This week we explore Black organizing in Illinois pre-Civil War. (Used with permission from Northwestern University. All photos in the public domain.)

Mike Stephen discusses a new online exhibit that examines the role of the Black community in pre-Civil War Illinois with Northwestern University history professor and project director Kate Masur. Check out her book called Until Justice Be Done: America’s First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction. Then, we hear from local tai chi teacher Arlene Faulk to learn her remarkable story of how she fought back against multiple sclerosis. She recounts her journey in the book Walking on Pins and Needles: A Memoir of Chronic Resilience in the Face of Multiple Sclerosis. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.

We examine the influence of developers on neighborhoods this week. (Photo credit: Mike Stephen/WGN Radio)

Mike Stephen learns about a guide to more public involvement in community benefits agreements with City Bureau senior reporter and special projects manager Sarah Conway, goes curling with the Windy City Curling Club, and discusses the significance of the Illinois Freedom Project with Milton McDaniel, co-founder of the African-American Museum of Southern Illinois, and Matt Meacham of Illinois Humanities. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.

Photo credit: Mike Stephen/WGN Radio

Mike Stephen learns about a people’s history of Uptown through the Dis/Placements project from its co-founders Gayatri Reddy & Anna Guevarra and discovers the Secret History of 1980s alt-rockers Stark. And Mike thinks we should open up the fast food drive-thru lanes to bicycles. What could go wrong? To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit ourĀ Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or ourĀ RSS feed.