RT RYBAK won Minneapolis' Mayoral race with 70% of the vote. Here's what he thinks of today's politics.

RT RYBAK won Minneapolis' Mayoral race with 70% of the vote. Here's what he thinks of today's politics.

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2566918/fan_mail/new] NOTE: This interview was recorded on September 5, 2025.  I'm so excited for you to see this conversation I had with RT Rybak. He was the mayor of Minneapolis for three terms — one of the most successful and popular politicians the city has ever seen. He won his third term with over 70% of the vote. And this is the kind of guy who was able to run a city while also hosting pajama parties at the airport to protest noise pollution. We got into a lot. RT talks about why he still goes to therapy after leaving office, and how being that close to the worst moments in the city — murder scenes, the bridge collapse, sitting with families of kids who'd been killed — leaves emotional barnacles that don't just go away. I wasn't expecting him to open up about that the way he did, and I think it's one of the most important parts of the conversation. We also got into the state of media (RT was a journalist before he was a politician), why he thinks the current fracturing of news might actually be a good thing, the night before the primary when he first let himself believe he might really become mayor of this city, what it was like to walk into office in deep financial trouble, and what he's doing now running the Minneapolis Foundation. We also got into where downtown Minneapolis goes from here — the empty office towers, the conversions to housing, and why he thinks winter might be our most underused asset. The conversation flowed by so quickly. I really enjoyed it. I think you will too. 00:00 Intro, One Hour, No Edits 01:48 “Disheveled” as a Media Strategy 04:15 The Power of Authenticity in Politics 08:23 Are TikTok Creators the New News Anchors 13:10 R.T.’s Career from Journalist to Mayor 17:00 Why He Ran for Mayor and Thought He’d Lose 21:45 Pajama Party Protests and Playful Politics 25:02 “I Was in Over My Head” 30:30 Trauma, Therapy, and the Emotional Toll of Public Service 36:12 The Cultural Shift in Minneapolis Politics 39:50 Should Outsiders Run for Office 44:10 How the Minneapolis Foundation Actually Works 50:40 Donor-Advised Funds Explained Simply 53:15 The Future of Minneapolis: Hope or Decline 56:33 Downtown Real Estate Collapse and Reinvention 59:58 Why Minneapolis Is Better Than Portland

Comrade Trip - One Hour of Awkward Comedy

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2566918/fan_mail/new] I sat down with Comrade for exactly one hour, and it turns out when you put an iconic awkward comedian on the pod, you get… well, it nearly broke the show. Comrade is a prolific comedian who’s also building something real in the world, and we talk about how he balances performing, creating, and actually paying rent while trying to make meaningful work. We get into where his comedy comes from, why discomfort is kind of the point, and what it looks like when you keep showing up even when you don’t feel ready. If you want to check out what Comrade is building (and support his work), start here: 👉 https://www.comradetripp.com/ And if you like conversations like this, the best way to support what I’m doing is to become a supporter at oneminutetours.com. That support is what lets me keep sitting down with interesting people and seeing where the hour takes us. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you on the next detour.

Head of Minnesota Democrats Speaks Out on Minnesota v. ICE occupation - Richard Carlbom, DFL Chair

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2566918/fan_mail/new] Support the show and get behind-the-scenes access at oneminutetours.com. This week I sat down with Richard Carlbom, the chair of Minnesota’s Democratic Party, in the middle of one of the most volatile weeks this state has seen in years. A woman had just been killed in south Minneapolis during a federal operation. ICE activity was escalating across the metro. Schools were shutting down. Protesters were flooding the streets. At the same time, Minnesota’s governor announced he wouldn’t seek reelection, throwing the state into an open race for power. Richard is one of the people quietly responsible for holding all of that together — managing the party’s response, keeping elections functioning, and figuring out how a democracy operates when pressure keeps rising. We talk about what his job actually looks like when a crisis hits, why language and outrage suddenly matter so much in politics, and where the line is between protest, civil disobedience, and real political change. We get into misinformation, the way entire communities become scapegoated, and why Minnesota keeps finding itself at the center of national political flashpoints. We also talk candidly about how candidates are really chosen, what an open governor’s race means behind the scenes, and what lessons he took from leading Minnesota’s marriage equality campaign — especially about listening instead of lecturing voters. This is a grounded, honest conversation about power, fear, responsibility, and what it actually means to try to protect democratic systems when they’re under stress.

Okee Dokee Brothers' Joe Mailander on being a Grammy-winning kids' musician

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2566918/fan_mail/new] Grammy-winning musician Joe Mailander of The Okee Dokee Brothers joins John O’Sullivan for an uncut, one-hour conversation about music, fatherhood, faith, and finding meaning in the simple things. From their early canoe trips that inspired a Grammy, to turning down another nomination in protest, this episode dives deep into the power of family folk—and why the songs we sing with our kids often hit hardest as adults. New Album: Little Old You — out now Album debut show: Ordway Theater January 10 & 11. Tickets available at https://ordway.org/events/the-okee-dokee-brothers/ [https://ordway.org/events/the-okee-dokee-brothers/] Learn more at https://www.okeedokee.org [https://www.okeedokee.org] 📍 Chapters: 00:00  Intro — Why The Okee Dokee Brothers matter 03:00  “Nature’s Music” (live performance) 06:00  The art of family folk 08:00  When kids’ music makes adults cry 14:00  Faith, simplicity, and the folk tradition 20:00  Saint John’s Abbey, brutalist architecture, and belief 31:00  Parenting, spirituality, and emotional honesty 38:00  Turning down a Grammy nomination 46:00  Fatherhood lessons and “Little Old You” 57:00  “Through the Woods” (live performance)

Hope Walz: Her Dad’s Decision Not to Run, Finding a Boyfriend With a Secret Service Detail, and Making Content Now

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2566918/fan_mail/new] ***Support independent conversations like this by visiting oneminutetours.com and helping keep One Hour Detours going.*** I sat down with Hope Walz just hours after her father announced he would not run for re-election as governor of Minnesota. It was a strange moment to talk. The decision was still fresh, and the reasons behind it were still settling. We talked about what it’s actually like to grow up in a political family, how the last year changed her life, and what happens when politics stops being abstract and becomes personal. Hope opens up about receiving threats, briefly living with Secret Service protection during the national campaign, and what it felt like to lose that safety overnight. She also shares how the decision not to run came together inside her family, why her dad believed stepping aside might lower the temperature around Minnesota, and how she thinks about media, social platforms, and responsibility now that she has an audience of her own. 00:00 Recording on the day of the announcement 02:43 What family conversations around stepping away actually looked like 04:36 Threats, harassment, and stepping back from social media 06:34 Living with Secret Service during the national campaign 09:43 Choosing life without security afterward 16:37 Being part of the decision not to run again 18:38 Minnesota as a national political target 37:08 Dating and having a normal life under Secret Service 44:24 Becoming a content creator after the election