In a special edition of Minnesota Now, we dedicate the full hour to a conversation with Keon West. He is the author of the book released this year called "The Science of Racism: Everything You Need to Know but Probably Don't — Yet."

The book lays out decades of scientific research about racism and its consequences, as well as efforts to address racial inequality.

Now a social psychology professor at the University of London, West spent an earlier phase of his academic career in St. Paul. He attended Macalester College and graduated in 2006. MPR News host Nina Moini recently talked with West at the school’s alumni weekend.

An 11-year-old boy is dead after a shooting at a Minneapolis park. It's the second deadly shooting at a city park this month. We talk to the Minneapolis Park Police chief about what he thinks is behind the violence and what he's doing to keep parks safe.

The entire CDC vaccine advisory panel was fired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The new members meet for the first time today. We hear how this panel's desicions could impact vaccine access.

Plus, federal checks on unaccompanied minors are putting immigrant families on edge. We dive deeper into that story from Sahan Journal.

Meteorologist Sven Sundgaard joins us with a look at flooding threats for today.

And a new podcast is collecting stories of queer mutual aid through a hotline.

Today’s Minnesota Music Minute was “Don’t Come Crying to Me” by Cindy Lawson. The Song of the Day was “The Great American Outrage Machine” by Dante DeGrazia.

A local podcaster is creating an oral history project built on stories from the LGBTQ+ community.

It’s called the We Help Us hotline and the phone lines are open to collect the stories of queer mutual aid in Minnesota. The stories sent in will then turn into a narrative podcast and will also be archived at the Tretter Collection at the University of Minnesota.

Chris Stedman is the founder of Good Judy Productions and creator of the We Help Us hotline. He joined Minnesota Now to talk about the project.

You can call 1-844-WE-HLP-US (1-844-934-5787) to submit a story.