This week we bring on some old friends from the Capital City Improv group. Drew Stroud and Hope Cherry come to talk about their show on Saturday, a few of the new games they've cooked up, and they also play a game with us.

This week, the podcast crew talks about the Illinois State Fair and the 2017 attendance numbers, which were up a significant amount from the 2016 state fair attendance numbers. They also do a bit of a dive and history into attendance records from the past.

This week, education reporter Jason Nevel sits down with Ball-Chatham Superintendent Douglas Wood to talk about the landmark education funding reform bill, the district's growing enrollment and what makes Chatham a destination school district.

Millennials are the topic of discussion this week on The SJ-R Podcast. A recent survey came out that shows people under 35 years old in Sangamon County are more likely to think about leaving the area than older residents. The trend is concerning as the county's population has been dipping and more young people leaving could mean there won't be a large enough workforce in the future. This week, we talk about what this could mean and why millennials don't seem to be put off by moving around as much.

The total solar eclipse is right around the corner, and are you prepared for the celestial event of a lifetime? If you've still got some questions, we've got your back on this week's episode. Mary and Carla bring on Samantha Reif, an associate professor at Lincoln Land Community College, to talk all about the solar eclipse and what skywatchers can expect to see on Monday afternoon.

SJ-R education reporter Jason Nevel talks with Rochester School District Superintendent Tom Bertrand about the ongoing school funding issue at the Statehouse, standardized testing, some background on Rochester schools and the success of the high school football team.

This week, the Carla and Mary bring on Jeremie Bailey from Lincoln's Legends to discuss content creation in Springfield, and his efforts to put the spotlight on notable people in the area.

This week, Mary and Carla bring on Jeremie Bailey from the Lincoln's Legends podcast to talk about his media entity and content creation in central Illinois.

SJ-R education reporter Jason Nevel talks with Rochester School District Superintendent Tom Bertrand about the ongoing school funding issue at the Statehouse, standardized testing, some background on Rochester schools and the success of the high school football team.

The Illinois State Fair starts in just a week