In the Loop

WBEZ’s new podcast, “Making Oprah,” traces the 25-year history of the Oprah Winfrey Show. Today, the success of the show feels inevitable. However, when you pull back the curtain you find successes and missteps, reinventions, and moments when it all could have fallen apart. The podcast captures a time when one woman and one show was able to capture about 40 million viewers across the world each week. Chances are that’s not going to happen again. 

It’s been nearly a year since the release of the video showing a Chicago police officer shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times. Morning Shift talks to retired CPD officer Richard Wooten about how the fatal shooting forced the department to open up about its inefficiencies and needs for reform. Wooten say it’s a change that both citizens and officers should welcome.

The media is having a moment. Many news organizations telegraphed that Hillary Clinton would win the presidential election, but that did not come to pass. Meanwhile, so-called “fake news” is on the rise. So much so, that in the months before the election, more people clicked on fake news on Facebook than on real news. Furthermore, Americans’ trust in mass media is at an historic low, according to a September Gallup poll. So, what’s a news organization to do? Morning Shift talks with NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik and Micheline Maynard, Forbes contributor covering the media and Donald Trump, about the future of the fourth estate at a time when the incoming President of the United States has lied repeatedly and lambasted the press at every turn.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has reported more than 430 instances of what it calls “hateful intimidation and harassment” since Nov. 9. They include anti-immigrant, anti-black and anti-LGBT incidents, as well as swastika graffiti and attacks targeting women. The intimidation and harassment has occurred everywhere from public parks to businesses to elementary schools and high schools. roup Hollaback, about what it calls the four Ds of bystander intervention: Direct, distract, delegate and delay.

On Monday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel went on record to reassure immigrants that Chicago would “always will be a sanctuary city.” The statement follows the election of Donald Trump who has threatened to block federal funding for cities that refuse to cooperate with deportation forces under his administration. We take a step back and explain what a sanctuary city is, where Chicago’s policies fall, and how plausible the President-elect’s threats are with Angela Garcia, a professor of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago.

With their new show, “System,” led by choreographer Francesca Harper, Dance Theater of Harlem addresses social justice issues in the Black Lives Matter era.  Morning Shift talks to Virginia Johnson, art director of Dance Theater of Harlem, about the how the company continues Arthur Mitchell’s legacy today.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s budget passed Wednesday without much debate, but there are still concerns about a new $100 million community investment fund. Morning Shift talks to WBEZ city politics reporter Lauren Chooljian about the details and what Chicagoans need to know about how the budget will affect their lives.

Wednesday on the Morning Shift, we talked about the proliferation of fake news on social media during the election season. Facebook data that shows the fake news stories outperformed real news stories on the social media site from August to Election Day: 8.7 million engagements for fake news and just 7.3 million for real news.  We hear from listeners about who they think bears more responsibility for the spread of fake news: social media sites or the news consumers themselves?

The Cubs’ World Series win means millions of dreams have come true. But life goes on, and the city is buzzing with B’s: Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks.  WBEZ sports contributor Cheryl Raye Stout joins us to put a ribbon on a most memorable baseball season as various Cubbies look to take home individual honors.  Plus, she’ll try to explain why the Bears locker room is pretty gloomy these days. And as the Bulls and Blackhawks get their seasons cranking, she’ll give us the stories and personalities to watch for. 

This week on the Morning Shift, we’re examining what’s next for various groups now that Donald Trump will be the 45th President of the United States. Today, we speak to baby boomers of all political stripes about what a Trump presidency means to them and how it will affect how they engage politically.