Podcast revisits Studs Terkel's "Division Street: America"
Why it matters: These updated interviews with descendants, paired with the original book, offer a fascinating narrative of Chicago history from multiple perspectives.
The basics: The original book featured 71 interviews but the podcast focuses on seven.
"They include an actor terrified his family would discover he was gay; a Native American leader determined to preserve his culture in the big city; and a Lithuanian tavern owner dedicated to street protest," Pulitzer-winning former Tribune columnist Schmich tells Axios.
"I saw a unique opportunity to revive those people — those voices — and connect the 1960s to the 2020s."
Biggest surprise: "How important music was in all these lives. One of our subjects is a packinghouse worker who loved playing boogie-woogie on the piano. There's a wealthy woman who founded the jazz archive at the University of Chicago."
"We tracked down the great-grandson of a Chicago school janitor — and he turned out to be a fiddler who plays hip-hop, classical and bluegrass. It makes a great playlist," Schmich says.
Hopes for the listener:"That they'll learn some history. How many people know that Chicago's Uptown neighborhood was once nicknamed Hillbilly Heaven? Or that Halsted Street in the Bridgeport neighborhood was once known as the Lithuanian Downtown?" Schmich asked.
"I also hope it will remind people that we're not the first Americans fearful of the social turmoil we're living in."
Harris hopes it will "inspire people to go out and interview their oldest living relatives … set their phones down in front of them, hit record and ask them questions about their lives."
Listen up at the Division Street Revisited site or sign up for virtual and in-person listening club events starting in February
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Bizarre, beachy fetish is blowing up with US porn fans this summer: report
There's a new summer accessory heating up pool parties — and no, it's not a thong bikini or a margarita slushie. It's a beach ball. And it's making people very hot under the inflatable collar. According to a new report by adult video platform Clips4Sale, summer is turning up the temperature on some steamy — and very specific — kinks, including a 46.85% surge in content featuring people blowing up beach balls. Advertisement 3 Beach balls are inflating more than egos this summer — and they've got fetish fans feeling the heat. bernardbodo – Yes, that's what people are watching — hopefully behind closed cabana doors. 'We often think of summer as a slow season for adult content because people are out of the house more,' a representative for the sexy site wrote. Advertisement 'But summer also awakens these specific, beachy fetishes that lie dormant the rest of the year,' they explained. Turns out, while you're worrying about avoiding sunburn and getting bikini waxes, someone out there is sexually fixated on scuba gear — up 37.44% — or obsessed with pool floaties. Even sweat is getting its turn in the sun, with views of glistening, sticky clips spiking nearly 18%. Swimming content alone skyrocketed by 189.72% — because nothing says 'summer fling' like synchronized splashing and a strategically unzipped wetsuit. Advertisement And this isn't just a seasonal slip — it's part of a growing national trend toward boutique kinks. 3 Beach balls are bouncing into X-rated territory — and this summer, they're hotter than a thong on cement. schab – Back in February, Clips4Sale published its annual United States of Fetish report — revealing that Americans' horniest habits are both highly regional and off-the-wall. When entering 2025, the data showed 'several converging trends,' the site's Avery Martin said at the time. Advertisement 'We've seen tremendous growth not only in giantess and vore fantasies, but also chastity, ballbusting and pegging,' they revealed. That's right — the most popular fetish nationwide is the giantess fantasy, or getting hot and bothered over towering women who could crush you like a Capri Sun. 3 Back in February, The Post covered Clips4Sale's jaw-dropping fetish map — proving America's kinks are as wild as they are local. Rido – New Yorkers in particular can't get enough of it, along with citizens of New Jersey, Tennessee, Indiana, D.C., and Arizona. Martin explained the phenomenon: 'While there's a public resurgence of masculine energy, privately men are fantasizing about powerful women. It may be alphas in the streets, but it's beta in the sheets.' Close behind was vore — the fantasy of being eaten or doing the eating — which overtook giantess in places like California and Nevada. The South, meanwhile, keeps it light with a thirst for 'tickling' and 'wrestling,' while Utah's top search? Balloons. We'll leave that one alone. Advertisement 'Part of the explanation may lie in volume,' Martin added. 'The number of searches nearly doubled in the past year. Americans are increasingly open to exploring fetish, and states are finding their freak.' From pedal-pumping in Mississippi to testicle torture (aka 'ballbusting') in Connecticut, it's clear: this summer, kink is a contact sport — and your average beach day just got a lot more blown up. So if you catch someone side-eyeing your pool floatie a little too long, don't be surprised. It's not just summer love — it's summer lust.
Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Sydney Sweeney ad sparked controversy. Here's what Americans think of it in poll
An American Eagle advertisement campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney has ignited a fiery debate, drawing reactions from social media users, celebrities and even the White House. But what do ordinary Americans think of it? The controversy stems from the clothing brand's use of wordplay involving 'jeans' and 'genes.' In one commercial, released in late July, Sweeney explains, 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color,' while the camera lingers on her denim pants. It concludes with the tagline 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.' The ad, and others like it, sparked a flurry of comments on apps like TikTok and X, with some users accusing American Eagle of promoting eugenics, white nationalism and 'Nazi propaganda.' 'It's more than cheeky wordplay, it's a dog whistle,' one TikTok user said. Public figures soon weighed in. Singer Doja Cat released a video appearing to mock Sweeney — who rose to fame starring in shows like 'Euphoria' and 'The White Lotus.' Late night host Stephen Colbert addressed the ad campaign on his show, saying online claims that it supports eugenics 'might be a bit of an overreaction.' Vice President JD Vance also offered his thoughts on the matter during a podcast interview, accusing Democrats of making a fuss over nothing. 'My political advice to the Democrats is continue to tell everybody who thinks Sydney Sweeney is attractive is a Nazi,' he said. 'That appears to be their actual strategy.' American Eagle put out a statement on Aug. 1, saying the viral ad campaign 'is and always was about the jeans,' adding 'great jeans look good on everyone.' Most Americans appear to agree that reactions to the ad have been overblown, with a new YouGov poll revealing a majority do not have a problem with the campaign. In the survey — conducted with 3,509 U.S. adults July 31-Aug. 1 — 52% of respondents said the ad's use of wordplay is appropriate, while just 16% labeled it as inappropriate. About one-third, 32%, said they weren't sure. That said, there was a noticeable partisan divide on this question. While the vast majority of Republicans, 64%, said the ad campaign was appropriate, less than half of Democrats and independents — 46% and 49%, respectively — said the same. In contrast, 24% of Democrats said the campaign's wordplay was inappropriate, while 14% of independents and just 10% of Republicans said the same. The results were similar when respondents were asked if saying someone has 'great genes' is appropriate or not. A majority, 53%, said using this phrase is appropriate, while 15% said it is inappropriate, and 31% said they were not sure. Here, again, there were substantial partisan differences, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of 2 percentage points. Two-thirds of Republicans said the phrase is fine to use, while half of independents and 44% of Democrats agreed. By comparison, 24% of Democrats labeled the phrase inappropriate. Fourteen percent of independents and 9% of Republicans said the same. Respondents were also asked whether 'all press is good press.' The overwhelming majority, 73%, said they disagreed with this statement, while 10% said they agreed and 17% said they were not sure. It comes after American Eagle's stock price rose by roughly 25% on July 23, the day the ad campaign was announced, according to Rolling Stone. In more recent days, it has fallen.
Epoch Times
6 hours ago
- Epoch Times
Next James Bond Film to Be Penned by ‘Peaky Blinders' Creator Steven Knight
Months after gaining full artistic control of all future James Bond films, Amazon MGM Studios has tapped British screenwriter Steven Knight, creator of the BAFTA-winning television series 'Peaky Blinders,' to script the next 007 movie. The entertainment giant announced the news on Thursday after revealing in June that 'Dune' director Denis Villeneuve would direct the film, produced by Amy Pascal and David Heyman.
