Mike Stephen talks to Jimalita Tillman and Chris Bauman, co-chairs of the Chicago Independent Venue League, about a new report that shows how important Chicago independent music venues are to the culture and economy of the city and then revisits a segment on preserving local signs.

Mike Stephen learns about Borderless Magazine's work of telling the immigrant story in Chicago from co-founder and executive director Nissa Rhee and then chats with Meril Antony, senior research analyst at the UChicago Consortium on School Research, about a new report looking at the link between school attendance and successful students.

Mike Stephen talks to Richard Bloomfield and Zachary Day, the owners of Chicago's Funkytown Beer, about their expansion plans, chats with Robert's Westside owner/operator Donnie Biggins about how that venue properly pays their artists, and chats with Gina Marie DeGregorio about her new music.

Mike Stephen talks to Injustice Watch senior investigative reporter Alejandra Cancino to learn how wage theft of workers continues in Illinois and then gets the lowdown on a new report that examines the fiscal health of the state from Civic Federation senior policy advisor Paula Worthington.

Mike Stephen takes a look back at some highlights of the show from 2025. Happy New Year from your friends at Outside the Loop!

Mike Stephen discusses a new report that shows a college degree is the most promising path to a good job in Illinois with Chalkbeat Chicago bureau chief Becky Vevea and then discovers the Secret History of 20th century soul vocalist Kitty Haywood.

Mike Stephen talks to Al Krockey, the author of a new book about coming of age in the 1960s and 70s in Skokie and Chicago called Straight Outta Skokie, and then learns about the plans Creative Cypher has for building an entertainment ecosystem in Chicago from founder Troy Pryor and interim president Cindy Beasley.

Mike Stephen hosts his 1,000th episode of Outside the Loop at Fitzgerald's Nightclub!

Guests include:

-Will Duncan and Jess King, owners of Fitzgerald's

-Dominic Pacyga, professor emeritus of history at Columbia College Chicago and author of Clout City

-Steve Krakow (aka: Plastic Crimewave), local musician and author of The Secret History of Chicago Music

-Holley Brandchaft-White and Genia Yovankin, founders of SHFT Behavioral Health

-Surprise guest: Andy "The Count" Hermann, co-founder and former producer of Outside the Loop and current producer at Nebraska Public Media

Mike Stephen talks to Sarah Conway, the new editor in chief of the Chicago Reader, about the future of the paper, discusses Chicago Public Schools student educational attainment post-graduation with the To&Through Project director of data and research Alexandra Usher, and gets the lowdown on new Holiday music from local guitarist Kevin Brown.

Mike Stephen learns about a new exhibit at the National Public Housing Museum from UIC architecture professor Alexander Eisenschmidt, chats with actor and director Robert Townsend about his upcoming Chicago pop-up film fest, and re-visits a segment on local public transit reliability.