In the Loop

The shootings in Chicago make for dramatic headlines, as well as tweets from the president. But far more people die each year in Illinois from opioid overdoses than from homicides. Brigid Sweeney of Crain’s Chicago Business dives into some local universities are working toward a new understanding of—and treatment for—pain that doesn’t involve popping highly addictive pills.

In her play Straight White Men, director and playwright Young Jean Lee explores privilege and stereotypes as they apply to that title group of characters. As Lee explains, for time immemorial straight white males like them were the default human, but in our current culture, they’re being analyzed and called out for the first time. Morning Shift talks to Lee about her process for researching and writing the play and what she’d like theatergoers to take away from the play, which is on stage at the Steppenwolf Theatre through March 19.

What’s the dating scene like in Chicago? That’s the question our friends at Curious City tried to answer for one curious listener. Morning Shift talks to producer Sarah Geis about what she learned exploring Chicago’s singles scene for WBEZ’s Curious City.

With pitchers and catchers reporting for their first workout of spring training Wednesday, WBEZ sports contributor Cheryl Raye Stout sat down with Epstein to discuss his earliest memories as a baseball fanatic, how he’s put together so many winning teams and what needs to happen for the Cubs to repeat as World Series champions.

According to a 2015 study from Ernst & Young, 1 in 4 U.S. workers said maintaining a work-life balance was getting tougher. So how do we unplug and achieve the ideal balance?

Gov. Bruce Rauner joined WBEZ’s Morning Shift on Friday to answer questions from listeners about the long-running budget stalemate, President Donald Trump’s controversial ban on refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, and Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s lawsuit to stop paying state workers because the state has no budget. 

In a few years, that lakefront could look very different.

A new house bill that is coming under fire has proposed a restriction on pharmacist hours, implementing break time during their shifts, and whistleblower protection if they expose safety issues. It comes after a recent Chicago Tribune investigation discovered half of 255 pharmacies tested in the Chicago region did not warn consumers about prescriptions for potential drug interactions that could be harmful or fatal. Morning Shift talks to Ray Long, one of the Tribune reporters behind the series.  

The recent film Hidden Figures has made millions of people aware of the racism and sexism a group of African-American women overcame while they worked for NASA to put the first person into space. Closer to home, Dorothy Glinton was a “hidden figure”, breaking down barriers in the auto industry. We hear her story, and the impact it had on her son, Sonari, an NPR reporter covering that very same industry.

In this age of fake news, alternative facts and a political leadership that has lied to the media and the public, lies and deception are part and parcel to the daily lives of millions of Americans. So, how do we navigate a world that’s gone topsy-turvy? Morning Shift talks with Harvard philosopher Tim Scanlon about what makes a lie, when it’s appropriate to lie and what’s at stake when false statement and stories carry so much weight in our politics and culture. We also take calls from listeners.