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EIGHT FORTY-EIGHT

Audio Library

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Eight Forty-Eight—September 30, 2005

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Listen to Audio Month in Review

We're joined by Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune, Laura Washington of the Chicago Sun-Times, and Greg Hinz of Crain's Chicago Business to discuss the biggest stories from the month of September.
   
Listen to Audio Ira Glass Looks Back

Steve Edwards and Ira Glass in their first-ever radio appearance together: they discuss Glass's Radio vs. Theatre “Smackdown” and his ten years creating This American Life.

Related Link
This American Life
   
Listen to Audio Theater Reviews

Contributor Jonathan Abarbanel joins us to share his thoughts on Chicago Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Next Theatre's The God of Hell, and Teatro Vista's Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

Related Links
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Next Theatre Company
Teatro Vista
   
Listen to Audio Beyond Glory

We hear an excerpt from Stephen Lang's one-man show about American soldiers recounting their experiences in combat. It's currently playing at Chicago's Goodman Theatre.

Related Link
Goodman Theatre
   
Listen to Audio War Stories: The Business of War
Originally aired during our news broadcasts

The billions being spent on the conflict in Iraq are helping fuel the American economy, but the benefits and costs aren't spread equally throughout the U.S. How is the war affecting Chicago's collective wallet? Chicago Public Radio's Robert Wildeboer reports.

More War Stories >>
   
Listen to Audio War Stories: Letters from Baghdad, Part Ten

We conclude our series from Chicago peace activist Anita David with her last letter prior to returning home from Iraq.

More “Letters from Baghdad” >>
   
Listen to Audio War Stories: Anatomy of a Protest
Originally aired during our news broadcasts

A busful of anti-war protestors traveled all night from DuPage County west of Chicago to last weekend's rally on the White House lawn. Chicago Public Radio rode along, and we bring you some of their voices.

This piece was produced by Chicago Public Radio's Catrin Einhorn.

More War Stories >>
   
Listen to Audio War Stories: Pro-war Demonstrator

We talk with a young Chicago man who helped organize a rally to support the Bush administration and the war in Iraq.

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Eight Forty-Eight—September 29, 2005

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War Stories: A Community Gives Back

After suffering an accident in Iraq that left him paralyzed from the neck down, U.S. Army Sergeant Joel Gomez returned to his hometown of Wheaton, Illinois, where residents have donated more than $500,000 in cash and labor towards his new home.

More War Stories >>

   
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War Stories: PTSD and Iraq

Chicago Public Radio's Mike Rhee reports that the war in Iraq is bringing more Vietnam veterans to see doctors for help with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.  

More War Stories >>

   
Listen to Audio War Stories: Letters from Baghdad, Part Nine

Chicago peace activist Anita David writes about the pride and strength of will of the Iraqi people.

More “Letters from Baghdad” >>
   
Listen to Audio Examining Fifty Years of WTTW, Part One
Wally Podrazik—Media Contributor

Originally founded fifty years ago with a mission to educate and inform without commercial interference, Chicago's WTTW has become one of the most successful public television stations in the nation. Wally Podrazik reflects on its history.

Related Link
WTTW 11
   
Listen to Audio Examining Fifty Years of WTTW, Part Two
Daniel J. Schmidt—President and CEO, Window to the World Communications

We discuss the future of public television in Chicago with Daniel J. Schmidt, the head of Window to the World Communications, WTTW's parent company.

Related Link
WTTW 11
   
Listen to Audio
  Photo of Barb Fuller-Curry and Craig Curry.
   
StoryCorps: Living with HIV

Jim Pickett works as the policy director for the AIDS Foundation and has been HIV positive himself since 1995. He brought his friend and colleague, David Munar (who is also HIV-positive) to the StoryCorps MobileBooth to talk about the difficulties of living with the disease.

Hear more excerpts, including Web-exclusive audio, in Chicago Public Radio's StoryCorps Audio Library >>
   
Listen to Audio New Spots for Dining Out
Steve Dolinsky—Food Contributor

With dozens of restaurants opening their doors in Chicago, contributor Steve Dolinsky helps sort through the masses and highlight some exciting new culinary spots.

See the list of restaurants >>
   
Listen to Audio The Sound Suit
Michael Una—Artist

Michael Una was always fascinated with sound and the way music made his body feel, so he created a suit that translates the body's movements into sound.

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Michael Una
   
   

Eight Forty-Eight—September 28, 2005

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Ryan Goes to Trial
Carlos Hernandez Gomez—Correspondent, Chicago Public Radio News

As the corruption trial of former Illinois Governor George Ryan begins with opening statements, we discuss the trial and the testimony that's ahead.

Music Button: Computer Jockeys, “Uomo Nello Spazio,” Ennio Morricone Remixes, Volume Two (Compost, 2004)

   
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War Stories: Northwest Indiana Families Bear Burden

With thousands of Chicago-area soldiers deployed in Iraq, the war has taken a heavy toll on many local communities. Chicago Public Radio's Jay Field reports on the sacrifices some Northwest Indiana families are making as the conflict continues.

More War Stories >>

   
Listen to Audio War Stories: Letters from Baghdad, Part Eight

Chicago peace activist Anita David describes everyday life in a combat zone.

More “Letters from Baghdad” >>
   
Listen to Audio The Colors of Fall
Peter Bristol—Curator of Woody Plants, Chicago Botanic Garden

Due to our dry spring and summer, the fall leaves are dropping early and depriving Chicagoans of some autumn color. Horticulturalist Peter Bristol explains the science behind the scenery.

Related Link
Chicago Botanic Garden

Music Button: Thurn and Taxis, “Blues for Pablo Money” Gorodisch (Leaf, 2001)
   
Listen to Audio Garrison Keillor's Poetry to Make You Feel Good
Garrison Keillor—Host, A Prarie Home Companion
Studs Terkel—Special Contributor

Special contriubtor Studs Terkel sits down with Garrison Keillor to discuss his anthology of poems, Good Poems for Hard Times (Viking Books, 2005).

Related Link
A Prarie Home Companion

Music Button: Stephane Grappelli, “Djangology,” Jazz Masters, Volume Eleven (Verve, 1994)
   
Listen to Audio The Spectacular Dances of a Chicagoland Native
Originally aired September 25, 2005, on Hello Beautiful!
Hedy Weiss—Theater and Dance Critic, Chicago Sun-Times

One of Toulouse-Lautrec's favorite subjects, Loie Fuller found fame on Parisian stages for her use of brilliant light and flowing fabric. Hedy Weiss explains why Fuller was such a phenomenon.
   
Listen to Audio Jazz Musician Ken Vandermark
Ken Vandermark—Musician

We talk with improvisational jazz giant Ken Vandermark about his work and his album with The Vandermark 5, The Color of Memory (Atavistic, 2005).

Featured Music: The Vandermark 5, “Burn Nostalgia” and “That Was Now,” The Color of Memory (Atavistic, 2005)
   
   

Eight Forty-Eight—September 27, 2005

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Chicago Public School Planning
Alexander Russo—Education Contributor

We discuss the Chicago Public School District's plans to transform city high schools, the status of magnet schools, and the upcoming tutoring deadline.

Music Button: Everything But the Girl, “Big Deal,” Walking Wounded (Atlantic, 1996)

   
Listen to Audio Why Ban Harry Potter?
Beverly Becker—Associate Director, American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom

As the ALA commemorates Banned Book Week, we discuss the reasons why some people want books such as the Harry Potter series and King and King taken off bookshelves.

Related Link
American Library Association
   
Listen to Audio A “Lost” Book
Chad Post—Associate Director and Director of Development, Dalkey Archive Press

What happens when an obscure piece of Irish literature is featured on one of television's most popular series? We talk with publisher Chad Post about the impact of “Lost” featuring Flann O'Brien's The Third Policeman.

Related Link
Dalkey Archive Press


Music Button: Aqua Velvets, “Mermaids After Midnight” Guitar Noir (Milan, 1997)
   
Listen to Audio Revisiting Henry
John McNaughton—Filmmaker

Twenty years after its original release (with an X-rating), John McNaughton's horror classic, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, is out on DVD. We discuss the film with its director, John McNaughton.

Music Button: Mogwai, “Sine Wave Rock,” Action (Matador, 2001)
   
Listen to Audio War Stories: Letters from Baghdad, Part Seven

Chicago peace activist Anita David shares the story of a grandmother searching for her injured granddaughter.

More “Letters from Baghdad” >>
   
Listen to Audio War Stories: Iraqi Families Rethink Support for War
Originally aired during our news broadcasts


When the U.S. overthrew Saddam Hussein, many Chicago-area Iraqis rejoiced. But as the conflict drags on, many are rethinking their support for the war. Chicago Public Radio's Lynette Kalsnes talks with local Iraqi families about life during wartime.

More War Stories >>


Music Button: Trilok Gurtu, “Om,” Da-nang (Quango, 2005)
   
Listen to Audio
  Photo of Barb Fuller-Curry and Craig Curry.
   
StoryCorps: Coming to America

Chicagoan Kenneth Der and his daughter, Pamella Der, visited the StoryCorps MobileBooth to document some of their family history, including Kenneth’s memories of growing up in Hong Kong and his immigration to the United States.

Hear more excerpts, including Web-exclusive audio, in Chicago Public Radio's StoryCorps Audio Library >>
   
Listen to Audio Architecture's Chicago Seven
Kevin Harrington—Professor of Architectural History, Illinois Institute of Technology

Kevin Harrington discusses the first generation of Chicago architects to break out of the Mies van der Rohe box.
   
Listen to Audio Rebuilding the Gulf Coast
John Norquist—President and CEO, Congress for the New Urbanism

We talk with John Norquist about his group's efforts to rethink urban design in the Gulf region following Katrina.

Related Link
The Congress for New Urbanism
   
Listen to Audio A Family Escapes Katrina
Candace Hunter—Artist

Chicago artist Candace Hunter reflects on her family's escape from Hurricane Katrina.
   
   

Eight Forty-Eight—September 26, 2005

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Listen to Audio Business Update
David Greising—Business Contributor

Boeing reaches a tentative agreement with its machinists union, and Dominick's finds some labor peace of its own. Meantime, motorists worry about gas prices, and McDonald's plans a Chipotle IPO.
   
Listen to Audio The Politics of Illinois Regulatory Boards
Bernard Schoenberg—Reporter and Political Columnist, Springfield State Journal-Register

From the gaming board to the board of education, Governor Rod Blagojevich has long raised eyebrows for the way he interacts with Illinois's various regulatory boards and commissions.
   
Listen to Audio Panel on Northwest Indiana Development

We're joined by John Clark, chair of the newly-created Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority.
   
Listen to Audio A New Start for Head Start?
C. Cybele Raver—Associate Professor, Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago

As Congress considers a bill reauthorizing and revising the 40-year-old Head Start program, we talk with the principal investigator of the Chicago School Readiness Project.

Related Link
Chicago School Readiness Project—University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy
   
Listen to Audio Kindergarten Mom

Evanston writer and actor Tracy Egan tells us about her one-woman comedy, Who's Driving the Bus? My Year as a Kindergarten Mom.

The show runs Thursdays–Saturdays through November 5, 2005, at the Apollo Theater Studio in Chicago's Lincoln Park.

Related Link
Apollo Theater Chicago
   
Listen to Audio War Stories: Military Recruiters Struggle
Originally aired during our news broadcasts

A drop in re-enlistment and sustained violence in Iraq have made it harder to recruit people for military service. Chicago Public Radio's Ben Calhoun reports on how these pressures are playing out in the Chicago area.

More War Stories >>
   
Listen to Audio War Stories: Letters from Baghdad, Part Six

Chicago peace activist Anita David writes to her young goddaughter back home.

More “Letters from Baghdad” >>
   
Listen to Audio Sports Update

The White Sox turned the tides with a three-game sweep over the Twins, but the Bears lost to the Bengals after a disastrous performance by rookie QB Kyle Orton.
   
Listen to Audio Photographer Jane Calvin

Depicting elaborate, non-digital sets created in her studio, photographer Jane Calvin's work is currently on view at Chicago's Flatfile Galleries. She's also planning a one-woman show in China this November. Calvin talks with contributor Elise Glickman Rao.

Flatfile Galleries is at 217 North Carpenter Street in the West Loop.
   
Listen to Audio Monday Music Corner: Troubled Hubble Bids Farewell

After six years, the suburban band known for its catchy and unusual pop sounds is ending its ride. Troubled Hubble plays its final show this Thursday night, September 29, at Schuba's.

Featured Music
Troubled Hubble, “Lamp,” Broken Airplanes (The Magic Spot Productions, 2001)
Troubled Hubble, “I'm Pretty Sure I Can See Molecules,” Making Beds in a Burning House (Lookout Records, 2005)

Related Link
Troubled Hubble
   
   

Eight Forty-Eight—September 23, 2005

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Listen to Audio New Hired Truck Indictments
Carlos Hernandez Gomez—Correspondent, Chicago Public Radio News

Federal prosecutors have charged five current and former Chicago officials, including a former patronage chief for Mayor Daley. They've also implicated, but not charged, a key leader of Daley's Hispanic Democratic Organization.
   
Listen to Audio Durbin Votes against Roberts Nomination

Illinois U.S. senator Dick Durbin joins us by phone. He and four other Senate judiciary committee members voted against confirming federal judge John Roberts as chief justice of the Supreme Court.
   
Listen to Audio Amnesty Accuses Chicago Police of LGBT Harassment

Many say the Amnesty International report, which examines four cities with a history of police abuse, is only the tip of the iceberg. But Chicago police say it's not as bad as Amnesty makes it seem. Chicago Public Radio's Diantha Parker reports.

Read Amnesty International's report, “Stonewalled: Police abuse and misconduct against lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in the U.S.”
   
Listen to Audio War Stories: Letters from Baghdad, Part Five

Chicago peace activist Anita David visits an Iraqi businessman she met on her first trip to Iraq.

More “Letters from Baghdad” >>

Related Link
Christian Peacemaker Teams
   
Listen to Audio August Wilson and Pegasus Players
Alex Levy—Artistic Director, Pegasus Players
Jonathan Wilson—Director
Jonathan Abarbanel—Theater Contributor

Two Trains Running by African American playwright August Wilson is part of Pegasus Players' mission to connect to residents of Chicago's diverse Uptown neighborhood, where the company has made its home for over 20 years.

The production continues through October 30, 2005.

Related Link
Pegasus Players
   
Listen to Audio So You Want to Be an Opera Star?

Eight Forty-Eight's Steve Edwards goes behind the scenes at Chicago's Lyric Opera Center for American Artists. It's considered the country's most successful training program for young opera singers.

The Lyric kicks off its 2005 season on Saturday, September 24.

Related Links
Lyric Opera Center for American Artists
   
Listen to Audio Film Review: Dear Wendy

Thomas Vinterberg and Lars von Trier's Dear Wendy is described as an “audacious and stylish exploration of guns and violence in America.” Contributor Jonathan Miller has this review.

Listen to Audio Related Audio
Worldview commentator Milos Stehlik reviews Dear Wendy.
Aired September 23, 2005
   
Listen to Audio Roller Disco and Roll Bounce
Bob Teitel and George Tillman—Filmmakers

The team behind Barbershop and Soul Food is back. Set in Chicago, Roll Bounce centers around South Side teenager Xavier as he takes his roller disco moves and dreams to a rink on the North Side.
   
   

Eight Forty-Eight—September 22, 2005

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Listen to Audio Lessons and Language of Katrina

Resident philosopher Al Gini reflects on the national conversation Hurricane Katrina generated on race, poverty, charity, and emergency preparedness.

Related Link
Chicago and Katrina >>
   
Listen to Audio Rebuilding New Orleans
Austin Williams—Director, Future Cities Project

British architect Austin Williams says city planners in New Orleans could take a cue from Chicagoans of yesteryear.

Related Links
Future Cities Project
Chicago and Katrina >>
   
Listen to Audio Heroes of New Orleans

An essay from contributor Aaron Freeman
   
Listen to Audio
  Photo from the
  See Jason's slide show >>
War Stories: Young Peacemakers

Peace movement leaders say many young people attend a few demonstrations, then return to their everyday lives. But Chicago Public Radio's Jason DeRose has a profile of two young women whose commitment to antiwar activism goes beyond banners and rallies.

More War Stories >>
 
Listen to Audio War Stories: Letters from Baghdad, Part Four

Chicago peace activist Anita David describes a search for a lost son.

More “Letters from Baghdad” >>

Related Link
Christian Peacemaker Teams
   
Listen to Audio Field Museum Biologist Named MacArthur “Genius”
Steven Goodman—Senior Field Biologist, Field Museum of Natural History

A highly-respected conservation biologist, Steven Goodman has a species of mouse lemur named after him. He joins us from Madagascar, where he's been studying biodiversity since the late 1980s.

Related Links
2005 MacArthur Fellows
Field Museum of Natural History

Listen to Audio Related Audio
Chicago Oncologist Named MacArthur “Genius”
Aired September 20, 2005, during our news broadcasts
   
Listen to Audio White Sox Hopes Slipping, Part One
Originally aired September 22, 2005, during our news broadcasts

As the Cleveland Indians inch closer to overtaking the lead in the AL Central division, Chicago Public Radio's Dan Ellman visits U.S. Cellular Field to talk with fans from both teams.
   
Listen to Audio White Sox Hopes Slipping, Part Two

For more on how the Sox have managed to lose their prodigious lead, we turn to sports contributor Cheryl Raye-Stout.
   
Listen to Audio
  Photo of Barb Fuller-Curry and Craig Curry.
   
StoryCorps: Family Farming

Illinois native Barb Fuller-Curry tells her son, Craig Curry, about her childhood on a family farm. Barb moved away from the farm after college, making her and her brother the last generation to grow up there.

Hear more excerpts, including Web-exclusive audio, in Chicago Public Radio's StoryCorps Audio Library >>
   
Listen to Audio Art of the Short Story
Gina Frangello—Executive Editor, Other Voices

Called “one of the fifty most prestigious venues for literary fiction,” the Chicago-based journal, Other Voices, is launching a publishing imprint, OV Books.

Launch Party Information
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Chicago Cultural Center
G.A.R. Rotunda
78 East Washington Street
Chicago

Related Links
Other Voices
Chicago Public Radio's Stories on Stage
   
Listen to Audio When a Museum Becomes a Circus
Originally broadcast September 18, 2005, during Hello Beautiful!
Paula Giannini—Treasurer, Chicago Composers Forum
Christopher Preissing—President, Chicago Composers Forum

“You won't hear a thing; you'll hear everything,” said Musicircus creator John Cage. Exactly what is Musicircus, and who's performing in it?

John Cage's Musicircus takes place on Sunday, September 25, 2005, from 1 to 5 pm at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art.

Related Links
John Cage's Musicircus—Chicago Composers Forum
Museum of Contemporary Art
   
   

Eight Forty-Eight—September 21, 2005

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Listen to Audio Marshall Field's Loses Name

We get reaction to Federated Department Stores' decision to change all sixty-two Marshall Field's locations to Macy's: from people on the street, from a longtime mechanic at the flagship State Street store, and from a business historian.

Elevator and escalator mechanic Ed Lace worked at the State Street store from 1947–1961. Business historian Nancy Koehn is author of Brand New: How Entrepreneurs Earn Consumers' Trust.
   
Listen to Audio Business Update

For more on the loss of the Marshall Field's name and to discuss other business news, we're joined by contributor David Greising.
   
Listen to Audio Budget Gaps Continue to Dog Cook County, City of Chicago
Laurence Msall—President, Civic Federation

County board president John Stroger warns of a possible $300 million deficit, and Mayor Richard Daley is floating yet more tax and fee increases.

Related Link
Civic Federation
   
Listen to Audio War Stories: Local Mood toward Iraq Conflict
Originally aired September 21, 2005, during our news broadcasts

Hurricane Katrina may have diverted attention from the Iraq war, but it hasn't diminished passions on either side of the debate. Chicago Public Radio's Tony Sarabia explores the local mood toward the Iraq conflict.

More War Stories >>
   
Listen to Audio War Stories: Letters from Baghdad, Part Three

Chicago peace activist Anita David reflects on Iraqis' mood toward the conflict in their country. She spent a year in Baghdad as part of a Christian Peacemakers Team.

More “Letters from Baghdad” >>

Related Link
Christian Peacemaker Teams
   
Listen to Audio Suburbanites Lured Back to Cities

Across the country, cities are converting old warehouses, factories, and other buildings into luxury loft apartments to attract suburbanites. The Great Lake Radio Consortium's Flaherty reports.

Related Link
Great Lakes Radio Consortium
   
Listen to Audio Experimental Station Rises from the Ashes

A unique co-op populated with artists, writers, and community activists, Experimental Station on Chicago's south side went up in flames in 2001. But as founder and acclaimed artist Dan Peterman tells us, it's slowly being rebuilt, one board at a time.

Experimental Station is located at 6100 South Blackstone Avenue in the Woodlawn neighborhood.
   
Listen to Audio Poet Averill Curdy

Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award winner Averill Curdy didn't begin her poetry career until she was in her thirties. She tells contributor Judy Valente about making her way from the corporate world to a teaching position at Northwestern University.

Related Link
Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Awards
   
   

Eight Forty-Eight—September 20, 2005

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Listen to Audio $6.2 Million Settlement in Harris Case, Part One
Originally aired September 20, 2005, during our news broadcasts
Catrin Einhorn—Correspondent, Chicago Public Radio News

The City of Chicago has reached an agreement with the family of a boy wrongfully charged with killing eleven-year-old Ryan Harris in 1998. The City Council must approve the settlement, but it's already shown its support.
   
Listen to Audio $6.2 Million Settlement in Harris Case, Part Two

For more on the wider implications of the Ryan Harris case, we're joined by journalist Laura Washington, who's been following it since her days as editor and publisher of the Chicago Reporter.

Washington is now the Ida B. Wells-Barnett University Professor at DePaul University and a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. She's also an occasional contributor to our program.

Music Button: The Six Parts Seven, “The Slowest Way of Saying So Little,” Silence Magnifies Sound (Troubleman Unlimited, 2000)
   
Listen to Audio Cook County Juvenile Detention Center May Be Audited
Originally aired September 20, 2005, during our news broadcasts

A national youth advocacy organization has offered to investigate—at no charge—the Cook County Temporary Juvenile Detention Center and make recommendations for improvement. County commissioners are expected to approve the external audit.

Chicago Public Radio's Sonari Glinton talked with local advocates about the changes they'd like to see at the long-troubled facility.

Music Button: The Art of Noise, “Art of Love,” The Drum and Bass Collection (Discovery, 1996)
   
Listen to Audio Letters from Cook County Jail

Teenager Gloria Diaz shares her perspective on her brother Julio's incarceration for attempted murder.

Gloria's a graduate of Curie High School on Chicago's southwest side. She produced this piece as part of the school's youth radio project.

Music Button: Tony Gudwien, “We Watched the Smile,” Moov Tracks (Kitchen Sink Records, 2005)
   
Listen to Audio Cause of Metra Derailment Still Unknown
Originally aired September 20, 2005, during our news broadcasts

Metra officials say it's too early to know the exact cause of Saturday's accident on Chicago's south side. Two were killed and more than eighty injured in when a train on the Rock Island line derailed. Chicago Public Radio's Robert Wildeboer has been following the story.

Music Button: Dave Douglas, “A Noise from the Deep,” Keystone (Greenleaf, 2005)
   
Listen to Audio War Stories: Letters from Baghdad, Part Two

Writing to friends back home, Chicago peace activist Anita David describes the unusual conditions of an otherwise everyday occurrence.

Anita's letters are part of War Stories, a Chicago Public Radio series exploring how the Iraq war has affected the lives of Chicago-area residents.

Related Link
Christian Peacemaker Teams

More “Letters from Baghdad” >>
   
Listen to Audio Female Friendship

Chicago writer Marla Paul sits down with Eight Forty-Eight's Sylvia Ewing about her book, The Friendship Crisis.

Book Details
The Friendship Crisis: Finding, Making, and Keeping Friends When You're Not a Kid Anymore (Rodale Books, 2005)
   
Listen to Audio Dating for Friends

Writer Delia Lloyd has been trying to meet friends in the suburbs, and it reminds her of the dating scene.

Delia is a producer for Chicago Public Radio's Odyssey.
   
Listen to Audio
  Photo of Margaret Virginia Hudoba and Brian Okesson.
   
StoryCorps: Silver Pontiac

Eighty-four-year-old Margaret Virginia Hudoba of northwest suburban Crystal Lake tells her grandson, Brian Okesson of Chicago, about the man she fell in love with and married. The year was 1937...

Hear more excerpts, including Web-exclusive audio, in Chicago Public Radio's StoryCorps Audio Library >>

Music Button: Dave Douglas, “Butterfly Effect,” Keystone (Greenleaf, 2005)
   
Listen to Audio The Washington Story

In the follow-up to his critically-acclaimed debut novel, Crossing California, Chicago writer Adam Langer takes us back to 1983, when Harold Washington was about to become Chicago's first black mayor.

Book Details
The Washington Story (Riverhead Hardcover, 2005)

Music Button: LFO, “Freeze,” Warp 10+3: The Remixes (Matador, 1999)

Listen to Audio Related Audio
Adam Langer talks about Crossing California.
Originally broadcast June 13, 2004

Listen to Audio Related Audio
Harold
Originally broadcast November 21, 1997, on This American Life
   
Listen to Audio Miss Exotic World

Chicago burlesque dancer Michelle “Toots” L'Amour may be the hottest thing in the city since the Great Fire. Earlier this year, she won the 2005 Miss Exotic World pageant in Las Vegas.

L'Amour teaches burlesque. Her partner, Franky Vivid, is Chief Artistic Officer of the Lavender Cabaret.
   
   

Eight Forty-Eight—September 19, 2005

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Listen to Audio Investigation into Fatal Metra Crash Continues

Two died, and more than eighty more were injured in Saturday's derailment on Metra's Rock Island line. We get the latest from the acting director of the National Transportation Safety Board, Mark Rosenker.
   
Listen to Audio Letters from Baghdad, Part One

Chicagoan Anita David spent a year in Iraq as part of a Christian Peacemaker Team investigating prisoner mistreatment. In the first of her letters from Baghdad, she tells us how she got involved in the mission.

Anita's letters are part of a Chicago Public Radio series exploring how the Iraq war has affected the lives of Chicago-area residents.

Related Link
Christian Peacemaker Teams

More “Letters from Baghdad” >>
   
Listen to Audio Ryan Trial Gets Underway
Originally aired September 19, 2005, during our news broadcasts

As jury selection begins in the federal corruption trial of former Illinois governor George Ryan, Chicago Public Radio's Carlos Hernandez Gomez looks back on how Ryan got to this point.
   
Listen to Audio Ryan Trial Strategies
Albert Alschuler—Julius Kreeger Professor of Law and Criminology, University of Chicago Law School
Patrick Deady—Senior Litigation Partner, Hogan Marren, Ltd.

Two former federal prosecutors discuss legal challenges and strategies for both the prosecution and the defense in the federal corruption case of former Illinois governor George Ryan.
   
Listen to Audio Business Update

Contributor David Greising weighs in on the airline industry, questions about ComEd and People's Energy, and how the Fed might move on interest rates.
   
Listen to Audio Playboy Charts New Course

Contributor Sandy Hausman reports on how a cultural touchstone of the 1960s and 1970s is trying to remain relevant.
   
Listen to Audio Sports Update

The Bears had a decisive win in their home opener, while the White Sox are facing their biggest test of the season. Contributor Cheryl Raye-Stout joins us with the latest on Chicago sports.
   
   

Eight Forty-Eight—September 16, 2005

With guest host Tony Sarabia

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Listen to Audio Could Katrina Help the Poor?
Originally aired September 16, 2005, during our news broadcasts
Tony Sarabia—Correspondent, Chicago Public Radio News

President Bush has pledged to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, but will his concern extend beyond reconstruction in the Gulf and address broader issues of poverty?

More on Chicago and Katrina >>
   
Listen to Audio Media Coverage of Katrina

Contributor Rita Coburn-Whack shares her thoughts on why cameras may have been turned too heavily on African Americans when the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was first reported.

More on Chicago and Katrina >>

Music Button: Isaac Hayes, “Bumpy's Lament,” Shaft: Original Soundtrack (Stax, 1991)
   
Listen to Audio Louis Sullivan's Gulf Retreat
Originally broadcast September 11, 2005, on Hello Beautiful!
Tim Samuelson—Resident Storyteller, Hello Beautiful!

Renowned Chicago architect Louis Sullivan built a cottage in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, where he took refuge from both professional and personal frustrations. The inspiration he found in the Gulf can be seen in his work back here in Chicago.

Featured Music: Clarence Williams, “Breeze, Blow My Baby Back to Me,” (Asv Living Era, 2001)

More on Chicago and Katrina >>
   
Listen to Audio Sensory Pleasures of New Orleans

Fond memories of a trip to the Crescent City from contributor Beth Finke

More on Chicago and Katrina >>

Music Button: Chubby Carrier, “I'm Coming Home,” Dance All Night (Blind Pig, 1993)
   
Listen to Audio Fall Theater Preview
Jonathan Abarbanel—Theater Contributor

From Redmoon Theater's depiction of life after a catastrophic flood to Billy Crystal's one-man autobiography, Chicago-area stages are offering diverse ways to contemplate—and escape from—the world's events.

Music Button: Oranj Symphonette, “Mr. Yunioshi,” Plays Mancini (Gramavision, 1996)
   
Listen to Audio Dempsey Returns to the Library
Originally aired September 16, 2005, during our news broadcasts

Mary Dempsey is stepping down as the interim chief of the troubled Chicago Department of Procurement to return to her post as Commissioner of Chicago's public libraries. Chicago Public Radio's Diantha Parker reports.
   
Listen to Audio Residents Disapprove of Seawall Plan
Originally aired September 16, 2005, during our news broadcasts

A plan to renovate the historic limestone seawall in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood is being met with some fierce and vocal opposition from residents. Chicago Public Radio's Lynette Kalsnes has the story.
   
Listen to Audio Fresh Produce in the Inner City

Finding a big supermarket is next to impossible in many inner-city neighborhoods. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium's Sarah Hulett reports on one group's efforts to tackle the problem and revitalize a community.

Related Link
Great Lakes Radio Consortium

Music Button: Tuatara, “The Hangover,” Cinemathique (Fast Horse, 2002)
   
Listen to Audio Latin Folk Music Showcase
Juan Dies—Director of Community Programs, Old Town School of Folk Music
Madeleine Bair—Producer, Eight Forty-Eight

We head to La Pena, a ten-year-old showcase of Latin folk music in Chicago's Lincoln Square.

It continues Wednesday nights through October 2005 at the Old Town School of Folk Music.

Related Link
Old Town School of Folk Music
   
Listen to Audio World Music Festival Preview
Chris Heim—Music Director, Chicago Public Radio
Steve Edwards—Host, Eight Forty-Eight

From Rio de Janeiro to Rome, Scotland to Senegal, we survey some of the highlights of the 2005 Chicago World Music Festival.

The Festival continues through Thursday, September 22.

Featured Music: Waldemar Bastos, “Georgina,” Renascence (Times Square, 2005)

Related Link
World Music Festival 2005
   
   

Eight Forty-Eight—September 15, 2005

Preempted for Special Coverage
 
 

Eight Forty-Eight—September 14, 2005

Preempted for Special Coverage
 
 

Eight Forty-Eight—September 13, 2005

Preempted for Special Coverage
 
 

Eight Forty-Eight—September 12, 2005

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Listen to Audio Homeland Security Spending
Kara Spak—Staff Writer, Daily Herald

How does Illinois rank in Homeland Security spending, and where does the money go? That's the subject of a two-part investigative series in the Daily Herald.

Related Link
Targeting Terror: Did Security Spending Hit the Mark?

Music Button: Sam Prekop, “Something,” Who's Your New Professor (Thrill Jockey, 2005)
   
Listen to Audio Catastrophe: Risk and Response
Originally broadcast January 4, 2005
Richard Posner—Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit

Before Katrina and before the South Asian tsunami, Chicago-based federal appeals judge Richard Posner had been warning that neither the government nor the public was doing enough to prepare for potential disasters.

Posner is also a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School.

Book Details
Catastrophe: Risk and Response (Oxford University Press, 2004)

Music Button: Tristeza, “City of the Future,” Dream Signals in Full Circles (Tiger Style, 2000)
   
Listen to Audio Business Update

Contributor David Greising gives us the latest on the Boeing machinists' strike and how Sears is faring a week after getting a new CEO.

Music Button: Kaskade, “Samba Love,” Reboot (OM, 2005)
   
Listen to Audio John Roberts's Indiana Roots

As Senate confirmation hearings begin for Chief Justice nominee John Roberts, we talk with Post-Tribune staff writer Jim Stinson about Roberts's northwest Indiana upbringing.

Music Button: Q-Burns Abstract Message, “We Build Arks (Remix),” Future Past Tense (Eighth Dimension, 2004)
   
Listen to Audio Sports Update
Cheryl Raye-Stout—Sports Contributor

After dropping their season opener to the Washington Redskins, is the glass half-full or half-empty for the Chicago Bears?

Music Button: Nostalgia ‘77, “Freedom,” The Garden (Ubiquity, 2005)
   
Listen to Audio Life after Prison

Chicago filmmaker Tod Lending tells us about Omar and Pete, his documentary following two friends who struggle to free themselves from the cycle of incarceration.

It airs on WTTW Channel 11 on Tuesday, September 13, 2005, at 10 pm and on Thursday, September 15 at 3 am as part of the series, P.O.V.

Music Button: Nostalgia ‘77, ”The Hunger,” The Garden (Ubiquity, 2005)
   
Listen to Audio Farm Aid's Twentieth Anniversary
Carolyn Yugar—Executive Director, Farm Aid

Country singer Willie Nelson founded Farm Aid in 1985 to highlight the importance of family farms. Two decades later, the organization forges on.

A week of events celebrating the anniversary culminates on Sunday, September 18, with the 2005 Farm Aid concert at the Tweeter Center in southwest suburban Tinley Park.

Related Link
Farm Aid
   
   

Eight Forty-Eight—September 9, 2005

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Listen to Audio Katrina Recovery—View from the Ground, Part One

Chicago-based NPR® reporter David Schaper joins us from Mobile, Alabama.

David is a former assistant news director for Chicago Public Radio.
   
Listen to Audio Katrina Recovery—View from the Ground, Part Two

Former Eight Forty-Eight producer Teshima Walker talks with us from Mississippi, where she's reporting for NPR®'s News and Notes.

Music Button: Bliss, “Song for Aolabi,” Quiet Letters: U.S. Edition (Quango, 2005)
   
Listen to Audio Seven Wonders of Chicago
Geoffrey Baer—Host and Producer, WTTW Channel 11, Chicago
Tim Bannon—Editor, “Tempo” Section, Chicago Tribune
Edward Lifson—Editor, Arts, Architecture, and Culture; Chicago Public Radio

As voting begins for the Tribune's “Seven Wonders of Chicago” poll, three experts weigh in on what's astonishing and amazing about the area. We also take our microphones to the streets to hear what you have to say.

The “Seven Wonders” polls close on Monday, September 12, 2005, at 4 pm.

Related Link
"Seven Wonders of Chicago"Chicago Tribune

Music Button: Liquid Soul, “Freddie the Freeloader,” Liquid Soul (Ark 21, 1996)
   
Listen to Audio Listening to Toulouse-Lautrec

Contributor Beth Finke, who lost her eyesight as an adult, takes an audio tour of the Art Institute of Chicago's exhibition, Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre.

It continues through October 10, 2005.

Related Link
Art Institute of Chicago
   
Listen to Audio Trapeze Lessons
Originally aired September 9, 2005, during our news broadcasts

They jump off a platform two stories high and dangle by their knees over a giant net. Chicago Public Radio's Lynette Kalsnes tags along as six people learn the basics of the flying trapeze.

Beginning Saturday, September 10, 2005, the Flying Gaonas continue giving trapeze lessons at Hubbard Woods in north suburban Winnetka. They'll be there through early October.

Music Button: Esquivel, “Tico Tico,” Four Corners of the World (BMG, 1995)
   
Listen to Audio Fall Fashion Tips

Chicago nightlife hostess Ms. Foozie helps us get in tip-top shape for the runway.

Music Button: Ursula 1000, “One of These Days,” Ursadelica (ESL, 2004)
   
Listen to Audio Film Reviews

Some describe Caterina in the Big City as an “Italian twist on Mean Girls.” Film contributor Jonathan Miller reviews that and Le Corbeau (The Raven).

Caterina in the Big City opens on Friday, September 9, 2005, at the Music Box Theatre—3733 North Southport Avenue in Chicago's Lake View. Le Corbeau (The Raven) plays on Saturday, September 10, at 3 pm and Wednesday, September 14, at 6 pm at the Gene Siskel Film Center—170 North State Street in the Loop.
   
   

Eight Forty-Eight—September 8, 2005

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Listen to Audio United Files Bankruptcy Plan
David Field—Americas Editor, Airline Business

Northwest suburban Elk Grove Village-based United Airlines has outlined its plan for emerging from bankruptcy as early as February 2006. But how competitive would the reorganized company be?

Related Link
Airline Business Blog

Music Button: The Poets of Rhythm, “Plus Plus,” Discern/Define (Quannum, 2001)
   
Listen to Audio Katrina's Human Health Fallout

Medical contributor Dr. Quentin Young discusses contaminated floodwater and other health risks to residents and rescue workers in the Gulf.

Music Button: Grand Panoramix, “Feudor,” The Obliqsound Selection, Volume Two (Obliqsound, 2005)
   
Listen to Audio
  Photo of Joseph Dittmar.
   
StoryCorps: Crucial Decision

On September 11, 2001, Chicagoan Joseph Dittmar was attending a business meeting at the World Trade Center. He was on the 105th floor of the south tower when the first plane hit the north tower.

Hear more excerpts, including Web-exclusive audio, in Chicago Public Radio's StoryCorps Audio Library >>

Music Button: Pitch Black, “Ape to Angel,” Ape to Angel (Waveform, 2005)
   
Listen to Audio Millennium Park Closed for Private Event

The Toyota motor company is renting parts of Millennium Park for a night, and that has many Chicagoans—including writer and contributor Nicholas Day—outraged.

Music Button: Cy Coleman, “Playboy's Theme,” Virgin Megamusic Chicago (EMI/Capitol, 2001)
   
Listen to Audio Frango Turns Seventy-five

Food contributor Steve Dolinsky explores the history of Marshall Field's fabled chocolate mint: the Frango.

Music Button: Ursula 1000, “Kinda' Kinky,” Kinda' Kinky (ESL, 2003)
   
Listen to Audio Soundtrack City

Human beatbox Yuri Lane tells us about his one-man hip-hop comedy chronicling the daily struggles of urban dwellers, Soundtrack City.

It runs Thursdays through Sundays until October 29, 2005, at the Viaduct Theatre—3111 North Western Avenue in Chicago's Roscoe Village.

Music Button: King Kooba, “Nufoundfunk,” Nufoundfunk (Second Skin, 2000)

Listen to Audio Related Audio
Yuri Lane, along with his wife and producer Rachel Haverlock, talk about their show, From Tel Aviv to Ramallah: A Beatbox Journey.
Broadcast November 30, 2004
   
Listen to Audio Rock ‘n’ Roll on TV

Media contributor Wally Podrazik sits down with writer Jake Austen about his book chronicling the history of rock music on TV.

Book Information
TV a Go-Go: Rock on TV from American Bandstand to American Idol (Chicago Review Press, 2005)
   
   

Eight Forty-Eight—September 7, 2005

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Listen to Audio More Katrina Survivors Arrive in Chicago
Originally aired September 7, 2005, during our news broadcasts

Chicago Public Radio's Jay Field reports on the late-night arrival of nearly two hundred evacuees and on what Illinois is doing to help them as they begin to rebuild their lives.

Music Button: Shelter AV, Orlando, “Shelter,” OM Lounge, Volume Four (OM, 2000)
   
Listen to Audio Chicago Doctor Survives Katrina
Originally aired September 6, 2005, during our news broadcasts

Dr. Joseph Pulvirenti was in New Orleans for a medical conference and unable to leave before the hurricane hit. As he and his colleagues waited to be rescued, they set up a makeshift hospital in their hotel.

Dr. Pulvirenti is chairman of infectious diseases at Provident Hospital in Chicago. He spoke with Chicago Public Radio's Melba Lara.

Music Button: Ry Cooder, “Swamp Walk,” Music by Ry Cooder (Reprise, 1995)
   
Listen to Audio Thoughts on Katrina

An essay by writer and contributor Aaron Freeman

Music Button: J Boogie, “Rosada Flor,” OM Lounge, Volume Four (OM, 2000)
   
Listen to Audio Words, Their Meanings, and Hurricane Katrina
Erin McKean—Editor in Chief of U.S. Dictionaries, Oxford University Press

Are people affected by Katrina “refugees,” “evacuees,” “victims,” “survivors,” or something else entirely? We consult Chicago-based lexicographer Erin McKean.

She's also editor of Verbatim: The Language Quarterly.

Music Button: Ohn, “Dawn,” In the End, All Things Begin (Ill Dough Productions, 2005)
   
Listen to Audio Airport Update
Jon Hilkevitch—Transportation Reporter, Chicago Tribune

The FAA has fined the City of Chicago 33-thousand dollars for Mayor Richard Daley's 2003 closing of Meigs Field. The agency has also wrapped up its final hearing on plans to expand O'Hare International Airport.

Music Button: Pell Mell, “Lowlight,” Star City (Matador, 1997)
   
Listen to Audio Illinois Harvest
Sandy Hausman—Contributor

After the worst drought in seventeen years, many Illinois farmers fear a marginal harvest. But analysts in Chicago say the price of food may not increase.