Sidetrack with Jason Croft
First Saturday of the month at 6 pm
Fun stories, quirky interviews, thought-provoking commentaries, great tunes, and more!
Sidetrack is AM 580's monthly news/features magazine hosted by Jason Croft. Sidetrack's goal is to bring you the stories you might have otherwise missed--the stories that sometimes get overlooked during the busy day-to-day headlines. The stories are sometimes off-beat, sometimes unusual, but never dull. It's a fresh look at the what's going on in our backyard and around the world. Be sure to explore program contents for links to more info and a few surprises.
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February 2009
Program air date: Saturday, February 07, 2009
This time around, we learn about a company that’s creating “signature scents” for various colleges and universities…we talk to the publisher of the area magazine Innocent Words about its move away from print…take a tour of the unusual and sometimes unsettling Glore Psychiatric Museum…and we hear about one young doctors unexpected lunch with Marlon Brando.
Menu:
- Chicago deaf artist (web site)
- University Fragrances (web site)
- Lunch with Marlon Brando (web site)
- Spread Heads (web site)
- Innocent Words (web site)
- Glore Psychiatric Museum (web site)
Audio:
Play now:
Download: mp3 file
January 2009
Program air date: Saturday, January 03, 2009
On this month’s program, we look back at some of the best interviews and stories we featured in 2008. We’ll have an interview with the curators of the black velvet painting museum, a chat with B-movie queen Tura Satana, star of Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, and we’ll hear recording from the 1908 presidential campaign.
Menu:
- Nubrella
- Debate ’08
- Velveteria
- World War Two Japanese-American Hostel
- Interview with B-movie star Tura Satana (web site)
Audio:
Play now:
Download: mp3 file
December 2008
Program air date: Saturday, December 06, 2008
On this month’s program…We hear about what happens when being Santa doesn’t turn out the way you want…a man who gives away Christmas trees…the roller derby revival…and we talk to the official historian for Rankin/Bass Productions, the people behind the holiday classics Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Santa Clause Is Coming To Town.
Menu:
- “The Exquisite City” (web site)
- “The New York Times: The Complete Front Pages" interview
- Roller Derby Revival
- The man who gave away Christmas trees
- Cell Phone Santa
- "My Politically Incorrect Christmas"
- Interview with Rick Goldschmidt, biographer and official historian for Rankin/Bass productions (web site)
Audio:
Play now:
Download: mp3 file
November 2008
Program air date: Saturday, November 01, 2008
This time around, we have audio from the ’08 election—1908 that is. We hear about the art of carving the perfect political pumpkins. Plus, stories about stolen yard signs, one man’s quest for the perfect garage, and a tour of the show “Out of Sequence: Underrepresented Voices in American Comics” now at the Krannert Art Museum.
Menu:
- Debate ’08 (1908) (web site)
- Political sign thieves
- Using Craigslist to get Obama rally tickets
- Political Pumpkins
- The Hartville Flea Market
- Kombucha
- Line dancing teacher audio postcard
- The quest for the perfect garage
- “Out of Sequence: Underrepresented Voices in American Comics”




