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.
In most American schools, every student is taught the same basic material at the same basic rate. But school doesn't have to be like that. This hour on Focus, we’ll hear a special documentary produced by AmericanRadioWorks about the rise of “customized learning.”
This hour on Focus, host Jim Meadows talks with David Grotto, a registered dietician, about the best things you can eat. We welcome your calls and questions today!
Why do racial stereotypes change over time? How do they develop? According to author Shilpa Dave, the movies play a huge role. This hour on Focus, Jeff Bossert talks with her about her new book “Indian Accents: Brown Voice and Racial Performance in American Television and Film.”
HOME RUN! We’ve all heard it announced over a loud speaker at a baseball game or are familiar with the phrase from popular culture, but hitting a home run wasn’t always so common in baseball. This hour on Focus, Jeff Bossert talks with author Eldon Ham about the history of the homerun and his book “All the Babe’s Men.”
Do you love comics? Have you ever learned anything from them? Today on Focus, we’ll listen back to a conversation how comics can help kids learn.
50 years ago this week, hundreds of thousands descended upon Washington D.C. for one of the largest protest marches of the civil rights movement. This hour on Focus, we’ll talk with Champaign-Urbana native Bill Smith about what it was like to be there. We’ll also talk with Sundiata Cha-Jua about the march’s historical significance.
This hour on Focus, host Jim Meadows talks with horticulture expert Sandy Mason and entomologist Phil Nixon. We welcome your lawn and garden care questions today!
Steve Shoemaker has been hosting WILL’s religion call-in program “Keepin’ the Faith” for more than a decade. The program’s last episode will air Sunday. Today on Focus, Jim Meadows talks with Shoemaker about the show, how it got started and what kept him going. Then in the second half of the hour, we’ll hear from Reza Aslan, author of the new book “Zealot.”
We spend nearly a third of our lives asleep…but have you ever wondered why? Interestingly enough, despite years and billions of dollars in research, even leading sleep scientists still can’t answer that question. This hour on Focus, Lindsey Moon talks with David Randall, author of the book “Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep.”
Why is there something instead of nothing? What is our purpose on earth? Depending on which camp you’re in – science or religion, you’ll have a much different answer to these questions. But when did that dictomy develop and why do they have to be at odds with each other? This hour on Focus, Jack Brighton talks with Curtis White about his new book The Science Delusion.
