Episodes

  • German Architects in Chicago: From Mies van der Rohe to Dirk Lohan

    German Architects in Chicago: From Mies van der Rohe to Dirk Lohan
    Nov 29 2024
    In our 30th and final episode celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the Chicago-Hamburg Sister-City partnership, we look at the German architects who literally built the buildings that Chicagoans live, work, and play in today. After discussing the early history of German architects in Chicago, we discuss the life and career of Mies van der Rohe through the memories of his grandson Dirk Lohan. We cover van der Rohe's role in the Bauhaus movement, his difficulties with the Nazis, his escape from Germany, and his career in Chicago. Then, Dirk relates his memories of WWII in Germany and his cooperation with his grandfather on post-war buildings, including the New National Gallery in West Berlin as well as the IBM building and the Federal Center in Chicago. After a discussion about Helmut Jahn, another great German-American architect, Rolf and Dirk conclude with a heartfelt thank you to the people of Chicago for their generosity and kindness in accepting German immigrants throughout the years. Our guests: Dirk Lohan is a German-American architect who designed the Shedd Oceanarium, the Soldier Field expansion, and the McDonald's corporate headquarters. He is Mies van der Rohe's grandson. Rolf Achilles is an art historian who has worked extensively on Chicago art and architecture. He was also instrumental in founding the Chicago-Hamburg Sister-City partnership thirty years ago. Photo Credit: The New National Gallery (Die Neue Nationalgalerie), Berlin, Anna Kristina Sola
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    58 mins
  • Chicago Sports: White Sox, Cubs, Bears, and Bulls plus FC St. Pauli

    Chicago Sports: White Sox, Cubs, Bears, and Bulls plus FC St. Pauli
    Nov 1 2024
    Both Chicago and Hamburg are great sports cities, so today we're discussing the history of Chicago sports with a detour through St. Pauli. Andrew Sola and his expert guests (Peter Alter from the Chicago History Museum as well as Elliott Gorn from Loyola University-Chicago) discuss the following points: -FC St. Pauli -Promotion and Relegation in European Soccer -Pro Sports Cartels in the US vs. the 50+1 Supporter-Control Rule in Germany -The Role of Money in Modern Sports -The Pathology of Supporting Losing Teams -The White (Black) Sox Match-Fixing Scandal of 1919 -The Chicago Cubs -The Chicago Bears -Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls Between recording this episode and its release, the 2024 White Sox did indeed become the worst team in the modern history of Major League Baseball. On a brighter note, FC St. Pauli did win an away game. However, they still have not won or even scored a goal at home. The rant by Chicago Cubs Manager Lee Elia can be found here (explicit!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2pai2QQA54
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    59 mins
  • From Hamburg to Chicago: A German Immigrant's Story

    From Hamburg to Chicago: A German Immigrant's Story
    Oct 18 2024
    Happy German-American Heritage Month! In this episode, we explore the remarkable story of one German immigrant who left Hamburg for Chicago in 1923, Walter Heinsen, through the lens of his grandson John. Walter was an aerial photographer for the German Empire during WWI, where he met historical figures like the Red Baron (Manfred von Richthofen) and Kaiser Wilhelm II. However, he also photographed regular soldiers, including British and American prisoners of war. After the war, he immigrated to Chicago where he started a successful photography business in Rogers Park, Chicago. Many years later, his grandson John re-examined his grandfather's photo archive and made some remarkable discoveries, leading to his quest to find the families of the British and American POWs his grandfather photographed over 100 years ago. Join the hunt for the POWs' families on Facebook at: returntolecateau1917.com You can also use the hashtag: #bringthemhomeagain Also mentioned in the episode is John Heinsen's exhibit about his grandfather, which was shown at the Hamburg Emigration Museum, Das Auswanderermuseum Ballinstadt. More information is available here (in German): https://www.ballinstadt.de/sonderausstellung-durch-die-linse-des-lebens/11754/
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    34 mins
  • Hispanic Chicago

    Hispanic Chicago
    Sep 27 2024
    We're celebrating Hispanic-American Heritage month with a deep dive into the rich history and diversity of the Hipanic/Latino/LatinX/Latine community in Chicago. Topics include the following: -the debate about the language we use to describe the Hispanic or Latino community -the first Latinos in Chicago in the 1850s -the political upheavals in Central and South America that drove migration -the mass deportations during the Depression -the Immigration Acts of 1921 and 1924 -the Bracero Program (1942-1964), which brought Mexican laborers to the US to help with the war effort -the program of expulsion, unfortunately named Operation Wetback (1954), which forcefully removed Mexicans and Mexican-American citizens from the US -the rise of the Chicano movement, the Young Lords, and the Brown Berets in the 60s Check out the website for the exhibition on Latino Chicago at the Chicago History Museum here: https://www.chicagohistory.org/aqui-en-chicago/ And here's the link to historical Spanish-language newspapers in Chicago: https://www.nicolemarroquin.com/harrison-and-froebel/2019/12/4/latinx-newspapers-of-chicago And here's a link to the book _Decade of Betrayal: Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s_ by Francisco E. Balderrama and Raymond Rodríguez: https://www.unmpress.com/9780826339744/decade-of-betrayal/ Our expert guests are Dr. Elena Gonzales and Dr. Lilia Fernandez. Elena Gonzales is Curator of Civic Engagement & Social Justice at the Chicago History Museum where she is curating _Aquí en Chicago_ (2025). She is author of _Exhibitions for Social Justice_ (2019) in Routledge’s Museum Meanings Series. Lilia Fernandez is Professor of History at University of Illinois-Chicago. She is the author of _Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago _ (2012).
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • The 2024 Democratic Convention in Chicago

    The 2024 Democratic Convention in Chicago
    Aug 30 2024
    In this special episode, Andrew Sola and his guests discuss the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Topics include the similarities and differences between the 1968 DNC and the 2024 DNC; the use of gender and race in the speeches; the main themes of the convention, including the reclamation of a Democratic concept of patriotism; the relative paucity of European and global themes; VP Kamala Harris’s speech; and memorable speeches by other speakers, including Michelle Obama, Adam Kinzinger, The Central Park 5, Oprah Winfrey, and Hillary Clinton. Lastly, we settle the dispute about how to create the possessive form of Harris. Is it Harris’ policies or Harris’s policies?
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    53 mins
  • Literature of Chicago #8: Nelson Algren's The Man with the Golden Arm (1949)

    Literature of Chicago #8: Nelson Algren's The Man with the Golden Arm (1949)
    Aug 23 2024
    In this episode, Dr. Douglas Cowie and his guest, documentary filmmaker Mark Blottner, discuss another great Chicago novel, The Man with the Golden Arm by Nelson Algren. Published in 1949, it tells the story of a World War II veteran's struggle with morphine addiction, and in so doing paints a portrait of a marginal neighborhood in Chicago and its people. Check out Mark Blottner's documentary, "Nelson Algren: The End is Nothing, The Road is All" (2015) at nelsonalgrentheroadisall.com.
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    47 mins
  • The Democratic National Convention: Chicago 1968

    The Democratic National Convention: Chicago 1968
    Aug 9 2024
    The Democratic National Convention in Chicago 1968 was one of the most important political events in the twentieth century. It was preceded by a number of earth-shaking crises, including the devastating Tet Offensive in Vietnam in January, President Lyndon B. Johnson's shocking announcement that he would not run for a second term in March, the assassination of beloved civil rights leader Martin Luther King in April, and then the assassination of popular presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in June. In the midst of this turmoil, all eyes turned to the DNC in Chicago in August. The cast of colorful characters includes the all-powerful Mayor of Chicago Richard J. Daley, Vice-President Hubert Humphrey, anti-war candidate Eugene McCarthy, segregationist candidate Governor George Wallace, journalists Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather, author Norman Mailer, activist leaders Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffmann, as well as hippies, yippies, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Mobe (the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam), the Poor People's Mule Train, and the Chicago Police. Our expert guests include Dr. Charlotte Lerg (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich) and Prof. emir. Gary Kissick, who attended the protests in Chicago in August of 1968.
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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • The Sound of Chicago #3: Exploring the Legacy of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians

    The Sound of Chicago #3: Exploring the Legacy of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians
    Jul 26 2024
    In the third and final episode of this mini-series celebrating the unique sound of avant-garde music in Chicago, our hosts turn to the still-living legacy and influence of the AACM on global music. Topics include the importance of the Chicago labels Delmark Records and International Anthem as well as the central themes of self-reliance, community, and artistic freedom for all artists associated with the AACM. The three albums discussed are Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble album Black Unstoppable (2007), Angel Bad Dawid's Requiem for Jazz (2023), and the album Spirit Gatherer: Tribute to Don Cherry (2023) by David Ornette Cherry, Dwight Trible, and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. The three books mentioned are Paul Steinbeck's Message to Our Folks: The Art Ensemble of Chicago (2017), George E. Lewis' A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music (2008), and Bruce Adams' You're with Stupid: kranky, Chicago, and the Reinvention of Indie Music (2022). The first audio clip at the beginning of the episode is Anthony Braxton's track 'Refuge' from the album Nine Compositions (2000). The full track at the end is 'Space of No Pain' from Kahil El'Zabar's Tri-Factor With Billy Bang & Hamiet Bluiett – The Power (2000). Both tracks courtesy of CIMP.
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    1 hr and 8 mins