In the Loop

Photo historians Richard Cahan and Michael Williams talk about the process of uncovering these works and the stories behind them for their book Un-American: The Incarceration of Japanese Americans During World War II. 

Hemmingway called Chicago’s Nelson Algren the greatest American writer behind Faulkner. His love affair with Simone de Beauvoir is legendary. His depictions of the seedier side of urban life — and the tramps, hustlers, and addicts that inhabit that world — are both honest and tender. So why is it that so many Chicagoans don’t know the man or his work? And why does he seem to be overlooked by the larger literary world? Morning Shift talks to Chicago Tribune reporter Mary Wisniewski about her new biography Algren: A Life.

Author and journalist Cokie Roberts steps away from her usual role as political commentator for NPR and ABC to talk about her new children’s book, Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation, which highlights female explorers, educators, writers and activists who helped shape the United States between 1776 and 1824. Roberts spoke with WBEZ’s Jenn White on the Morning Shift about how writing about women's history is "detective work." 

Recount efforts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, combined with Donald Trump tweeting that “millions” of people had voted illegally, has led many to wonder how much of this year’s election was influenced by fraudulent votes. However, others say the fear of voter fraud is what leads to policies that drive voter suppression. Those policies come in the form of voter ID laws, felon disenfranchisement laws, and reducing the number of polling places in minority communities, to name a few. Morning Shift talks to Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern about the role voter fraud and voter suppression played in this election.

Lizzo, the Minneapolis rapper and singer, put on a show at the Subterranean in Wicker Park Thursday. Her fans just could not get enough of it. Lizzo joined Morning Shift to discuss her performance, her new album Coconut Oil, and appearing on Samantha Bee's Full Frontal the day after the election.

2016 brought us many words, including “post-truth,” “alt-right,” and “adulting,” but Merriam-Webster Dictionary has one word that it’s really hoping will get knocked out from the top leaderboard for word-of-the-year: “fascism.”  Recently the team behind the dictionary’s Twitter account tweeted its followers that though “fascism” was in the lead to be word-of-the-year, it wasn’t too late to look something else up, leading Twitter users on a mission to help out the glum dictionary. So we’re wondering: What would you choose as Word-of-the-Year? Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s lexicographer Peter Sokolowski joins the Morning Shift to talk about what other words are in the running and hear your suggestions. 

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer has been a household name for decades. Yet, in 1939, the colorful creature was just an idea in the brain of a copywriter at Chicago’s Montgomery Ward department store who was charged with designing the company’s annual Christmas coloring book. Montgomery Ward printed millions of copies of the book that year and Rudolph quickly became as iconic as Santa Claus.  For the latest installment in our series What’s That Building, Morning Shift talks to Dennis Rodkin of Crain’s Chicago about the buildings where copywriter Robert May created Rudolph and his red nose.

Illinois is the first state to go more than a year without a state budget since the Great Depression. But what does that mean for residents? What does it mean for you? A new online documentary series, “Stranded by the State,” seeks to show the day-to-day impact of the state budget crisis on the lives of families, employees, students, and the stability of Illinois communities. The eight-episode series, a collaboration by Kartemquin Films and the progressive magazine In These Times, releases a new episode each week. Morning Shift talks to Liz Kaar, the producer, director, cinematographer and editor of the series.

In the 1970s, writer and oral historian Studs Terkel traveled the country asking people about their jobs. The result was the book Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do. Now there’s a new national multimedia exhibit that updates Terkel’s project for a new generation of Americans struggling with economic inequality. It’s called Working In America, and it includes radio stories, photos and a website where anyone can share a working story. Morning Shift talks the creator of the exhibit Jane Saks, founder of Project &, an organization that funds artists and arts projects focused on social change.

President-elect Donald Trump is a strong proponent of “school choice.” In other words, he wants federal dollars to be directed to charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run. His pick for education secretary, Betsy DeVos, oversaw the expansion of charters in Detroit. That’s not a surprise considering Trump has called public schools “failing government schools” and made a campaign pledge to provide $20 billion to low-income students to enter private or charter schools. Support for charters is not a partisan issue. President Barack Obama gave charter schools a big push during his eight years in office. So, what does the history of charter schools tell us about their effect on students and student achievement? Morning Shift talked with Diane Ravitch, an education historian, analyst and professor of education at New York University.