Overdrive (Weekdays 4-6 PM)
Subscribe to our Podcast.
Supermax prison inmates and Shakespeare usually aren’t two things that occupy the same sentence. But for Dr. Laura Bates, professor of English at Indiana State University, they go hand in hand. She goes into prisons and teaches Shakespeare to prisoners who are in solitary confinement. She found that introducing Shakespeare actually helps these prisoners understand their own character and why they may have committed crimes in the first place.
Luis and Shantell talk with Bates about her experience and why Shakespeare works in this setting. Interested in more? Read her book Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years In Solitary with the Bard.
The Onion Newspaper is known for it’s satire. You’ll see headlines like “240 Killed In Stampede After Bucketful of Oscars Just Dumped On Stage” or “Unsuspecting Movie Stars Follow Fake Red Carpet Into Back of Kidnappers’ Van.” But on Oscars night, The Onion put a not so funny tweet out about 9-year-old Oscar nominee, Quvenzhane Wallis, that caused a lot of backlash. It was taken down within an hour and the CEO of The Onion even issued a formal apology. Luis and Shantell talk about why this crossed the line and felt so inconsistent with The Onion’s form of satire. A listener calls in to share his thoughts.
Man About Town: Terrence Chappell, nightlife and society columnist for Chicago Pride joins us on-air to discuss a kick ass Oscar Party curated by the Center on Halsted.
Meteorites Explained:Last week, we brought you the story of the meteorite that injured hundreds of Russians just outside of Moscow when it penetrated the Earth’s atmosphere. Luis speaks with Dr. Phillip Heck of the Field Museum. The Assistant Curator of Meteoritics explains what a meteorite is and answers other questions about the strange occurrence.
Readings in a Living Room: Overdrive Intern Karis Hustad brings us a conversation with the founders of The Dollhouse Reading Series. The curators take conventional poetry and personalize it by having readings in their own home.
Fined for leftovers? A restaurant in Japan is making sure that every plate is clean. We talk about Hachikyo’s strict policy of fining patrons who do not finish their meals.
Rubio Water Bottles: No matter what political party you align with, everyone agrees that Marco Rubio’s water sip…
Here is a Jay Dee (J Dilla) tribute mix from DJ Emission Smooci from France. (download)
Be sure to join the Overdrive February 7th 2013 4pm-6pm Central for a special 2-hour J Dilla Tribute Show.
Lupe Fiasco was escorted off the stage during his performance at a pre-inaguaration celebration concert. Fiasco is known for his anti-Obama viewpoints and performed an anti-war song at the event. Was this an appropriate way for Fiasco to get his point across? Was this an infringement on his free speech? Luis and Shantell discuss the situation and listeners weigh in.
Luis and Shantell talk with the creator of Gigity TV, Rich Seng. Gigity TV is a local start-up that provides high quality streaming services for music venues throughout Chicago. Essentially, you could watch that sold-out concert live from your computer.
Luis and Shantell go toe-to-toe over whether video games have an effect on violent behavior. They also listen to a clip of Alex Jones’ explosive outburst on “Piers Morgan Tonight.”
Are there enough gainfully employed women on TV? that’s what the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media is saying. The organization is urging content creators to provide more substantive female characters. Shantell doesn’t think all the blame should be put on the content creators, while Luis sees no where else to place blame. Listen to this fiery discussion about women in television where the guy (Luis) is advocating for the women, and the woman (Shantell) is advocating for the writers. Photo by Internnews Network
Dr. Lisa Powell is a health economist and Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Health Research and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The institute has been studying the effects of environment, advertising, and policies on consumption behaviors and whether those behaviors lead to obesity. She joins Luis to speak about Disney’s announcement that by 2015 they will no longer run ads on any of their programming for unhealthy products.
