The Deerfield Public Library Podcast

A Tree to Take Us Up to Heaven is a fascinating debut novel by our guest, Jordan Melic. A Young Adult novel combining adventure, history, and mythology, A Tree to Take Us Up to Heaven follows siblings Ah Ti and Kueny as they find themselves in different times and places that led to modern day Singapore, spanning many generations and belief systems, from ancient China to colonial Malaysia. Jordan,...

Racial and social justice facilitator Christine Saxman discusses the question, "how can white people accelerate racial justice?"  Christine describes herself as a "white woman fighting for racial justice and anti-racism as long as this social construct of race exists." She has worked for Courageous Conversations about Race, the National SEED Project (Seeking Education Equity and Diversity) as part...

Sarah MacLean and Jen Prokop are the hosts of the romance literature podcast, Fated Mates .  Sarah MacLean is a bestselling author of historical romance novels and Jen Prokop is a romance critic and teacher. Together on the Fated Mates podcast they have some of the most intellectually stimulating and joyful conversations about what romance does and why it's important. You can check out books by Sa...

K.C. Johnson, Bulls Insider for NBC Sports Chicago, discusses The Last Dance and memories of the Chicago Bulls in Deerfield.  The Last Dance , ESPN's popular 10-part documentary series on Michael Jordan's last season with the Chicago Bulls, features previously unseen footage from that '97-'98 season--much of it shot here in Deerfield, IL at the Bulls former practice facility, the Berto Center.  K....

Graham Ambrose on Illinois during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Graham (twitter) is currently a reporter for the Quad City Times, where last month he wrote an article titled "102 years ago, the Spanish flu slammed the Quad Cities. Here's what it teaches us about pandemics." Link The 1918 flu pandemic had a huge impact on modern life and consciousness, yet it's a history we don't always talk about....

Part 2 of our 2 part conversation with acclaimed author Rosellen Brown. We discuss her new novel The Lake on Fire (Sarabande Books, 2018) and it fits in to her whole career.   Rosellen Brown's website .  You can check out books by Rosellen Brown here at the library, as part of our new Podcast Collection , which features books (and other media) from our past 3+ years of podcast guests. We welcome y...

Part 1 of our 2 part conversation with acclaimed author Rosellen Brown. We discuss themes that run through Brown's whole career, and how she uses form to approach difficult emotional and political subjects.    Rosellen Brown's website .  You can check out books by Rosellen Brown here at the library, as part of our new Podcast Collection , which features books (and other media) from our past 3+ yea...

A conversation with the Chicago-based poet Sam Herschel Wein, author of the chapbooks Fruit Mansion (2017) and, in collaboration with the poet Chen Chen, Gesundheit! (2019). He is also an enthusiastic ambassador for the vibrant scene of online poetry and edits (with Chen Chen) the online poetry journal Underblong . Listen to hear Sam read his poems and reflect on queer life, friendship, the power...

The Leopold and Loeb Files: An Intimate Look at One of America's Most Infamous Crimes  by Nina Barrett illuminates one of the most mythologized crime stories in America, and Chicagoland particularly;  the 1924 murder of 14 year old Bobby Franks by University of Chicago students Nathan Leopold & Richard Loeb. Barrett's book introduces and annotates excerpts from rare primary source documents from t...

Illinois State Rep. Bob Morgan talks about the new Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, which legalizes recreational marijuana use in Illinois starting on January 1st, 2020 .  Rep. Morgan  (of our 58th district) helped shape the new law. He has worked as a healthcare lawyer on medical cannabis issues and previously ran the state's medical cannabis program.  Our conversation covers the why, how, and wh...

30 Before 30: How I Made a Mess of My 20s and You Can Too , documents   Marina Shifrin's   quest to complete 30 goals before turning 30. Each chapter in the book covers one of her goals, from riding a bike across the Brooklyn Bridge and living in a different country, to becoming famous and falling in love. Marina, who works as a TV writer and freelancer, is also known for her 2013 viral video wher...

The Art of Inventing Hope: Intimate Conversations with Elie Wiesel  recounts  Howard Reich 's four years of friendship and conversation with Wiesel, the great author, humanitarian, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and Holocaust survivor who profoundly shaped our understanding of the Holocaust.  Howard Reich has been working as an arts critic at the Chicago Tribune since 1978. His friendship with Wiesel b...

Blues musician and longtime Deerfield resident Derrick Procell has made a name for himself in the music and ad industry for his energy, talent, and strong vocals. Today, Procell is the frontman of the Chicago soul and blues band "Derrick Procell and the Redeemers" and has been heard on everything from beer commercials to The Office, King of the Hill, and Ladybird.  Listen to this special **early r...

X-Men in Deerfield! In  Chris Claremont's  nearly 20-year run writing X-Men comics, he wrote many classic stories that made The Uncanny X-Men a bestseller and spawned blockbuster movies.  Claremont also made Deerfield the hometown of Kitty Pryde  who was first introduced in "X-Men #129" as a 13½ year-old Jewish girl living in a split-level on Central Ave., whose strange headaches presage her mutan...

Richard Rothstein , author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America . Rothstein's widely praised book makes clear that the laws and policy decisions passed by local, state, and federal governments actually promoted the discriminatory patterns that continue to this day--and uses Deerfield history as one of many examples. Video of the lecture is available, to...

Rep. Brad Schneider has a special connection to Deerfield. Not only does he represent our village as part of Illinois' 10th District in the U.S. House of Representatives, but he also lives here in Deerfield. We ask Rep. Schneider about the life of a Member of Congress from juggling the logistics of traveling back and forth to D.C., to preparing for a hearing, to how he incorporates feedback from c...

Two of our most popular recent program presenters are featured! First up,  Molly Page , author of 100 Things to Do in Chicago Before You Die . She fills us in on some of her favorite things to do in the city, including some hidden secrets. Molly's enthusiasm for Chicagoland is super contagious and we know you'll get some great ideas for your next family outing or solo exploring trip. And you can c...

The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt , a comics biography of the Jewish-German philosopher by Ken Krimstein . Ken is also a frequent cartoonist for The New Yorker and other publications—and he grew up in Deerfield! Ken tells us how he became a cartoonist and how a cartoonist approaches the difficult life and ideas of Hannah Arendt. You can check out The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt here at the lib...

Graham Ambrose  has written for The Washington Post and The Boston Globe . Graham wrote a recent history thesis at Yale about his hometown's history and the housing integration crisis that began in Deerfield in 1959. In our conversation, Graham details the history and reads from his thesis, "" The Little Rock of the North": Racial Integration and NIMBYism in Suburban Chicago, 1959 ." The Library i...

William Hazelgrove is a Chicago author of many novels and nonfiction books, and is a frequent and popular speaker here at the Library. Bill is currently working on a movie for PBS based his book, Madame President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson .   Join us to hear about the downfall of Al Capone and the 1933 Chicago Fair, Edith Wilson as the first female president, and Bill's upcoming book,...

On this episode of the Deerfield Public Library Podcast, we celebrate the Center for Enriched Living, a local non-profit organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Center for Enriched Living (CEL) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. In honor of this achievement, Executive Director Harriet Levy joined us to talk about the history, present, and futur...

Dinosaurs in Deerfield? Endangered turtles? 300 year old trees? Yes!  On this episode of the Deerfield Public Library Podcast, we learn about the plant and animal life around us with with Nan Buckardt, Director of Education at the Lake County Forest Preserves . Hear how, in Nan's words, "the land shapes the people and the people shape the land." You'll also learn what makes each of the preserves a...

Author of "books with a Bollywood beat,"  Sonali Dev tells us about her most recent novel, A Distant Heart , which tells the story of Kimi, whose childhood illness leaves her stuck in a kind of Rapunzel-style, over-protected ivory tower.  Sonali Dev tells us about writing about the Mumbai suburb in which she grew up and how she identifies with her main character's optimism. Our conversation goes d...

Herb Berman, MJ Gabrielsen, and Jacqueline Nicole Harris. They are all members of the Library Poets group, which meets every Tuesday evening at the Library for a poetry workshop. You'll hear a wide variety of poems, covering nighttime walks through Deerfield, the drama of wild horses, and the politics of Beyonc é . We also discuss the inspirations and stories behind the poems. Meet the poets First...

Wrestler Colt Cabana  is our guest. AKA Scott Colton, Colt grew up in Deerfield dreaming of one day becoming a professional wrestler. Colt has amassed a huge following through his infectious comedic stage persona and his popular behind-the-scenes podcast The Art of Wrestling . We talk about his career and the wonderfully weird world of professional wrestling.  Colt also has a recent autobiographic...