Northern Minnesota is under a new alert until Friday at 7 p.m.

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

The elephant in the room last night was, of course, Super Bowl LV, which for those of us who are Roman numeral-challenged means 55. (You're welcome.) 

Tom Brady and a whole bunch of other people were 

 at exactly the same time as we gathered, socially distanced, in The Warming House to launch a friendly debate about the best halftime show ever. 

. Duh. But a few honorable mentions included 

, oh and co-host Nina Moini's favorite with 

In honor of memorable halftimes, our vinyl pick for the week was Janet Jackson's 1986 masterpiece "Control." (The phrase "wardrobe malfunction" should trigger your memory of her Super Bowl, er *coughs*, spectacle.) "Control" is a beautiful mash-up of R&B, rap, funk and disco that became Janet's — Miss Jackson's, if you're nasty — first Billboard #1. 

Co-host Sean McPherson said, "Minnesotans Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis made their statement: We are the future of R&B production! They were both right and it’s obvious from the first words Janet speaks. The record is huge, the production is top notch and that gives Janet the authority to deliver this swagger. If you hear Janet’s work from before 'Control’ it doesn’t sound like a certainty in the least that she will become a pop icon."

If you were watching the end of the first half of this year's Super Bowl, you missed two enormous "futbol" fans teaming up for a soccer-themed game of Twins Trivia. We also caught up with Rose McGee, founder of 

. She talked about the sacred meaning of sweet potato pie in the African American community. Order your pie here!

Singer Annie Mack joined us to talk about her new music that took flight during summer 2020's protests following 

. We listened to her song "Testify." And by the time The Weeknd finished his Super Bowl set, we were giving you vegan food recommendations in Moorhead. A full-service show, if there ever was one!

Last, but certainly not least, TWH "advice-ologist" Sanni Brown helped us understand the difference between "Karen"- and "Non-Karen"-type behavior and gave us one more reason to think she's one of the coolest moms on the planet, dishing on her school day Marvin Gaye routine! Let's just say that homeschooling chez Sanni has got to be, well, a great show!

Click the audio player above to listen to a recording of the show.

, TWH "advice-ologist" from The Current and Purple Current

Savanna Leach, vegan food enthusiast in Moorhead

Nina Moini

Host

Sean McPherson

Tiffany Hanssen

Author

Tom Brady and a whole bunch of other people were playing a game of sportsball at exactly the same time as we gathered, socially-distanced, in The Warming House to launch a friendly debate about the best halftime show ever.

Ep. 9: Our Super Bowl halftime show

Go Deeper.

Like this?