Best Chicago Reader Podcasts (2024)

1
Meredith Shiner—"Eat Your Vegetables" 1:01:18

5h ago1:01:18

1:01:18

Fun is over, the Sun-Times proclaims. Ben riffs. Meredith Shiner talks all things politics. Including her New Republic essay about the mainstreams. Their reality is not our reality. Meredith and Ben cover everything from Trump on reproductive rights to Nancy Pelosi to Keith Olbermann’s dramatic reading of the aforementioned New Republic essay to Ra…

1
Getting to Yes, And… Dr. Frederik Pferdt – ‘What’s Next is Now’

4h ago

—

Kelly talks Yes, And with Dr. Frederik Pferdt, Google’s first Chief Innovation Evangelist. He founded Google’s Innovation Lab, where he trained tens of thousands of Googlers to develop cutting-edge ideas and taught groundbreaking classes on innovation and creativity at Stanford University for more than a decade. His new book is called “What’s Next …

1
Joanna Wuest, "Born This Way: Science, Citizenship, and Inequality in the American LGBTQ+ Movement" (U Chicago Press, 2023) 57:20

26m ago57:20

57:20

Scholars often narrate the legal cases confirming LGBTQ+ rights as a huge success story. While it took 100 years to confirm the rights of Black Americans, it took far less time for courts to recognize marriage and adoption rights or workplace discrimination protections for queer people. The legal and political success of LGBTQ+ advocates often depe…

1
Jonathan Shapiro Anjaria, "Mumbai on Two Wheels: Cycling, Urban Space, and Sustainable Mobility" (U Washington Press, 2024) 53:29

19h ago53:29

53:29

Mumbai is not commonly seen as a bike-friendly city because of its dense traffic and the absence of bicycle lanes. Yet the city supports rapidly expanding and eclectic bicycle communities. Exploring how people bike and what biking means in the city, Jonathan Shapiro Anjaria challenges assumptions that underlie sustainable transportation planning.Ar…

1
Directions of Peer Review in Software Engineering 1:10:34

1h ago1:10:34

1:10:34

Listen to this interview of Bram Adams, Professor at the School of Computing, Queen's University, Canada. We talk about current developments in peer review, as it is practised in software engineering research. Bram Adams : "As an editor, one thing you want to see in a review is a summary that clearly says, 'Okay, my overall scoring is this, and my …

1
Joanna Wuest, "Born This Way: Science, Citizenship, and Inequality in the American LGBTQ+ Movement" (U Chicago Press, 2023) 57:20

44m ago57:20

57:20

Scholars often narrate the legal cases confirming LGBTQ+ rights as a huge success story. While it took 100 years to confirm the rights of Black Americans, it took far less time for courts to recognize marriage and adoption rights or workplace discrimination protections for queer people. The legal and political success of LGBTQ+ advocates often depe…

1
Hope Bohanec, "The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs" (Lantern Publishing, 2023) 1:14:09

1h ago1:14:09

1:14:09

As consumers become increasingly aware of the animal agriculture industry’s cruelty and environmental devastation, clever industry marketers are adapting with alternative “humane” and “sustainable” labeling and marketing campaigns. In the absence of accurate information, it has never been more important to educate consumers on the realities behind …

1
The Democrats Have a Party: DNC2024 56:49

11h ago56:49

56:49

On Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination in Chicago. Lilly and Susan talk to two presidential politics scholars to unpack the political impact of the convention. When the Republicans convened in Milwaukee, the presidential race was a rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The four of us took stock of…

1
Mueze Bawany—Hard Knocks 1:03:42

11h ago1:03:42

1:03:42

Mueze Bawany talks all things Bears. But first Ben gets something off his chest about the ingratitude and indifference the Bulls show for their great players from the past. Then it’s onto Caleb Williams, Ian Wheeler, Coach Matt, cutting players, office furniture, where to get a good fade in Chicago and other things on our mind. Mueze is a teacher a…

1
Alden Loury—Foster Park Forever 1:06:19

11h ago1:06:19

1:06:19

WBEZ editor and demographer Alden Loury talks about the Sun-Times/BEZ expose on Mayor Rahm’s school closings. Bottom line—a lot of broken promises. He also analyses the connection between closing schools and losing people. And he gets personal about his glory days at Foster Park school on the south side back in the ‘80s. See Privacy Policy at https…

1
Damaging Rationality: Exxon-Funded Legal Research and the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 1:13:50

1h ago1:13:50

1:13:50

This is part #3 of a the (ir)Rational Alaskans, a Cited Podcast mini-series that re-examines the legacy of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In the last episode of the (ir)Rational Alaskans, Riki Ott, Linden O’Toole, and thousands of other Alaskan fishers won over $5 billion in punitive damages against Exxon for the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In our finale,…

1
Phil Haun, "Tactical Air Power and the Vietnam War: Explaining Effectiveness in Modern Air Warfare" (Cambridge UP, 2023) 43:07

19m ago43:07

43:07

Tactical Air Power and the Vietnam War: Explaining Effectiveness in Modern Air Warfare (Cambridge UP, 2023) introduces a much-needed theory of tactical air power to explain air power effectiveness in modern warfare with a particular focus on the Vietnam War as the first and largest modern air war. Phil Haun shows how in the Rolling Thunder, Command…

1
Damaging Rationality: Exxon-Funded Legal Research and the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 1:13:50

19m ago1:13:50

1:13:50

This is part #3 of a the (ir)Rational Alaskans, a Cited Podcast mini-series that re-examines the legacy of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In the last episode of the (ir)Rational Alaskans, Riki Ott, Linden O’Toole, and thousands of other Alaskan fishers won over $5 billion in punitive damages against Exxon for the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In our finale,…

1
James Barrera, "'We Want Better Education!': The 1960s Chicano Student Movement, School Walkouts, and the Quest for Educational Reform in South Texas" (Texas A&M UP, 2023) 55:47

2d ago55:47

55:47

In 'We Want Better Education!': The 1960s Chicano Student Movement, School Walkouts, and the Quest for Educational Reform in South Texas (Texas A&M UP, 2023), James B. Barrera offers a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the educational, cultural, and political issues of the Chicano Movement in Texas, which remains one of the lesser-known social…

1
James Barrera, "'We Want Better Education!': The 1960s Chicano Student Movement, School Walkouts, and the Quest for Educational Reform in South Texas" (Texas A&M UP, 2023) 55:47

19m ago55:47

55:47

In 'We Want Better Education!': The 1960s Chicano Student Movement, School Walkouts, and the Quest for Educational Reform in South Texas (Texas A&M UP, 2023), James B. Barrera offers a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the educational, cultural, and political issues of the Chicano Movement in Texas, which remains one of the lesser-known social…

1
Miles Kampf-Lassin—Big Test 50:54

4h ago50:54

50:54

Miles Kampf-Lassin covers the convention from top to bottom. Including the failure of the mainstreams to give Mayor Johnson credit for anything. Also, the many mixed messages of the Dems. And a word or two about Tesla, China and the contradictions of contemporary capitalism. Miles is an editor/writer for In These Times. See Privacy Policy at https:…

1
Gary Mucciaroni, "Answers to the Labour Question: Industrial Relations and the State in the Anglophone World, 1880–1945" (U Toronto Press, 2024) 1:08:01

22m ago1:08:01

1:08:01

Since the mid-nineteenth century, public officials, reformers, journalists, and other elites have referred to “the labour question.” The labour question was rooted in the system of wage labour that spread throughout much of Europe and its colonies and produced contending classes as industrialization unfolded. Answers to the Labour Question explores…

1
Wesley G. Phelps, "Before Lawrence v. Texas: The Making of a Queer Social Movement" (U Texas Press, 2023) 1:00:23

22m ago1:00:23

1:00:23

In 2003, in a ruling that bordered on poetic, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in Lawrence v. Texas that sexual behavior between consenting adults was protected under the constitutional right to privacy. This was a landmark case in the course of LGBTQ+ rights in the Untied States, laying the groundwork for cases like 2015's Obergefell v.…

1
Gary Mucciaroni, "Answers to the Labour Question: Industrial Relations and the State in the Anglophone World, 1880–1945" (U Toronto Press, 2024) 1:08:01

29m ago1:08:01

1:08:01

Since the mid-nineteenth century, public officials, reformers, journalists, and other elites have referred to “the labour question.” The labour question was rooted in the system of wage labour that spread throughout much of Europe and its colonies and produced contending classes as industrialization unfolded. Answers to the Labour Question explores…

1
David Faris—Moving Forward 59:15

3h ago59:15

59:15

With the DNC behind us, David Faris breaks down the race. What worked for the Dems at their convention, what didn’t. What did Kamala Harris achieve in her speech. Why do Dems keep calling Bill Clinton to the stage. Trump’s return to North Carolina. And the impact of the uncommitted movement. David is a political science professor at Roosevelt Unive…

1
Kina Collins—“DNC Wrap" 1:00:58

2h ago1:00:58

1:00:58

Obviously, Kamala Harris does not listen to Ben’s show. Or she would have invited a Palestinian-American to speak at the DNC. Ben riffs. And then Kina Collins takes the deep dive on the convention. Covering everything from the roll call to the Walz family to the unforced error of alienating the uncommitted movement to the great debate between polic…

1
Bruce W. Dearstyne, "Progressive New York: Change and Reform in the Empire State, 1900-1920: A Reader" (SUNY Press, 2024) 51:45

2h ago51:45

51:45

In the first two decades of the twentieth century, New York State was a hotbed of change. Cities grew as immigrants arrived from Europe and African Americans trekked up from the South. Corporations grew in power and women fought for the right to vote. In political speeches, muckraking journalism, and expert reports, New Yorkers argued out the issue…

1
Bruce W. Dearstyne, "Progressive New York: Change and Reform in the Empire State, 1900-1920: A Reader" (SUNY Press, 2024) 51:45

2h ago51:45

51:45

In the first two decades of the twentieth century, New York State was a hotbed of change. Cities grew as immigrants arrived from Europe and African Americans trekked up from the South. Corporations grew in power and women fought for the right to vote. In political speeches, muckraking journalism, and expert reports, New Yorkers argued out the issue…

1
Heidi Henry—“Coach Walz Democrats" 58:48

17h ago58:48

58:48

Palestinian-American Democrats want to speak at the convention. Ben riffs. Heidi Henry, a Heartland Mama, explains how Dems can win in her MAGA country legislative district. Thanks in part to 8,000 new voters. One more time—8,000 new voters! Most of whom are not MAGA. Are you listening, Democrats? Heidi lays out how she can flip a MAGA district. Al…

1
Find Your Argument 57:49

5d ago57:49

57:49

Have you been told your draft isn’t ready yet, because you still need to find your argument? We have all gotten that feedback at some point. But what we haven’t been told is how to find our argument. Today we return to The Dissertation-to-Book Workbook: Exercises for Developing and Revising Your Book Manuscript (U Chicago Press, 2023), with Dr. Kat…

1
Monroe Anderson--"Back 2 Back Obamas" 1:00:22

3h ago1:00:22

1:00:22

Barack and Michelle take the DNC stage. Ben riffs. Then Monroe returns to talk all things convention. Including..do something (but don't mention Gaza) and roll call (Ben weeps) and Black cowboys in South Dakota, and going high as opposed to going low and whether Barack still has the magic, and Michelle's Black Jobs jab and Barack's little dickie ja…

1
Lost in Ideology: A Conversation with Jason Blakely 59:43

2h ago59:43

59:43

If ideology has never before been so much in evidence as a fact and so little understood as it appears to be today then, Jason Blakely argues in his new book Lost in Ideology: Interpreting Modern Political Life (Agenda Publishing, 2023), this may not be because we are like travellers guided by old maps of the political world but because we make the…

1
Lost in Ideology: A Conversation with Jason Blakely 59:43

6d ago59:43

59:43

If ideology has never before been so much in evidence as a fact and so little understood as it appears to be today then, Jason Blakely argues in his new book Lost in Ideology: Interpreting Modern Political Life (Agenda Publishing, 2023), this may not be because we are like travellers guided by old maps of the political world but because we make the…

1
Mark Wallace—“Back on the Block" 57:15

5h ago57:15

57:15

Ben’s back from Michigan. But he still has Michigan on his mind. Especially something he saw amidst the Trump signs along the highway. Ben riffs. Mark Wallace riffs right back. Then they talk about day one of the Democratic Convention. Particularly…should Dems go high or low in their speeches. Mark hosts a local podcast. See Privacy Policy at https…

1
Getting to Yes, And… | Robert Wolcott and Kaihan Krippendorff – ‘Proximity’

7d ago

—

Kelly sits down with Robert Wolcott, adjunct professor of innovation at the Booth School of Business and adjunct professor of executive education at the Kellogg School of Management and Kaihan Krippendorff CEO of Outthinker Networks to talk about their new book: “Proximity: How Coming Breakthroughs in Just-in-Time Transform Business, Society and Da…

1
Peter Allen, “The Political Class: Why It Matters Who Our Politicians Are” (Oxford UP, 2018) 41:16

1h ago41:16

41:16

Who is in charge? In The Political Class: Why It Matters Who Our Politicians Are (Oxford University Press, 2018), Peter Allen, a Reader in Comparative Politics in the Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies at the University of Bath, explores the rise of a specific type of political leader and what this means for our politics. T…

1
Denali Dasgupta—Small Mercies 1:03:32

6h ago1:03:32

1:03:32

A lot of things happened this weekend—to put it mildly. Ben riffs on everything from the Trump shooting to Vance as VP to Amber Rose as MAGA spokeswoman to opening night of MAGA’s convention. Denali Dasgupta tells you what you need to know about the 2025 Project blueprint—a document she read so you won’t have to. Also, the Denali Book Club examines…

1
Maria Dimova-Cookson, "Rethinking Positive and Negative Liberty" (Routledge, 2019) 43:45

12m ago43:45

43:45

Maria Dimova-Cookson's new book Rethinking Positive and Negative Liberty (Routledge, 2019) offers an analysis of the distinction between positive and negative freedom building on the work of Constant, Green and Berlin. The author proposes a new reading of this distinction for the twenty-first century. The author defends the idea that freedom is a d…

1
Mike Nellis—Not Every White Dude’s For Trump 57:02

5d ago57:02

57:02

Trump comes to Chicago and insults Black people. Ben riffs. Mike Nellis explains how he and some friends created White Dudes for Harris. How they were so successful that Musk shut them down, Okay, we don’t know if Musk shut them down. Probably just a coincidence that their Twitter account died. Mike talks about whether Trump’s attempt to “other” Ka…

1
Raj Jayadev, "Protect Your People: How Ordinary Families Are Using Participatory Defense to Challenge Mass Incarceration" (New Press, 2023) 32:11

4d ago32:11

32:11

Over two million Americans are currently in prison or jail. Another 4.5 million are on probation or parole. And nearly one in two Americans have a family member who is or has been incarcerated. Writing for those new to activism as well as seasoned organizers, celebrated criminal justice activist Raj Jayadev introduces readers to the groundbreaking …

1
Stephanie L Canizales, "Sin Padres, Ni Papeles: Unaccompanied Migrant Youth Coming of Age in the United States" (U California Press, 2024) 1:04:50

5h ago1:04:50

1:04:50

Each year, thousands of youth endure harrowing unaccompanied and undocumented migrations across Central America and Mexico to the United States in pursuit of a better future. Drawing on the firsthand narratives of migrant youth in Los Angeles, California to produce Sin Padres, Ni Papeles: Unaccompanied Migrant Youth Coming of Age in the United Stat…

1
Gerarldo Cadava, "The Hispanic Republican: The Shaping of an American Political Identity, from Nixon to Trump" (Ecco, 2020) 1:05:33

34m ago1:05:33

1:05:33

In the lead-up to every election cycle, pundits predict that Latino Americans will overwhelmingly vote in favor of the Democratic candidate. And it’s true—Latino voters do tilt Democratic. Hillary Clinton won the Latino vote in a “landslide,” Barack Obama “crushed” Mitt Romney among Latino voters in his reelection, and, four years earlier, the Demo…

1
Delmarie Cobb—Tim Time 54:10

10d ago54:10

54:10

Kamala Harris selects a running mate. Ben jumps for joy. Delmarie riffs on Ben’s joy. Then they take the deep dive on why MAGA hates Black women, Trump’s appearance at NABJ, and why Black people think the Trump shooting was fake. And much more. Delmarie is a political strategist and founder of Ida’s Legacy—an organization dedicated to the promotion…

1
Stephen Pinfield, "Achieving Global Open Access: The Need for Scientific, Epistemic and Participatory Openness" (Routledge, 2024) 1:35:15

14h ago1:35:15

1:35:15

Often assumed to be a self-evident good, Open Access has been subject to growing criticism for perpetuating global inequities and epistemic injustices. it has been seen as imposing exploitative business and publishing models and as exacerbating exclusionary research evaluation culture and practices. Achieving Global Open Access: The Need for Scient…

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