Alyssa tells David Baxter the real life story behind the musical Chicago.  

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Check out Other Episodes:

Grease: The OG Broadway Transfer

William Hale "Big Bill" Thompson: Illinois Most Corrupt Politician

Show Notes:

Chicago Tribune: Silent 1927 'Chicago' to make a musical comeback

Chicagology: Maurine Dallas Watkins

Chicago Tribune: A Tribune reporter wrote the hit play ‘Chicago’ after covering Cook County murder trials. Decades later, we owe her an obituary.

Chicago Tribune: Vintage Chicago Tribune: Murder, mayhem and ‘all that jazz’ — the real women who inspired Oscar winner ‘Chicago’

Today: Obscure story by 'Chicago' playwright discovered

Stratford Festival Reviews:The Woman Behind the Women of Chicago

Ontario Stage: Maurine Watkins, The Woman Behind ‘Chicago’

New York Theatre Guide: The history behind the musical ‘Chicago’: How 1920s crime and vaudeville inspired the show

Chicago Tribune: Vintage Chicago Tribune: ‘Prettiest woman ever accused of murder in Chicago

The Script

Catherine Sheehy on Maurine Dallas Watkins - Mondays at Beinecke, February 21, 2022

Playbill: After 80 Years, So Help Me God! Makes Manhattan Bow

Chicago Magazine: The Girls of Murder City, by Douglas Perry

Mexican Breakfast

Toni Collette sings "Roxie" in Chicago audition

He Had It Coming: Four Murderous Women and the Reporter Who Immortalized Their Stories

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After they reminisce about workplace email hijinks, Alyssa gives John an update on the Mike Madigan trial, the closing of the Hard Rock Cafe, and the takeover of the Kennedy Center then they take a trip to Zion, Illinois which was founded as a theocracy. 

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Show Notes:

AP: The Earth is Flat

Cracked: 1920s Illinois Lived In Fear Of The Priest-King Of The Flat Earth

New York Times: SURE EARTH IS FLAT, SAYS ZION'S OVERSEER; Voliva Declares He Can 'Down Any Modern Astronomer in Less Than Thirty Minutes.'

Daily Beast: When a Flat Earther Refused to Concede and All Hell Broke Loose

Chicago Reader: When Zion Ruled the Waves

Chicago Reader: The Devil Inside

People of Zion Only.

Off the Edge: Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything

Reshaping Performance Spaces: Embracing Change at the Kennedy Center

The Reach Expansion (Kennedy Center)

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Alyssa tells Pat all about the time Oak Park, a Chicago suburb, was torn apart after discovering an ACTUAL Nazi was a part of their community. 

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 Check out Other Episodes:

It's Okay to Punch a Nazi

Fascism Frenzy

KKK in Chikago: It's a Okay to Dox a Racist

Show Notes:

Chicago Magazine: The Nazi of Oak Park

Chicago Magazine: The Nazi Hunter

Chicago Tribune: REMEMBERING NAZI CAMPS

Chicago Tribune: Author discusses Oak Park’s Nazi at Holocaust Museum in Skokie

Chicago Tribune: GERMANS WON`T CHARGE EX-SS GUARD, OFFICIALS SAY

Los Angeles Times: The World : W. Germans Free Ex-Nazi

UPI: A former Nazi death camp guard has been removed...

UPI: A man accused of concealing his past as a.Nazi

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Alyssa is joined by Risen to tell her the history of St. Patrick' Day celebrations in Chicago. 

Socials:

Twitter, BlueSky, Instagram

Show Notes:

WTTW: Labor of Love: A St. Patrick’s Day Special

Chicago Tribune: Vintage Chicago Tribune: The city’s St. Patrick’s Day traditions

Smithsonian: The Origins of Chicago’s Green River, Shamrock Shakes and Other Surprising Trivia About St. Patrick’s Day

TimeOut: 10 things you might not have known about St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago

Chicago Tribune: Politics and parades: Chicago’s long history of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day

Block Club Chicago: Why Chicago Has 4 St. Patrick’s Day Parades

Time: The Year They Cancelled St. Patrick’s Day

NBC Chicago: South Side Irish Parade Cancelled

NBC Chicago: Parade Organizer: “There's No Reason to Drink Like That”

Chicago Tribune: WHY SOUTH SIDERS SAID: PARTY’S OVER

Reddit: Can anyone tell me about the Southside Irish parade, is it worth making time to see if you happen to be in Chicago during that time?

Media Burn: St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago

Barstool: The Annual Chicago St Patrick's Day Police Blotter Recap

Barstool: The Best Police Blotter Incidents From Wrigleyville On Saturday

Barstool: A Barstool Chicago Tradition Unlike Any Other: The Annual St. Patrick's Day Police Blotter Round Up

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Alyssa tells Vannesa from Reel Relationships about Chicago's crazy and chaotic relationship with Daylight Saving Time.  

We also dispel a few widely believed myths on the subject.  

SHOW NOTES:

Country Living: The History of Daylight Saving Time—and 11 Weird Facts to Know About It

The History Channel: 8 Things You May Not Know About Daylight Saving Time

Washington Post: Why people hated permanent daylight saving time when the U.S. last tried it

Chicago Tribune: Daylight saving time 2023: Why it began, where it exists and how it saved one Chicago man’s life

NPR Illinois: The clock keeps running out on Illinois efforts to end time changes

DOT: Uniform Time

DOT: Daylight Saving Time

DOT: History of Time Zones and Daylight Saving Time (DST)

Buzzfeed: Everyone Was Surprised By The Senate Passing Permanent Daylight Saving Time. Especially The Senators

Trump

Washington Post: I have settled the endless daylight saving time debate

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In this episode, Alyssa and Scoot talk about how fascism became a bit of a fad in the 1930's.

Show Notes:

WTTW: The American Nazi-Sympathizing Group That Drew Tens of Thousands of Members Before World War II

WTTW: Fascism in Chicago

Chicago Reader: In 1939 Nazis rallied in Chicago to make Germany great again

NYU: Home-Grown Nazis- John C. Metcalfe and James J. Metcalfe - Chicago Daily Times

Time: CONGRESS: Hitler’s Shadow

Chicago Sun-Times: Fighting fascism is in our bones

Bund Camp opens

Time: The Press: Chicago Thorn

The History Reader: Who Was Fritz Kuhn and the German American Bund?

Chicago History Reader: 6 Things You May Not Have Known About Nazis in America

Politico: When Nazis Filled Madison Square Garden

Notre Dame Magazine: Where Their Loyalties Lie

NPR: Nazi Summer Camps In 1930s America?

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 Alyssa tells Molly McAleer about the STILL ONGOING Jussie Smollett saga.  

Show Notes:

Northwestern: Breaking Down Kim Foxx’s Win in the 2020 Primary

Ballotpedia: Kim Foxx

WTTW: Former Top Cop Was Drunk When Officers Allowed Him to Drive Home: Watchdog

Chicago Tribune: Ex-FOP leader, suspecting politics at play, gets 3-year suspension from Chicago police union for use of camera in rival’s office

WTTW: Federal Judge Refuses to Toss Out Chicago's Lawsuit ...

Fox Nation: After the Hoax

Axelrod Tweet

Fox Nation: Anatomy of a Hoax.

MAX: Chicago VS Jussie Smollet

Courthouse News: Federal judge sides with former Jussie Smollett attorney in long-simmering defamation case

ABC 7: Jussie Smollett update: Illinois Supreme Court overturns former 'Empire' actor's conviction

Fox 32: Jussie Smollett conviction reversed by Illinois Supreme Court

ABC 7: Police called to Kim Foxx's Flossmoor home for domestic incident, report shows

Chicago Tribune: Ex-girlfriend of suspended Fox 32 anchor Rafer Weigel facing revenge porn charges asks for protective order from Valparaiso woman be dismissed

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This week Alyssa dropped everything to tell John all about the verdict and the subsequent reactions. It truly is Shakespearean. 

We also have some hot takes on opportunities for Blago.

SHOW NOTE: 

Chicago Tribune: ‘Wow, we were part of something really big’: Madigan jurors on how they reached their verdict

WTTW: Michael Madigan Found Guilty of Bribery Conspiracy, Other Charges as Jury Deadlocked on Racketeering

DOJ: Former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan Convicted on Federal Conspiracy and Bribery Charges

Chicago Sun-Times: Inside the Madigan jury room: 'Pronouncing someone guilty didn’t make me feel good'

Chicago Sun-Times: Once a political giant, Madigan now a convicted felon and likely prison inmate — but not a racketeer

Chicago Sun-Times: Once a political giant, Madigan now a convicted felon and likely prison inmate — but not a racketeer

Chicago Tribune: Madigan case showcases pitfalls of Illinois political culture

Chicago Tribune: Ex-Speaker Michael Madigan’s state pension suspended following conviction

Chicago Tribune: David Greising: Michael Madigan and Rod Blagojevich were products of a culture that tolerates lawlessness

Capitol Fax: Madigan/McClain verdict react (Updated)

Vox: Trump’s petty revenge on the arts

Fox 32: Richard Mell breaks silence on Rod Blagojevich's pardon, family feud: 'All in the past'

Axios: Scoop: Trump planning to pardon Rod Blagojevich

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In this informal episode, Alyssa updates John on the Madigan trial. We also talk about Burke, Blago, and Trump's vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.

SHOW NOTES:

Chicago Tribune: A disappearing witness, an odd choice of hold music and the Fighting Irish: 5 strange things you might not know about the Madigan trial

Chicago Sun-Times: USA v. Michael Madigan

Chicago Tribune: On 8th day of deliberations, Madigan jury gets deep in the legal weeds but returns no verdict

ABC 7: Madigan Trial Live Updates

WTTW: Michael Madigan Defense Rests its Case as Landmark Corruption Trial Winds Toward an End

FOX 32: Michael Madigan trial: A timeline of events leading to jury deliberations

Capital Illinois News: In contentious cross-examination, prosecutor accuses Madigan of not telling ‘the whole truth’

WTTW: Michael Madigan

Chicago Tribune: Fallout from Supreme Court ruling just beginning in Michael Madigan racketeering case

NPR: Trump plans to become chair of the Kennedy Center. Here are 3 things to know

Chicago Tribune: Rep. Rush’s son is charged with official misconduct

Chicago Tribune: Bobby Rush’s son gets 6-month term

Chicagoist: Congressman's Son Fired for Sexual Misconduct

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In this episode Alyssa tells Ben Panko about a guy found crucified in Chicago which led her into the crazy story about a guy named Dr. Emil Bronner. 

It is a wild ride.

San Diego Reader: Dr. Bronner invented the peppermint oil soap for soiled diapers

Emanuel Bronner

Label

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox

Digital Research Library of Illinois History: The Shocking Story of Chicago's first and only Crucifixion.

CaseText: City of Chicago v. Walcher

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