Illinois Public Media News

Poet Nikky Finney's writing reckons with what it means to be a woman and Black in America and in the South, in the past and today.

Now that life has settled into a new normal, we checked in to see what pandemic-era changes were permanent, and how Muslim Illinoisans are celebrating Eid al-Fitr this year. To discuss it, The 21st was joined by an imam and theology teacher.

Conflict over clear-cutting timber in the Shawnee National Forecast in the 1990s is the subject of a documentary being shown at festivals around the country. We were joined by environmental educators and one of the documentary's makers.

A Peoria commission has released a report, attempting to quantify how systemic racism affects Black populations in the city and county. To talk about what they found and what they’re doing, The 21st was joined by the co-chairs of the commission’s steering committee.

For this year's Ebertfest, the festival's leaders say they've decided to honor 10 years since the passing of film critic Roger Ebert with a line-up of films under the theme "Roger Ebert and Empathy."