The 21st Show

The book “Murder The Truth: Fear, The First Amendment, And A Secret Campaign To Protect The Powerful" looks at right wing politicians effort to overturn the New York Times Company vs. Sullivan precedent, and in so doing weaken the American press. The author of the book joins the program today.

A panel of Middle East and geopolitics experts share their reactions to the U.S. targeting Iran's buclear facilities over the weekend and an analysis of the repecussions.

Ella Jenkins died last year at the age of 100 and now she’s the subject of a new biography. It’s called “This is Rhythm: Ella Jenkins, Children’s Music, and the Long Civil Rights Movement.” The author of the book joins the program today to discuss Jenkins' life, career, and her influence on children's music.

The fall of Michael Madigan continued last week, as the former speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and Democratic powerbroker was sentenced to more than seven years in prison. There are questions about what happens next in the trial of a state senator that ended with a hung jury. Also, a jury found a former January 6 defendant guilty of reckless homicide in a 2022 car crash.  

Olga Khazan is a staff writer for the Atlantic. She descibes herself as neurotic. Khazan spent a year writing the book “Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change.” The project made her question if she could indeed change her personality. Khazan joins the program today.

Protests swept across the country last week in response to ICE officers raiding communities and detaining undocumented immigrants.But the protesting movement itself didn’t appear last week. There is a long history of organizing especially within Latino communities, which have long led the fight for immigration justice efforts.

Over the weekend, protests took over cities across Illinois and around the nation – under the banner “No Kings Day.” An Illinois Public Media News reporter who covered the rallies in downtown Urbana joins the program.

A former Democratic congressman who led the Illinois National Guard talks about the legality, politics, and practicality of calling in the National Guard to push back against protestors.  

In the spring of 2025, Chase Bandolik ran 416 miles from Cairo, Illinois north to Beloit, Wisconsin (near the northern Illinois border). We talk with him about the journey.

Illinois Gov. Pritzker went to Washington this week to defend the state's sanctuary policies. In our Friday politics roundup, we talk about that, immigration enforcement actions in Chicago, and protests against ICE.

We check in on the latest news out of the Peoria region in our Friday reporter roundup.

This week, Republicans in Congress moved a step closer to their long-held goal of ending federal support for public media. We talk about it with the president of the Illinois Public Broadcasting Council.

The book "Eve" explores human evolution with a particular focus on the female body and its author joins the program today.

Business owners who offer safe spaces to their local LGBTQ communities in downstate Illinois discuss what these spaces mean to people in the current political environment. 

Next week is Pollinator Week. It was created in 2007 and was designed to bring attention the importance of our pollinators. That includes bees, beetles, flies, moths and even bats. How important are they for plants? Also, they play major roles in our ecosystems, in agriculture and even in our health. 

There has been reporting to suggest that his spring has been one of the windiest on record for the country overall, with some states setting a new record themselves. Climate and energy experts explain the sudden increase in windy conditions. 

Meta recently signed a 20-year deal with the nuclear plant owned by Constellation Energy in Clinton, Illinois. An energy expert discusses the complexities of this agreement, what it means for the future of nuclear energy, artificial intelligence, and the region. 

For decades, we've known Black drivers in Illinois get pulled over at rates higher than white drivers. A new analysis from the Investigative Project on Race and Equity, along with WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, has found those disparities extend to the state's public college campuses, too.

We talk with the organizers of Rockford's South Main Mercado, which takes place this Sunday from noon to 7 p.m.

How did education across Illinois fare in the budget? We asked the correspondent for an Illinois based education focused news service. We also covered President Trump's attempt to claw back money for foreign aid and public broadcasting, a new travel ban and Japan's Nippon Steel investing in US Steel and what that means for Granite City's steel mill.

Our Friday, June 5, 2025 Reporter Roundtable covering stories making headlines in Springfield, including the latest on the Chatham afterschool crash and new plans to business in downtown booming. 

What happens when money is deducted from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to in part, fund subsidies for farmers?  What does that mean for Illinois? The state is a leading producer of soybeans, corn, and more — ranking fifth nationally in the exportation of agricultural products to other countries.

President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" calls for big cuts to social welfare programs including Medicaid. How will this impact Illinoisans? 

The head of an organization that advocates for the state's utility consumers gives her take on why electric rates are increasing, what it means across Illinois and what people can do to keep their rates low.

The Trump administration's new policies surrounding international students is creating uncertainty and anxiety among both students and universities. A legal expert on immigrants' rights, a journalist covering higher education, and a Chinese student who formerly attended the University of Illinois join the conversation.

Does this budget address issues faced by low-income families, immigrants, and Black Illinoisans?  Two advocates who work on behalf of communities that are often most affected by state budget decisions give their take. 

John Curran, who leads the Senate Republican caucus, joins the program to talk about the Republican perspective on the recently passed budget.

Chris Welch, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives shares his thoughts on the budget. 

Two statehouse reporters discuss the big takeaways from the recently passed Illinois budget.

The Illinois General Assembly session wrapped up over the weekend with the passage of a state budget. House Minority Leader Tony McCombie shares the Republican perspective on the session.

One of Illinois’ top Democrats gives his take on the recently passed budget.

Summertime means music. We outline the biggest shows and music festivals coming to Chicagoland and downstate this summer and advice for how to get tickets for big shows and concerts that can be costly. A music journalist fills us in.   

This week in our Politics Roundup, the Illinois General Assembly closes in on a state spending plan as the spring legislative session is scheduled to end this weekend. In national politics, we discuss what's next for the Department of Government Efficiency as Elon Musk announces his departure, and the State Department's threat to revoke visas for some Chinese students.

In this week's Reporter Roundtable segment, we discuss how federal funding cuts will impact the Quad Cities and what's going on with big businesses in the area such as John Deere and Amazon. A local newspaper reporter has the latest. 

Sheryl Weikal’s parents were deeply conservative, and for many years she and her sisters were homeschooled. At eight years old, she had never heard the word “transgender,” but she understood that there was a disconnect between who she was and what she saw in the mirror. She tried to come out to her family as a child. In the years that followed, her parents reacted negatively … often, violently. She talks about that experience and more in her upcoming memoir, “I Was An Abomination: A Story of Trans Survival in Conservative America".

On Memorial Day, we learn about the ongoing work to identify missing soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines from America's past wars. That includes Illinoisans who've finally been accounted for, like Marine Sgt. Robert F. Van Heck of Chicago, killed at age 25 during the Battle of Tarawa in World War II. Plus, we'll talk about the enduring symbolism and mythology of soldiers thought left behind in Vietnam.

A conversation with Illinois U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth. The former Army National Guard helicopter pilot and disabled veteran talks about President Trump's plan to accept a $400 million luxury jet from the royal family of Qatar, serious questions about the safety of American aviation, and plans for mass layoffs at the Department of Veterans Affairs.