Focus

Focus, or Focus 580, was WILL Radio's flagship talk program from 1981 until 2014. David Inge was the host from 1981 until his retirement in 2012. Always engaging, the program acted as a resource for citizens to directly question politicians and candidates as well as keep up on the arts, science, health, and even the latest from well-known novelists.

The Focus archive below offers thousands of great interviews and serves as a time capsule and a great resource for researchers and those just curious about how influential people spoke of important topics as they were happening.

a tornado in Roanoke, Illinois, 2004

Wikimedia Commons

May 31, 2013 - Focus

Summer Meteorology

This hour on Focus, host Jim Meadows talks with former WILL meteorologist Ed Kieser about summer storms and tornado preparedness. We welcome your calls and questions!


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(Duration: 51:32)

book cover

May 30, 2013 - Focus

The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry

The fifth edition of the Diagnostics and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders, which is used to diagnose mental illness, has been the subject of much debate. This hour on Focus, we’ll talk with author and psychotherapist Gary Greenberg about the DSM-5 and why it’s so much more controversial than the DSM-4.


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(Duration: 51:28)

A painted mural of "Uncle Joe" Cannon on the side of a building in downtown Danville at the corner of Harrison and Vermilion streets depicts the Time Magazine cover he was featured on.

Pam Dempsey

May 28, 2013 - Focus

Uncle Joe Cannon

Many consider Joseph Gurney Cannon one of the most dominant speakers of the House of Representatives in U.S. history. This hour on Focus, we’ll talk about the life and legacy of Uncle Joe Cannon.


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(Duration: 51:42)

Elizabeth Ambros is pictured above at the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, South Carolina after she returned home from Iraq in 2009.

Photo Courtesy of Elizabeth Ambros

May 27, 2013 - Focus

Women in Combat and the Transition to Civilian Life after the Military

This hour on Focus, we listen back to a conversation we had with Illinois Department of Veteran's Affairs Director Erica Borggren and a local veteran about the transition back to civilian life after serving in the armed forces. 


Ryan and his team pushing into Champaign

Parker Feierbach

May 23, 2013 - Focus

Ryan Chalmers: Push Across America

Ryan Chalmers is attempting to push himself across the country from Los Angeles to New York in 71 days…in a wheelchair. This hour on Focus, we talk with Chalmers about why he’s doing it and how it’s going.


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(Duration: 50:42)

Lindsey Moon/WILL

May 22, 2013 - Focus

Digital Privacy and the Workplace

Illinois law currently bans employers from asking employees and prospective employees for their social media passwords, but there is a bill in the Illinois House that would change that. This hour on Focus, we'll talk about the bill and larger issues it raises when it comes to digital privacy. 


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(Duration: 51:28)

Brendan Harley

Photo Courtesy of Brendan Harley

May 21, 2013 - Focus

Bone Marrow Transplants

Brendan Harley was first diagnosed with cancer when he was in high school. At the age of 17 he underwent a bone marrow transplant to save his life. This hour on Focus, we’ll talk with Harley about how the experience and how it propelled him to pursue a career in cancer research.


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(Duration: 51:21)

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