Illinois Public Media News

With Illinois set to lift the statewide indoor mask mandate on February 28, 2022, questions remain about what’s next in the case of schools. We were joined by two reporters following the story.

Chicago is known for many things: It's food, architecture, and culture, just to name a few. The 21st was joined by a south side native better known as "Chicago’s Neighborhood historian" who wanted to share all of Chicago’s riches and history with his 81,000 followers on TikTok.

Around the country, at school board meetings, in state legislatures, and in some local libraries, books are facing challenges, and many of the books being challenged have to do with race. To talk about this rise in book censorship, what’s behind it, and how it impacts which lived experiences get shared in classrooms, we were joined by the editor of an independent editorial book site, as well as professors of library science and comparative literature. 

Like all live performers, from actors to musicians, people who perform drag have had to adapt and change during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 21st was joined by two central Illinois drag performers to talk about different ways that drag artists have had to adjust to performing in the pandemic.

Why do we think the wife of Abraham Lincoln was crazy? Some historians are saying that maybe it’s time for a reprisal of the way talk about her. One such historian joined us to talk about her findings. This segment originally aired December 8, 2021.