Mike Stephen learns about the important work of Chicago’s Urban Growers Collective from herbalism conductor Rev. Kim Crutcher, gets a preview of the Edgewater Music Fest from Garrett Karp, executive director of the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce, and discovers the Secret History of Chicago blues guitarist Jimmy Rogers. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.

We talk to the author of two Chicagoland-focused books. (Photo credit: Mike Stephen/WGN Radio)

Mike Stephen talks to Roger Day Bain, the author of a new book about growing up in suburban Clarendon Hills called Clarendon Hills Kid and a book about a very non-linear career path entitled Hardly Working: How I Found a Career and Kept My Soul.  Then, we learn about the continuing great work of Chicago’s Share Our Spare and its quest to find new funding partnerships from executive director Alex Goodfellow. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.

We explore the potential impact of the federal education funding freeze in Illinois. (Photo credit: Mike Stephen/WGN Radio)

Mike Stephen learns about the potential impact of the federal government’s education funding freeze on Illinois with Chalkbeat Chicago’s Samantha Smylie, chats with Kate Fagan about her new music and upcoming Chicago shows, and discovers the Secret History of Chicago guitarist Byron Gregory. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.

Mike Stephen goes inside a new occult gallery in Logan Square called Covet Oddities and chats with owners Ben and Erica Santine, learns about the limitations of the Freedom of Information Act in Illinois with Better Government Association financial policy analyst Sophia Van Pelt, and highlights the great work of La Casa Norte‘s Hope for Homes Day initiative with executive director Jose Munoz. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.