The 21st Show

Artificial intelligence is all around us these days … from internet searches to event flyers to customer service calls. But what effect is it having on people who use it and the way we interact with the world?

State Representative Kelly Cassidy gives her take on former colleague Harry Benton's resignation amid sexual harassment allegations and Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch's handling of the case and his own questionable behavior towards the alleged victim.

Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker is seeking a third term this fall. We’ll talk with him about his nearly eight years on the job so far — and why he’s asking you to give him another four.

When was the last time you got a really clear view of the night sky? There is an entire universe out there, but artificial lighting has cut us off from it.

Senator Tammy Duckworth discusses the Iran war and other changes happening in the Department of Defense, the voter registration changes President Trump is calling for in the SAVE Act, and the issue of why so many people feel left behind by the American economy.

The second Trump administration has tried to assert more control over elections … using false claims about election security as justification. We’ll talk about security and safety at the polls headed into the midterms.

This spring, a reporter and photographer from the Chicago Sun-Times spent two weeks in Lithuania as the Pulitzer Center's 2026 Richard C. Longworth Media fellows, reporting a six-part series on Lithuania's deep Illinois ties — and its uneasy position on the front line of Europe's standoff with Russia.

Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch is facing criticism for his handling of sexual harassment allegations against fellow Democrat, Harry Benton.

A new series of film screenings in the Quad Cities focuses on movies that highlight Latino culture.

The Joliet Treatment Center is a prison that was dedicated to providing mental healthcare. But conditions have declined in the decade since it opened, and prisoners have set dozens of fires over the past few years in attempts to get help. An investigation takes a in-depth look into why.

Hundreds of workers are set to lose their jobs at the troubled Choate Mental Health Center in Southern Illinois. We’ll talk about why and reflect on the history of abuse allegations at the facility.

The race to become the next U.S. Senator from Illinois. We’ll talk with the Republican nominee, former party chairman Don Tracy Note: The video version of this conversation is taking longer than usual to post. It will be added here and on YouTube when available.

At the turn of the 19th century, bicycling was a significant force in American life. And the center of American cycling was arguably in Illinois. An author who has researched bicycling culture in Illinois joins the program. 

Much of the United States recently dealt with another round of smoke from Canadian wildfires. We’ll talk about how we felt that here in Illinois and what might be in store for that kind of weather in the future.  

Illinois recently launched a state Department of Early Childhood. The secretary of the department discusses its role and how it’s navigating ongoing shortages in staffing and availability for childcare across the state.

Illinois has an official state bee: The Black and Golden Bumblebee. What sets this species of bees apart from others and what is the state of pollinators across Illinois? 

Hundreds of Illinoisans have gotten sick this summer from the gastrointestinal disease cyclosporiasis. Two infectious disease specialists discuss what’s happening, who’s at risk, and what the role is of government in food safety. 

Actor Jonathan Butler-Duplessis attended high school and college in Champaign. After more than a decade in regional theater, he made his Broadway debut in Hamilton. He discusses his life, growing up in the C-U area, and his work.

Roughly 1,000 Black men were trained in Tuskegee, Alabama to serve as Army aviators in World War II. Nearly 100 were killed — and of those, 27 went missing. Most were never recovered, leaving a trail of unresolved grief that would haunt their families for decades. Their stories are the subject of a new book called “Forgotten Souls: The Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen" by Cheryl Whitlow Thompso...

The author of Growing up in Public: Coming of Age in a Digital World shares how to manage a generation that operates online all the time.

Palestinian Aziz Abu Sarah and Israeli Maoz Inon have written a new book called “The Future is Peace: A Shared Journey Across the Holy Land.” They discuss why they choose peace over vengeance and how their personal losses motivate their advocacy.

He's a Normal, Illinois native who went to U. of I. and ended up writing music for Sesame Street. She's the puppeteer behind Abby Cadabby — and she just won an Emmy for it. They also happen to be married. Composer Paul Rudolph and puppeteer Leslie Carrara-Rudolph joined The 21st Show to talk about what makes Abby special, how to write music for Muppets, making instruments from found objects, and h...

It’s the official policy of the U.S. government to work toward putting people on Mars. Debates about that usually focus on cost and national priorities. Less considered is what life on Mars would do to the people who go there. That, however, is the subject of a new book by scientist Scott Solomon. It’s called Becoming Martian: How Living in Space Will Change Our Bodies and Minds. Solomon was raise...

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, novelist Shelby Van Pelt now makes her home in Wheaton, Illinois. Her debut novel, "Remarkably Bright Creatures," has been a huge hit, reportedly selling more than two million copies. It's also being made into a movie by Netflix. We'll talk with Van Pelt about her life and work.

Fraud is all around us, from pyramid schemes to spam phone calls. Illinois-based forensic accountant Kelly Richmond Pope writes about why people do it — and how we can better protect ourselves — in her book “Fool Me Once: Scams, Stories and Secrets from the Trillion Dollar Fraud Industry.”