Illinois Public Media News

Some 2.8 million people have fled the Russian war in Ukraine. The daughter and granddaughter of an Illinois State University student are among them. She joined The 21st to talk about what her family has been through.

Russia’s war against Ukraine continues unabated. We talked with an Illinois journalist who is on the ground in Lviv, Ukraine.

Can anyone get their photo or design on an official US Postal Service stamp? We were joined by the director of Stamp Services at USPS Headquarters and an Illinois resident who took a picture that will be featured on the upcoming "Mighty Mississippi" USPS stamp series.

From school and work pressures to the distractions and anxiety that come with having access to social media and everything else on their phones, it can be hard to get sleep as a teenager. In a survey a few years back, 58% more teenagers were “severely sleep deprived” than in 1991.The 21st was joined by two psychotherapists who wrote a book on this sleepless generation and what can be done to help.

Rev. Kalie Hargrove was a distance learner at Lincoln Christian University until the school found out she was transgender. She withdrew under pressure and is now part of a lawsuit testing the limits of anti-discrimination laws as they apply to religious institutions. She and a member of the Religious Exemption Accountability Project joined us to talk about her case and how the freedom of religion and anti-discrimination laws intersect and conflict.