University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign journalism professor Nikki Usher talked about their book, News for the Rich, White and Blue, How Place And Power Distort American Journalism, which argues that news is increasingly geared toward people who are rich, white, and lean Democratic. This segment originally aired October 27, 2021.

Dawn Turner grew up on the south side of Chicago and went on to have a successful career as a columnist at the Chicago Tribune, but her sister and best friend were not so fortunate. Turner recounts the different paths their lives took in her new memoir, Three Girls from Bronzeville. This segment originally aired September 16, 2021.

“Energy Never Dies: Afro-Optimism & Creativity in Chicago” is a sort of written soundtrack to the music history and culture that made Chicago’s Black artists both past and present and who they are today—from Earth, Wind and Fire to Chance The Rapper. We were joined by the book's author to explore a culture rooted in self-determination and hustle to show how optimism and perseverance power the art and aspirations of Black Chicago.

Today we explored the question of what it means to be Asian American. Specifically, whether it makes sense to have a single marker of identity for that broad group of people hailing from a huge portion of the Earth’s landmass and how they fit into a nation that has a longstanding binary along the poles of Black and white. We talked about it Jay Caspian Kang, who explores the topic in his new book, “The Loneliest Americans."

The early 1960s were a time of transition in American—especially in higher education—when universities were preparing for the tidal wave of Baby Boomers that would be flooding onto campus and also reckoning with growing calls for more freedom on campus, especially among young women. We spoke with the author of a book on the subject.