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while clouds cover most (but not all) of the sky, the sun shines on parts of a gently sloping hillside covered with trees whose leaves are red, orange, yellow and green
Holly Ramer/AP

The 21st Show

‘Weather Realness’ podcast on autumn leaves

Today we’re talking about the weather, with a pair of conversations from “Weather Realness,” a sister podcast produced by Illinois Public Media.

Trees across Illinois are turning yellow, orange, red, and other vibrant colors. We’ll talk about why that happens, and hear about the coming fall frost.

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the leaf on a cornstalk is shown turning brown and dr from drought; inset: a map showing which parts of Illinois are affected by drought — it's red over Champaign and nearb counties, orange over much of central Illinois, and tan and yellow elsewhere)
Corn: Joshua A. Bickel/AP / Map: U.S. Drought Monitor

The 21st Show

‘Weather Realness’ podcast on severe drought afflicting Illinois

Today we’re talking about the weather, with a pair of conversations from “Weather Realness,” a sister podcast produced by Illinois Public Media.

Much of central Illinois is under severe or extreme drought.  We’ll hear from the Illinois State Climatologist about how little rain we've gotten, why that’s happening, and why it’s such a concern, for everyone from farmers to firefighters.

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a white woman with gray hair and a yellow t-shirt holds a homemade sign with the text
Reginald Hardwick/IPM (inset portrait: John Jay College of Criminal Justice / book: Beacon Press)

The 21st Show

No Kings and ‘A Protest History of the United States’

Millions of Americans took to the streets across the country this weekend for the latest No Kings protest. The event happened in cities across Illinois, including Chicago, Springfield, Champaign-Urbana, Belleville, and Carbondale.

We’ll talk about what happened this weekend, and put No Kings in the larger context of American history. Our guest is civil rights lawyer Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, whose new book is “A Protest History of the United States.”

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a collage consisting of a portrait of an African-American woman with brown hair and wearing a light blue blazer; and the cover of the book
Portrait: Marvin Joseph via NPR

The 21st Show

Investigative reporter Cheryl Whitlow Thompson on growing up in Illinois, journalism today, and the lost Tuskegee Airmen

Born and raised in Chicago, Cheryl Whitlow Thompson’s career in journalism goes back more than four decades — from her days as a student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, to hard-hitting investigative work at the Washington Post and NPR.

Thompson is also the daughter of one of the Tuskegee Airmen, William E. Whitlow Jr. Her forthcoming book, Forgotten Souls: The Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen, tells the stories of Tuskegee pilots who were killed in action.

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