
Affording Your Life with Attorney General Keith Ellison
By Attorney General Keith Ellison


Answering Your Questions
This month on the Affording Your Life podcast, Attorney General Ellison is answering your questions. He discusses standing up to federal overreach, DOGE and the FDIC, RFK Jr. and the autism registry he wants to start, and much more. Be sure to tune in and share the podcast with friends and family!

Standing Up to President Trump's Lawless Executive Orders
I'm hard at work standing up to the lawlessness executive orders being issued by President Trump. On this week's podcast, I discuss my office's work to challenge these illegal orders. Be sure to tune in and share this podcast with friends and family.
CFPB Op-ed mentioned during the show: https://www.startribune.com/keith-ellison-why-im-fighting-to-keep-the-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-going/601230180

The Price of Monopoly ft. Stacy Mitchell
How does market concentration affect you and your community? Stacy Mitchell, an outstanding thinker and writer when it comes to issues of corporate power, joined the podcast to discuss how a lack of antitrust enforcement led to the creation of food deserts and so much more. Be sure to tune in, rate, and review!
You can find Stacy's article on food deserts in the Atlantic here: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/12/food-deserts-robinson-patman/680765/

Addressing the Elephant in the Oval Office
On this episode, Attorney General Ellison discusses his approach to the incoming Trump administration and recaps some of the office's biggest cases of the year. Be sure to tune in, rate and review, and share with friends and family.

Utility Players: How We Cut Energy Costs
We do a lot at the Minnesota Attorney General's Office to help folks afford their lives, including fighting to keep your utility bill fair. When your power company is looking to raise rates, we're often on the other side of the table, advocating for individual and small business ratepayers. On this episode, we tell the story of that important work, and share how you can get involved.
For more on our advocacy for ratepayers, see this post on our Substack: https://affordingyourlife.substack.com/p/utility-players

Working for Workers in Minnesota
Workers are up against a lot right now. Wage theft affects tens of thousands of Minnesota workers every year. Non-compete agreements are stifling competition and suppressing wages. And sometimes employers reach into your paycheck and take money they shouldn't. Fortunately, my Office is committed to standing up for working people and holding bad actors who take advantage of workers accountable.
We cover all these issues and so much more on this episode of Affording Your Life. Please be sure to rate, review, and share with friends and family!
You can read the Attorney General's full Working for Workers report here: https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Reports/LaborReport_2024.pdf
To submit a complaint to the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, visit this link: https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Complaint.asp

The Economics of Abortion Access ft. Senator Tina Smith
Attorney General Keith Ellison is joined by Senator Tina Smith to discuss the economic impact that access to reproductive healthcare, or the lack thereof, can have on people across the country.

How to Catch a Scammer
On this week's episode, Attorney General Ellison takes listeners behind the scenes of an investigation. AG Ellison, alongside an attorney, an investigator, and a mediator from the Office, discusses how his team found out that a used car dealership was scamming Minnesotans and what the Office is doing to stop it.

Fighting Employer Misclassification Fraud
Attorney General Ellison joins state Representative Emma Greenman, state Senator Clare Oumou Verbeten, and AGO Senior Policy Advisor Carin Mrotz, for a conversation on what employer misclassification fraud is, how it harms all of us, and a new law that will help prevent it.

The Minnesota Debt Fairness Act, Explained
State Senator Liz Boldon and State Representative Liz Reyer join the podcast this week to discuss the Minnesota Debt Fairness Act with Attorney General Ellison. This is a bill that would help folks struggling with debt live with dignity and afford their lives while they work to pay what they owe.
Give it a listen and, if you think this bill would make people's lives better, reach out to your state lawmakers and urge them to support the Minnesota Debt Fairness Act.

The 2023 Lighting Round Recap
Attorney General Keith Ellison walks listeners through some highlights of his office's recent work in an unconventional format.

S4E1: All about inflation, price gouging, and the banking crisis
Welcome back to Affording Your Life! We are kicking off Season 4 by talking all about inflation, price gouging, and what the recent bank failures mean for everyday people.
My guest today is Dr. Lindsay Owens is the Executive Director of the Groundwork Collaborative. Widely known for her ability to communicate pressing economic concepts and arguments, Lindsay has been credited with changing the way we understand inflation, by leading the charge to expose—and articulate—the role of firm pricing power and corporate profiteering in price increases.
Follow Lindsay on Twitter: @owenslindsay1 / Learn more about Groundwork Collaborative: groundworkcollaborative.org.
Contact the Minnesota Attorney General's office at 651-296-3353 or visit ag.state.mn.us.
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S3E10: All about the Fairview/Sanford Merger - Part 2
For the season three finale, we're continuing last week's conversation about the Fairview and Sanford Health merger. Carrie and Elizabeth are back to talk more about the Fairview and Sanford Health merger. Carrie is the Manager of the AGO’s Charities Division and Elizabeth is an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil, Wage Theft, and Antitrust Division.
Affording Your Life will be back for Season 4 on April 12.
Contact the Minnesota Attorney General's office at 651-296-3353 or visit ag.state.mn.us.
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S3E9: All about the Fairview/Sanford Merger - Part 1
In November 2022, Fairview and Sanford Health announced their intention to merge their organizations. As part of that process, our office is conducting a review of the transaction. Here to help us understand the merger and what it means for Minnesotans, I have Carrie Washington and Elizabeth Odette. Carrie is the Manager of the AGO’s Charities Division and Elizabeth is an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil, Wage Theft, and Antitrust Division.
Today's episode is the first episode of our series on the merger. Tune in next week for part two!
Contact the Minnesota Attorney General's office at 651-296-3353 or visit ag.state.mn.us.
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S3E8: Advocating for residential utility customers w/Joe Meyer

S3E7: Protecting consumers w/Parker Maertz
The mission of my office is to help Minnesotans afford their lives with dignity and justice, and our Consumer Action Division is critical to advancing this mission. Today’s guest is Parker Maertz, the Manager of our office’s Consumer Action Division. We are going to talk about the function of the Consumer Action Division and how our office can help you.
To file a complaint, visit ag.state.mn.us or call our office at 651-296-3353.
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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.
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S3E5: Organizing with workers against wage theft w/Claudia Lainez (COPAL)
This week on Affording Your Life, I am joined by Claudia Lainez, to talk about her experience growing up in El Salvador and her work as an organizer, fighting against the injustices faced by workers, including wage theft. Claudia is the Worker's Center Coordinator at COPAL, a grassroots organization that seeks to impact the quality of life for Latinos in MN.
To learn more about COPAL or get in touch with the Worker's Center, visit copalmn.org or call 612-427-2011 and follow COPAL on Facebook.
Please rate, subscribe, and share the show.
Follow us on social media: Twitter @AGEllison, Facebook @AGEllison, Instagram @agkellison, and TikTok @agkeithellison.

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 Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, The 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
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Follow us on social media: Twitter @AGEllison, Facebook @AGEllison, Instagram @agkellison, and TikTok @agkeithellison

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.
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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
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Protecting Family Farmers by Breaking Up Monopolies (Recast from 2020)

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.
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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.

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.


S2 E1: Affording Your Life in a Pandemic

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

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

#9 Reflecting on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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


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

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

#4 Affording Housing: Youth and Family Homelessness
Music By Parker Maertz
Produced By Shanell McCoy

#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

