Talk with the Managers
What’s in the future for public media? How is the sequester affecting WILL? This hour on Focus, we’ll talk with Illinois Public Media General Manger Mark Leonard and Station Manager Bob Culkeen. We welcome your questions!
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.
Record Sales Continue to Climb in US, Illinois
“Vinyl sounds warmer….it’s about the experience….I like the crackle….” Do you enjoy listening to music on a turntable? We’ll talk about music in the 21st century and if vinyl’s “comeback” really means anything to the future of the music industry.
Itty-Bitty Technology; Big Potential
Think about the size of a lady bug. Now, think 1,000 times smaller than that, and we’re talking about the size of a red blood cell. Go another 1,000 times smaller, and that’s how big a nanometer is. What can you do with something that small? We’ll find out this hour on Focus.
Boston Marathon Media Coverage
This hour on Focus, we’ll talk about the media coverage of the Boston Marathon Bombing with Bob Garfield of On the Media and Professor Brant Houston of the University of Illinois College of Media.
City Cycling
Do you bike to work? Why? If you don’t, what’s stopping you? This hour on Focus, we talk about cycling, infrastructure and why some in the area are working to empower a strong cycling and pedestrian community.
Jane Brody and Kathrine Switzer
This hour on Focus, we talk with two health and wellness icons. For the first half of this episode of Focus, host Jim Meadows talks with New York Times Personal Health columnist Jane Brody. Then, in the second half, he talks with Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to register for a bib number in the Boston Marathon. She’s this weekend’s guest legend runner for the Illinois Marathon.
The Best Things You Can Eat
Is the new Honey Bunches of Oats with Greek Yogurt really a healthier cereal because the words “greek yogurt” are on the box? This hour on Focus, host Jim Meadows talks with David Grotto, a registered dietician and nutritionist, about the best things you can eat. We welcome your nutrition questions this hour!
Jeremy Hobson
Do you enjoy the Marketplace Morning Report? Is there something you want to ask host Jeremy Hobson? This hour we talk with this WILL alum about his career and his next move to host the program “Here and Now.”
The Humanity Project
How do you define human decency? Can you comfort the miserable; is that even possible? This hour on Focus, host Jim Meadows talks with New York Times Best-Selling author Jean Thompson about her new book “The Humanity Project.”