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Hämeenlinna is home to Vanaja men's prison, one of Finland's open prisons that allow inmates to leave for work or school.
Natalie Moore / WBEZ

The 21st Show

What can we learn from prisons in Finland?

Since 1970, the number of incarcerated people in the United States has grown exponentially and currently sits at around 2 million people. Meanwhile in Finland, that number is around 3,000, where one third of the country’s prisons operate as open. To talk about what that means and how the U.S. prison system might be reimagined, we were joined by a WBEZ reporter who dug into Finland's criminal justice system. 

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The 21st Show

“Energy Never Dies”: Black Chicago’s art and optimism

“Energy Never Dies: Afro-Optimism & Creativity in Chicago” is a sort of written soundtrack to the music history and culture that made Chicago’s Black artists both past and present and who they are today—from Earth, Wind and Fire to Chance The Rapper. We were joined by the book's author to explore a culture rooted in self-determination and hustle to show how optimism and perseverance power the art and aspirations of Black Chicago.

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Tamales are a holiday tradition in many communities.
Reginald Hardwick/Illinois Newsroom

The 21st Show

Time for tamales in Illinois

For many people of Latino communities, the holiday season means tamales. But this is more than a savory holiday dish, it’s at the heart of history and culture for millions of families. The 21st talked about it with a lecturer in the Department of Latina/Latino Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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The 21st Show

Reporter Roundtable: Omicron and the approaching holidays

As the New Year approaches, things are starting to seem like a repeat of another year we’d all hoped was past us: 2020. To talk about what the omicron variant could mean for the holiday season, we were joined by a correspondent from NPR's Science Desk and an investigative reporter from the Chicago Tribune. 

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Peter Medlin/WNIJ

The 217 Today Podcast

Friday, December 17, 2021

In today's deep dive, we'll learn more about the challenges that students faced with remote learning last year -- including that one in five Illinois students was chronically absent.

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The 21st Show

Hygge: Winter comfort and coziness

A couple of years ago, the term hygge actually made the short list for Oxford dictionary’s word of the year. It’s defined as “a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.” The 21st spoke with someone from the Danish Happiness Research Institute about the Danish concept of comfort and coziness. This segment originally aired January 6, 2021.