In the Loop

Comedian and podcaster Phoebe Robinson has a lot to say about living life as a black woman in America.  You can hear it in her standup and in the podcast 2 Dope Queens, which she co-hosts with Daily Show alum Jessica Williams. You can also hear it in Sooo Many White Guys, her spinoff podcast where she interviews actors, comedians, musical artists and other interesting people who are black, Hispanic, Asian and really anything but white, except for “token white guy” Mike Birbiglia.  Robinson takes a similar tack in her new book You Can’t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain. It’s a collection of essays about race, gender, and pop culture. Morning Shift talks to Robinson about her comedy career, podcasting and her latest venture as an author.

Earlier this year, a woman was killed while riding her bike in a crosswalk in northwest suburban Mount Prospect. The death prompted state representative David Harris to call for changes to the Rules of Road manual issued by the Illinois Secretary of State.  Those changes are in the works. The goal is to educate the public on proper crosswalk etiquette, a topic where many people in the Chicago area are in the dark.  Morning Shift sheds a little light on the crosswalk laws in Illinois with WBEZ reporter Dan Weissmann and State representative David Harris.

What are their strategies and are they working? How do the real debaters do it? As we approach the third and final presidential debate, the Morning Shift asks some pros: Northwestern University Debate Society’s coach Daniel Fitzmier and team member Chris Callahan to break down the candidates’ debate strategies. 

Last week, parts of Mayor Emanuel’s budget speech sounded like a list of the most important projects he’s set in motion in order to make Chicago safer and more fiscally sound. They’re also projects that need to succeed in order for him to be elected to a 3rd term. Bill Ruthhart covers the mayor and city hall for the Chicago Tribune, and joins us to talk about the dots Emanuel has laid out, and how the mayor is trying to connect them to create re-election picture. 

A year after journalist Jamie Kalven brought to light the details of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald’s killing, he is now pulling back the curtain on how whistleblowers in the Chicago Police Department face backlash.  A four-part series in The Intercept points to the department’s alleged “code of silence” for the reason that internal corruption in the department goes unchecked.  We talk to Kalven about what he learned while immersed in the lives of two cops who tried to put an end to a corruption ring of drugs, money and killing, all perpetrated by one of their own. 

You probably know him better as Councilman Jamm from NBC’s Parks and Recreation, but now actor and comedian Jon Glaser is tapping into one of his real passions: gear.  His new pseudo-reality show Jon Glaser Loves Gear airs this month on truTV where he’ll get into the best and worst gear he finds.  The Morning Shift talks to Glaser about the show, his off-center brand of comedy and what makes this comedian laugh. 

Photographer Mike MacDonald’s work has been published in books and major magazines. But his obsession is with the natural beauty found in the prairies, woods, and other wild places around Chicago.  We talk to MacDonald about his new book, how he captures his incredible images, and his top picks for viewing the sweeping vistas and amazing details around the area that he believes can change your life.

What does it mean to you to be an American? That’s the question Morning Shift is asking as part of A Nation Engaged, a collaboration with NPR and other public radio stations across the country.  Morning Shift talks to Alexandra Filindra, assistant professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, about that key question, American values and how the idea of American citizenship has changed — and stayed the same — over the years. We also take calls from listeners. 

For a long time, the only people writer Belle Boggs spoke to about her own struggle with infertility were in a support group, but when she started writing about the topic, she found that many of her friends and family had also dealt with the issue.  In her book The Art of Waiting: On Fertility, Medicine, and Motherhood, Boggs explores the culture of silence that surrounds fertility in American culture. 

Chris Robinson burst onto the music scene in the early 1990s when The Black Crowes won over audiences with a style that blended rock and rhythm-and-blues. In 2010, Robinson created a side project, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood. That band has now become a full-time project, and the group’s new album draws on 1960s psychedelia, soul and gospel sounds while keeping a 1970s California pop sound.  Chris Robinson and guitarist Neal Casal drop by to chat and play for us. Hear more: Catch the band Friday, Oct. 14 at Thalia Hall.