
Dialogue
Each week Dialogue features interviews people across the region along with in-depth stories from the IPM News team about education, health, politics, arts, and more as it relates to local Black communities. Dialogue airs Saturdays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 6 pm on Illinois Soul FM 101.1 and streams live at illinoissoul.org and can be heard Wednesdays at 8 pm on WILL-AM 580.


Reclaiming beauty and power in Black girlhood: A love letter to Black women
What role does beauty play in the lives of young Black girls and women, and how does it connect to identity, survival and care?

A Dialogue on local voices shaping Central Illinois
In Central Illinois, community care takes many forms — from an 82-year-old veteran selling collard greens in Rantoul to young leaders organizing against gun violence in Danville. How are these local voices defining what it means to support and strengthen their communities today?

A Dialogue on Red Lobster’s revival and cultural significance with CEO Damola Adamolekun
Red Lobster’s Damola Adamolekun opens up about his upbringing, the chain’s iconic status, and its strategy for bouncing back after tough business.

Black dance as artivism: Preserving African culture through movement
Dance is culture in motion. In Illinois, artists use traditional African dance as a form of artivism, blending heritage with activism. How are these creatives shaping social change through their movement?

A Dialogue on how one reentry program is growing change from the ground up
How is one local program using gardening to support formerly incarcerated individuals?

A Dialogue on strategies for Democrats to win voters back
This segment revisits a conversation from "The 21st Show." IPM's Brian Mackey spoke with Stacey Abrams in May on the current state of the democratic party.

The Hidden Spectrum: Uncovering autism in Black and Brown Communities
In this episode, we explore autism spectrum disorder (ASD) within Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. We ask how culture, access to care and community support affect how BIPOC families navigate autism.

A Dialogue on a new Ella Jenkins biography and memoir from Carol Moseley Braun
What do a children’s musician and a U.S. senator have in common? Two new books explore the lives of Ella Jenkins and Carol Moseley Braun, taking a look at their work, public service and their long-lasting contributions.

Funk, flow and freedom: How the legacy of Black music continues
From gospel to house, jazz to rhythm and blues, Black music has helped shape the foundation of American music, but where did it all start?

Kennedy Vincent is a host and producer from Las Vegas with West Indian roots. Specializing in news writing, audio, and video production work, she has earned her degree from the University of Nevada, Reno. Now based in Illinois, Vincent is focused on surrounding her work with collective BIPOC stories, universal rights, and community healing. Kennedy seeks to form deeper connections in her community through her work. She continuously pushes boundaries and reshapes how audio is viewed and believes sharing meaningful stories globally is what will unite us intentionally.

Reginald Hardwick is the News & Public Affairs Director at Illinois Public Media. He oversees news reporting, The 21st talk show, IPMnewsroom.org, and occasionally hosts and produces episodes of Dialogue. Reginald came to IPM in 2019 after serving as News Director at WKAR at Michigan State University. Before that, he had a long career as a local newscast producer and manager at the NBC-owned station in Dallas/Fort Worth, where he earned seven Lone Star Emmy awards and multiple honors from the National Assn. of Black Journalists. Born in Vietnam, Reginald was adopted and grew up on the Eastern plains of Colorado. He graduated from the University of Northern Colorado.

Zainab Qureshi is a Pakistani-American journalist for Illinois Public Media who has explored various roles within the newsroom, from traditional reporting to backend digital management to social media content creation. Deeply passionate about race, religion and climate, she spends her time considering the different ways these stories can be told — because to her, journalism is about more than just big headlines and breaking news; it's about understanding the shared humanity connecting us all. By examining this theme, she hopes to find the heartbeat of the world around her and plans to listen to it closely.