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Abigail Bottar joined Illinois Public Media in early March 2026 as our Agriculture/Environmental reporter after six years at Ideastream Public Media in Ohio.
Christine Herman initially joined IPM as a part-time producer. Now, she is the editor for the Illinois Student Newsroom, overseeing 15 to 20 U of I student reporters.
At Illinois Public Media, Arjun Thakkar helps reporters with story pitches, sources, and final editing, and sometimes reports stories himself.
He's a Normal, Illinois native who went to U. of I. and ended up writing music for Sesame Street.
She's the puppeteer behind Abby Cadabby — and she just won an Emmy for it.
They also happen to be married.
Composer Paul Rudolph and puppeteer Leslie Carrara-Rudolph joined The 21st Show to talk about what makes Abby special, how to write music for Muppets, making instruments from found objects, and how puppetry can reach children who've been through tough times.
Prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket allow people to bet on … pretty much anything … from the future of the Iran war to more offbeat topics, such as whether the government would confirm aliens exist. Today, we discuss their rising significance and the fight to regulate them in Illinois and beyond.
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