City Cast Chicago

Monday was the first day of school for Chicago Public Schools, marking the third school year during the COVID-19 pandemic. While some things have changed, like vaccinations for teachers and students older than 12, there are still many lingering questions: What’s the process if multiple students contract COVID? And how will the more than 2,000 students who rely on district buses get to school after dozens of drivers resigned last week? WBEZ education reporter Sarah Karp has some answers to those questions, and we talk about first day jitters and excitements with 6th grade math teacher Norma Noriega.Guests: Norma Noriega, 6th Grade Math Teacher, Stevenson ElementarySarah Karp, Education Reporter, WBEZ (@SSKedreporter)Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

Chicago has been gaining a reputation for being a fairly good place for cyclists as the city adds new bike lanes, expands the Divvy bike share program, and offers free bike lessons. Chicago’s SAFE (Streets Are For Everybody) Ambassadors program held dozens of free lessons across the city throughout the summer. Host Jacoby Cochran headed to West Town for one of the final classes and spoke with program manager Shameka Turner. She tells us about the importance of bike safety, what it means to break down cycling stereotypes, and why she wants everyone to grab a helmet and take a ride! Guest: Shameka Turner, Program Manager, Chicago SAFE Ambassadors (@chicagosafe)Sign up for Tuesday evening’s bike riding lesson: https://forms.gle/XdB2SugfDtsNTjss7Find more cycling resources: https://chicagocompletestreets.org/***In an earlier version of the podcast, we included the incorrect date for Bike the Drive. It is on Sunday, Sept. 5.***Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

Episode Description: Kanye was at Soldier Field on Thursday in front of more than 30,000 people for a “listening party” that didn’t require proof of vaccination. That had Block Club Chicago’s Jamie Nesbitt Golden asking, “Why, Yeezy, why?” Jamie and her Block Club colleague Mina Bloom join City Cast Chicago to talk about that news, as well as Mina’s continued coverage of those Amazon lockers in Chicago parks, police officers in school, and more evidence of why ShotSpotter doesn’t really work. Plus, Jacoby, Jamie and Mina share their “Moments of Joy” from the week.Guests:Jamie Nesbitt Golden-Block Club Chicago Bronzeville reporterMina Bloom-Block Club Chicago Logan Square, Humboldt Park and Avondale reporterFollow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

Filmmaker Ashley O’Shay spent more than four years following Janae Bonsu and Bella BAHHS as they led protests and organized demonstrations following the police killings of Rekia Boyd and Laquan McDonald. Her new documentary “Unapologetic” explores these two women’s activism and the movement for Black lives they helped organize here in Chicago. But it wasn’t just moments behind the megaphone that O’Shay was able to document. She also captured birthday parties, family visits, recording sessions, and academic seminars — Intimate moments that helped shape these women and their activism. Guest: Ashley O’Shay; filmmaker @ashley_oshayWhere to watch "Unapologetic"Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

In June, the U.S. military issued a report saying that out of 144 sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena, they were only able to explain one of them. Or put another way: The government has admitted to encountering UFOs that defy explanation. This report may have brought renewed attention toward the sky, but Chicago is home to the nation’s first organization dedicated to the scientific study of UFOs. The Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) was founded in the 1970s by a born-and-bred Chicagoan who had studied these phenomena for the government. Host Jacoby Cochran talks with current CUFOS head Mark Rodeghier about his work, including the investigation of a UFO sighting at O’Hare Airport in 2006.Guest: Mark Rodeghier, President and Scientific Director, Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS)Some good news to get you through: Jacoby will be at Chicago Sun-Times' "Local Lives" virtual event Wednesday night. He'll be performing alongside other local storytellers and artists under the theme "Making Chicago Home."Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

On Monday, City Cast Chicago host Jacoby Cochran talked to Elly Fishman, author of "Refugee High: Coming of Age in America,” about Sullivan High School. Sullivan has hundreds of refugee students, and more than 40 languages are spoken at the school. Today, Jacoby talks to Sarah Quintenz, aka Ms. Q, who runs the school’s English Language Learner program and is a pillar for the new students who are tackling big questions beyond the classroom — like being the only English speaker in the family, working to put food on the table, and understanding big cultural shifts. Jacoby also sits down with “Sam,” one of Ms. Q’s former students who came to Sullivan from Syria during the Syrian civil war. Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

In 2017, after former President Donald Trump’s travel ban on citizens and refugees from seven predominately Muslim countries, journalist Elly Fishman started thinking about refugee families who were already in Chicago. She then learned about Sullivan High School in Rogers Park, which is also referred to as “Refugee High.” Hundreds of refugee students attend and more than 40 different languages are spoken there. Fishman documented the school for a Chicago magazine article that then turned into a book. We talk to Fishman about what she learned at Sullivan, and how the students’ unique and arduous backgrounds were just one part of these multi-faceted young people who just wanted to be teenagers. Guest: Elly Fishman, Author, "Refugee High" (@Elly33)Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

City Cast Chicago producer Simone Alicea is in the host chair with Lead Producer Carrie Shepherd and City Bureau Deputy Editor Arionne Nettles to talk about the Chicago stories they couldn’t stop thinking about, stories that should have more coverage in the news, and their moments of joy from the week.Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

Before he became the host of The Late Show and The Colbert Report, and was a correspondent on The Daily Show, Stephen Colbert got his start like so many other comedians, writers, and performers—at The Second City. Colbert went from Northwestern University’s theater department to The Second City, where he now serves on the board of directors. He tells host Jacoby Cochran about his early days with the historic theater, his lasting impressions of the city, and how he went from being afraid of going shirtless on stage to performing a duet with his pants. **A version of this interview was first published on City Cast Chicago on June 30, 2021**Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

The 2020 census numbers are in, and Chicago remains the country’s third-largest city. But the demographics are shifting. Latinx people are now the city’s second-largest racial or ethnic group, surpassing the city’s Black population. These shifts have big implications for city politics and for Black and brown communities. WBEZ's Alden Loury tells host Jacoby Cochran about how Chicago got here and what the shifts could mean as aldermen begin remapping the city's wards.Guest: Alden Loury, Senior Editor, WBEZ's Race, Class and Communities Desk (@AldenLoury)Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm