Milt Rosenberg

Oh, Chicago. Where did we go wrong? With our shocking fiscal crisis, looming and potentially crippling property tax hikes, rampant crime, out flight of businesses and youth, crumbling infrastructure, education system mired in corruption and under performance, rising cost-of-living…the list of ills goes on and on. What can Chicago teach the rest of the nation? Where is the light at the end of the tunnel? Here we diagnose the patient and, hopefully, suggest a way out of the mess for our beloved yet beleaguered city. Ted Dabrowski of the Illinois Policy Institute has been studying this issue in depth and joins us alongside Donald Haider, a one-time mayoral candidate and esteemed professor at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Interesting to this conversation is the input of our listeners. Some think our days are numbered. Others see a bright future for this beautiful town. (Cartoon courtesy of Eric Allie. Even more of Mr. Allie’s work here)

Richard Lindberg is one of the foremost authorities on Chicago history. He’s written multiple, fine books on some of the lost history of this city. In his latest book, Gangland Chicago, Richard talks gangsters. From the organized crime outfits to vice to booze and gambling and all that these endeavors entail, this is the book you need to read if you’ve ever been interested in crime. Chicago’s done it as well as any other city. Lindberg tells this fascinating story from the beginning, when Chicago was a nothing town, all the way up through the modern-day street gangs and organized cartels involved in the drug game. Joining Lindberg is one of our favorite guests, John Drummond. John is a legendary newsman who knew of all of the crooks and bosses during his day and is still keeping up with it.

After the thoroughly depressing and emotionally exhausting events from Paris last week and lengthy discussions of them this week, we turned to one of our refuges–movies. Here we talk about some of the greatest directors. We’re joined in studio by our mainstay of film talks, John Kupetz of Medill and the College of Lake County, and welcome a newcomer, Kyle Richard Henry of Northwestern. As always, we examine some classic moments from numerous films.

On this show we again investigate the events of another devastating attack on the French capitol. We’re joined in studio by W. Rand Smith of Lake Forest College, a political scientist who studies French politics and Daniel S. Kamin, adjunct professor of International Relations at DePaul. Via phone we check in with Fred Kagan of American Enterprise Institute and Fred Burton, VP of Intel at Stratfor.

Like the rest of the civilized world, we were horrified by the weekend’s events in Paris. Immediately we moved to bring you the most sober and informed analysis possible. In this episode, we’re joined by to fine academics who study terror and its machinations–John Allen Williams of Loyola and Barry Kellman of DePaul–in studio. Via phone we talk to Daniel Greenfield, who has some very strong assertions toward Islam and the role of the faith in terror and the inimitable Victor Davis Hanson, who had a timely article on the tragedy.

Yet another debate was held in Milwaukee and we are on the scene to tell you who won and who lost. Several under-performing candidates have left the big table, and Ben Carson and Donald Trump are at the top of the leaderboard as of this writing. To discuss, we have in studio Dick Ciccone and Joe Morris, two members of our political A-Team.

“Quotation, n: The act of repeating erroneously the words of another.” So said Ambrose Bierce, at least we hope. In this entry, we discuss some of our favorite quotes. This show could’ve been the length of a week, but we confine it here to one episode along with Gary Saul Morson of Northwestern and David Ingram of Loyola We have quotes from history, politics, cooking, and baseball, to name but a few.

What began as a show on the political world at large and the insanity on the campuses (campi?) of American colleges quickly turned into a discussion of the events in Paris, again, following the attacks on a concert venue and other locations Friday evening last. Charles Lipson of the University of Chicago and Richard Baehr, both members of our Political A-Team, were with us on all topics. Also joining was Michael Barone, Fox News contributor and Washington Examiner political correspondent. This is a topic we will cover in depth over the coming days.

Dark Matter. How does it differ from Dark Energy? What role has it played in mass extinctions throughout history? To answers those and many, many more questions of cosmological and biological import is Dr. Lisa Randall, one of our nation’s most esteemed physicists and professor at Harvard. Her latest book, Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe, sheds light on some of the greatest mysteries concerning our existence.

Jim Baggott is an influential science writer. A scientist himself by training, he has turned toward a career in the commercial world as a successful author who popularizes complex scientific theories by making them, well, understandable. His latest, Origins: The Scientific Story of Creation, is a concise history of how we got here, how life has evolved on this planet, and where life may be heading next. Baggott joins us here for an hour. We only wish that we’d had more time.

When most people hear the name of the town ‘Salem’ they immediately think, “Witches!” To be sure, that is the legacy of Salem in the minds of the masses. But beyond the wrongful execution of some young women for practicing witchcraft and sorcery, most people know nothing. Stacy Schiff is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and a master storyteller. She has turned her attentions to Salem, 1692 to bring to life the real people behind the legend and to investigate how hysteria gripped a town and a nation. Not only were women the focus of the investigations–an inquisition, really–but there were men also. Families turned their backs on each other. Educated people left their senses–certain the devil was at work–and became complicit in murder. The Wtiches: Salem, 1692 is a certain bestseller and a welcome inquiry into a story and a time that have had, unfortunately, only the most rudimentary understanding in American history.

When most of us think of the supernatural in the Catholic religion, we think of the Shroud of Turin, or sightings of Mary, or exorcisms. These are just the big ones in a limitless line of claims which the Church must investigate. John Thavis has years of experience working in the Vatican as he was the Rome Bureau Chief of the Catholic News Service and has written previously about what goes on with the Holy See. He goes deep into how this secretive team must vet miracles of those to be canonized, how they go around the world doing detective work on apparitions, or sightings of the Saints or demons. In The Vatican Prophecies Thavis also sheds some light on Pope Francis, a pope who has been thrust into the limelight at a time when the Church has passionate debate within and increasing pressure from the outside to adapt to an increasingly secular world.

Here we continue with our series on American music. Today we examine Gospel music. Joining in studio are Bob Marovich, founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Gospel Music and the author of the recently published A City Called Heaven: Chicago and the Birth of Gospel Music. Our second in-studio guest is the esteemed Dr. Charles Clency, who recently retired as the professor of music and director of choirs at the College of Lake County. Dr. Clency has had a distinguished career as a musician and toured with many legends of Gospel.

With too many quotes to possibly pick one that would sum up his greatness, we won’t try. Instead we present this delightful talk on Mark Twain, his work, his legacy, his wit and his wisdom with two local professors who have studied Twain in depth. Larry Howe teaches Twain in his English courses at Roosevelt University and has also written a book about him, and Loren Ghiglione of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern even traveled Twain’s routes of several books. He documented the journey on a website that expresses his affection for Mark Twain while recounting that trip he took along with two students. A bonus here are some readings that most people won’t have heard from selections most don’t know. They show you just how creative Twain was and how he was never off his game.

There’s much going on in the world at the moment, and instead of bringing you a themed show, we thought we’d look to those whose writings on it we admire. And, of course, a little music. First up to join is Bret Stephens, the Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign-affairs columnist at the Wall Street Journal. His latest book, America in Retreat, has been quite influential. He and Milt talk about ‘The Tyranny of a Big Idea‘. Edward Klein has been keeping up with Hillary Clinton, and writes about the many scandals beyond Benghazi and a private email server. His newest book is Unlikable, about the sure-to-be Democrat candidate in 2016. Finally, Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former CIA man and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, examines the oft-employed diplomatic tool of soft power. When does it work, when does it fail and, more important, how is it failing us in the Middle East at present? His fine contribution to the Weekly Standard titled ‘Victory without Soldiers‘ is a scathing review of how we engage with militant jihadists.

If Chicago’s the Second City, New York is the first to be sure. So where does that leave Washington, D.C.? Without it, what would we be? But we’re not so concerned with prestige on this particular program as we are with what events, characters, considerations and compromises gave birth to these two superpowers of influence and, being based in Chicago as we are, naturally our own city is the measuring stick for comparing them both. In hour one we are joined by Tom Lewis, professor emeritus, English at Skidmore College. He’s written extensively on the mid-Atlantic states and, for an aside, an absolutely superb history of our business of radio. In Washington: A History of Our National City, we learn of just what Washington the man had to overcome to give us a seat of government. In hour two (begins at 49:02), Gerard Koeppel joins us. Koeppel is no stranger to radio himself, having a distinguished career with CBS in addition to historical writings on his city, New York. Today the basis for our broadcast is the shape of New York, that, to newcomers and tourists is a confounding street system. To New Yorkers it makes perfect sense, and here you’ll learn of the simple wisdom that gave birth to that system, and how that simplicity gave the city many of its problems yet many of the characteristics that are so endearing. If Washington D.C. is the seat of government, surely New York is the seat of finance. Milt knows it well, having spent many early years there. Koeppel gives us a fine history and backstory to the Big Apple with his latest, City on a Grid: How New York Became New York.

By most accounts, the third GOP debate was a circus which strangely pitted the Republican candidates banding together to fend off their foes–not the Democrats, but rather their moderators from CNBC. To shed light on the proceedings–if there was any of political value–we turn to a fine panel. In studio, Richard Baehr and Ed Lasky of American Thinker, Larry Sabato of the Center for Politics and Sabato’s Crystal Ball, and Jonathan Last and Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard.

English. Our mother tongue. Recently we tackled the Great American Novel, so naturally it merited occasion to look toward Britain. In this episode we discuss the periods from medieval British Literature to the Victorians. Our panel here is a delightful trio from academia, namely Micael Clarke of Loyola, Lesley Koredecki from DePaul, and Regina Schwartz of Northwestern. Bonus points if you can follow along with the Old English.

Sometimes there are too many moving parts to a program and we need to digress and decompress. Philosophy is a vast field, with limitless options for study and discussion. One person with whom we’ve been meaning to sit down with is Dr. Sanford Goldberg, the Chairperson of Philosophy at Northwestern. So at first opportunity, we brought him in to journey through the minds and writings of some of Philosophy’s greatest. From Aristotle to Bullsh*t, comedians to film directors, there’s much of the stuff of life and thought.

As you know we are always keen to keep abreast of all of the latest political news. One member of our Political A-Team is Joseph Morris, former U.S. Assistant Attorney General and all-around polymath. We brought him to the show to discuss the upcoming election and the candidates on both sides, the troubles in the Middle East, and a vast range of other topics.