Outside the Loop RADIO

Mike Stephen takes on "the wall" at First Ascent Avondale and is suddenly forced to come to grips with his personal issues of lower body-strength, heights, and trusting others as he clings to 40-ft wall.  Thankfully, he has local climbing extraordinaire and community outreach advisor Justin Forrest Parks to guide him through his ascent! And to cap off the last OTL of 2017, we've got local Bluegrass band Truman's Ridge in studio to perform and talk about the bluegrass scene in Chicagoland.

Send us your cozy winter neighborhood bar/tavern ideas here!

Mike Stephen attempts to fly the starship "OTL" solo this week because Collin decided to have another kid.  His hyper-local galactic adventures this week include chatting with MAKE! Chicago founder Joseph Budka about the power of the everyday craftsperson, renewing subspace communication with the Parking Ticket Geek to discuss local transportation issues, and visiting Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) to learn about the Secret History of local Bluesman Jimmy Davis, . This week's tasty local music comes from The Evening Attraction.

Send us your cozy winter neighborhood bar/tavern ideas here!

Mike Stephen puts out another call for cozy neighborhood bars to feature this winter as a semi truck rolls up to the studio, talks with Lake County volunteer Bill Hagan about finding one's passion after 50, chats with Mike Gebert, editor and publisher of Fooditor, about the current state of the Chicago food scene, and visits Tanya Woods and John Preston at the Westside Justice Center about the current exhibit looking at 50 years of the Black Panther Party in IL. This week's local music features pop-punkers Five Three Eyes.

Send us your cozy winter neighborhood bar/tavern ideas here!

Mike Stephen puts out the call for cozy neighborhood bars to feature this winter, visits Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) to learn about the Secret History of the late industrial guitarist Jason McNinch, chats with Louder Than a Mom co-founder Kate Hill about the power of family storytelling, and discovers an environmentally friendly way to Christmas shop from Jay Lyon, founder of Remix Chicago, a non-profit dedicated to making art from recycled materials. This week’s local music is powered by Coyote Ghost.

Send us your cozy winter neighborhood bar ideas here!

Mike Stephen syncs up with Jovan Mrvos, Zach Martin, and Quinton Swenski, (teacher and student managers, respectively) of WDBF-LP in Decatur, IN, to talk community radio from the high school prospective in another installment of Low Power to the People, chats with author Kate Hennessy about her book on her grandmother Dorothy Day called Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved By Beauty, and explores the website Illinois Election Data with creator Scott Kennedy. This week's local music is powered by Minor Characters.

This week, while processing high level of tryptophan in his system, Mike Stephen talks with author Richard Rothstein about his new book discussing the forgotten history of government-designed racial segregation, visits Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) to learn about the Secret History of 60's garage-rockers The Royal Flairs, and pays a visit to the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry to talk with Executive Director Michele Zurakowski about volunteer work and the Thanksgiving holiday. This week's local music features the awesome jamz of Montrose Man.

Mike Stephen chats with Teamwork Englewood's Executive Director Perry Gunn about community stakeholders working to better that neighborhood, talks with Chicago's "Stamp King" Charles Berg about the power of stamps and ChicagoPEX 2017, and finally checks in with Emily Drevets, organizer and master of ceremonies for Chi Hacknight, about citizens coming together and using public data to solve some of the city's problems. This week's local music is powered by WC and the Fam.

Mike Stephen connects with Dave Gardner and Vicki Logan, general manager and board member respectively, of WHIW-LP in Harvard, IL for another installment of Low Power to the People, visits Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) to learn about the Secret History of 1980s cosmic-jazzers Spaceship Love, and chats with author Pat White to discuss his book on driving Uber for 90 days, Buzz Ride: Driven to Disruption.

Mike Stephen talks with Dr. Regina Clewlow, research associate at the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, about the impact ride sharing apps are having on public transit in Chicago and then sits down with former Pawar 2018 gubernatorial campaign manager Sam Hobert to get a better understanding of what running a modern political campaign looks like.  Local jamz this week provided by space-funkers Blue Dream.

Mike Stephen takes the OTL roving microphone to Humboldt Park and talks with Sarah Luczko, owner of the unique book and "everything-store" Chicago Space Oddities, visits Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) to learn about the Secret History of 70s rock band Alliotta, Haynes, Jeremiah, and finally heads to Read-Dunning Memorial Park with former President of the Chicago Genealogical Society, Craig Pfannkuche, to talk about the mass grave there.  Local Halloween-themed jamz this week provided by Psychobilly rockers 13 Angels.