WBEZ News

Pam’s reception desk, Dwight’s stapler in Jell-O and Michael’s “World’s Best Boss” mug are all on display at the interactive museum in Chicago.

With celebrities and public officials in tow, celebrations kicked off Tuesday with a parade at Wintrust Arena and ended with a rally at Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Michael Puente

As the pandemic continues, Little Village social worker Melony Espinoza is helping students embrace the return to school. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Sarah Karp

What’s the relationship between the climate in Illinois, and your favorite fall-time squash? We ask Illinois State Climatologist, Doctor Trent Ford how climate affects the growth of the local pumpkin crop. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

Chicago historian and TikTok personality Shermann “Dilla” Thomas talks about honoring the life and legacy of Chicago historian, Timuel Black Jr. Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Cianna Greaves

Black strategized with Martin Luther King Jr., challenged the Democratic Party machine and fought to desegregate housing and public schools. Host: Araceli Gomez-Aldana; Reporter: Natalie Moore

As the Chicago Sky were striving for their first WNBA championship, WBEZ heard from fans about why they like following the league. Host: Araceli Gómez-Aldana Reporter: Lauren Frost

This fall, after a year when many students stayed home, classroom antics are more serious and frequent... including some prompted by social media challenges. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Susie And

Northwestern University Professor Andrew Papachristos speaks about the early promises of an anti-violence strategy known as street outreach. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Patrick Smith

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx says Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is playing politics with the city’s murder crisis, in the latest back-and-forth over who is to blame for the city’s gun violence epidemic. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Patrick Smith

This fall, WBEZ education reporters are checking in with students and educators to see how in-person learning is going as the pandemic continues. Reina Torres is a junior at Curie High School on Chicago’s Southwest Side. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Adriana Cardona Maguigad

Doctor Christy Rollinson from the Morton Arboretum speaks with WBEZ's Greta Johnsen on whether periods of drought, and above-normal temperatures this summer will impact autumn leaves. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

There's a new winged dinosaur in the scientific record. Doctor Jingmai O'Connor, paleontologist and associate curator of fossil reptiles with the Field Museum, helped find it. Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Cianna Greaves

Curtis Harrison, the owner of a sprawling Buick convertible, takes an evening cruise and shares his love of classic cars from the ’70s. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Chip Mitchell

Some Chicago parents are getting ready to go back inside schools, to help students and teachers in the classroom. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Adriana Cardona Maguigad

The singer’s Chicago attorney says Kelly’s Brooklyn defense team made a mistake by trying to “victim blame” witnesses. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Patrick Smith

WBEZ’s Lisa Labuz spoke with Chicago historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas about what the American Negro Exposition in 1940 meant for Chicago. Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Cianna Greaves

Greg Johnson, the district superintendent of Oak Park and River Forest High School in the western suburbs, shares what it’s been like this year, adjusting back to in-person learning as the pandemic continues. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Susie An

Doctor Juanita Mora, an allergist with the Chicago Allergy Center and a spokesperson for the American Lung Association, talks about the effect of climate change on allergies. Host: Lisa Labuz; Producer: Lauren Frost

A civil-rights group wants the governor to commute sentences for 43 people whose mental health and behavior deteriorated in solitary. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Shannon Heffernan

Chicago Public Schools enrollment is down by at least 10,000 students this fall. It has dropped by more than 24,000 since the pandemic began. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Sarah Karp, Adriana Cardona-Maguigad

Tiffany Baker was 17 and in foster care when she met social worker Terri Treiman. Decades later, the two spoke at StoryCorps about the meaning of their relationship. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Bill Healy

Many years ago, John Wahlfeldt’s wife bought him a book about a mostly forgotten tunnel system beneath downtown Chicago. Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Bill Healy

Carter Wagner first came out to his parents when he was 12. Now a freshman in college, he and his mom revisit their earlier conversation at the StoryCorps booth. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Bill Healy

Arianna Hermosillo and Irakere Picon met in 2011 on their way to an anti-immigration protest. Seven years later they got engaged at the StoryCorps booth in Chicago. Producer: Bill Healy