WGLT's Sound Ideas - Full Episodes

A Normal woman has given her kidney to a total stranger. Find out why Terri Thede donated and hear from Bill Parra, the recipient in a chain of donations. GLT correspondent Colleen Reynolds talks with Thede and Para about organ donation. Laura Kennedy talks with the ISU author of “Sympathy for the Devil.” The book explores how a changing attitude toward criminals led to prison reform. And discover what it’s like start the first public library in a small oil rich gulf state.

Money and politics have gone together for millennia. But, campaigns have a growing loophole, a lack of reporting requirements for Facebook ads, which doesn't help the public. More from Sarah Brune of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. Plus spring and summer are easy times to make gardens look good. Come fall, it's just you baby. And instead of a turkey surprise, it's a turkey reprise.

It’s a conversation with a former Illinois State University president who used to enjoy the freedom of running his own college campus. The tables have turned. Al Bowman talks about his new job at the Illinois Board of Higher Education -- and the big challenges on his to-do list. Hear from musician Dan Hubbard. He plays the Castle Theater tomorrow night. And Mayor Chris Koos is in the studio to talk about the town’s next comprehensive plan, guiding the town through 2040. The council adopted the

Hear from the man who has his eye on becoming Bloomington’s next City Manager. Steve Rasmussen is the Interim City Manager dealing with a council and mayor not getting along. Rasmussen talks with Mike McCurdy about council interaction, politics and the projected $3 million dollar budget deficit. Congressman Darin LaHood is optimistic the GOP tax plan will move to the President’s desk. Charlie Schlenker caught up with LaHood at a McLean County Republican Party breakfast. And during an edition of

True crime podcaster Aphrodite Jones sounds off on the McNeil murder case. She thinks the real culprit in the 1998 Bloomington murder of three year old Christina, might be the ex-girlfriend of the man convicted for the crime. Hear Aphrodite Jones and Bob Ruff of the Truth and Justice podcast on Suspect Convictions during a special edition of Sound Ideas.

A little bit of exercise and nutrition goes a long way. The McLean County Health Department is targeting a new population – those with developmental disabilities – with those wellness tactics. The Health Department’s Laura Beavers lays out the details of a three year pilot program for wellness. We all have an unforgettable teacher. Ryan Denham profiles a legendary science teacher at Glenn Elementary School in Normal who recently passed away. And Bloomington musician John Till grew up a child of

Unit Five School Superintendent Mark Daniel talks about being in the room for negotiations to bring Brandt Industries and 300 jobs to a plant between Hudson and Normal. Listen to Charlie Schlenker ask why Daniel urged his board to vote against the immediate pocketbook. Plus, Ryan Denham talks with State Representative Dan Brady about the fall veto session.

Hear about a resurgent Bloomington Normal Music Scene. It’s a comeback after a vibrant scene collapsed about 2001. Jon Norton reports on live music in the Twin Cities. The Unit Five School Board approved property-tax breaks for a Canadian farm implement manufacturer that wants to bring hundreds of new jobs to McLean County. Ryan Denham has the story. And Mayor Tari Renner talks about a tax increase for the library and reluctance for the arena manager to also manage the BCPA.

The Republican tax plan includes a new tax on college endowments. IWU President Eric Jensen calls that unfair saying higher-ed does not just sit on its money.Jensen tells GLT's Charlie Schlenker such a tax would drive up the cost of college for students and their families. You’ll hear from NPR National Political Correspondent Don Gonyea about covering flyover country during the Trump administration. And it’s a one on one with 13 th district Democratic Congressional candidate Betsy Dirksen

The podcast Suspect Convictions looks at the physical evidence in the mysterious death of Christina McNeil. GLT correspondent Colleen Reynolds visits with retiring State Farm Military Affinity Group leader Sharon McCauley. And GLT's Jon Norton chats with the founder of the Canadian band Simply Saucer ahead of their Bloomington show on Nov. 11.