The Rundown | Chicago News

Latest Episodes:

Morning News: Friday January 3, 2025 Jan 03, 2025

Show notes

Leaders of the Chicago Teachers Union say negotiations for a new teacher’s contract are at a standstill. People who install new rooftop solar panels will see fewer savings beginning this year. Chicago broke heat records last year.

Afternoon News: Thursday January 2nd, 2025 Jan 02, 2025

Show notes

A Chicago alderperson is calling for street festivals to have more security protections in the wake of deadly attacks in New Orleans and Germany. State officials will start working on a plan this year to give residents the option to use a digital copy of their driver's licenses and IDs on their cell phones. There’s a new Illinois law on the books addressing student discipline in non-public schools.

Morning News: Thursday, January 2, 2025 Jan 02, 2025

Show notes

A Chicago alderperson wants the city to safeguard its resources ahead of a Trump presidency. A new Illinois law requires high school students to learn about the dangers of fentanyl. Holy Cross Hospital in Chicago is expanding access to outpatient mental health care for children to help fill a big gap in services.

Why Chicago is like a middle child Jan 01, 2025

Show notes

In 2024, reporters at WBEZ sought out average Chicagoans to talk about their love for the city and its people as people crowded into the Democratic National Convention. We heard from a chef, an alderman and from Alex Thomas, an Indian American who relates to the city because of his middle-child status.

“We strive to impress, but also we keep it real,” said Thomas. The doctor, musician and cartoonist also said Chicago allows you to do and be many things all at once.

In this episode, WBEZ reporter Lisa Kurian Philip introduced us to Thomas and shared his love of the city and region.

Why ‘the roots of House come from Disco:’ DJ Lady D on 40 years of the genre Dec 31, 2024

Show notes

House music was born in Chicago 40 years ago and the city has been celebrating all year.

Darlene Jackson – also known as DJ Lady D, who the Chicago Reader recently named “Best House Music DJ in Chicago” – was the perfect person to talk about the genre earlier this year.

“The roots of House come from disco,” she said on the Rundown podcast. “Frankie Knuckles actually popularized that statement, that House music is disco’s revenge.”

Jackson talked to host Erin Allen about the attempted “demolition” of disco in Chicago and the rise of House music, the legend of late House DJ and record producer Frankie Knuckles, and why the genre is having a resurgence.

One of Chicago’s best-kept secrets is a valued space among classical music insiders Dec 30, 2024

Show notes

Even when you’re right outside the building housing Guarneri Hall, it’s not clear how to find it. To get to the small, tucked-away performance and recording venue in the Loop, enter from Adams Street between State and Wabash, pass the security desk, take the elevator up to the third floor, wend your way through office hallways and walk through a nondescript door.

With its central location and unique acoustics, the hall provides the local classical community with a convenient space for music-making, hosting dozens of live performances and recordings since its 2018 opening.

In this episode, WBEZ theater reporter Mike Davis took us along for a journey into one of the city’s best-kept musical secrets.

‘World’s greatest card game’ has its origins in Chicago Dec 27, 2024

Show notes

Lamont Jones wanted to give his daughter a book about bid whist, his favorite card game, but couldn't find one. So he wrote it himself, with the goal of saving a pastime popular in the Black community from generational indifference.

"Bid whist is the ultimate card game," Jones said on the Rundown podcast, "and I believe that if you've not yet experienced bid whist, the world's greatest card game awaits you."

In this episode from earlier this year, Jones talks about his book, "The Gist of Bid Whist: The Culturally-Rich Card Game from Black America." He explains the game's "diabolical components" and traces the history back to the Pullman Porters, the African-American railcar attendants who helped establish a Black middle class and fuel the Great Migration in the era after the Civil War.

“I think Chicago has a strong claim to being the spiritual home of bid whist," Jones said, "in part because the Pullman Porters were headquartered here, and we know the vital role that the Porters played in popularizing the game throughout the country.”

A long-overdue exhibit tells the story of the risk-taking Joffrey Ballet Dec 26, 2024

Show notes

The Joffrey Ballet danced along a fine line for several decades: The company could either take big artistic risks or die trying. On more than one occasion, death almost won.

But, as any Chicagoan who looks skyward on State Street knows, the Joffrey lives on. Today, the Joffrey is Chicago’s preeminent classical ballet company. But nearly 70 years ago, it was a nascent group that co-founders Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino were trying to get off the ground in New York, with six dancers and a station wagon.

In this episode, WBEZ arts and culture reporter Courtney Kueppers introduced us to the pioneering and persevering spirit of the Joffrey Ballet through the lens of a new exhibit.

It gets dark on Chicago’s King Drive. What happens when you’re a part of the light? Dec 25, 2024

Show notes

Last year, we spent some time on Chicago’s South Side. Jahmal Cole was there, asking a question to a crowd of volunteers assembled in a church parking lot in the Chatham neighborhood. “How come there ain't no holiday lights on the South Side of Chicago?” he said into the microphone. “I've seen it in Edgewater. I've seen it in Greek Town. How come there ain't no holiday lights on the South Side of Chicago?” Cole is the founder of the community organization My Block My Hood City. For almost a decade, they’ve decorated homes on Martin Luther King Drive with holiday lights, ornaments, inflatable Santas and other decorations. So, in this holiday season, we wanted to revisit the time we joined this event – which is called “Be A Part Of The Light” – for the day, asking homeowners and volunteers why they decided to participate, and Cole why he thinks the simple act of putting up holiday lights can transform a community.

Morning News: Tuesday December 24, 2024 Dec 24, 2024

Show notes

Some state agencies are issuing guidance about a large event of waterfowl deaths across Illinois. Chicago’s murder count dropped again this year, but the lethality of shootings increased. The Greater Chicago Food Depository says the need is greater and donations are down.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The Rundown | Chicago News

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected