Illinois Public Media

History

The logo for The 21st Show and then a series of photographs of Mary Todd Lincoln and to the right of those photos there is an image of the new book,

Journalist Lois Romano says Mary Lincoln was ‘An Inconvenient Widow’

 Many of us were taught Mary Lincoln was a spendthrift, a little crazy, and a drag on her husband’s greatness. These narratives are challenged by journalist Lois Romano, who spoke to "The 21st Show" about her new biography of Abraham Lincoln's wife. "I think once a narrative is formed, it’s really hard to shake it," Romano told "The 21st Show." "And her narrative was written 150 years ago, and it was written by men who just couldn’t stand her. And they projected onto her things that just weren’t there."
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Illinois Classical
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Atomic Age Cocktail Party
Atomic Age logo with an illustration of Sammy Cahn. Text reads

Sammy Cahn (169)
Coming up, on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party, the spotlight is on songwriter Sammy Cahn. Cahn penned some absolute classics of hi-fi the era from wonderful romantic ballads to…
Dialogue
three teenagers in graphic

‘We’re not speaking up loud enough’: Three teens share candid thoughts about youth gun violence in central Illinois
In the first half of this year, gun violence has taken the lives of four teens in Champaign. Several more have been injured. And many of the suspects are also teenagers. 
The 21st Show
three glass negatives of Mary Lincoln wearing a dark dress; the cover of 'An Inconvenient Widow' shows the back of a woman's head meant to suggest Mary lincoln, with fark curly hair and a violet dress with elaborate black beading and embroidery

Journalist Lois Romano says Mary Lincoln was ‘An Inconvenient Widow’
Many of us were taught Mary Lincoln was a spendthrift, a little crazy, and a drag on her husband’s greatness. We’ll challenge all that with journalist Lois Romano, who’s…
The 21st Show
a soccer player in a white jersey stretches to get the ball away from a player in a yellow kit — both are wearing bright pink cleats, which is a distinct trend at the 2026 World Cup

Illinois technology featured in World Cup soccer cleats
Technology developed by Illinois engineering professor Bill King has been incorporated into the cleats worn by soccer players at this year’s World Cup. We'll talk with him…
The 21st Show
a chart showing Black student enrollment against Black student discipline, with two major outliers compared with the rest of the state; separately there's also a photo of a school building — mostly brick but with a glass-and-metal facade; the glass features a large etching of a lion, which is Lanphier High School's mascot

The Illinois schools that discipline Black students the most
Schools in Illinois discipline Black students at much higher rates than their white peers. Public radio education reporters Emily Hays and Peter Medlin dug into the data for…
Prairie Fire

Prairie Fire: Season 3 - Episode 7 - May 2026
For this month's Prairie Fire, students from the University of Illinois’ College of Media spent a semester producing five short documentaries highlighting food, skating,…
News Local/State
woman looking at camera

Behind The Mic: Education reporter Emily Hays loves connecting people through her stories
From covering school districts, politics, campus news, and more, Illinois Public Media reporter Emily Hays is a versatile journalist who loves keeping it local.
State of Change

Small gestures to make a big difference in preserving our planet
We visit a zero-waste general store, a garden bringing a community together in a Chicago food desert, a program protecting pollinators, and advice to increase sustainability…