City Cast Chicago

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Are We Doomed? Feb 02, 2022

Show notes

You’ve been feeling it, right? That existential dread about everything that’s wrong in the world. The feeling that the world is going to end — and soon. Every year, scientists in Chicago try to pinpoint just how close we are to “doomsday.” And they do it with the Doomsday Clock. The clock was created here in 1947 at the request of scientists who worked on the atomic bomb at the University of Chicago. Since then, the clock has moved closer to midnight when existential threats increased and further away when the world became safer. The clock currently stands at 100 seconds to midnight — the closest it’s ever been. The clock is maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Bulletin President Rachel Bronson explains how we use the clock and why we are where we are today.

Guest: Rachel Bronson — President/CEO, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

All this month, we're sharing your Chicago love stories in our newsletter. Email us at chicago@citycast.fm or call or text us at (773) 780-0246.

And you have until noon today to vote for City Cast Chicago as Best Podcast and Best Newsletter in Chicago Reader's Best of 2021 poll!

'We Know Promises Were Broken': Cabrini-Green After Demolition Feb 01, 2022

Show notes

Last week, we explored the history of disinvestment and displacement at Cabrini-Green, Chicago’s infamous public housing complex on the Near North Side. The city began demolishing the high-rises in the 1990s, and the last one went down in 2011. But former Cabrini-Green residents are still fighting for what the city promised them: a chance to return to their community. Host Jacoby Cochran led a panel with journalists who investigated these broken promises, local historians, and others connected with Cabrini-Green to talk about where the community is now.

Guests: Carol Steele — Cabrini-Green resident and public housing advocate

Charles Price — Housing activist and former resident liaison at Cabrini-Green

Alejandra Cancino — Reporter, “Cabrini-Green: A History of Broken Promises”

This panel was put on in partnership with the Better Government Association. You can find the full conversation on their website.

Wednesday is the last day to vote City Cast Chicago as Best Podcast and Best Newsletter in Chicago Reader's Best of 2021 poll. Find us under the City Life category.

Here’s Why the City Should Shovel the Sidewalks Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

In Chicago, the city is supposed to clear the streets after it snows. But the sidewalks? That falls on property owners. As one might expect, building and home owners aren’t always great about shoveling a clear walkway for pedestrians. Not shoveling also creates a problem for people with disabilities. The pedestrian advocacy group, Better Streets Chicago, says rather than relying on our neighbors to do it, the city should clear the sidewalks like it does (most) streets. We talk to one of the organizers behind that public push. Plus, you can’t talk snow in Chicago without the perennial debate about dibs. We share your thoughts on the practice of staking claim to a your freshly-shoveled parking space with, well, whatever you have around.

Guest:

Michael Podgers—Organizer, Better Streets Chicago

Plow the Sidewalks Petition

Some Good News:

DCASE "Year of Chicago Dance"

Our episode "Let's Go Chicago Stepping"

Wednesday is the last day to vote City Cast Chicago as Best Podcast and Best Newsletter in Chicago Reader's Best of 2021 poll. Find us under the City Life category.

CPS COVID Data, Ye's Unsanctioned Basketball Showcase, and Homemade Baby Food Jan 28, 2022

Show notes

Throughout the school year, Chicago Public Schools have claimed their COVID dashboards provide accurate data for COVID-19 cases district-wide and in individual schools. But the district quietly changed how those numbers were reported. One CPS parent and web engineer noticed that while cases across the district increased as omicron surged in Chicago, cases weren't being assigned to individual schools, making school counts seem lower. While CPS said it made the change in December, parent Jakob Ondrey said he didn't see the data diverge until the day the Chicago Teachers Union voted to move to remote learning. We’ve got Tonia Hill and Matt Harvey from The Triibe joining us to break down this story and more, including: Donda Academy’s unsanctioned basketball showcase, the perils of shoveling snow, and some good news to send you into the weekend!

Stories Discussed:

Donda Academy Homecoming

Did CPS fudge COVID-19 numbers?

Flowers for King Louie

The sun is setting later

We're talking Chi winter customs next week, and that means talking about dibs. How do you feel about it? Do you do it? Do you move people's objects? Call or text us at (773) 780-0246 or email us at chicago@citycast.fm.

And tune in Saturday at 1:30 p.m. for a virtual conversation, moderated by City Cast Chicago host Jacoby Cochran, about the legacy of Cabrini-Green.

'They Want That Skyline': How Cabrini-Green Residents Were Displaced Jan 27, 2022

Show notes

For nearly 50 years, thousands of Black Chicagoans called the 23 high-rise towers and adjacent row houses of Cabrini-Green home. Soon after cutting ceremonial ribbons, the public housing development on the Near North Side would become a symbol of the Chicago Housing Authority’s mismanagement, disinvestment, and abandonment. As resources and opportunities disappeared, Cabrini-Green gained an infamous reputation as violent, run-down, and overcrowded. But the community was also on some of the most lucrative land in Chicago — and politicians and developers knew it. Beginning in the early 1990s, city leaders announced plans to tear down the high-rises and row houses for new mixed-income housing, promising thousands of residents they could live in those new homes. That didn’t happen.

City Cast Chicago is partnering with the Better Government Association for their investigation “A History of Broken Promises.” WBEZ reporter Natalie Moore and former Cabrini resident and housing activist Willie “J.R.” Fleming lay down the history of the community.

At 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Jacoby Cochran will be hosting a virtual conversation about the history of Cabrini Green. Register now.

Some good news: Friday is Girls Day of P.L.A.Y at Chicago Parks.

DeMar DeRozan’s Unlikely MVP Season Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

Bulls small forward DeMar DeRozan was a four-time all-star when he was with the Toronto Raptors. But when he came to Chicago this season after a lackluster few years in San Antonio, many fans and analysts were skeptical the 13-year veteran could still bring it. So far, the haters have been proven wrong. DeRozan has played a key role in bringing the Bulls back to life, especially as a leader for an otherwise young team. K.C. Johnson has been following the Bulls for more than three decades, and he explains how DeRozan’s career has made him hungry for success in Chicago.

Guest:

K.C. Johnson — Bulls Insider, NBC Sports Chicago

A little bit of news, y'all:

UIC has a new map showing what's causing pollution by schools.

The 25th annual Fillet of Solo Festival is being held virtually.

Combating Mental Health Stigma? There’s an App for That Jan 25, 2022

Show notes

When Ariana Alejandra Gibson was growing up, she didn’t have an outlet for talking about her father who had schizophrenia. A boyfriend’s father even once said that his son couldn’t have children with Gibson because then their children would also have schizophrenia. She felt shamed and stigmatized for her father’s illness and figured others probably did too. So she created the STIGMA app, which allows users to share their personal struggles and stories and even ask for a message of hope. Gibson found sometimes just hearing, “You are not alone,” can help a lot. Gibson is also partnering with BRAVE, which can connect users with mental health professionals. Gibson talks to host Jacoby Cochran about the origin of the app and how a social experiment in her neighborhood helped her decide she needed to create it.

Guest: Ariana Alejandra Gibson — Founder, STIGMA App

Some Good News:

"Gem of the Ocean" at Goodman Theatre

Let's Go Chicago Stepping Jan 24, 2022

Show notes

Chicago is the birthplace of many dance styles, like the polka hop, the cha-cha slide, and, of course, stepping. For Black Chicagoans, stepping is a rite of passage: You learn it when you’re young and you have to be ready to hit the moves at family picnics or at the club. Chicago transplant — and City Cast Producer — Simone Alicea wondered how stepping entered the dance vernacular. We talk to Kiana Moore, who comes from a family of stepping legends, and she and her husband, Mack McKinney gives Simone a lesson.

Guests:

Kiana Moore and Mack McKinney—City Cast Stepping Instructors

News:

How to get free N95 masks from the government

Some Good News:

Tentflix and Chill at Lottie's Pub

Join Us!

Join City Cast, the Better Government Association, and CatchLight Local on Saturday for a conversation about the examination of Cabrini-Green, the taxpayer-financed redevelopment of one of the only Black neighborhoods on the city’s North Side. Jacoby is the host! Get tickets now.

Covid Testing Scam, Bulls End Losing Streak, and Has Omicron Really Peaked? Jan 21, 2022

Show notes

We got a lot of COVID news this week. Some good, like maybe Chicago has passed its Omicron peak. Some decent, like free tests available online. And some very bad, like a massive COVID testing scandal. WTTW correspondent Angel Idowu and Chicago Sun-Times education reporter Nader Issa join host Jacoby Cochran to break down these stories and more.

Here's the article Nader mentioned: "Murders of students amid the pandemic strain schools’ ability to cope, heal"

Guests:

Nader Issa— Education reporter, Chicago Sun-Times

Angel Idowu— Arts correspondent, WTTW

BGA and City Cast Chicago Present:

Navigating the Story of Cabrini-Green: Jan. 29 at 1:30 p.m. hosted by Jacoby Cochran

The A.V. Club Just Got a Lot Less Chicago Jan 20, 2022

Show notes

The A.V. Club was founded as a sister publication of The Onion in 1993 for “people immersed in pop culture and entertainment media to an obsessive degree.” But the Chicago-based online publication is feeling a lot less Chicago after staffers here were told by their parent company, G/O Media, they had to move to LA or lose their jobs. All seven Chicago-based employees have decided to leave the company, saying the company left them little choice in asking them to relocate to a more expensive city without changing their salaries. A.V. Club film editor Alex Dowd, who writes under the byline A.A. Dowd, shares why he’s leaving the company and what he thinks the pop culture site will lose by pulling out of Chicago.

Some good news: The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival begins Thursday.

Remember to vote for City Cast Chicago as Best Podcast and Best Newsletter in the Chicago Reader’s “Best of Chicago 2021” poll under the “City Life” category.

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