Social equity is a big topic when it comes to legal pot in Illinois. JB Pritzker touts the newly approved legislation as the “most equity-centric approach” in the country, meaning it’s supposed to help the same black and brown communities that have been disproportionately harmed by the criminalization of marijuana in the past.
The Chicago indie-rock band Dehd started as an excuse to go on vacation. “I guess we’re both really efficient,” said singer and bassist Emily Kempf. “We were just like, this seems like a good way to pay for a vacation and hang out.”. It was 2015. Emily Kempf and Jason Balla had just started dating, and since they’re musicians, they decided that the best way to travel together would be to go on tour.
Local public officials and advocacy groups in Chicago are warning about possible federal immigration raids this Sunday. The predawn operation is reportedly set to target around 2,000 undocumented families around the country. It’s part of the president’s promise this week to “deport millions.”. WBEZ's Melba Lara talks with Sara Walker, an organizer and student pastor with La Familia Latina Unida, a Chicago-based immigration advocacy group, about how the undocumented community is preparing.
Back in 2008, a fire at Universal Studios Hollywood roared through a giant, 22,000 square foot warehouse. Almost everything in the vault was destroyed, and despite initial reports, there was more in that vault than just video. An investigation published by The New York Times Magazine reveals the vault also housed tens of thousands of master tapes of some of the most historically significant music of the 20th century.
In this series we explore a topic you don't hear a lot about on NPR -- sex. Not sexual assault, not harassment; just sex, and the role it plays in our lives, our relationships and society.
Quinn Robinson is only 18 years old, but she has already learned some hard lessons about the world. "It's scary being a trans person because I know there are people out there who just hate me for being myself," she says. "There's been kids who have approached me and say, 'Hey, you should burn in hell.
A grand jury in New York indicted Harvey Weinstein on Wednesday on charges of rape and criminal sex. Weinstein once towered over Hollywood, and it is likely he would still be making movies and meeting with young actresses had more than 80 women not come forward against him. One of the first to do so was actress Rosanna Arquette, best-known for her roles in Pulp Fiction and Desperately Seeking Susan.
When Liz Phair's debut album, Exile in Guyville, broke onto the indie rock scene in 1993, it was at a time when the music industry was very into shock value. "My way of doing that was to sort of take agency of my sexuality and just say, like, shocking things in this little girl voice to see if anyone would notice," says Phair.
Tucked into a small side street in the Changping District just north of Beijing, a school stands out in bright, childlike colors — orange and green. Cheerful music plays between classes as students stream into the courtyard to play. The school, like many in China, is for migrant children — serving those who are barred from Beijing's public schools.
It's peak online dating season. According to Match.com, late December through Valentine's Day is the busiest time of the year for dating apps and sites. It's sometimes called "cuffing season" — a nod to the idea that people want to find a serious relationship during the cold months.
From San Francisco to Washington, D.C., e-scooters and dockless bikes have become the latest transportation trend to grip urban spaces — and local governments are struggling to keep up. The concept is simple: Riders download an app, find and unlock a scooter or bike, and leave it when they're done.
A record number of openly LGBTQ candidates are running for office this November. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Amelia Marquez of Montana, Gina Ortiz Jones of Texas, and Dan Innis of New Hampshire. In this midterm election season, many people are talking about the possibility of a blue wave. There's also potential for a rainbow wave.
The NBC sitcom The Good Place is back for its third season, and fans will be happy to know Tahani al Jamil is as "conceited, but deeply kind, insecure, [and] vainglorious" as ever — in the words of Jameela Jamil, the actress who plays her. But Jamil's personal story couldn't be more different from her character's.
Kathy Mattea has been successfully making music for a long time. Her first gold album came out in 1987. She won her first Grammy in 1990. For a while, she was putting out albums every year or two. But Mattea's latest LP, Pretty Bird, out now, is the country artist's first release in six years — and it almost didn't come out at all.
In its Race Issue, National Geographic magazine examines the state of race relations in the United States, including an acknowledgment of the racism that permeated its own pages for decades. Among the magazine's contributors this month: Michele Norris, former host of NPR's All Things Considered. Norris currently runs The Race Card Project, in which she asks people to send in their thoughts on race in just six words.
Mitski Miyawaki says she's lived many different lives in her one body. On her new album, she's taking on the spirit of a charismatic, swaggering cowboy. "I just kept telling myself, 'Be the cowboy you wish to see in the world.' Kind of a play on, 'Be the change you wish to see in the world,'" she says.
