Illinois Public Media

Music

Terracotta plaque (ca. 460–450 BCE, Greek) depicting Odysseus disguised as a beggar comforting his grieving wife, Penelope.

“The Odyssey” as told through music

 One of the oldest surviving works of literature and a bedrock of Western culture, “The Odyssey” continues to move and enthrall audiences nearly 2,700 years after its supposed composition by the blind poet, Homer. Christopher Nolan’s recent film is just the latest take on a text that has inspired countless adaptations and works of art. On the latest from “Clef Notes,” editor Katie Buzard explores the musical adaptations of the Homeric epic from operas and oratorios to intimate art songs.
IPM Newsroom
Hands holding a purple heart, with the text August is Black Philanthropy Month
Illinois Classical
Illinois Classical 90.9

Your home for Classical and more in Central Illinois.
Prairie Performances
Stuart Davis's

Noisy Neighbors
This week on Prairie Performances, it’s our monthly jazz episode! The title is “Noisy Neighbors”—except in this case, we like having noisy neighbors. You will hear…
Dialogue

Dialogue Roundup: Data Center Debate, Champaign Youth Summer Job Program, and Dire Results of a Hospital Shutdown
A push to regulate data centers, Champaign Unit 4 students tell us what they've learned in their summer jobs, and it’s been more than three months since a West Side hospital…
The 21st Show
Black Rock City grows in the Nevada desert ahead of the Burning Man festival in this file photo from 2006. This year's event will include

Artist sisters to debut sculpture at Burning Man festival
"Octopolis,” a 20-foot-tall sculpture made from — among other things — salvaged metal and reclaimed fabric will be featured at Burning Man in Nevada this summer. An…
The 21st Show

How to handle pesticide drift
The pesticides that farmers use can drift miles beyond where they’re originally used-harming plants, trees, and people. We’ll talk about how it happens as well as what…
The 21st Show
Alli Schroder, Captain of the Boston Hunters, with teammates at Springfield's Robin Roberts Stadium during the inaugural season of the Women's Pro Baseball Leaugue

A new women’s pro baseball league is playing in Springfield. But Illinois has always been part of the women’s baseball scene
Two years after the launch of the Women’s Pro Baseball League, the inaugural season is taking place right now — in Springfield, Illinois. We’ll talk about the…
Prairie Fire

Prairie Fire: Season 3 - Episode 7 - May 2026
For this month's Prairie Fire, students from the University of Illinois’ College of Media spent a semester producing five short documentaries highlighting food, skating,…
Mid-American Gardener

We Visit Tranquility…A Backyard Garden Inspired by the Beauty of Japan
Tour a peaceful Champaign garden where Japanese design, bonsai, maples, and hundreds of hostas come together in a landscape more than 25 years in the making.
State of Change

Small gestures to make a big difference in preserving our planet
We visit a zero-waste general store, a garden bringing a community together in a Chicago food desert, a program protecting pollinators, and advice to increase sustainability…