WBEZ Chicago Podcasts

The latest news and features stories from WBEZ Chicago.

Nerdette is a weekly interview show that helps you unwind with fun conversations, inspiring ideas, and delightful recommendations. And join us every month for the Nerdette Book Club!

Chicago gangs: Real people. Real stories. A way forward. The new season of Motive explores violence on the streets of Chicago and the former gang members working to stop it.

Ask questions, vote and discover answers about Chicago, the region and its people. From WBEZ.

WBEZ's critically-acclaimed bio-podcast series explores how an icon is made.

Each week we choose a theme. Then anything can happen. This American Life is true stories that unfold like little movies for radio. Personal stories with funny moments, big feelings, and surprising plot twists. Newsy stories that try to capture what it’s like to be alive right now. It’s the most popular weekly podcast in the world, and winner of the first ever Pulitzer Prize for a radio show or podcast. Hosted by Ira Glass and produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago.

WBEZ's daily talk show brings listeners the news and conversations that matter most to their day-to-day lives.

The latest Chicago Bears news and analysis from the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ. Listen as we evaluate games, make predictions, provide insights and analyze the day’s big stories. Stay informed this football season with Chicago Sun-Times reporters and columnists Patrick Finley, Jason Lieser, Mark Potash, Rick Morrissey and Rick Telander.

Take two nationally respected rock critics, the latest music news, personal commentary, and exclusive interviews and performances, add a huge pile of records old and new, and the result is Sound Opinions, where people who love music can come together.

In bite-sized episodes every weekday, we’ll keep you informed, tickled, geeked, and pondering on Chicago’s news, culture and people. Weekday mornings, stay in the loop with the news, as you take your first sip of adulting for the day. Three afternoons per week -- Monday, Wednesday and Friday -- hear the stories and conversations that shape the Windy City. The Rundown podcast is where curiosity meets FOMO.

A podcast about the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald, the trial of Officer Jason Van Dyke, and the troubled relationship between African-Americans and the Chicago Police Department. Brought to you by WBEZ Chicago and The Chicago Tribune

WBEZ's global affairs program. Featuring in-depth conversations about international issues and their local impact. Also, foreign film reviews and human rights commentaries. Hosted by Jerome McDonnell. This podcast is free, in mp3, and updated weekdays.

Trouble — we've all been in it. Some more than others. Some worse than others. Award-winning storyteller Shannon Cason has faced a few problems of his own. Now he talks with others about getting in, and out, of trouble of all stripes.

Peter Sagal of 'Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me!' joins Greta Johnsen and Tricia Bobeda to scrutinize ... well, pretty much anything.

Last year in Chicago, there was a person shot about every other hour. So who picks up a gun, and why? Stories from a yearlong WBEZ project.

Cockroaches. Clean freaks. Cardboard pianos. Written Inside is a podcast about life inside a maximum-security prison cell.

On Background is WBEZ Chicago’s weekly political podcast. Each week, our top-notch team of political reporters brings you the backstory on the week’s big story. We’ll take you inside the back rooms of Chicago and Illinois government to explain the story, and why it matters.

Tony Sarabia and Jerome McDonnell explore music from around the world in this segment from WBEZ's Worldview program.

'South Side Stories' is a celebration of the real-life people and places that inspired Comedy Central’s hit new comedy series, 'South Side.' With lots of laughs, love and plenty of real talk, 'South Side Stories' proves that what you see on the news is only a small slice of a big city. btb.

Asians have long been ignored, fetishized or made the butt of the joke in America. Shoes Off: A Sexy Asians Podcast wants to put that to rest. Each week, we celebrate badass Asians who are making a mark on pop culture and entertainment. Co-hosts Esther Yoon-Ji Kang and Susie An hang out with trailblazers in comedy, film, music and other fields—inviting them to reflect on their identities and redefine “sexy” on their own terms.

Dueling theater critics Kelly Kleiman and Jonathan Abarbanel discuss the latest stage productions and dissect the best — and the worst — of Chicago's theater scene.

Host Jonathan Groubert and WBEZ have teamed up to bring back the revered program, The State We're In. In Season 1 of this podcast reboot, you'll hear astonishing true and personal stories from all over the globe. The sonically beautiful, and narratively gripping "talkumentary" program brings you guests who will amaze you, break your heart or leave you laughing -- sometimes, all at once. If you're a fan of This American Life, or captivating storytelling in general, you'll want to be sure to s ...

'Public Official A' uncovers the rise and fall of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. How he did whatever it took to reach the top. The trail of destruction left in his wake. And how the complexities, charisma, and tragic flaws of this public official resonate today.

The Paper Machete is a free, weekly “live magazine” covering pop culture, current events and American manners. Part spoken-word show, part vaudeville revue, The Paper Machete features comedians, journalists, storytellers and musical guests performing in the back room of a Chicago bar. The show was created and hosted by writer Christopher Piatt (pronounced like hot apple PIE-it). In June 2011 The Chicago Reader named The Paper Machete “Best Comedy Variety Show of 2011.” The Paper Machete podc ...

From WBEZ Chicago, Chewing the Fat is a weekly podcast with food journalists Louisa Chu and Monica Eng. Together they tackle cooking, dining, culture food policy, culinary characters and more.

Coming to you live from Carter's Barbershop in Chicago's North Lawndale neighborhood, The Barber Shop Show brings you a weekly dose of real talk, straight from the shop floor. No punches are pulled and no topic is considered off-topic. Produced in partnership with the Chicago Reporter, and hosted by WBEZ’s Richard Steele. Airs every Sunday at 9am CST on Vocalo 91.1FM, 89.5 FM, and streams live on Vocalo.org. The show also airs on Sundays at 3pm on WBEZ, 91.5FM, and streams live on WBEZ.org.

WBEZ’s way of helping you navigate the fast-changing world of technology and our digital lives (until the robots take over).

“Clever Apes” is a nano-sized show with a cosmic scope. It tells the stories of the Chicago-area’s rich scientific community, its quirky characters and the fascinating, often mind-bending questions they’re out to answer.

Each Thursday we podcast video of one song from a live music performance filmed in WBEZ's studios. Subscribe on iTunes.

Front and Center explores the issues that make our region what it is, taking time to investigate hard questions and follow rich stories. Our first series explores the most obvious aspect of the region: water. Front and Center is sponsored by the Joyce Foundation.

Each week Worldview film contributor Milos Stehlik of Chicago's Facets Multi-media reviews films and talks with actors, writers and producers of global cinema.

PleasureTown is a story-based podcast told in serial form that details the history of a little-known, failed Oklahoma utopian society. The town’s history is crowdsourced, piece by piece, by the producers, collaborators and audience members. PleasureTown is created and produced by Keith Ecker and Erin Kahoa, along with the assistance of WBEZ in Chicago.

Podcast by Minor Interruption

The Morning Shift is a live talk show from Chicago's WBEZ offering a dynamic mix of news, culture and music.

Homemade Stories is short stories and commentary for writer/storyteller, Shannon Cason. Homemade Stories is a podcast hosted by Shannon Cason, a powerful voice on the national storytelling front. Cason lays out his life for the listener, blessings and blemishes. Homemade Stories began over 10 years ago with, as the name implies, some home recordings. Cason lays out vivid stories — many of them insightful and true, and others imaginative works of fiction. The result is a unique storytelling p ...

Excepts from Vocalo's afternoon show hosted by Luis Antonio Perez & Shantell Jamison

A four minute weekly radio comic strip. ...It's what Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne might be hotly debating as they walk into the studio -- just before they get on mic. This short radiostrip plays out in the kitchen of 11 Central Ave, the home of an extended family where a hodgepodge of other characters regularly drops in.As they rush around in the morning drinking coffee, reading the paper, looking for their shoes, they're talking about everything from the most compelling topics of our ti ...

A beer podcast from WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station. Hosted by Andrew Gill and Alison Cuddy, episodes are recorded where ever good beer is found and include interviews with brewers, artists and craft beer lovers.

The Weekender is a weekend guide from WBEZ & Eight Forty-Eight's Alison Cuddy.