In the Loop

Did the summer months bring about some strange bird you hadn’t seen before? Did you see a coyote run across your front yard at 2 a.m. one night?  Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife expert Seth Magle is back to answer all your questions about the strange animals that roam the streets of Chicago in the summer.

Cubs catcher David Ross is what you call a “journeyman”. Over a 14-year career, he’s been part of seven different major league teams-eight if you count him being on the Red Sox twice. But his short time with the Cubs has been special. This year he hit his 100th career home run, and he caught his first no-hitter. Most people don’t consider 39 to be old, but Ross is so much older than his teammates, they call him “Grandpa”. He talked to WBEZ’s Cheryl Raye Stout about being “the grizzled veteran”, and about the special relationship a catcher needs to have with his pitchers

In 1963, Andrew and Marianne Fischer became the parents of quintuplets. The event was momentous because it was the fourth recorded birth of quints in U.S. history and the first to survive.  Legendary documentary filmmaker Gordon Quinn tells us how Happy Mother’s Day shaped what he wanted to do at Kartemquin Films.

The fight for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on Chicago’s lakefront kept us guessing during the twists and turns to decide its fate.  George Lucas ended the speculation on Friday when he announced that he and his wife, native Chicagoan Mellody Hobson, were pulling their plans from Chicago.  Chicago Tribune’s editorial board offers some lasting lessons to guide potential future fights involving construction on the lakefront. We talk to board member John McCormick about the lessons.

In 2013, the NHL joined the “You Can Play” campaign to show the league’s support for gay players. In 2014, Michael Sam became the first openly gay player to be drafted by the NFL.  But these moves have not shifted the overall climate in professional sports where openly gay athletes are rare.  Cyd Zeigler has been writing about LGBT athletes for nearly two decades. Zeigler joins us to discuss his new book Fair Play: How LGBT Athletes Are Claiming Their Rightful Place in Sports.

John Goldstein thought his life was mapped out. He was headed to law school, and expected to spend the rest of his days calmly and quietly behind a desk. But then he walked into a movie theater and saw Raiders of the Lost Ark.  He saw Indiana Jones, a mild-mannered professor by day, turn into a globe-hopping adventurer, and a light went on. Thirty-five years later, Goldstein is still a lawyer, but he’s put plenty of adventure in his life by visiting about 140 countries and overcoming fears along the way.  He talks about the movie that started his “Jones” for world travel and excitement.

Mother Nature may be crankin’ up the heat outside, but Ayana Contreras is turning things up indoors as she brings a series of slow jams and the stories behind them to another edition of Reclaimed Soul.

Chicago-based writer Cyn Vargas tells us what movie shaped her life for our #TheMovieThatMadeMe project.

Chicago’s bike sharing program Divvy turns three years old on Tuesday. We check in with Divvy General Manager Elliot Greenberger about how the actual usage lines up with their expectations. We also take your calls about common questions or issues you have as a rider.

The always outspoken Ryan was a linebackers coach for the 1968 New York Jets and coordinated the ground-breaking 46 defense for the '85 Chicago Bears, one of the NFL's greatest defenses.