WBEZ News

This fall, WBEZ education reporters are checking in with students and educators to see how in-person learning is going as the pandemic continues. Reina Torres is a junior at Curie High School on Chicago’s Southwest Side. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Adriana Cardona Maguigad

Doctor Christy Rollinson from the Morton Arboretum speaks with WBEZ's Greta Johnsen on whether periods of drought, and above-normal temperatures this summer will impact autumn leaves. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

There's a new winged dinosaur in the scientific record. Doctor Jingmai O'Connor, paleontologist and associate curator of fossil reptiles with the Field Museum, helped find it. Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Cianna Greaves

Curtis Harrison, the owner of a sprawling Buick convertible, takes an evening cruise and shares his love of classic cars from the ’70s. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Chip Mitchell

Some Chicago parents are getting ready to go back inside schools, to help students and teachers in the classroom. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Adriana Cardona Maguigad

The singer’s Chicago attorney says Kelly’s Brooklyn defense team made a mistake by trying to “victim blame” witnesses. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Patrick Smith

WBEZ’s Lisa Labuz spoke with Chicago historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas about what the American Negro Exposition in 1940 meant for Chicago. Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Cianna Greaves

Greg Johnson, the district superintendent of Oak Park and River Forest High School in the western suburbs, shares what it’s been like this year, adjusting back to in-person learning as the pandemic continues. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Susie An

Doctor Juanita Mora, an allergist with the Chicago Allergy Center and a spokesperson for the American Lung Association, talks about the effect of climate change on allergies. Host: Lisa Labuz; Producer: Lauren Frost

A civil-rights group wants the governor to commute sentences for 43 people whose mental health and behavior deteriorated in solitary. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Shannon Heffernan

Chicago Public Schools enrollment is down by at least 10,000 students this fall. It has dropped by more than 24,000 since the pandemic began. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Sarah Karp, Adriana Cardona-Maguigad

Tiffany Baker was 17 and in foster care when she met social worker Terri Treiman. Decades later, the two spoke at StoryCorps about the meaning of their relationship. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Bill Healy

Many years ago, John Wahlfeldt’s wife bought him a book about a mostly forgotten tunnel system beneath downtown Chicago. Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Bill Healy

Carter Wagner first came out to his parents when he was 12. Now a freshman in college, he and his mom revisit their earlier conversation at the StoryCorps booth. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Bill Healy

Arianna Hermosillo and Irakere Picon met in 2011 on their way to an anti-immigration protest. Seven years later they got engaged at the StoryCorps booth in Chicago. Producer: Bill Healy

Anja Herman first visited the StoryCorps booth in 2015, when she was nine. Now 15, she and her aunt reflected on their conversation about living with a physical disability. Producer: Bill Healy

Sonia Wang's parents wanted her to become a lawyer or doctor, but instead she became a teacher. In 2015, Sonia Wang visited the StoryCorps booth with Ji Yoon Noh, a young woman she mentors, who was curious about how Sonia’s parents handled her career choice. Producer: Bill Healy

High school students in Chicago are adjusting to new classroom routines. But some are having a hard time following their school’s dress code. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Adriana Cardona Maguigad

Critics say Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan is an impractical political stunt and will do more harm than good. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Patrick Smith

Ellen Hughes feared the worst when her son, Walker, bit her while on the way into the ER. Then a public safety officer “worked a miracle." Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Bill Healy

We revisit a story from 2014, featuring Bobby Hart talking with his wife, Meg, who was 37 weeks pregnant at the time. Were they prepared for what came next? Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Bill Healy

Doctor Scott Collis, atmospheric scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, shares when can we attribute persistent unusual weather to climate change. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

Lisa Daniels’ son was killed four years ago. But she’s made her peace with the person accused of shooting him. Producer: Bill Healy

When he was in middle school, Garry Mitchell, Jr.'s dad showed up at the principal’s office to make sure he got into advanced classes. As part of our StoryCorps Chicago finale this week, we’re listening back to some of the powerful conversations recorded over the years. Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Bill Healy

We visit two vacant lots on the West Side that are part of opening weekend for the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Linda Lutton

Most Illinois schools haven’t started weekly COVID-19 saliva testing despite being several weeks into the school year. Lisa Schencker of the Chicago Tribune explains why. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

Lorraine Hansberry's famed play brought the story of a Black family on the South Side of Chicago to Broadway. A new exhibit reimagines its themes. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Natalie Moore

The city of Chicago recently began a pilot program that trims back the role of police in responding to 911 calls about mental-health crises. Matt Richards of the Chicago Department of Public Health shares details on how that effort is going. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Chip Mitchell

Some of the youngest Chicago Public School students are having a hard time adjusting to in-person learning after a year of learning at home. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Adriana Cardona Maguigad

Under new leadership, a 1980s program designed to prevent white flight is now assisting local residents with repairs and remodeling. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Natalie Moore

Pedro Martinez is currently superintendent of a San Antonio school district. He will become CPS' first permanent Latino leader. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Sarah Karp

Chicago Public Schools says it will ramp up contact tracing amid complaints that it’s taking too long to inform parents their children have been exposed. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Sarah Karp

Elaine Little resigned after WBEZ reported Little had herself been under investigation in a previous job for alleged conflicts of interest. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Dan Mihalopoulos

It's fall membership drive time at WBEZ, and we wanted to give you a peek behind the scenes on how we do what we do. Linda Lutton took time to share the whys and hows of her reporting, as well as some tape that had to be cut for air! Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Erin Kahoa

WBEZ's Lisa Labuz talks to TikTok historian Sherman “Dilla” Thomas about the Pullman neighborhood, its founder, and the laborers who lived there. Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Cianna Greaves

Jack Darin, an advocate for the new energy bill passed by Illinois legislators explains how he thinks it’ll help the fight against climate change. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

Emboldened by new data, Latino aldermen are seizing the moment and turning City Council committee meetings into the latest battleground for equity. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Mariah Woelfel

A temporary 9/11 memorial is giving Chicagoans an opportunity to remember the terrorist attacks of 20 years ago. Host: Araceli Gómez-Aldana; Reporter: Linda Lutton

Twenty years after the terrorist attacks, recollections are still vivid for some, while others only know a post-9/11 world. Host: Araceli Gómez-Aldana; Reporter: Adora Namigadde

Hal Bergen was sent by the U.S. military to Germany at the end of WWII, where he helped run the sound system for the Nazis’ trial for war crimes. Bergen’s daughter Kathy brought him to StoryCorps, where he told her about his front row seat to history. Producer: Bill Healy

WBEZ’s Mary Dixon speaks with "Horsegirl," a young Chicago band, about getting to perform on the same stage as their Punk rock idols. Producer: Cianna Greaves

Only eight districts submitted a remote program to the state. “Why go backwards and not have options for families?” one superintendent said. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Susie An

A new House plan Friday would require coal-fired power plants to cut carbon emissions by 2035 and eliminate them entirely by 2045. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Tony Arnold

The troubadour of the city’s barrios and soundtrack to the Chicano rights movement will be honored this weekend at the National Museum of Mexican Art. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Linda Lutton

This year there have already been 167 shootings on the Chicago area’s expressways. Illinois State Police Director, Brendan Kelly, talks more about what's behind these shootings. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

Expanded federal unemployment benefits are set to expire this weekend. WBEZ's Esther Yoon-Ji Kang talked with Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership Executive Director, Karin Norington-Reaves, about the current job market and what's at stake. Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Cianna Greaves

Texas now has the strictest laws against abortion rights in the United States. For a local reaction, WBEZ’s Natalie Moore spoke with Jennifer Welch, the CEO of Planned Parenthood Illinois. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

Public officials have struggled to effectively communicate scientific understanding around COVID-19 during the pandemic. CNN Medical Analyst, Dr. Leana Wen shares tips on navigating life with the ever-changing novel coronavirus. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Cianna Greaves

Every 10 years, officials convene to craft Chicago's ward boundaries. But how, when and where will this all shake out? We broke it down. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Mariah Woelfel

Tik Tok historian Sherman Dilla Thomas talks about the Divine Nine - and the many prominent Chicagoans who've been part of these historically Black fraternities and sororities. Host: Mary Dixon, Lisa Labuz; Producer: Cianna Greaves