To preview Gov. Pritzker's State of the State and budget address, we dedicated the entire hour today to talking about the condition of Illinois and its finances — and how that affects all residents — beginning with the Speaker of Illinois House of Representatives.

Today marks the biggest holiday of the year for thousands of families in Illinois: It's the start of the Lunar New Year. To talk about traditions and how celebrations have had to adapt because of COVID-19, we were joined by the leader of the Vietnamese Association of Illinois and the president of a Taiwanese student group at the University of Illinois.

After a slew of public messages in the early days of the pandemic instructing people to avoid trips to the doctor, many people have skipped routine visits or check-ins with their physicians. To discuss the pandemic’s impact on care beyond COVID, we were joined by an associate professor of clinical pediatrics and internal medicine and a reporter who's been following the story.

After serving more than two decades on the Supreme Court, Justice Stephen Breyer announced that he would retire, which means President Biden has the rare opportunity to nominate a justice during his presidency. We were joined by legal experts from around Illinois to get some reactions to the news and discuss Justice Breyer's legacy on the high court.

Illinois went two years without a full budget. A new report from the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University suggests a correlation between that impasse and a spike in young people being murdered in 2016. We were joined by the study's author to talk about her research and its implications.

What if, actually, in some ways nature isn’t really as good at finding its way as we once thought? An Illinois research project is aiming to make photosynthesis more efficient. To talk about the project and its potential ramifications, we were joined by its director.

Located in the southeast region of Chicago and flowing through the suburbs, the Little Calumet River once played an important role as part of the Underground Railroad, and recently, conservation efforts have worked to establish a new, seven-mile African American Heritage Water trail where canoers and kayakers can learn about the history of the river. To talk about the water trail, environmental efforts in the area and more, we were joined by a board member of the Illinois Paddling Council, the education and community outreach coordinator of a conservation group and the owner of Chicago's Finest Marina.

After a judge overturned a conviction for a sexual assault case of a 16 year old girl by Drew Clinton, he’s been accused of making comments many classify as victim-blaming. Meanwhile, The Adams County state’s attorney’s office is trying to reinstate the original verdict against the perpetrator. Today, we were joined by a journalist covering the story, the executive director of an anti-domestic abuse organization and an associate professor of law to unpack the details of the case.

Today on The 21st, we began with a conversation about Illinois state government. The president of the Illinois state Senate, Don Harmon, joined us to talk about criminal justice, education, taxes, spending, and so much more that affects all of our lives.

Many are asking when this pandemic will really end, when we'll get back to normal, and what would “normal” even look like in a post-pandemic world. No one has answers to those questions, and for many, that uncertainty can take a toll on our mental health, which has already taken hits from the onset of the pandemic. The 21st was joined by a psychiatric professor to talk about ways the pandemic has been affecting our mental health and what we can do about it.