In the Loop

Oral historian and writer Studs Terkel was famous for getting his subjects to think about their everyday lives in a new way. Late last year, Project& and Radio Diaries teamed up to resurrect Studs’ interviews that led to his famous book Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do. Jane Saks, founder of Project&, and Joe Richman, founder of Radio Diaries, recorded those subjects forty years later to see how their work-and feelings about it-had changed. We hear from them about that process, and also memories from Studs Terkel’s longtime producer, Lois Baum.

Illinois lawmakers in Springfield are beginning this new year with the same old problem: A lack of a state budget. The stopgap budget that lawmakers were able to cobble together last summer expired with the beginning of 2017. So now, the fight over how to pay the state’s bills - and whether those decisions will include Governor Bruce Rauner’s other legislative priorities, still remains to be seen. Here to take Morning Shift listeners through the ins and outs of the budget battle and talk about where the state might - or might not - go from here are the Chicago Tribune’s Rick Pearson and newly minted WTTW reporter Amanda Vinicky, formerly statehouse bureau chief at Illinois Public Radio.

With each new year, comes resolutions. And one of the most popular New Year Resolutions? To read more. And who better to talk over the best book recommendations from 2016 than WBEZ’s own nerdy ladies? Tricia Bobeda and Greta Johnsen join the Morning Shift to talk about the best books they read last year, including some breakout debuts, the latest in the wizarding world of Harry Potter and lots of lady boss inspiration.

From indictments to investigations and Rahm Emanuel's potential battles with Donald Trump, the Morning Shift looks at the year that was in Chicago politics and what to watch for in 2017.

The past year was devastating for many music fans with the passing of icons like Prince, David Bowie, Phife Dawg, Sharon Jones, Leonard Cohen and George Michael. Jim DeRogatis of WBEZ’s Sound Opinions and Ayana Contreras of Vocalo’s Reclaimed Soul reflected on the many musicians – household names and lesser-known figures alike – who died in 2016.

The year’s biggest sports stories - in Chicago and nationwide - according to WBEZ contributor Cheryl Raye-Stout and Jim Litke of the Associated Press.

From the Zika virus to the U.S. presidential elections to the Cubs World Series win, 2016 was jam-packed with big news.  As 2016 winds down, we revisit some of the biggest stories of year with the Jeopardy! 2016 News Edition!  Our contestants are two of WBEZ’s finest: politics reporter (and reigning champ) Tony Arnold against senior producer Carrie Shepherd. We hit the worlds of politics, pop culture, sports and everything in between.

Earlier this week, the Chicago Tribune published an article headlined "Chicago-area Chefs Name The Best Meal They Ate in 2016." It gets the taste buds going to say the least.  Here at the Morning Shift, it inspired the staff to think about the best meals we’ve eaten. We open that question to listeners and hear about what you’re looking forward to eating over the holidays.

There’s a lot of great holiday music out there in “Soulsville”, but hardly any of it gets played on the radio.  Ayana Contreras, host of Reclaimed Soul on Vocalo, dives deep into her Christmas archives to enlighten us with some great music that we should know about.

In the latest installment in our series What’s That Building? Dennis Rodkin of Crain’s Chicago Business gives us the backstory on the synagogue used by KAM Isaiah Israel, the oldest Jewish congregation in Chicago. It’s a handsome brick and stone building topped by a large dome, with a minaret rising above it in the rear, built in 1924.