The 217 Today Podcast

217 Today: How Foley artists transform watermelons into a chorus of feasting zombies in horror films

Kimberly Schofield and Stephanie Orellana
 

Cristina Fletes-Mach / St. Louis Public Radio

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Friday, October 31, 2025

Today’s headlines: 

  • Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is making a plea to federal immigration agents: leave the kids alone this Halloween.
  • President Trump announced last month that all new H-1B visa applications for employers looking to hire foreign workers will require a $100,000 fee.
  • Illinois Governor JB Pritzker says there’s only so much the state can do to mitigate harm when SNAP benefits are cut off this Saturday.
  • The Illinois State Board of Education released data on Thursday to assess how students are performing in their schools.

In today’s deep dive, a majority of the spooky sounds in scary movies aren’t as scary as they seem. Most of the time they’re created with everyday objects.

217 Today is produced by Stephanie Orellana. Reporting today contributed by Alex Degman, Layli Nazarova, Emily Hays and Marissanne Lewis-Thompson.