In the Loop

There are more than 11,000 athletes competing in this year’s Olympics games. We check in with the Chicago Tribune’s Stacy St. Clair from the Summer Olympics in Rio, where she’s covering all the Chicago athletes.

Local reporters recently got a rare opportunity to visit one of the 19 facilities authorized by Illinois to grow medical marijuana. Morning Shift talks with Chicago Tribune reporter Robert McCoppin about what he saw and learned during his tour at the Cresco Labs Grow House in Joliet.

The federal government made some big statements about marijuana this week. In a filing by the Drug Enforcement Agency, it stated that marijuana will continue to be considered a schedule 1 drug and that it rejects marijuana as a medicine. However, the filing also makes clear that more universities will be able to grow marijuana to conduct research. We speak with Jon Caulkins, professor at Carnegie Mellon University and a drug policy expert, about the implications and potential impact of this federal filing about marijuana.

A lot of hashtags you come across on Twitter and Facebook are sort of silly, but one that went viral earlier this week shed a lot of light on the shifting sands of the world of employment: #FirstSevenJobs. Morning Shift talks to Adam Chandler, senior associate editor at The Atlantic, who published a piece about the hashtag this week called The Unexpected Joys of #FirstSevenJobs.

The Black Harvest Film Festival has explored the stories, images, heritage, and history of the black experience in the U.S and around the world for 22 years. We discuss one of this year's features, This Is Not Chiraq, a TV series pilot. We speak with filmmaker Noel Occomy and executive producer Rodger Jackson.  The Black Harvest Film festival takes place at the Gene Siskel Film Center through September 1. 

Many considered Jamie Leibert a lost cause. He came from a broken home, became addicted to drugs, lived on the street, robbed post offices, and eventually wound up in prison. Yet he was able to turn his life around. Not through AA. Not through religion. He did it through extreme sports. Now Leibert is putting everything he’s learned toward helping kids that are lost and desperate. Jamie Leibert tells us his personal story and explains the ideas fueling his non-profit Just Care More.

Human Rights Watch estimates there are 400,000 untested rape kits in the country. Untested kits are a long-time issue in many states, but one local organization has said “enough is enough” and issued a call to action.  Test 400K sent a rape kit to every governor in the country, and its website allows users to see when their elected official receives the kit. (Governor Bruce Rauner's was delivered yesterday.) Governors have two weeks to endorse the Test 400K National Call to Action, which states that stopping sexual assault is a top priority.  Test 400K co-founder Julie Smolyansky tells us more about the call to action, and explains why this campaign is so important to her. We also talk with local rape survivor Michelle Kuiper.

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was known for his luscious brown locks, but now that he’s in prison and unable to dye his hair, he’s sporting a white mane. The dramatic change got the Morning Shift thinking about men who dye their hair. Why do they do it? What are the benefits and drawbacks? And why, when women talk openly about dyeing their hair, are men so tight-lipped about their dye jobs?  Morning Shift talks to writer and novelist Phillippe Diederich, who’s had gray hair since high school, about where he comes down on the question of whether or not to dye. We also take calls from listeners with their stories.

Soccer is the most popular sport everywhere on the planet...except the United States. Major League Soccer is several pegs below the top European leagues, and the U.S. Men’s team often fails to impress. Yet somehow, the U.S. women’s team has been a dominant force in global soccer, winning 3 World Cups and 4 Olympic Golds since its inception in 1985. Jen Cooper, host of the women’s soccer podcast 'Mixxed Zone' and color commentator for the Houston Dash soccer team, joins us to talk about how the U.S. women got on top and stay on top of the soccer world.

Every ten years Illinois’ legislative districts are redrawn to reflect changing population patterns. The map is drawn up by lawmakers and that say opponents of this process, means politicians essentially pick candidates instead of voters.  There’s been a longtime effort to get a measure on the ballot to make the process more independent. The so-called Fair Map Amendment movement cleared a major hurdle by getting more than enough of the required petition signatures.  But so far courts have ruled against the group, saying the amendment is unconstitutional. Now the fight goes to the Illinois Supreme Court.  Morning Shift learns more about the fight and what’s at stake for voters and politicians from Sheila Simon, former Lt. Gov.