Chicago Amplified - WBEZ

City Water, City Life: Water and the Infrastructure of Ideas in Urbanizing Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:50:00 -0500

A city is more than a massing of citizens, a layout of buildings and streets, or an arrangement of institutions. It is also an infrastructure of ideas, an embodiment of the beliefs, values, and aspirations of the people who created it. In City Water, City Life, historian Carl Smith explores this infrastructure of ideas through an examination of the development of the first successful waterworks systems in Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago between the 1790s and the 1860s.

Through an analysis of a broad range of sources, Dr. Smith shows how the discussion, design, and use of waterworks reveal how Americans framed their conceptions of urban democracy and how they understood the natural and the built environment, individual health and the well-being of society, and the qualities of time and history.

City Water, City Life is more than a history of urbanization. It is also a meditation on water as a necessity, as a resource for commerce and industry, and as an essential—and central—part of how we define our civilization.

Carl Smith is the Franklyn Bliss Snyder Professor of English and American Studies and professor of history at Northwestern University. His books include three prize-winning volumes: Chicago and the American Literary Imagination, 1880-1920; Urban Disorder and the Shape of Belief: The Great Chicago Fire, the Haymarket Bomb, and the Model Town of Pullman; and The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City.

Recorded live Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at The Newberry Library.

Society of Midland Authors Awards Banquet

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:43:00 -0500

At it's annual awards banquet, The Society of Midland Authors honors its choices for the best books by Midwest authors published in 2012. The master of ceremonies for this year's benefit was Marc Kelly Smith, the founder of the Uptown Poetry Slam. Award winners also read from their works.

A list of this year's winners can be found here.

The Society, founded in 1915 by a group of authors including Hamlin Garland, Harriet Monroe and Vachel Lindsay, has given out annual awards since 1957. The juried competition is open to authors who live in, were born in, or have strong ties to Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota or Wisconsin.

Notable past winners have included Saul Bellow, Kurt Vonnegut, Studs Terkel, Gwendolyn Brooks, Mike Royko, Jane Smiley, Dempsey Travis, Leon Forrest, William Maxwell, Louise Erdrich, Scott Turow, Alex Kotlowitz, Aleksandar Hemon, Stuart Dybek and Roger Ebert.

Recorded live Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza.

David Misch: A History of Comedy

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:35:00 -0500

David Misch discusses his new book Funny: The Book — Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Comedy. Ripped from the pages of his award-eligible book Misch presents The History of Ha! a some-holds-barred survey of absolutely everything funny that's ever happened. From ancient Tricksters to Modern Family, Mr. Misch looks at what comedy is, where it comes from and where it's going (oddly enough, Philadelphia).

Among David Misch's TV and movie credits are the Emmy-nominated Mork and Mindy, the Emmy-losing Duckman, the Emmy-besotted Saturday Night Live, and the Emmy-ineligible The Muppets Take Manhattan. He's also a playwright, songwriter, blogger, teacher and recovered stand-up comic.

Recorded live Monday, May 13, 2013 at the Harold Washington Library Center.

Youth Voices: Truth & Choices

Sat, 11 May 2013 15:28:00 -0500

In a youth forum/expo style event, different youth organizations from across the city came together with high school students and college students to share experiences and build community and solidarity. Featuring Chicago's youth-led organizations & guest speaker Dr. Beth Richie, Director of the The Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The Ellen Stone Belic Institute is pleased to co-present Youth Voices: Truth & Choices in partnership with Black Youth Project; Columbia College Student Organizations: One Tribe; The F Word; Columbia Links; Chicago Freedom School; Crossroads Fund; Fearless Leading by the Youth; Young Chicago Authors and Young Women's Empowerment Project.

Recorded live Saturday, May 11, 2013 at Columbia College.

Gallery Walk: Artist Andrew Young

Sat, 11 May 2013 11:38:00 -0500

Chicago artist Andrew Young leads a gallery walk through his exhibition, Of Light Air: Mixed Media Works by Andrew Young, to speak about his artistic concepts and techniques, background in biology, and continued interest in paleontology and human interactions with the environment. Andrew received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute in 1989 and has since been working as an artist, author, and lecturer, including collaborations in both the arts and sciences.

Recorded live Saturday, May 11, 2013 at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.

Roman Mars: Stories About the Built World

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:57:00 -0500

He's been called "the Ira Glass of design." His radio show, 99% Invisible – "a tiny show about architecture and design" – focuses on the invisible activity that shapes our world. In August 2012, 99% Invisible became the highest-funded journalism project in Kickstarter history, raising over $170,000 from 5,661 backers. In 2012, with over 4 million downloads online, 99% Invisible peaked at #2 in iTunes ranking for all podcasts in the US.

As host and producer of 99% Invisible, Roman Mars has explored everything from the Purple Hotel – Lincolnwood, IL's most famous building – to poetically-named structures in Santiago, Chile.

Here Mars brings his eye for design, his talent for storytelling, and his rich layers of music and sound effects to Unity Temple, where he performs an extended version of 99% Invisible.

Roman Mars presentation, "Stories about the Built World," is a part of Unity Temple Restoration Foundation's Break the Box program series. Break the Box is made possible by generous grants from the MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, and the Illinois Arts Council, an Agency of the State of Illinois.

Recorded live Thursday, May 10, 2013 at Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple.

Mayor Richard M. Daley: An Appraisal

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:21:00 -0500

Keith Koeneman writes about Chicago history, politics and culture. His recently released book on the retired mayor of Chicago, "First Son: The Biography of Richard M. Daley," was built on unprecedented access to the key players in the long-running Daley administration. The book tells the story of a complicated leader—sensitive and tough, impatient and persistent—who as mayor not only ran but also embodied Chicago.

In First Son: The Biography of Richard M. Daley, Koeneman chronicles the complex and often contradictory life of an American political legend. Through more than 100 interviews, he tells an up-close, insider story of political triumph and personal evolution, highlighting Daley’s achievements and mistakes.

Koeneman also demonstrates how Daley’s influence expanded beyond his beloved city, especially after protégés Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett, as well as his confidant and brother Bill Daley, became major players under President Obama.

Recorded live Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at Elmhurst College.

Thomas Dyja discusses his book "The Third Coast"

Wed, 08 May 2013 14:43:00 -0500

Thomas Dyja discusses his book The Third Coast: When Chicago Built the American Dream. Though today it can seem as if all American culture comes out of New York and Los Angeles, much of what defined the nation as it grew into a superpower was produced in Chicago. Before air travel overtook trains, nearly every coast-to-coast journey included a stop here, and this flow of people and commodities made it America’s central clearinghouse, laboratory and factory.

Recorded live April 18, 2013 at the Harold Washington Library.

MPC Roundtable — Immeasurable Loss: Modernizing Lake Michigan Water Use

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:54:00 -0500

During every moment of every day, northeastern Illinois is losing Lake Michigan water – and with it, the money rate payers contributed to pumping, treating and distributing this water. Yet while we know our region is losing vast sums of Lake Michigan water, and we know this inefficiency is costing us money, we do not have a clear picture of how much water or how much money we are wasting. The best available data suggest the problem is enormous – approximately 490 million gallons a week, enough water to fill more than one Willis Tower. However, the way Illinois grants Lake Michigan water permits does not capture data that identify the causes of loss and solutions to prevent it. That’s just one reason why the Ill. Dept. of Natural Resources (IDNR) has proposed changing the permit process.

At this roundtable, MPC releases our paper Immeasurable Loss: Modernizing Lake Michigan Water Use, which supports IDNR’s proposals and makes further recommendations for more efficient water use. The paper and the discussion provide up-to-date information on IDNR’s proposals and an opportunity for frank discussion.

Panelists:

Dan Injerd, Chief, Lake Michigan Management Section, Ill. Dept. of Natural Resources Michael Smyth, Sr. Manager of Field Services and Production, Illinois American Water Mike Ramsay, Public Works Supervisor, Village of Westmont Josh Ellis, Program Director, Metropolitan Planning Council.

Recorded live Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at the Metropolitan Planning Council.

The Future of Global Trade

Mon, 06 May 2013 14:02:00 -0500

Global multilateral trade talks have stalled. The latest phase of negotiations—the Doha Round—was initiated in 2001 and yet there is no end in sight. According to Pascal Lamy, the director general of the World Trade Organization, an agreement on Doha by the end of the year is unlikely, even though a deal would provide a boost to the global economy. In contrast, there has been a proliferation of negotiations on super regional preferential trade agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (ASEAN+6), and the US-EU free trade agreement (TTIP).

Is the world fragmenting into competing trading blocs? How would these agreements impact regions excluded from negotiations, such as Africa? What are the wider implications of the current developments for global trade and the global economy? Jagdish Bhagwati discusses the future of global trade.

Jagdish Bhagwati is a University Professor at Columbia University and a senior fellow in international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. He has made pioneering contributions to the study of development, globalization, international trade, foreign aid, and immigration. He also writes frequently for leading media worldwide.

Recorded live Monday, May 6, 2013 at the Union League Club of Chicago.