In the Loop

The first year of college can be daunting for anyone: being away from home, adjusting to a more challenging curriculum, fitting in, and how much money will it all cost you and/or your parents. Add to those, issues like homelessness, undocumented immigration status, and even violence-related trauma, and a college education can seem impossible. Those are issues some students at Arrupe College face. Part of the Loyola University Chicago system, it offers a two year program that it hopes will be a springboard to more higher education for its students. Much of the work and philosophy of the school comes from Fr. Stephen Katsouros, the Dean of Arrupe College. He joins Morning Shift to tell the school’s story, which is the subject of his book, Come to Believe:How the Jesuits Are Reinventing Education (Again).

The first year of college can be daunting for anyone: being away from home, adjusting to a more challenging curriculum, fitting in, and how much money will it all cost you and/or your parents. Add to those, issues like homelessness, undocumented immigration status, and even violence-related trauma, and a college education can seem impossible. Those are issues some students at Arrupe College face. Part of the Loyola University Chicago system, it offers a two year program that it hopes will be a springboard to more higher education for its students. Much of the work and philosophy of the school comes from Fr. Stephen Katsouros, the Dean of Arrupe College. He joins Morning Shift to tell the school’s story, which is the subject of his book, Come to Believe:How the Jesuits Are Reinventing Education (Again).

Four years after his death, Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert will be inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame this Saturday at the American Writers Museum. He authored 17 books, and was the first movie critic to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1975, and the first to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Beyond writing, however, Ebert and his wife Chaz supported the arts and local nonprofits through the Roger and Chaz Ebert Foundation. Morning Shift talks to Chaz Ebert, Roger’s widow and publisher of RogerEbert.com, about the famed movie critic’s legacy in Chicago.

Four years after his death, Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert will be inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame this Saturday at the American Writers Museum. He authored 17 books, and was the first movie critic to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1975, and the first to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Beyond writing, however, Ebert and his wife Chaz supported the arts and local nonprofits through the Roger and Chaz Ebert Foundation. Morning Shift talks to Chaz Ebert, Roger’s widow and publisher of RogerEbert.com, about the famed movie critic’s legacy in Chicago.

Chicago may be the home of the Blues but it’s also the birthplace of dozens of iconic hip-hop artists. Often overlooked in the national conversation about the history of hip-hop, Chicago’s hip-hop roots go almost all the way to the birth of the genre. The home of Kanye, Common, Chief Keef, Lupe Fiasco, and Chance the Rapper, there’s something about Chicago that pushes the boundaries of hip-hop. We talk to Che “Rhymefest” Smith and Ryan Brockmeier, director of the documentary Midway: The Story Of Chicago Hip-Hop.

Chicago may be the home of the Blues but it’s also the birthplace of dozens of iconic hip-hop artists. Often overlooked in the national conversation about the history of hip-hop, Chicago’s hip-hop roots go almost all the way to the birth of the genre. The home of Kanye, Common, Chief Keef, Lupe Fiasco, and Chance the Rapper, there’s something about Chicago that pushes the boundaries of hip-hop. We talk to Che “Rhymefest” Smith and Ryan Brockmeier, director of the documentary Midway: The Story Of Chicago Hip-Hop.

What lessons and wisdom can grown-ups learn from children’s literature? And do your children have bad literary taste if they don't love Where the Wild Things Are or Curious George as much as you did? To dive into the world of children’s literature, Morning Shift talks to Bruce Handy, author of Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children’s Literature as an Adult. 

What lessons and wisdom can grown-ups learn from children’s literature? And do your children have bad literary taste if they don't love Where the Wild Things Are or Curious George as much as you did? To dive into the world of children’s literature, Morning Shift talks to Bruce Handy, author of Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children’s Literature as an Adult. 

Charlottesville, Va., this weekend became a scene of violence stemming from a clash of politics and ideology. Rally goers identifying as “white nationalists” met to protest the scheduled removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. Counter-protestors confronted the rally, and events turned deadly when a man others allege is a Nazi sympathizer ran his car into a crowd. We speak with Christian Picciolini, a former neo-Nazi who co-founded a non-profit called Life After Hate, about why he’s not surprised this continues to happen. We also check in with Mrinalini Chakraborty, an activist who organized vigils around Chicago. 

Charlottesville, Va., this weekend became a scene of violence stemming from a clash of politics and ideology. Rally goers identifying as “white nationalists” met to protest the scheduled removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. Counter-protestors confronted the rally, and events turned deadly when a man others allege is a Nazi sympathizer ran his car into a crowd. We speak with Christian Picciolini, a former neo-Nazi who co-founded a non-profit called Life After Hate, about why he’s not surprised this continues to happen. We also check in with Mrinalini Chakraborty, an activist who organized vigils around Chicago.