Toni Morrison is widely considered one of America’s greatest writers. She published 11 novels and is the recipient of a Pulitzer, a Nobel and a Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, Tar Baby, Sula and Beloved are just a few of her works that are considered great American classics. Before she was a celebrated author, she wa…

“I don’t believe I’m going to die slipping on a piece of ice. I don’t believe I’m going to die because I got a bad heart…I believe that I will be able to die as a revolutionary in the international revolutionary proletarian struggle.” - Fred Hampton, 1969Fred Hampton became the Chairman of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party when he was…

In just 86 years Maya Angelou lived dozens of lives. Perhaps best known for her seminal autobiography I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou is one of the most celebrated literary minds in history, whose poetry and prose has touched generations of readers. But before Caged Bird, Angelou danced and sang on and off Broadway, earned the moniker…

“Why can’t I be MVP of the league?” Derrick Rose said.With unimpressive statistics and an unselfish playing style, sports media did not take the third-year point guard seriously. Eight months after those famous words, he became the youngest MVP in NBA history.Derrick Rose was Chicago’s pride and joy. Fans and journalists alike called him the next M…

With 36 billion streams on Spotify, 14 No. 1 hits and 9 Grammys, Rihanna is regarded as one of the most well-known artists of the 21st Century. But she also spent the last decade changing the fashion world, launching brands that transformed her from music star to business mogul and billionaire. Her illustrious career began 20 years ago, when she wa…

Virgil Abloh changed fashion in the 21st century. His brand Off-White redefined streetwear and youth culture for a notoriously elite and inaccessible industry. And he broke barriers to become the first Black artistic director at a French luxury fashion house.“His whole career is dedicated to opening up the gate for everyone,” said Marc Moran, his l…

Hyphy Kids Got Trauma is an exploration of a transformative year in Bay Area music history, 2006, through the eyes and ears of Pendarvis Harshaw. A college student and burgeoning journalist at the time, Pendarvis navigates the shifting tides of a culture in transition, all set to the seminal sounds of the Bay Area’s “Hyphy Movement.” an era fueled …

In early September, 19-year-old Coco Gauff won the U.S. Open. She is the first American teenager to win the tournament since 1999, when 17-year-old Serena Williams took the crown.Gauff has said Serena is the reason she plays tennis. She is her tennis idol, and for good reason. Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam titles – more than any player in t…

Over the course of her climb to the Hollywood A-List, Whoopi Goldberg has worn many hats: stand-up comedian, Broadway star, screen actress, and daytime television host. But before her breakout role in a Steven Spielberg film, she was a young mom hopping around the country, taking odd jobs and doing avant-garde theater.This week on Making, we chart …

Since November, dozens of states have introduced legislation that could criminalize drag performances, including Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina.This week on Making, we look at the life of an iconic Black TV creator whose art is at the center of this new political hot button. RuPaul Andre Charles brought drag to America’s main stage and opene…

Shonda Rhimes has been called TV’s greatest. With groundbreaking shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, she became one of the most powerful showrunners in Hollywood history. But, the battle to Hollywood’s highest echelons wasn’t a joyride for a Black woman from Chicagoland. Hear from mentors, colleagues and cultural com…

Jordan Peele is responsible for modern classics in the horror genre, including the films Us, Nope and the Oscar-winning Get Out. Before all that, he was a self-described nerd. He majored in puppetry in college before dropping out with his friend Rebecca Drysdale to pursue a career in comedy. Hear from Drysdale, Peele’s early collaborator Brendan Hu…

Part 1: Touch the sky.Before becoming a cultural lightning rod, Kanye West was a self-confident teenager, handing out mixtapes on the South and West sides of Chicago. In the first episode of our two-part podcast series, we track Kanye’s meteoric rise from uncredited producer to headlining star. Making tells the story of a different, iconic figure e…

Part 2: It all falls down. Ye becomes a mouthpiece for the more sinister parts of American society. In the second episode of our two-part podcast series, hear from friends, journalists, activists, fans (and former fans) on Ye’s second act, from superstar status to cultural pariah. Making tells the story of a different, iconic figure every episode. …

Robyn Rihanna Fenty was just a 15 year-old student in Barbados when she showed up late for her audition with record producer Evan Rogers. Fortunately, her tardiness didn’t matter. She crushed it.“I just heard something really unique and special in her vocals, even though they were raw,” Rogers said on Making. “It was just one of those moments where…

When Ida B. Wells was just 21 years old, authorities kicked her off a train for sitting in the all-white “ladies’ car.” She sued. She wrote about the experience in her local church newspaper.“I felt that one had better die fighting against injustice than to die like a dog or a rat in a trap,” she said later.Wells would soon become one of America’s …

Jesse Owens’ four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin is the stuff of legend.“A man who's a second class citizen at home, son of a sharecropper, grandson of slaves, going over to Hitler's Germany,” explained ESPN reporter Jeremy Schaap on Making. “And he rose to the occasion in a way that embodies true greatness.”But Owens’ journey from Alab…

Frederick Douglass’ journey out of slavery and into the most powerful rooms in the country is a story of tenacity, luck and self-liberation. Hear the story of his improbable rise with Douglass’ great-great-great-grandson, Ken Morris; Douglass’ Pulitzer-prize-winning biographer, David Blight, and Emmy-award winning actor Jeffrey Wright, who’s lent h…

When RuPaul’s mother was pregnant, she went to a psychic who said RuPaul would be famous.That psychic was right. With Emmys, Tonys and 14 studio albums, RuPaul Andre Charles has become the world’s most famous drag queen. But before superstardom, Ru was just a kid in the big city, go-go dancing to make ends meet.“None of us had any money back then. …

Perhaps best known for her seminal autobiography I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou is one of the most celebrated literary minds in history, whose poetry and prose has touched generations of readers. But before Caged Bird, Angelou danced and sang on and off Broadway, earned the moniker “Miss Calypso” in the 1950s, called dozens of Americ…

Hear the story of how a legendary athlete climbed the NBA's mountaintop of greats. It's a story that takes asymmetrical turns before ending tragically and prematurely.On this episode of Making, we look at the whole picture of Kobe Bean Bryant. Join Making host Brandon Pope for a conversation about Bryant’s origin story with his high school basketba…

Before there was Barack Obama on the ballot, there was Jesse Jackson. Preacher, civil rights soldier and activist, Jackson ran two memorable campaigns for the American presidency.“Our time has come,” Jackson declared during his famous ‘David and Goliath’ speech while he was running for the Democratic nomination in 1984. “Red, yellow, black and whit…

Robyn Rihanna Fenty was just 16 when she signed a record deal with Jay-Z. She was 19 when her smash hit “Umbrella” took the world by storm. Now at 34, she is not only known as a popstar but also a fashion mogul and billionaire. But how did she get here? On this week’s episode of Making, host Brandon Pope explores Rihanna’s origin story with music j…

Serena Williams is a household name. The recently retired tennis legend has won 23 Grand Slam titles – more than any player in the Open era. But before becoming one of the most dominant athletes of all-time, Serena was a girl from Compton with a dream. In the Season 4 premiere of WBEZ’s Making podcast, host Brandon Pope revisits the years before an…

From the creators of Making Oprah, Obama and Beyoncé, WBEZ brings you a new season of its hit bio-podcast series, Making.With new host Brandon Pope, each episode tells the origin story of a different iconic Black figure. Through inner circle interviews and exclusive archival tape, this series looks at Serena Williams, Kanye West, Maya Angelou and m…