport. 2025 Season WrapYUP interviews Minneapolis Washburn's captains after a state title that followed two runner-up finishes.

Public life on the radio dial

Some of the civic argument happens on talk radio, and it sounds like talk radio. Chad Hartman ranges from the Boundary Waters to What is the 'Twerking Teacher' Sheletta Brundidge doing teaching a class at the U of M? In that episode Brundidge describes a final lecture in which each student produced a podcast for critique: "I don't take any excuses." On Henry Lake, More public money for stadiums, Paul Hodowanic, Bite of the Night and Headlines calls a development partly backed by public money "our latest welfare for billionaires story." Best of Interviews - AM950 The Progressive Voice of Minnesota is partisan by design, and Jeff Stein with Matt – April 8, 2026 discusses Iran.

Smaller stations bring power down to the scale of a school budget. On KYMN Morning Show | KYMN Local News, superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann calls one construction bid day "discouraging" and explains how much petroleum goes into building. MPR News with Angela Davis asks What will bring visitors back to the Science Museum of Minnesota? In that episode a caller credits staff training with making the museum welcoming for her autistic friend.

The Twin Cities, up close

Mouthing Off is theatre talk from St. Paul's Bad Mouth Theatre Company and is also heard on Frogtown Radio. In Frogtown Radio with Philip Gracia, Gracia describes community radio as all volunteer. Near the end, co-host Amanda Forstrom suggests that the art of the nice is how people figure out Minnesota. In Hungry Like the Wolf at History Theatre, an actor talks frankly about being cast as "the racist jerk."

Who The Folk?! Podcast, from TC Jewfolk, talks with Jewish guests from Minneapolis and St. Paul. In Lacie Saltzmann, host Lonnie Goldsmith, a Gophers gymnastics season-ticket holder, asks a freshman gymnast how she gets past fear. KMOJCast gives Malik Rucker room to describe the V3 Center and a planned 50-meter pool: "we deserve it." These shows lead naturally to the Minneapolis page.

History, crime and the outdoors

The archive shows reach back. 1934: Mill City Revolt tells Massacre in Minneapolis: Bloody Friday, the day police opened fire on strikers. The account is graphic. On Minnesota's Most Notorious: Where Blood Runs Cold, Roger Barr reconstructs a St. Paul killing in The Murder of Ruth Munson w/ Roger Barr. He describes newsboys and an early commuter who noticed open gates behind the long-abandoned Aberdeen Hotel. KFAI's MinneCulture offers lighter history in The Phantom Caller of the Twin Cities, about Mischke calling Don Vogel's show daily without repeating a voice.

Then there is the land itself. Curious Minnesota consults the DNR's ice safety coordinator in What's the science behind ice thickness and when is it safe to drive on a lake? In Fishing the New Year with Root River Rod Co, Minnesota Bound Podcast - MN Bound Podcast explains that anglers can follow trout streams from a public easement "as long as your feet stay wet."

Where to start

• If public argument is your thing: Chad Hartman, Arne Carlson & Major Garrett, for the case against the mine made with conviction.
• For a baseball fan who likes accountability: MN for the Win - A Minnesota Twins Podcast, The Ober-Abel Piggyback (Orioles Series Recap, 3/26-3/29).
• If you want artists talking shop: Mouthing Off, Frogtown Radio with Philip Gracia.
• For the injury-report reader: The Missing Lynx Podcast, Anthony Edwards' Runners Knee and Napheesa Collier's Ankle with Lucas Seehafer, Kinesiology PhD.
• When you want history with weight: 1934: Mill City Revolt, Massacre in Minneapolis: Bloody Friday. Expect graphic violence.

Begin with the Hartman episode, and listen for who each voice expects to answer for the decision.

The Minnesota feed on this page plays clips from these shows.