Minnesota Unraveled: Pulling on the Threads of Minnesota History

Minnesota Unraveled: Pulling on the Threads of Minnesota History

Minnesota history is a rich tapestry, weaving together the diverse experiences, cultures, and events that tell the story of our state. It’s a story that affects—and includes—all of us. Minnesota Unraveled, a podcast by the Minnesota Historical Society, pulls on the threads of the past to reveal new perspectives and expand our knowledge of the history we share. Host Dr. Chantel Rodriguez and her guests invite listeners to think like historians and recognize that learning about other people’s lives in the past can be a powerful way to reveal our place in the present. Join us on a journey across the North Star State as we take a look around us and ask questions that pull us into the past.

Episodes

Shared Roots: Hmong Foodways

June 12, 2025 • 50 mins
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. Think of your favorite meal. It’s so much more than just what you see on the plate. It’s the history of the ingredients, the recipes passed down from family members, the memories you have with the tastes and smells of it all. For the Hmong community in Minnesota, food sits at the intersection of community tradition, culture, and his...
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Mapping History: Lesbian Feminist Cooperative Farms in Greater Minnesota

May 29, 2025 • 58 mins
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Many histories of the LGBTQIA+ community are focused on metropolitan areas, but a recent mapping project has elevated the stories of a group of Lesbian feminist cooperative farms in rural Minnesota in the 1970s.  In this episode, historian and host Dr. Chantel Rodriguez explores how living off of the land gave Lesbian Feminists a sen...
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Brick by Brick: The African Americans who Built the Capitol

May 15, 2025 • 52 mins
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey ⁠here⁠. The Minnesota State Capitol is a gleaming marble building sitting on a hill — an ode to the Italian Renaissance, topped with an impeccably crafted dome. You’ve probably heard of the mind behind the design, Cass Gilbert, plenty of times. But how did Gilbert’s design influence how the building was made, and just who was it that built the ...
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Rivers of History

April 24, 2025 • 65 mins
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey ⁠here⁠. Rivers loom large in our past and present – as places for community connection, routes for trading and spaces for recreation.  They carry an untold number of stories about the people, the water, and animals that call Minnesota home.  But how do we go about learning these stories?  In this episode, historian and host Dr. Chantel Rodrí...
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History on Two Wheels: Bicycles and Bike Paths in Minnesota

April 13, 2025 • 54 mins
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey ⁠here⁠. Many places around the world are famous for their love of cycling—think Amsterdam in the Netherlands, or Portland, Oregon. But head to Como Lake in St. Paul, or the Mill Towns Trail in Northfield on a sunny spring day, and you’ll find flocks of cyclists taking advantage of the weather and the well-loved bike paths. How did biking find a...
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SoulForce: Black, Brown, and Red Power in the Twin Cities

March 28, 2025 • 67 mins
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey ⁠here⁠. America in the 1960s was a landmark decade for civil rights. But the passage of the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965) neither completely, nor immediately, addressed the issues facing diverse communities throughout the country. The Black Power Movement—as well as empowerment movements in the Mexican American and Na...
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Meatpacking in Minnesota: How Migration and Labor Transformed Worthington

March 6, 2025 • 55 mins
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey ⁠here⁠. Driving through the rural expanse of southwestern Minnesota, there are a lot of things you might expect to see, such as corn fields, cattle, and the quaint main streets of small town America. But, if you find yourself in Worthington, Minnesota, you might be surprised to find the warehouse-sized footprint of a meatpacking facility, along...
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Leon Belmont: Gender and Celebrity in Minneapolis in 1880

February 20, 2025 • 46 mins
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey ⁠here⁠. In 1880, a court case rocked Minneapolis society, and ruled the newspaper headlines. It was the case of Leon Belmont, a man accused of fraud. Authorities claimed that he was a woman wearing men’s clothing, passing herself off as a man. Why so much uproar over this particular case? And was it for the reasons we’d expect? Historian and...
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Logging the Northwoods: Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox in Bemidji

February 6, 2025 • 49 mins
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey ⁠here⁠. The Midwest—and Minnesota in particular—is known for its roadside attractions, from the world’s biggest ball of twine (made by one person) to the world’s largest boot. But drive through the Northwoods town of Bemidji, Minnesota, and you’ll find towering statues of a legendary lumberjack Paul Bunyan and his pal— Babe the Blue Ox—looking ...
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Enduring Connections: Native Community and Basketball

January 23, 2025 • 45 mins
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey ⁠here⁠. Women’s basketball is having a moment in the United States—in fact, Minnesota’s own WNBA team, the Lynx, have won four championships and even made it to the finals in 2024. But while sports have empowered women in modern society, the history of basketball—not unlike the history of women in this country—is, well, complicated. Peek into t...
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Part Two: Bringing Bison Home

January 2, 2025 • 42 mins
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey ⁠here⁠. Buffalo once roamed across Minnesota in the thousands. Now, the Minnesota Bison Collaborative is working to bring them back. It’s a trickier proposition than you might think. It requires community involvement, prairie restoration, and careful monitoring of it all. This episode, host Dr. Chantel Rodriguez talks with natural resource m...
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Part One: Searching for Bison in Minnesota History

December 19, 2024 • 37 mins
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey ⁠here⁠. Think “buffalo” and you probably think “Wild West,” “Yellowstone”, or “Great Plains.” In this two-part episode, historian and host Dr. Chantel Rodriguez uncovers why you should also think “Minnesota”. The history of bison in the North Star State is a long one, but not one that’s well-known.  Through conversations with Native natural ...
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Measuring Up: Better Baby Contests at the State Fair

December 5, 2024 • 37 mins
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey ⁠here⁠. Hot dogs, deep fried oreos, and thrill rides – all things you can find at Minnesota’s State Fair. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll find stories more interesting than the latest food on a stick. Tucked in the History and Heritage Center are two placards highlighting “baby competitions” that once took place on the fairgrounds. This ...
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Life Underground: Fallout Shelters in Minnesota

November 21, 2024 • 44 mins
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey ⁠here⁠. Dotted throughout the Twin Cities are fallout shelter signs. Chances are you’ve seen one of these black and yellow signs attached to a very sturdy building. Have you wondered: What purpose did they serve? Why were fallout shelters needed to begin with? What was it like to live in the atomic age? For this second episode of MN Unravele...
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Museum of the Streets: Muralismo in St. Paul

November 7, 2024 • 38 mins
If you’re in the West Side of St. Paul, there’s a chance a splash of color will catch your eye – one of the neighborhood’s many murals. Where did they all come from? Do they have a shared heritage? And who are the artists behind them? For this first episode of Minnesota Unraveled, historian and host Dr. Chantel Rodriguez delves into the West Side’s rich history, and why Chicano art is at its heart. She talks with Ralph Brown, a lo...
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Introducing Minnesota Unraveled: Pulling the Threads of Minnesota History

October 24, 2024 • 2 mins
Introducing Minnesota Unraveled, a new podcast from the Minnesota Historical Society. Each episode, historian and host Dr. Chantel Rodriguez uses her training to investigate unsung stories of Minnesota history, and how that history plays out for Minnesotans each and every day.
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