On this edition of WSIU InFocus, Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford looks back on the 2020 weather year.

WSIU's Jennifer Fuller talks with Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs about his office's Charitable Trust program, along with the state's Bright Start college savings plan and more.

The National Musuem of African American Music in Nashville, Tennessee is getting ready to open its doors to the public after nearly 20-years in the making. The museum holds its ribbon cutting on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 18, 2021. WSIU's Jeff Williams talks with the musuem's President and CEO, H. Beecher Hicks III, about the muesum and the impact of black musicians on the soundtrack of America. The National Musuem of African American Music offically opens to the public on

The COVID-19 vaccine holds promise for bringing an end to the pandemic. But some have questioned the rapid development of the vaccine — so I talked with some scientists about how pharmaceutical companies were able to work so quickly. Michael Olson is an assistant professor of immunology with SIU School of Medicine. He saidthe first thing to understand how the body develops an immune response. “So your body is trained to recognize things that are not self, so something that's foreign,” Olson said

On his monthy feature, Ornithologist Mike Baltz talks about the importance of creating a more wildlife friendly backyard.

WSIU's Jennifer Fuller talks with SIU Admissions Director John Frost and Alumni Association Executive Director Jeff Gleim about the new "Recruit A Saluki" program.

WSIU's Leah Lerner talks with writer and lyricist Chad Beguelin - a Centralia native who co-authored "The Prom" on Netflix.

Vaccinations for COVID-19 are being administered throughout the country. WSIU's Brad Palmer recently talked with two doctors at Union County Hospital in Anna who were among the first in Illinois to receive the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine . Doctor B.J. Reach received his shot on December 16 and his wife Doctor Pamela Hunter-Reach got hers on December 18.

On this edition of WSIU InFocus, Pioneering Design Professor Buckminster Fuller's ideas are being brought to today's SIU Students, as a part of an Honors Class on the SIU Carbondale Campus.

The Pinckneyville Correctional Center has become the first in Illinois to earn accreditation from a national organization which has a mission of shaping the future of corrections and improving the justice system. WSIU's Brad Palmer recently spoke with Pinckneyville Warden Jeffery Dennison about how his facility was able to earn recognition from The American Correctional Association in expedited fashion and during a public health crisis.