WILL-AM

The 21st Show

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is the Democratic nominee for U.S. senator from Illinois, seeking to succeed Sen. Dick Durbin when his term ends in January 2027.

In an interview recorded Friday, we talked about the war in Iran, what she means when she says we ought to “abolish ICE,” and what Democrats should prioritize if they regain control of the U.S. Senate.
 

The 21st Show

Do you believe in the possibility of life elsewhere in our universe? If such life was capable of crossing vast distances of time and space, and were to arrive on Earth, what would that mean for humankind? Or maybe you believe aliens are already among us.

All that is the subject of We Interrupt This Program, a play running this weekend at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, Illinois. The event will also be broadcast on our home station, WILL, on Halloween night.

The evening will be in two parts: “Show” and “Tell.”

“Show” will be the play itself — with actors including Bob Odenkirk of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul; and Jill Talley, best known for voicing Karen Plankton on SpongeBob SquarePants.

The second half will be the “Tell” — a discussion including Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, who has polarized colleagues with arguments that aliens may already be among us; and Ahmed Best, an afro-futurist who also played Jar-Jar Binks in the Star Wars movies and Jedi Master Kelleran Beq in The Mandalorian.

Last week, we spoke with two of the people involved in the production: Bill Odenkirk is the play’s writer and executive producer. His past work includes The Simpsons, Futurama, and Mr. Show. And Sarah Edwards is moderatingthe  “Tell” portion of the show and is also a producer. You can also see her hosting, producing and directing Prairie Fire on WILL-TV.

The 21st Show

Republican Congressman Mike Bost is running for another term in Illinois’ 12th District, which includes roughly the bottom third of Illinois. We talked with him about gas prices, the war in Iran, cuts to Medicaid, and why he won't debate his Democratic opponent, Julie Fortier.

You can also listen to our interview with Foriter from Aug. 18, 2026.

(Editor's note: Both Bost and Fortier were invited for a full hour, live on radio. Fortier accepted; Bost scheduled 30 minutes, pre-recorded.)

The 21st Show

Artificial intelligence is everywhere, from internet searches to event flyers to customer service phone calls. But what effect is it having on people who use it, and the way we interact with the world — and each other?

The 21st Show

Joshua Johnson was the host NPR’s flagship talk program, 1A. He also had shows on MSNBC and NBC News Now. Today he’s delivering satirical news for The Onion.

Beyond that work, Johnson is also thinking through the ways Americans can better connect across some of our deepest divides. To that end, he created “The Resolution Game,” and gave a TED Talk earlier this year titled “Idiots Are Everywhere. Here’s How to Cope.”
 

The 21st Show

James McBride is a man of many talents: musician, screenwriter, and an award-winning author. His latest novel, “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store,” was a huge bestseller. He’s also written the memoir “The Color of Water,” about growing up in Brooklyn as one of twelve Black children raised by a white, Jewish mother.

McBride will be featured as part of the Great Authors at the Library series Thursday (Oct. 8, 2026) at the Champaign Public Library.

The 21st Show

Among the most famous episodes in the Civil War is General William Sherman’s “March to the Sea.” It split the Confederacy in half and helped bring about the end of the war.

Less well known is that the march led to the emancipation of as many as 20,000 people who’d been enslaved. Although Sherman himself was quite racist, these men, women and children joined the march — effectively making up the rear guard of “Uncle Billy’s army.”

Their perspective is at the center of the book “Somewhere Toward Freedom: Sherman’s March and the Story of America’s Largest Emancipation,” by the historian Bennett Parten. Parten will be giving a talk on his book at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 7, 2026) at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois.

The 21st Show

It's been one year since the Corporation for Public Broadcasting began winding down. That came after the Trump administration realized a longtime conservative goal of ending federal funding for public radio and television in America.

Since then, hundreds of NPR, PBS and independent stations across America have been working to carry on. We'll check in with the leaders from three Illinois stations: in Champaign-Urbana, Charleston, and Macomb.

The 21st Show

It's been one year since the Corporation for Public Broadcasting began winding down. That came after the Trump administration realized a longtime conservative goal of ending federal funding for public radio and television in America.

Since then, NPR has had buyouts and layoffs and programming changes, but CEO Katherine Maher says as difficult as that's been, she hopes it's not led to noticeable differences for listeners.
 

The 21st Show

The quinceañera is a rite of passage in Latina culture, marking the transition from girlhood to womanhood. It’s also the subject of a new book of essays about the tradition and its place in popular culture. We spoke with the collection’s editors.