Before he was the 44th President, Barack Obama worked as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago. Hear how the city shaped his political ambitions.

Obama 1: The Man In The Background

WBEZ's critically-acclaimed bio-podcast series explores how an icon is made.

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Toni Morrison is widely considered one of America’s greatest writers. She published 11 novels and is the recipient of a Pulitzer, a Nobel and a Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, Tar Baby, Sula and Beloved are just a few of her works that are considered great American classics. 

Before she was a celebrated author, she was a pioneering editor at Random House, opening doors for a whole generation of Black writers, including Angela Davis, Huey P. Newton and Gayl Jones. Her editorship assembled a strong network of the most prominent Black intellectuals of the 20th century.

But Toni Morrison’s road to success was not a straight shot. She only published her first novel around 40 years old. And when she found her footing, she changed the face of American literature.

On the Making season finale, host Brandon Pope sits down with leading Toni Morrison scholars, including Dana Williams, Carolyn Denard, Autumn Womack and Courtney Thorsson, to unpack the trajectory of an American literary hero.

Making tells the story of a different, iconic figure every episode. Subscribe now.

Making Toni Morrison

“I don’t believe I’m going to die slipping on a piece of ice. I don’t believe I’m going to die because I got a bad heart…I believe that I will be able to die as a revolutionary in the international revolutionary proletarian struggle.” - Fred Hampton, 1969

Fred Hampton became the Chairman of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party when he was just years out of high school. His oratory talent and intellectual grasp on leftist literature quickly shot him to stardom in activist circles. But, his leadership did not last long. In 1969, when he was just 21 years old, he was assassinated during a raid on his home orchestrated by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Chicago Police Department and the FBI.

“He knew the power and potential of Fred Hampton,” former Congressman Bobby Rush said of the FBI Director at the time. “So I’m telling you, the man was nothing but greatness.”

Today, in a special Black History Month episode of Making, in collaboration with The Rundown podcast, we tell the story of iconic Chicago liberation activist, Fred Hampton. Our hosts Brandon Pope and Erin Allen sat down with original members of the Black Panther Party, attorneys who fought his post-assassination lawsuits in the 1960s and family members who carry on his legacy.

Making tells the story of a different, iconic figure every episode. Subscribe now.

Making Fred Hampton

In just 86 years Maya Angelou lived dozens of lives. 

Perhaps best known for her seminal autobiography I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou is one of the most celebrated literary minds in history, whose poetry and prose has touched generations of readers. But before Caged Bird, Angelou danced and sang on and off Broadway, earned the moniker “Miss Calypso” in the 1950s, called dozens of American cities and African nations home, and even became the first Black woman to work as a cable car conductor in San Francisco. 

On this episode of Making, host Brandon Pope sits down with Rita Coburn, co-director of the Peabody-Award-winning PBS documentary Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise; Randal Jelks, professor of African and African American studies and American studies at the University of Kansas; and Dr. Maxine Mimms, the founder of the Tacoma Campus of Evergreen State College and a longtime friend of Angelou.

“Her main word was courage,” Dr. Mimms said, “The courage to love, the courage to walk, the courage to move.”

Making tells the story of a different, iconic figure every episode. Subscribe now.

Maya Angelou: Going from Strength to Strength

“Why can’t I be MVP of the league?” Derrick Rose said.

With unimpressive statistics and an unselfish playing style, sports media did not take the third-year point guard seriously. Eight months after those famous words, he became the youngest MVP in NBA history.

Derrick Rose was Chicago’s pride and joy. Fans and journalists alike called him the next Michael Jordan. Some thought he would be the greatest of all time. When an ACL tear took him out of the game, those high hopes turned to high scrutiny.

On this episode of Making, host Brandon Pope explores the years before Derrick Rose changed the NBA. He grew up in the South Side neighborhood of Englewood, raised by a loving mother and three protective older brothers. By his sophomore year of high school, his talent and name was known across the city. We chatted with his high school coach who shaped his rise, veteran Chicago journalists who traced his steps, and Bulls insiders who witnessed his history-making.

“He'll forever be one of the greatest basketball players to come out of the city,” NBC Chicago host Jason Goff said. “I make no bones about it.”

Making tells the story of a different, iconic figure every episode. Subscribe now.

Making Derrick Rose

With 36 billion streams on Spotify, 14 No. 1 hits and 9 Grammys, Rihanna is regarded as one of the most well-known artists of the 21st Century. But she also spent the last decade changing the fashion world, launching brands that transformed her from music star to business mogul and billionaire. 

Her illustrious career began 20 years ago, when she was just a 15-year-old in Barbados. She performed Destiny’s Child songs in a trio with her friends. Soon, an American record producer visited the island, saw her audition and launched her to stardom.

This week on Making, hear the tale of Rihanna’s come-up from record producer Evan Rogers, music journalist Bill Werde and head of British Vogue Chioma Nnadi, featuring exclusive archival tape of Rihanna’s early rehearsals.

Obama 1: The Man In The Background

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