In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

As the unofficial start to summer, Memorial Day weekend gives many of us our first chance to gather with friends and family and heat up the grill.  But who wants burgers that turn out like hockey pucks? Or dry, flavorless chicken? Dan Marguerite of Backyard Barbecue in Wilmette answers your questions from the basics to pro tips on the whole range of foods you can cook on the grill.

When Mel Brooks released his film The Producers back in 1968, the satirical comedy was met with mixed reviews. It was only when he reimagined the film as a stage musical more than 30 years later that he struck gold. The story follows two men as they cook the books to cash in on a musical play about Adolf Hitler which was destined to be a flop. After previews in Chicago in early 2001, the musical went to Broadway where it was an instant hit. The original cast featured Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in the main roles, and in recent years, the show has toured the country with different actors. The latest production here in town runs through June 26 at the Mercury Theater Chicago. Bill Larkin, Allison Sill and Matt Crowle, three actors in the current cast, join the Morning Shift to belt out some tunes. We also talk with director Walter Stearns.

Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer, and sadly, in Chicago, it sometimes marks the start to an uptick in violence that comes with the warmer weather. Morning Shift talks to John Escalante, First Deputy Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, about what the department is doing to keep shootings and other criminal activity in check this upcoming weekend and beyond.

For our latest installment of What’s That Building, Morning Shift contributor and Crain’s Chicago Business real estate reporter Dennis Rodkin answers a few questions from WBEZ listeners. Special thanks to our friends at Curious City for sharing some of their building-related questions.

One major touchstone for Chicagoans when they talk about the history of East Garfield Park is the riots that took place there following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. In some ways, the riots seem to have overshadowed other, brighter moments in the neighborhood’s past. So, what stories aren’t being told about the neighborhood and where it’s been? A new oral history project seeks to answer that question. The local social service agency Breakthrough has teamed up with the Chicago History Museum to record oral histories of longtime East Garfield Park residents. The interviewers are a group of local middle and high school students. Morning Shift talks about some of the stories the students have dug up with Peter Alter of the Chicago History Museum and Nakia Smith, a middle schooler at Beidler Elementary in East Garfield Park who is one the project’s oral historians.

Some are wondering whether it may be more politically expedient for Democrats and Republicans not to pass a budget at all.  Morning Shift talks with Chris Mooney, director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois, about how Democrats and Republicans are positioning themselves this week and how they’re likely to use the budget crisis as a talking point in the run-up to the November election.

With every new device and software update, our smartphones become even more powerful, so what are we missing?  Morning Shift talks with a tech reporter about tips and tricks to get even more out of our smartphones. We also open the phones for listeners to chime in with questions and comments.

White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier joined the team this year after five seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. As he gets settled in Chicago and at U.S. Cellular Field, he sat down with WBEZ sports contributor Cheryl Raye Stout for a heart-to-heart on growing up in a blue-collar community in New Jersey, winning the home run derby at last year’s All Star game and staying driven on and off the field. He also gives us some insight into why he chose a Frank Sinatra tune as his walk-up song.

Music played a huge part in the Vietnam war. For the troops overseas, it was a taste of home. For folks back in the states, it could be a patriotic soundtrack or a call to dissent. Music also told the stories of what the returning soldiers saw, thought and felt during their service. And no genre did all those things more powerfully than soul music. With Memorial Day coming up, Vocalo’s Ayana Contreras brings us the Vietnam War in soul.

The man who murdered Steve Young’s son 20 years ago is scheduled to get out of prison Wednesday. Young reflects on how forgiving the killer has helped him to get through the last two decades without his son.