Elly Fishman

A summerlong exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago will display some 100 works from the iconic painter, focusing on her city years.

For Chicago’s pastry whisperer, the answer is serendipity – and a heaping of knowing what millennials want next. “My drumbeat has always been a little different than most people.”

A 6-year-old refugee from Afghanistan named Mahbuba arrived on the doorstep of a Chicago school in 2021. She was deaf and had no previous exposure to formal sign language. Over the next year, she would learn to communicate for the first time. “Her story reflects the difference that just a few people can make,” writes freelancer Elly Fishman. “Because of the lengths a few Chicagoans have been willing to go, an Afghan girl is finding her voice and a new start.” In this episode, we hear Mahbuba’s amazing journey to language, as written by Elly Fishman and read by WBEZ’s Melba Lara.