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Affording Your Life with Attorney General Keith Ellison

Affording Your Life with Attorney General Keith Ellison

By Keith Ellison

Affording Your Life with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is your podcast about fairness, justice, and consumer information to help you afford your life.
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The 2023 Lighting Round Recap

Affording Your Life with Attorney General Keith EllisonJan 26, 2024

00:00
43:36
The 2023 Lighting Round Recap

The 2023 Lighting Round Recap

Attorney General Keith Ellison walks listeners through some highlights of his office's recent work in an unconventional format.

Jan 26, 202443:36
S4E1: All about inflation, price gouging, and the banking crisis
May 17, 202333:32
S3E10: All about the Fairview/Sanford Merger - Part 2
Mar 29, 202309:51
S3E9: All about the Fairview/Sanford Merger - Part 1
Mar 22, 202318:06
S3E8: Advocating for residential utility customers w/Joe Meyer
Mar 15, 202323:60
S3E7: Protecting consumers w/Parker Maertz
Mar 08, 202316:60
S3E6: Fighting worker misclassification w/Burt Johnson

S3E6: Fighting worker misclassification w/Burt Johnson

In 2021, a study from the Midwest Economic Policy Institute found that nearly 25% of construction workers in the Minnesota experienced some form of wage theft, costing taxpayers more than $135 million. I called Burt Johnson, my friend and the General Counsel for the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters to discuss the problem of misclassifying workers, how it hurts workers, and what the Carpenters Union is doing to protect their members.

Contact the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters

If you are a victim of wage theft: Call our office at 651-296-3353 or visit ag.state.mn.us to file a complaint. 

Please rate, subscribe, and share the show.

Follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and https://www.tiktok.com/@agkeithellison.

Mar 01, 202313:55
S3E5: Organizing with workers against wage theft w/Claudia Lainez (COPAL)
Feb 22, 202324:16
S3E4: The importance of enforcing wage theft w/Terri Gerstein

S3E4: The importance of enforcing wage theft w/Terri Gerstein

For the first episode of 2023, I called my friend, Terri Gerstein to discuss the issue of wage theft, the importance of prosecuting employers who steal from their workers, and the next frontier for worker protections. 

Terri Gerstein is the Director of the State and Local Enforcement Project at the Harvard Law School Labor and Worklife Program, and also a Fellow in the Program. She recently completed an Open Society Foundations Leadership in Government fellowship. Previously, she worked for over 17 years enforcing labor laws in New York State, including as the Labor Bureau Chief for the New York State Attorney General’s Office, and as a Deputy Commissioner in the New York State Department of Labor. Before her government service, Terri was a nonprofit lawyer in Miami, Florida, where she represented immigrant workers and also co-hosted a Spanish language radio show on workers’ rights.

Her work has appeared in publications including The New York TimesThe Washington PostThe NationThe Guardian, and The Hill, among others; a complete listing can be found here. She has also appeared on Democracy Now, Univision and Telemundo. She’s a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

Follow Terri on Twitter: @TerriGerstein

Visit Terri's website: https://www.terrigerstein.com

Please rate, subscribe, and share the show.

Follow us on social media: Twitter @AGEllison, Facebook @AGEllison, Instagram @agkellison, and TikTok @agkeithellison

Feb 14, 202332:15
S3 E3: The Fight for Fair Housing: Manufactured Home Communities

S3 E3: The Fight for Fair Housing: Manufactured Home Communities

Manufactured home communities provide a great source of affordable housing that can be modern and well-maintained, nothing like their outdated public perception. However, keeping housing conditions healthy and thriving requires vigilance and a willingness to challenge ownership and management companies that don't keep their end of the deal. Assistant Attorney General Katherine Kelly and Investigator Nina Grove lead our office's Special Outreach and Protection Unit, which has protected the rights of hundreds of renters in the past year. 

We visited the residents of Viking Terrace in Northfield, Minnesota to hear about how they stood up to shoddy management— and won. Katherine and Nina also discuss how our office can help anyone finding themselves in a similar situation. 

Special thanks to the community members that shared their experiences with us: Jorge and George Zuccolotto, Dawn DeLacruz, Nathaly Sanchez Hernandez, Mar Valdecantos, and Pastor Abe Johnson of Emmaus Baptist Church. 

To file a complaint with the Attorney General's Office, visit our website or give us a call at (651) 296-3353 (Twin Cities Calling Area) or (800) 657-3787 (Outside the Twin Cities), Monday through Friday. Referenced in the episode are our publications on what to expect when the rules of manufactured home parks change, the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants, and the manufactured home parks handbook. These publications and more can be found on our website, several in different languages. 

Please rate, subscribe, and share the show.

Follow us on social media: Twitter @AGEllison, Facebook @AGEllison, Instagram @agkellison, and TikTok @agkeithellison

Sep 08, 202240:40
S3 E2: Reproductive Rights and the ERA

S3 E2: Reproductive Rights and the ERA

The recent Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned 50 years of precedent established by Roe v Wade, creating fear, chaos, and confusion across the country. To dig deeper into what it all means, and how it is re-igniting the fight for equal rights, I chat with Sarah Stoesz, Sharon Lau, and Betty Folliard.

Sarah Stoesz is President and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States. Over twenty years of leadership, she has built PPNCS into one of the largest Planned Parenthood affiliates in the country, starting with Minnesota and South Dakota and then adding North Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska, providing health care to more than 100,000 patients each year.

Follow PPNCS on Twitter: @ppnorthcentral

Sharon Lau is the Midwest Advocacy Director of Whole Woman’s Health Alliance. She is a committed and passionate women’s rights advocate with 21 years of experience working with non-profit health care providers and advocacy organizations.

Follow Whole Woman's Health Alliance on Twitter: @WWHAlliance

Betty Folliard is the founder of ERA Minnesota. She is a nationally known speaker, thought leader, political strategist, and policy maker at the local and state levels.

Follow Betty on Twitter: @Bfolly

Please rate, subscribe, and share the show. 

Follow us on social media: Twitter @AGEllison, Facebook @AGEllison, Instagram @agkellison, and TikTok @agkeithellison

Jul 25, 202249:03
Protecting Family Farmers by Breaking Up Monopolies (Recast from 2020)
Jun 21, 202215:01
S3 E1: What's Really Going on with Inflation

S3 E1: What's Really Going on with Inflation

For the Season 3 kick-off, I chat with Richard Painter and Lindsay Owens about what's really going on with inflation. Spoiler alert: corporate greed. 

Richard Painter is a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School. From February 2005 to July 2007, he was associate counsel to the president in the White House Counsel’s office, serving as the chief ethics lawyer for the president. 

Follow Richard on Twitter: @RWPUSA

Lindsay Owens is the Executive Director of the Groundwork Collaborative. Lindsay has worked in academia, government, and the non-profit sector for nearly 15 years. Most recently, she served as a senior economic policy adviser to Senator Elizabeth Warren and as deputy chief of staff and legislative director to Reps. Keith Ellison and Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal.

Follow Lindsay on Twitter: @owenslindsay1

Read Lindsay's latest article in the New York Times.

Please rate, subscribe, and share the show.

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Twitter

Facebook


Jun 14, 202252:22
S2 E3: Combating the Spike in Hate Crimes Against the AAPI Community

S2 E3: Combating the Spike in Hate Crimes Against the AAPI Community

This week, we chat with Bo Thao-Urabe, Executive Director of the Coalition of Asian American Leaders and State Senator Foung Hawj, District 67 about the spike in hate crimes against the AAPI community during the COVID-19 pandemic and what we can do to combat hate crimes. 

We also ask Bo and Senator Hawj to reflect on the importance of Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. 

As always, please subscribe, rate, and share the show. 

May 25, 202024:21
SPECIAL SERIES: Episode 1: The Trial of Max Mason

SPECIAL SERIES: Episode 1: The Trial of Max Mason

Max Mason was one of several black circus workers accused of sexually assaulting a white woman in 1920. Three were lynched -- Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie -- from a light pole as 10,000 residents of Duluth watched. 

Two went to trial, and Mason, was the only one convicted in a case that has been mired in controversy ever since. 

Three days before the 100-year anniversary, a posthumous pardon petition for Max Mason will be heard on June 12, 2020 before the Minnesota Pardon Board. This special podcast series will cover the story leading up to the Pardon Board hearing.

The pardon depends on a unanimous decision from the Governor, the Chief Justice fo the Minnesota Supreme Court, and me.

Please subscribe, rate, and share the show.

May 21, 202034:08
S2 E2: Preventing Evictions
May 18, 202032:19
S2 E1: Affording Your Life in a Pandemic
May 11, 202015:07
#11 A Special Black History Month Interview with 9-Year-Old Student Raela

#11 A Special Black History Month Interview with 9-Year-Old Student Raela

9-year-old student Raela asks Attorney General Keith Ellison about growing up Black in Detroit, his favorite music, and how he uses his position to open up doors for others.
Feb 18, 202012:54
#10 Affording Elder Care with Executive Director and Founder of Elder Voice

#10 Affording Elder Care with Executive Director and Founder of Elder Voice

Attorney General Keith Ellison talks to Executive Director Kris Sundberg and Founder and Legal Counsel Suzanne Scheller of Elder Voice to discuss elder abuse and advocacy.
Feb 05, 202029:46
#9 Reflecting on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

#9 Reflecting on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Attorney General Keith Ellison reflects on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the current fight for economic equality and racial justice.
Jan 20, 202009:08
#8 What You Need to Know About Our Settlement with Comcast/Xfinity

#8 What You Need to Know About Our Settlement with Comcast/Xfinity

Attorney General Keith Ellison talks to Assistant Attorney General, Katherine Kelly about a recent settlement with Comcast/Xfinity.
Jan 15, 202016:09
#7 What You Need to Know About Our Settlement with CenturyLink
Jan 08, 202009:50
#6 What is Wage Theft? w/ Workers’ Rights Advocate Terri Gerstein

#6 What is Wage Theft? w/ Workers’ Rights Advocate Terri Gerstein

Attorney General Keith Ellison discusses wage theft with Terri Gerstein, the Director of the State and Local Enforcement Project at the Harvard Law School Labor and Worklife Program. Terri has worked for over 17 years enforcing labor laws in New York State. Over the course of her career Terri has represented immigrant workers and has been an advocate against wage theft.
Dec 09, 201938:58
#5 Hate Crimes Listening Session w/ Peace Advocate and Former Violent Extremist Christian Picciolini

#5 Hate Crimes Listening Session w/ Peace Advocate and Former Violent Extremist Christian Picciolini

During a live community listening session on hate crimes in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Attorney General Ellison was joined by faith leaders of a variety of different traditions, State Representative Dan Wolgamott, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights Rebecca Lucero, and Christian Picciolini, an author, television producer, peace advocate, and former violent extremist.

Christian Picciolini’s involvement in and exit from the early American white-supremacist skinhead movement is chronicled in his memoir White American Youth. He now leads the Free Radicals Project, a global extremism prevention and disengagement network, and has helped over 300 individuals leave hate behind. His work is spotlighted in his MSNBC documentary series “Breaking Hate.” Picciolini’s forthcoming book, Breaking Hate: Confronting the New Culture of Extremism, will be published early next year.

Music By Parker Maertz
Produced By Shanell McCoy
Nov 04, 201947:21
#4 Affording Housing: Youth and Family Homelessness

#4 Affording Housing: Youth and Family Homelessness

Attorney General Keith Ellison discusses the issue of youth and family homelessness with a mother and daughter, Nadia and Nazarria McKinley currently facing homelessness, educator, Joe Nathan, St. Paul Councilmember, Jane Prince, and McKinney Vento Liaison, Anne McInerney.

Music By Parker Maertz
Produced By Shanell McCoy
Oct 21, 201938:22
#3 Affording Wages with Lead Attorney Jonathan Moler and Lead Wage Theft Investigator Ana Vergara

#3 Affording Wages with Lead Attorney Jonathan Moler and Lead Wage Theft Investigator Ana Vergara


Attorney General Keith Ellison defines wage theft with Lead Attorney Jonathan Moler and Lead Wage Theft Investigator Ana Vergara of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office Wage Theft Unit.

Music By Parker Maertz
Produced By Shanell McCoy
Oct 07, 201922:16
#2 Affording Drug Prices with Nurse Consultant Shirlynn LaChapelle
Sep 23, 201921:04
#1 Affording Insulin with Nicole Smith-Holt
Aug 19, 201919:07