City Cast Chicago

With the announcement that Lollapalooza is coming back at full capacity, Chicago’s summer festival season seems to be coming back in full swing. This may be welcome news for some artists and festivalgoers who missed out last year because of the pandemic. But at least two local music writers are nervous about these large crowds.Guests: Leor Galil, Music Writer, Chicago Reader (@imLeor) Jessi Roti, Chicago Columnist, Audiofemme (@JessitaylorRO)Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

The International Council of Museums has dubbed Tuesday “International Museum Day.” Chicago is home to all kinds of museums big and small, and they showcase the cultural diversity of the city. Host Jacoby Cochran recently visited several of these cultural centers, including the Haitian American Museum of Chicago on the North Side, the Ukrainian National Museum on the West Side, and the Chinese American Museum on the South Side.Links:Haitian American Museum of ChicagoUkrainian National Museum of ChicagoChinese American Museum of ChicagoChicago Cultural AllianceFollow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

Host Jacoby Cochran heads to the commercial center of Hyde Park to talk to diners, shoppers, and Sunday strollers about how they’re feeling after the CDC’s new finding that masks are no longer required indoors or outdoors for fully vaccinated people. And while that was welcome news for some, others decided to stick with the plan from the last year and stay masked up. 

On Saturday, the Chicago News Guild is hosting a rally to “Save Local News,” particularly the Chicago Tribune. The paper’s parent company is facing a takeover by Alden Global Capital, which has a reputation for gutting the newspapers it buys. Guild President and Sun-Times reporter Andy Grimm explains why he thinks the deal is bad for Chicago. And we hear from Tribune reporter and guild organizer Louisa Chu about her perspective from the newsroom.Guests: Andy Grimm, Courts reporter, Chicago Sun-Times (@agrimm34)Louisa Chu, Food and Dining reporter, Chicago Tribune (@louisachu)Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

Episode Description: Teachers have had to adapt in so many ways during the pandemic. Remote learning created new challenges for students’ academic success, but it’s also meant a new level of anxiety and isolation. Teachers-- really all adults-- have to be plugged into kids’ mental health in addition to their other needs. Communities in Schools works with 175 Chicago Public Schools to train teachers in “Mental Health First Aid” to look for signs of depression, anxiety, suicidal behavior in students and teach them how to help. We talk with Dr. Judith Allen about how it works.Guest: Dr. Judith AllenFollow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm[More possible notes]

Black women in Illinois are three times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related conditions, according to a recent report from the state health department. This disparity has persisted for decades. It’s one reason a mother-daughter team founded the Chicago Birthworks Collective. The doulas focus on making giving birth safer and healthier for Black people. Jacoby talks with Birthworks co-founder Toni Taylor about her work.Guest: Toni Taylor, co-founder, Chicago Birthworks Collective (@chicagobirthworksco)IDPH Report: http://www.dph.illinois.gov/mmmrFollow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

The pandemic has forced us to get creative in how we can socialize. That means: go outside. The Chicago Park District has more than 600 parks across the city with playgrounds, swimming pools, tennis courts, soccer fields and indoor activities at field houses. Even though playgrounds and pools were closed during the pandemic, Chicagoans used the green space to throw down chairs, play some music and, uh, not drink beers with friends while maintaining safe distance. Jacoby tours Humboldt Park with parks booster and historian Julia Bachrach to learn more about the landscape and its long history as a community gathering spot.Guest: Julia Bachrach, Historian and preservationist (https://www.jbachrach.com/)Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

Less than one week after Gov. JB Pritzker announced the James R. Thompson Center was for sale, its architect was tragically killed in a biking accident. Helmut Jahn’s most famous building in Chicago has also been a source of controversy. It’s been derided for its retro colors, its inefficient heating and cooling system, and its spaceship-like facade among neo-classical architecture. But Jahn’s designs were integral in ushering a new era of design known as post-modernism. We discuss Jahn’s legacy and style with one architecture buff who says Chicago had never seen anything like the Thompson Center when it was first built.Guest: Lee Bey, Photographer, former Chicago Sun-Times architecture critic, author, Southern Exposure: The Overlooked Architecture of Chicago's South Side (Second to None: Chicago Stories) (@LEEBEY)Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

We’ve been hearing all week from our guests about their favorite teachers. Today, host Jacoby Cochran introduces us to Dr. Denise Spells, principal at St. Ethelreda in Auburn Gresham, whom Jacoby calls “a second mom.” Plus, a tour of the Pill Hill neighborhood with Theresa Ferrell, who is Jacoby’s actual mom. “Mama T” takes Jacoby to the block where she grew up and where she still lives. Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

Being a new teacher is already a tough job. It gets even tougher when you’re starting out during a pandemic. That’s one reason the Illinois State Board of Education teamed up with state teachers unions in the fall to create a mentorship program for first-year teachers. As we approach the end of the school year, we check in with one of the program coordinators to hear how it’s going. Then we hear from a new teacher about how she’s navigating the pandemic. Both of them offer advice and share who their favorite teachers were.Guests: Louise Stomper, Coaching and Mentoring Coordinator, Illinois Education Association (@ieanea)Erica Conwell, Teacher, Grant-White Intermediate SchoolTeacher Appreciation Week ends soon. Tell us about your favorite teacher and where they taught you. Email it to us at chicago@citycast.fm.Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm