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NewsCut

MPR News Reflections and observations on the news

By Michael Olson

Michael Olson
molson@mpr.org • @publicmic

Editor, MPR News

Are products that rely on monkey labor unethical?

Michael OlsonMichael Olson October 20, 2015, 1:10 PM Oct 20, 2015
10

Animal rights activists are calling for a boycott of products that use coconuts harvested by monkeys. The practice is common in Thailand where pigtail macaques are trained to scurry up trees and pick hundreds of coconuts a day. Read more →

Employers looking for skills that can’t be taught in school

Michael OlsonMichael Olson May 9, 2012, 11:55 AM May 9, 2012
15

Many employers say they can’t find workers with the right skills even though there are plenty of people looking for jobs. Long-term unemployment remains a problem, and recent college graduates are joining the ranks of the unemployed or underemployed. So what’s the problem?

Read more →

The Internet will be a fad, claimed scientist in ’95

Michael OlsonMichael Olson February 16, 2012, 2:30 PM Feb 16, 2012
4

Clifford Stoll: The Internet futurist who thought the internet had no future. Merely a fad. A passing fancy. Grossly over-promoted.

Read more →

Do we need to elect more scientists?

Michael OlsonMichael Olson February 14, 2012, 12:02 PM Feb 14, 2012
16

Since the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development touts our state as “the perfect environment for bioscience,” should we have more scientists and engineers in public office?

Read more →

The “attitude gap” and unemployment

Michael OlsonMichael Olson December 16, 2011, 12:16 PM Dec 16, 2011
4

When he hears discussion in the news of long-term unemployment, Paul Jensen grows frustrated. He owns Jensales, a small business a few miles outside Albert Lea in southern Minnesota. The business prints and sells technical manuals — and it does commercial printing as well. Jensen also owns the local newspaper, The Alden Advance. He currently Read more →

Cutting out the middle men

Michael OlsonMichael Olson December 16, 2011, 9:51 AM Dec 16, 2011
2

Photo by Jungleboy via Flickr Following the path that musicians like Radiohead and authors like Amanda Hocking have taken, comedian Louis C.K. decided to take his most recent comedy special, “Live at the Beacon,” directly to the people who want to buy it. He directed the video himself and the cost of the production was Read more →

What one Iraq War veteran left behind

Michael OlsonMichael Olson December 15, 2011, 4:47 PM Dec 15, 2011
2

Today, the United States declared the Iraq War officially over (although 2,600 Minnesota National Guard members will remain in Kuwait until May). To mark this event, Jeff Jones and Jeff Severns Guntzel, part of American Public Media’s Public Insight team, have been asking Iraq War veterans one simple question: What did you leave behind in Read more →

A camera that makes the speed of light seem slow

Michael OlsonMichael Olson December 13, 2011, 12:36 PM Dec 13, 2011
1

What happens when you can capture one trillion frames per second? You make the speed of light look really, really slow.

Read more →

So many Internet deals, so little time

Michael OlsonMichael Olson December 12, 2011, 1:30 PM Dec 12, 2011
3

They look the same, the deals sound the same and most have names that are made up of two words and no spaces. Why are there so many?

Read more →

Ever-diminishing benefits causing rash of retirements

Michael OlsonMichael Olson December 6, 2011, 11:29 AM Dec 6, 2011
4

If you’re a state employee, we’d like to hear what you’re seeing. Are people retiring in your department? Are you considering it yourself? Why?

Read more →

The [NEW] Good Life in Minnesota

Michael OlsonMichael Olson March 3, 2011, 3:47 PM Mar 3, 2011
2

What’s the new cover shot for “The Good Life in Minnesota”?

Read more →

Who are you?

Michael OlsonMichael Olson February 1, 2011, 6:09 PM Feb 1, 2011
1

We posed the question to sources in our Public Insight Network, on Facebook and online: Who are you? The responses we received offer a fascinating glimpse into how we see ourselves today.

Read more →

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