Ellie 2.0 Radio
We’re generally aware of hopeless idealists, but how many of us have ever actually heard from one? Ellie 2.0 is all about idealism and the journey of one particular idealist—Ellie Krug—as she works to make the world a better place. Only, there’s a slight complicating factor: Ellie’s a 61-year-old transgender woman. That simple demographic sometimes makes things particularly interesting. Or daunting. Where does the “2.0” come in? Because in another life, when Ellie presented as a man and worked for big corporations as a trial attorney—the nickname was “Killer Krug”—there was no place for idealism. Today, remade as her “true” female self, Ellie’s become a doer and believer in humanity and the common good. As she likes to say, “Ninety-nine percent of us want to do the right thing; it’s just that most are afraid to do what’s right.” Usually, Ellie’s not afraid and most of the time, she does what’s right. Come along as she tries to lead the way, traveling America to make our country whol
Episodes
April 22, 2024 • 43 mins
We start with our featured idealist Ella Baker, who was a “doer” in the civil rights movement of the 1930’s to 1960’s, and who worked behind the scenes to strengthen the NAACP and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (which orchestrated lunch counter protests). Ella is one of the unsung heroes who made things happen! The…
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April 8, 2024 • 46 mins
With this week’s tragedy of 7 World Central Kitchen workers being killed by Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza, we revisit an idealist, Chef Jose Andres, whom I highlighted in April 2020, and the incredible work that WCK is doing across the world. The Big Interview is with Kelsey Waits, who shares about Stardust Farm, an…
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April 1, 2024 • 44 mins
Our featured idealist is Siddharth Kara, the author of Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives (St. Martin’s Press, 2023), a NYT bestseller, and who has journeyed to more than 50 countries to document modern day slavery and human exploitation. You won’t want to miss the clip of Siddharth talking about…
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March 25, 2024 • 45 mins
This show’s featured idealist is unsung hero Clyde Kennard, who the State of Mississippi Sovereignty Commission targeted and framed for a theft crime when Clyde persistently attempted to integrate the University of Southern MS in the late 1950’s. After wrongfully serving two years in prison, and after an outcry from civil rights leaders, including Dr.…
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March 18, 2024 • 44 mins
Our featured idealist of the week is Greg Carr, a philanthropist who has invested $100 million of his own money to rehabilitate Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. The Big Interview is a reprise with Staphanie Glaros, who talks about One Small Step, an initiative of StoryCorps. In my C-Block I share about the very successful…
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March 11, 2024 • 43 mins
It’s an Ellie Talking Head show!! We don’t have a guest, and instead you get me for the entire show! Today our featured idealist is Col. Ben Jonsson, who has been singled out for a “promotion hold” by MO. Senator Eric Schmitt because Col. Jonsson’s had the audacity to write a letter telling white Air…
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March 4, 2024 • 43 mins
In the A-Block, I revisit a recent featured idealistic organization, PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), and how it’s now the subject of a “Demand for Information” from Texas Attorney General, who seeks detailed personal information about Texas PFLAG members who are transgender or who have trans kids/youth. This is all about Texas’…
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February 3, 2024 • 42 mins
t’s a live show! Our featured idealist is Laura Belin, the curator of the Bleeding Heartland blog that covers Iowa politics. Laura and I talk about legislation introduced at the behest of Gov. Reynolds which seeks to require transgender people who’ve transitioned genders to list both an M and F on their driver’s license. Ugh.…
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January 29, 2024 • 45 mins
Our featured idealist of the week is Jeanne Manford, who in 1971 wrote a letter to the NY Post telling the world the she loved her gay son who had been the victim of a homophobic attack. As a result of the positive outpouring to that letter, Jeanne would go on to found PFLAG—Parents and…
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January 15, 2024 • 44 mins
This week’s featured idealist is Zyahna Byrant who, as a 15-year-old, launched a petition to remove Robert E. Lee’s statute in Charlottesville VA in 2017. That led to a city commission recommending the statute’s removal, which in turn led to the “Unite the Right” rally with the Tiki Torch white supremacists marching through the city.…
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January 8, 2024 • 43 mins
We start off “Tumultuous ‘24” with our featured idealist, Medgar Evers, an idealist who worked to desegregate Mississippi in the 1950s and early ‘60s until he was assassinated in July 1963. His murderer wouldn’t be brought to justice until 1996. The Big Interview is with Heather Tran of A Better Society, a small Chanhassen MN…
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December 25, 2023 • 43 mins
It’s the last “fresh” show of 2023 and our featured idealist is Stephen Ritz, a South Bronx educator who created the “Green Bronx Machine” centered around exciting students about growing plants. His idea has taken off and earned him and his school national accolades—along the way, it raised student attendance and grades. The Big Interview…
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December 18, 2023 • 44 mins
This week’s featured idealist is Rashida Tlaib, who represents Michigan’s 12th District in the House. She’s been a fierce protector of Palestinian rights, for which she was censured last month. (For the record, I believe that Israel has the right to exist, and I don’t put up with antisemitism.) The Big Interview is with Mikki…
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December 11, 2023 • 43 mins
Our featured idealist is none other than the immortal John Lennon, who was shot and killed 43 years ago yesterday. His song, Imagine, is the idealist’s anthem! In my C-Block, I interview Hal Sansoney, the producer, director and performer for Trans Voice Cabaret, that’s opening at the Mixed Blood Theater. In my C-Block, I talk…
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December 4, 2023 • 41 mins
It’s another Ellie’s Talking Head show! Our featured idealist is Majorie Kelly, who has written and spoken extensively on changing America’s capitalist system to end “financial extraction” where only the rich get richer. Instead, she favors community-based ownership where everyone is lifted up. I also highlight Frank Bruni, a NYT columnist and author who recently…
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November 20, 2023 • 5 mins
Ellie Krug, host of Ellie 2.0 Radio every Saturday at 10 AM on AM950 joins Matt to mark today’s Transgender Day of Remembrance.
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November 18, 2023 • 43 mins
It’s a live Ellie’s Talking Head show! I begin by highlighting the sad state of legalized discrimination against transgender people in America today. From there, I pivot to talk about a November 16 piece by Tom Nichols in The Atlantic titled, “Trump Crosses a Crucial Line,” re: Trump’s use of the word, “vermin,” in his…
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November 15, 2023 • 43 mins
Our featured idealist is the late Matthew Perry, who tried to help others who struggled with drug and alcohol addictions, just like he struggled. The Big Interview is with Bob Roepke, the former mayor of Chaska MN, who talks about the importance of feeling a sense of connectedness through “community.” In my C-Block, I talk…
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