Making: Stories Without End podcast

26:18

How do you know when it’s time to make your next big career move? With International Women’s Day around the corner, we are excited to feature Avni Patel Thompson, Founder and CEO of Milo. Avni is building technology that directly supports the often overlooked emotional and logistical labor that falls on parents—especially women. Milo is an AI assistant designed to help families manage that invisible load more efficiently. In this episode, Avni shares her journey from studying chemistry to holding leadership roles at global brands like Adidas and Starbucks, to launching her own ventures. She discusses how she approaches career transitions, the importance of unpleasant experiences, and why she’s focused on making everyday life easier for parents. [01:26] Avni's University Days and Early Career [04:36] Non-Linear Career Paths [05:16] Pursuing Steep Learning Curves [11:51] Entrepreneurship and Safety Nets [15:22] Lived Experiences and Milo [19:55] Avni’s In Her Ellement Moment [20:03] Reflections Links: Avni Patel Thompson on LinkedIn Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn Ipsos report on the future of parenting About In Her Ellement: In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element? About The Hosts: Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030. Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders. Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.…

Making: Stories Without End

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Making: Stories Without End takes you on a journey to learn about daytime soap operas and their broad reach on television.

47 episodes

#Society #WBEZ Chicago

Making: Stories Without End

378 subscribers

updated 22 days ago

Series home•Feed

Making: Stories Without End takes you on a journey to learn about daytime soap operas and their broad reach on television.

47 episodes

#Society #WBEZ Chicago

All episodes

1
TRAILER: Stories Without End 2:27

22 days ago2:27

2:27

Soap operas are the foundation of American television storytelling. From early radio days in the 1930s to the invention of TV to streaming, soaps have endured by telling intergenerational family stories. Daytime dramas are an important part of American television history and popular culture. It’s been said that television is socially ahead of movies. Soap operas take that social consciousness a step further. Rape, abortion, AIDS, LGBTQ+ storylines – before primetime or even mainstream America was ready. But soaps have been written off as low-brow drivel for women. For decades, soaps routinely pushed serious social issues the general public didn’t even know about because they weren’t paying attention to them. Take this journey to learn the history of soaps, the innovative creators who pushed social impact and how the genre was the moneymaker for networks for decades. This is television's unique immersive storytelling.…

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Making Toni Morrison 39:50

1 year ago39:50

39:50

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 was a pioneering editor at Random House, opening doors for a whole generation of Black writers, including Angela Davis, Huey P. Newton and Gayl Jones. Her editorship assembled a strong network of the most prominent Black intellectuals of the 20th century. But Toni Morrison’s road to success was not a straight shot. She only published her first novel around 40 years old. And when she found her footing, she changed the face of American literature. On the Making season finale, host Brandon Pope sits down with leading Toni Morrison scholars, including Dana Williams, Carolyn Denard, Autumn Womack and Courtney Thorsson, to unpack the trajectory of an American literary hero. Making tells the story of a different, iconic figure every episode. Subscribe now.…

1
Making Fred Hampton 42:43

1 year ago42:43

42:43

“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, 1969 Fred Hampton became the Chairman of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party when he was just years out of high school. His oratory talent and intellectual grasp on leftist literature quickly shot him to stardom in activist circles. But, his leadership did not last long. In 1969, when he was just 21 years old, he was assassinated during a raid on his home orchestrated by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Chicago Police Department and the FBI. “He knew the power and potential of Fred Hampton,” former Congressman Bobby Rush said of the FBI Director at the time. “So I’m telling you, the man was nothing but greatness.” Today, in a special Black History Month episode of Making, in collaboration with The Rundown podcast, we tell the story of iconic Chicago liberation activist, Fred Hampton. Our hosts Brandon Pope and Erin Allen sat down with original members of the Black Panther Party, attorneys who fought his post-assassination lawsuits in the 1960s and family members who carry on his legacy. Making tells the story of a different, iconic figure every episode. Subscribe now.…

1
Maya Angelou: Going from Strength to Strength 34:39

1 year ago34:39

34:39

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 “Miss Calypso” in the 1950s, called dozens of American cities and African nations home, and even became the first Black woman to work as a cable car conductor in San Francisco. On this episode of Making, host Brandon Pope sits down with Rita Coburn, co-director of the Peabody-Award-winning PBS documentary Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise; Randal Jelks, professor of African and African American studies and American studies at the University of Kansas; and Dr. Maxine Mimms, the founder of the Tacoma Campus of Evergreen State College and a longtime friend of Angelou. “Her main word was courage,” Dr. Mimms said, “The courage to love, the courage to walk, the courage to move.” Making tells the story of a different, iconic figure every episode. Subscribe now.…

1
Making Derrick Rose 42:53

1 year ago42:53

42:53

“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 Michael Jordan. Some thought he would be the greatest of all time. When an ACL tear took him out of the game, those high hopes turned to high scrutiny. On this episode of Making, host Brandon Pope explores the years before Derrick Rose changed the NBA. He grew up in the South Side neighborhood of Englewood, raised by a loving mother and three protective older brothers. By his sophomore year of high school, his talent and name was known across the city. We chatted with his high school coach who shaped his rise, veteran Chicago journalists who traced his steps, and Bulls insiders who witnessed his history-making. “He'll forever be one of the greatest basketball players to come out of the city,” NBC Chicago host Jason Goff said. “I make no bones about it.” Making tells the story of a different, iconic figure every episode. Subscribe now.…

1
Rihanna: Mother and Mogul 39:06

1 year ago39:06

39:06

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 was just a 15-year-old in Barbados. She performed Destiny’s Child songs in a trio with her friends. Soon, an American record producer visited the island, saw her audition and launched her to stardom. This week on Making, hear the tale of Rihanna’s come-up from record producer Evan Rogers, music journalist Bill Werde and head of British Vogue Chioma Nnadi, featuring exclusive archival tape of Rihanna’s early rehearsals.…

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Making Virgil Abloh 37:09

1 year ago37:09

37:09

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 long-time friend and collaborator. “And I think that’s what made him such a force to reckon with.” Virgil Abloh passed away from cancer on November 28, 2021 at the age of 41, leaving behind a sprawling legacy. But before he took over an industry, he was a quiet and humble suburban kid who loved soccer, skateboarding, T-shirts and turntables. This week on Making, host Brandon Pope talks with Abloh’s family, friends, critics and collaborators – including his father, his high school soccer coach and the head of British Vogue – to look back at the life of a Chicago icon. Making tells the story of a different, iconic figure every episode. Subscribe now.…

1
BONUS: Hyphy Kids Got Trauma 3:05

1 year ago3:05

3:05

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 by uptempo, bass-heavy songs with a free and fun-loving vibe. But 2006 also marked the second highest homicide total Oakland has ever seen. The violence was compounded by drugs, over-policing, the onset of gentrification, and the ongoing War On Terror. The wounds that occurred almost twenty years ago still impact the adults of the Bay Area today. Hyphy kids got trauma, and this is why. Listen to the whole series today on Rightnowish .…

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Serena Williams: The Blueprint 31:49

2 years ago31:49

31:49

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 the Open era. But before becoming a household name, Serena was a girl from Compton with a drive. This week on "Making", Brandon Pope revisits the years before anyone knew Serena’s name. Hear from the people in the room and on the court during her evolution to tennis prodigy, including her sister Isha Price, former tennis pro Chanda Rubin, and childhood coach Rick Macci.…

1
Making Whoopi Goldberg 41:03

2 years ago41:03

41:03

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 Whoopi Goldberg’s winding path to stardom, from living off welfare, to landing on Broadway with her one-woman show. Host Brandon Pope chats with her first theater partners, her first director, and her first stage manager to discover who Whoopi was when she was just a wide-eyed talent waiting to be discovered. “The first time I saw her, I knew she was going to make it,” said William Farley, the director for her first on-screen performance. “She was an original. And an original, they become seen.”…

1
RuPaul: ‘Empress of Drag’ 38:28

2 years ago38:28

38:28

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 opened doors for queerness. But before his Emmys and Tonys, he was a go-go dancing young person determined to be a star. Host Brandon Pope chats with RuPaul’s close friends, collaborators and mentees, including drag queen Lady Bunny, DJ and songwriter Larry Tee, drag historian Simon Doonan and RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars winner Shea Coulee. This episode was originally published on Nov 17, 2022. This season of Making covers a different, iconic figure every episode. Subscribe and don’t miss an episode.…

1
Making Shonda 39:03

2 years ago39:03

39:03

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 commentators on how the queen of television came to be.…

1
Making Jordan Peele 39:27

2 years ago39:27

39:27

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 Hunt and cultural critic Aisha Harris about Jordan Peele’s rise to comedic and horror genius.…

1
Unmaking Kanye 38:03

2 years ago38:03

38:03

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. Subscribe and don’t miss an episode.…

1
Making Kanye 38:52

2 years ago38:52