Scott and Ellen are joined by Tracy Baim, co-founder and owner of Windy City Times. She talked about “Windy City Times @40: Breaking News. Breaking Silence," a new exhibit that opens May 30 at Gerber/Hart Library and Archives. The exhibit features digitized archives from the 1980s, including never-before-seen photos from events like the 1987 March on Washington and an AIDS research benefit at the Chicago Theatre. 

Baim highlighted the importance of preserving physical archives and announced that a planned 40th anniversary party on September 25 will allow people "to actually be able to own their own history." She explained that "various ticket levels will come with a hard drive with these digitized archives on them because we want to disseminate our history in ways that they can't shut it down from the internet. The campaign is going to be called Own Your History."

Baim said the organizers "want to show that these artifacts are actually so relevant today," allowing people to "use them for research, to use them for fun, [and] look at their grandparents!"

She added: "I actually find that some of the younger people that freelance and write for us, as well as the people I meet when I speak at high schools and colleges, are hungry for this information, to give a sense of history. And not only that, they really appreciate the physicality of newspapers in a way that's almost like albums, vinyl. I hear from a lot of my twentysomething friends and colleagues that they actually have a really great appreciation for these media, so they're not necessarily collecting newspapers in physical form, but they like to see them digitized the way that they were curated back then, with all the ads and the photos and everything together." 

Catch “Out Chicago” Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/out-chicago).

Support the show: https://heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820/schedule/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chicago-based musician, drummer and songwriter Spencer Tweedy joins Scott and Ellen in studio.

He talked about his upcoming May 30 show at the First Church of Chicago. It will benefit Chicago's Brave Space Alliance, which provides services, programs, and an affirming space where trans and LGBQ+ people are centered.

Tweedy, who has performed and recorded with his dad, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, and toured with Grammy-nominated band Waxahatchee, shared his experiences and influences, including his work with Mavis Staples. He performed a song called "Ground Shipping" and highlighted his band's lineup featuring musicians from various local bands.

Tweedy also talked about his 2020 coffee table book "Mirror Sound: The People and Processes Behind Self-Recorded Music." "It's about musicians who produce their own records at home," he told WCPT. 

Catch “Out Chicago” Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/out-chicago).

Support the show: https://heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820/schedule/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott and Ellen are joined by Will Wilhelm, co-creator/performer in “Gender Play, or what you Will,” playing through May 24 at the Steppenwolf.

Catch “Out Chicago” Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/out-chicago).

Support the show: https://heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820/schedule/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott and Ellen are joined by Chicago Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth of the 48th Ward, which includes Edgewater and Uptown. She talked about the passage of the Green Social Housing ordinance, which aims to expand affordable housing in Chicago without relying on federal subsidies. The initiative uses $135 million from a $2.1 billion bond to fund housing and economic development and targets a mix of about 70 percent market-rate and 30 percent affordable housing in the 48th Ward. The initiative includes sustainable building practices like green roofs and solar panels and is expected to enhance walkability and public safety.

Catch “Out Chicago” Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/out-chicago).

Support the show: https://heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820/schedule/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott and guest co-host Tania Richard are joined by Jaylon C. Crump, starring as the messenger god Hermes in the North American Tour of the 2019 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, "Hadestown." It's playing at Chicago's CIBC Theatre through May 18.

Catch “Out Chicago” Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/out-chicago).

Support the show: https://heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820/schedule/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott and guest co-host Tania Richard are joined by art historian Jonathan Katz, curator of Wrightwood 659's new exhibit "The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity 1869-1939." It features over 300 works of art from 40 countries.  

Catch “Out Chicago” Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/out-chicago).

Support the show: https://heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820/schedule/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott and Ellen are joined by John Parker and Jim Pounds of “The Gaily Show,” now airing weeknights from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. Central on WCPT.

Catch “Out Chicago” Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/out-chicago).

Support the show: https://heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820/schedule/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ellen Miller is joined by guest co-host Kathy Voltmer (in for Scott) and they talk here to Kim Swinton and Linda Martin from the band Vintage Blonde Chicago.

Catch “Out Chicago” Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/out-chicago).

Support the show: https://heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820/schedule/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ellen Miller is joined by guest co-host Kathy Voltmer (in for Scott) and they talk here to mortgage broker and playwright Shimmy Braun on the world premiere, in London’s West End, of his new work, “Faygele.”

Catch “Out Chicago” Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/out-chicago).

Support the show: https://heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820/schedule/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott and Ellen are joined by Alderperson Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford, the first trans person elected to Madison Common Council. On April 1st she was elected to a second term, despite having suspended her campaign earlier in 2025. 

Martinez-Rutherford talked about the work she does to create broader acceptance of transgender people, describing herself as "just a person with a heart and needs just like everyone else, and it's shocking that I have to say that so many times."

She added: "This isn't about me; it's not about the office of alder. It's about the future of our country. It's about the future lives of trans and queer and even cis people all around this state and country so that they don't feel so alone when they don't have community to lean into."

Catch “Out Chicago” Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/out-chicago).

Support the show: https://heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820/schedule/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.