In today's deep dive, a nurse in Bloomington-Normal tells us about the toll that the pandemic has taken as we approach two years of fighting COVID-19.

What if, actually, in some ways nature isn’t really as good at finding its way as we once thought? An Illinois research project is aiming to make photosynthesis more efficient. To talk about the project and its potential ramifications, we were joined by its director. 

Located in the southeast region of Chicago and flowing through the suburbs, the Little Calumet River once played an important role as part of the Underground Railroad. Recently, conservation efforts have worked to establish a new, seven-mile African American Heritage Water trail where canoers and kayakers can learn about the history of the river.

In today's deep dive, we'll learn about how people who are incarcerated can face retaliation when they report staff sexual misconduct. 

After an Adams County judge overturned a conviction for a sexual assault case of a 16-year-old girl, he’s been accused of making comments many classify as victim-blaming. Today, we were joined by a journalist covering the story, the executive director of an anti-domestic abuse organization, and an associate professor of law to unpack the details of the case.

Today on The 21st, we began with a conversation about Illinois state government. The president of the Illinois state Senate, Don Harmon, joined us to talk about criminal justice, education, taxes, spending, and so much more that affects all of our lives.

In today's deep dive, Paul Cronin, the CEO of i3 Broadband, talks about increased demand for broadband service during the pandemic and the challenges of bringing broadband to rural areas.

Many are asking when this pandemic will really end, when we'll get back to normal, and what would “normal” even look like in a post-pandemic world. No one has answers to those questions, and for many, that uncertainty can take a toll on our mental health, which has already taken hits from the onset of the pandemic. The 21st was joined by a psychiatric professor to talk about ways the pandemic has been affecting our mental health and what we can do about it. 

In order to curb carbon emissions, some are proposing that we capture carbon from ethanol plants in the Midwest and ship the gas via pipelines into the sandstone in Illinois, but not everyone is on board. The 21st was joined by a reporter covering this issue and a geologist to talk about how these pipelines would work and the possible concerns.