Best WGLT Podcasts (2026)

Some version of a residential solar tax credit has been around for decades. It was made higher under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act under President Joe Biden. But Republicans in congress this year decided to pull the plug.By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: Balancing divorce during the holidays 50:29

Play Pause

7d ago50:29

50:29

From the emotional turbulence to having to schedule around custody and family traditions, it can be far from joyful. We talk with a divorce attorney to get some advice.By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: Protecting your mental health during the holidays 50:29

14d ago50:29

50:29

For those who suffer from mental health challenges, holiday stress can make their conditions worse.By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: The season for scams 50:29

21d ago50:29

50:29

This is the busiest shopping period of the year. That also brings risks to consumers as scammers are working to make sure you have an unhappy holiday season. Your financial and personal information is even more at risk.By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: Deportation and families left behind 50:29

30d ago50:29

50:29

As more people are deported by immigration authorities, family members are left behind. One woman tells her story after her father was sent back to Mexico following years of living in the U.S.By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: What has changed for theater artists of color? 50:29

1M ago50:29

50:29

Five years ago, a prominent letter rippled through the Chicago theater community, sparked by outrage at the murder of George Floyd. It put an industry in the spotlight, but did it make a difference?By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: 50 years ago, Siskel & Ebert brought the movies to TV 50:28

1M ago50:28

50:28

The two rival newspaper critics began their landmark pairing on Chicago public television.By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: A half century later, mystery still surrounds the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald 50:29

2M ago50:29

50:29

The freighter went down in Lake Superior Nov. 10, 1975.By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: Immigration agents using stealth tactics 50:29

2M ago50:29

50:29

From wearing masks to concealing identities of vehicles, agents are raising concerns in Illinois and other states.By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: The War of the Worlds 50:28

2M ago50:28

50:28

A 1938 radio drama became one of the most famous productions ever, thanks to Orson Welles and his company.By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: Getting better sleep 50:29

2M ago50:29

50:29

Many people report having difficulty sleeping. A sleep expert gives us some tips.By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: Manufacturing amid economic concerns 50:29

3M ago50:29

50:29

Higher labor costs and the president's tariffs are making it difficult to navigate the current business climate.By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: Meet the ICE resistance 50:36

3M ago50:36

50:36

On this episode, an effort called the People's Patrol organizes scores of volunteers to confront immigration agents carrying out President Trump's deportation blitz.By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: How school integration led to lifelong friendships 50:29

3M ago50:29

50:29

On this episode, Angela Patterson and Laura Hastings attended kindergarten together in 1966.By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: Chicago and violent crime 50:35

4M ago50:35

50:35

The city saw a rise in shootings in recent years. But the latest numbers indicate a possible turnaround.By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: Upward mobility in Illinois 50:29

4M ago50:29

50:29

A new study suggests upward mobility is more difficult in Illinois than many would think. Although educational attainment and career choices have the biggest influence over a person's income potential, the economic class into which they are born also plays a role.By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: A fairer approach to redistricting? 50:29

4M ago50:29

50:29

A bipartisan attempt at changing the process will require a constitutional change.By Sean Crawford

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Statewide: Giving more hope to those in need of kidney transplants 50:27

4M ago50:27

50:27

More than 100,000 patients are on the national kidney transplant list and around 30 people are taken off the lists everyday because they either became too sick for a transplant, or died.By Sean Crawford

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McHistory: 'King of Swedes' kept Bloomington streets clean 8:20

2+ y ago8:20

8:20

Wherever humans gather, there is garbage. And getting rid of it is a challenge. The start of trash removal in Bloomington dates to the start of the 20th century and to a man known in his day as the King of Swedes.By Charlie Schlenker

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Next to Normal Story Slam: Seemed Like A Good Idea With ... Kim Tingley 10:31

2+ y ago10:31

10:31

This story from Kim Tingley was recorded May 5, 2023, during the Next to Normal Story Slam at the McLean County Arts Center in Bloomington. The night’s theme was “It seemed like a good idea at the time...” with all stories centered on that theme. Learn more about upcoming Story Slams at NexttoNormalStorySlam.com.…

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Next to Normal Story Slam: Seemed Like A Good Idea With ... Laura DiMascio 11:26

2+ y ago11:26

11:26

This story from Laura DiMascio was recorded May 5, 2023, during the Next to Normal Story Slam at the McLean County Arts Center in Bloomington. The night’s theme was “It seemed like a good idea at the time...” with all stories centered on that theme. Learn more about upcoming Story Slams at NexttoNormalStorySlam.com.…

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Next to Normal Story Slam: Seemed Like A Good Idea With ... Mollie Huisman 9:40

2+ y ago9:40

9:40

This story from Mollie Huisman was recorded May 5, 2023, during the Next to Normal Story Slam at the McLean County Arts Center in Bloomington. The night’s theme was “It seemed like a good idea at the time...” with all stories centered on that theme. Learn more about upcoming Story Slams at NexttoNormalStorySlam.com.…

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Next to Normal Story Slam: Seemed Like A Good Idea With ... Laurie Bergner 14:52

2+ y ago14:52

14:52

This story from Laurie Bergner was recorded May 5, 2023, during the Next to Normal Story Slam at the McLean County Arts Center in Bloomington. The night’s theme was “It seemed like a good idea at the time...” with all stories centered on that theme. Learn more about upcoming Story Slams at NexttoNormalStorySlam.com.…

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Next to Normal Story Slam: A Brush With ... Storyteller Karla Bailey Smith 11:08

3y ago11:08

11:08

This story from Karla Bailey Smith was recorded Feb. 10, 2023, during the Next to Normal Story Slam at the McLean County Arts Center in Bloomington. The night’s theme was “A brush with...” with all stories centered on that theme. Learn more about upcoming Story Slams at NexttoNormalStorySlam.com.By Colin Winkelmann

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Next to Normal Story Slam: A Brush With ... Storyteller Sally Hoffman 5:26

3y ago5:26

5:26

This story from Sally Hoffman was recorded Feb. 10, 2023, during the Next to Normal Story Slam at the McLean County Arts Center in Bloomington. The night’s theme was “A brush with...” with all stories centered on that theme. Learn more about upcoming Story Slams at NexttoNormalStorySlam.com.By Colin Winkelmann

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Next to Normal Story Slam: A Brush With ... Storyteller Joe Strupek 7:24

3y ago7:24

7:24

This story from Joe Strupek was recorded Feb. 10, 2023, during the Next to Normal Story Slam at the McLean County Arts Center in Bloomington. The night’s theme was “A brush with...” with all stories centered on that theme. Learn more about upcoming Story Slams at NexttoNormalStorySlam.com.By Colin Winkelmann

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Next to Normal Story Slam: A Brush With ... Storyteller Mark Nielson 3:45

3y ago3:45

3:45

This story from Mark Nielson was recorded Feb. 10, 2023, during the Next to Normal Story Slam at the McLean County Arts Center in Bloomington. The night’s theme was “A brush with...” with all stories centered on that theme. Learn more about upcoming Story Slams at NexttoNormalStorySlam.com.By Colin Winkelmann

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Next to Normal Story Slam: A Brush With ... Storyteller Lora Passetti 11:23

3y ago11:23

11:23

This story from Lora Passetti was recorded Feb. 10, 2023, during the Next to Normal Story Slam at the McLean County Arts Center in Bloomington. The night’s theme was “A brush with...” with all stories centered on that theme. Learn more about upcoming Story Slams at NexttoNormalStorySlam.com.By Colin Winkelmann

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Next to Normal Story Slam: A Brush With ... Storyteller Kathi Davis 8:56

3y ago8:56

8:56

This story from Kathi Davis was recorded Feb. 10, 2023, during the Next to Normal Story Slam at the McLean County Arts Center in Bloomington. The night’s theme was “A brush with...” with all stories centered on that theme. Learn more about upcoming Story Slams at NexttoNormalStorySlam.com.By Colin Winkelmann

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Next to Normal Story Slam: A Brush With ... Storyteller Dennis Mennenga 4:52

3y ago4:52

4:52

This story from Dennis Mennenga was recorded Feb. 10, 2023, during the Next to Normal Story Slam at the McLean County Arts Center in Bloomington. The night’s theme was “A brush with...” with all stories centered on that theme. Learn more about upcoming Story Slams at NexttoNormalStorySlam.com.By Colin Winkelmann

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Next to Normal Story Slam: A Brush With ... Storyteller Scott Myers 7:36

3y ago7:36

7:36

This story from Scott Myers was recorded Feb. 10, 2023, during the Next to Normal Story Slam at the McLean County Arts Center in Bloomington. The night’s theme was “A brush with...” with all stories centered on that theme. Learn more about upcoming Story Slams at NexttoNormalStorySlam.com.By Colin Winkelmann

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Story Slam: Kevin Lee's story of luck 5:24

3+ y ago5:24

5:24

The Next To Normal Story Slam is back after its pandemic hiatus with a new schedule. Instead of every month, the Story Slam happens every three months at the McLean County Arts Center.By Ariele Jones

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McHistory: Housekeeper for the affluent and the tawdry 6:43

3+ y ago6:43

6:43

The way Black people were treated in Bloomington-Normal got a lot worse in the 20th century than in the years before, and that's saying something. Those conditions produced jarring juxtapositions in people’s lives, such as that of an intelligent churchgoing Black woman who worked for the family of State Farm royalty and in a brothel to make ends me…

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McHistory: Press Butler the great detective 5:54

3+ y ago5:54

5:54

One doesn’t think of Bloomington and central Illinois as a lurid hotbed of crime. But it certainly seems it could have been that way during the mid-to-late 1800s as portrayed by the three city newspapers of the day.By Charlie Schlenker

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McHistory: George Hoagland’s 'Oil of Gladness' 6:56

3+ y ago6:56

6:56

Coming from nothing, an illiterate Black man from Bloomington-Normal — long before the civil rights movement — found a niche in the national market for cleaning products. In this episode of the WGLT feature McHistory, hear about a floor polish and the man who invented and sold it.By Charlie Schlenker

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McHistory: Multitalented suffrage leader promoted women’s health and the vote 5:14

4y ago5:14

5:14

Ellen Ferguson was a champion of women and women's suffrage. She made Bloomington-Normal her home in the 1870s.By Charlie Schlenker

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McHistory: A Bloomington huckster's best-selling 'medicine' was Blackberry Balsam 6:02

4y ago6:02

6:02

Bloomington-Normal has a long and distinguished history of business entrepreneurship. One less than distinguished, but very successful, business, had a continent-wide spread in the late 1800s.By Charlie Schlenker

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McHistory: Noted author Harold Sinclair of Bloomington 5:41

4y ago5:41

5:41

Bloomington-Normal has a tie to famed actor John Wayne and legendary filmmaker John Ford — a hardware store clerk turned noted author, Harold Sinclair.By Charlie Schlenker

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Brett Conlin looks into his rear-view mirror on new full-band EP 8:26

4y ago8:26

8:26

Brett Conlin’s new full-band Americana-rock album is a nostalgic and sometimes wistful look at his youthful days growing up in Kewanee.By Jon Norton

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McHistory: Early Settlers Battled Prairie Fire To Tame The Land 5:32

4+ y ago5:32

5:32

There is not much prairie left in Illinois. Once, there was a waving sea of tall perennial flowers and grasses across much of the state. Now there is .01% of the original prairie left in Illinois.By Charlie Schlenker

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WGLT's Grow: Integrated Pest Management 9:15

4+ y ago9:15

9:15

By Sarah Nardi

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McHistory: Dr. William Hill, A Man Of Many Contradictions 5:06

4+ y ago5:06

5:06

A 19th century Bloomington doctor was a respected physician who was accused of stealing corpses.By Charlie Schlenker, Maritza Navar-Lopez

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WGLT's Grow: Apple & Pear Season 9:15

4+ y ago9:15

9:15

By Sarah Nardi

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First Backyard Tire Fire Album In A Decade Is A Rootsy Gem 9:12

4+ y ago9:12

9:12

Backyard Tire Fire's new album drops Friday. They perform at the Black Dirt Music Festival in Bloomington on Saturday. Wilco headlines the fest.By Jon Norton

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WGLT's Grow: Autumnal Festival 9:15

4+ y ago9:15

9:15

On this week’s episode of Grow, Sarah is joined by Jessica Chambers, who runs the ISU Horticulture Center. The two talk about the Autumnal Festival.By Sarah Nardi

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McHistory: Sigmund Livingston And The Anti-Defamation League 4:51

4+ y ago4:51

4:51

In 1913, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was founded in Bloomington to stop the defamation of Jewish people by appealing to minds, morals, and the law. Sigmund Livingston served as its first director.By Ariele Jones, Charlie Schlenker

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WGLT's Grow: Chocolate & Vanilla 9:15

4+ y ago9:15

9:15

By Sarah Nardi

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WGLT's Grow: Ken Myszka From Epiphany Farms Talks Fall Gardens 9:15

4+ y ago9:15

9:15

By Sarah Nardi

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Author Says 'Americana' Is Grown-Up Rock & Roll 6:23

4+ y ago6:23

6:23

Author John Milward connects American music legends like The Carter Family and Hank Williams with today's big stars including Jason Isbell and Brandi Carlisle.By Jon Norton