First Friday Club of Chicago podcast

It all began when Wilton Daniel Gregory, a fifth grade student at St. Carthage grade school, informed his parish priest that he wanted to be a priest. Told by the priest that he was not even a Catholic, young Wilton Gregory responded with a question that began a amost amazing journey: "Then what do I have to do? He became a Catholic. He went to the seminary for 12 years. He made a stop as a deacon in Park Ridge. He was ordained a priest. He served in Glenview. He then lived in Rome earning his doctoral degree. Upon his return, he was a professor at the seminary from which he was ordained. He was ordained a bishop for the Archdiocese of Chicago. A few years after that, he became Bishop of Belleville, Illinois. He was elected by his brother bishops to be President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He was called to serve as Archbishop of Atlanta, Georgia, and then Washington, D.C. until Pope Francis elevated Archbishop Wilton Daniel Gregory to the College of Cardinals, the highest rank in the Catholic Church, after the Pope. Not a bad journey for a kid from the Englewood community on the South Side of Chicago!

Sr. Helen Prejean got into her ministry against the death penalty almost by accident in her early forties, with a decision to write to a prisoner on death row. She credits "Sneaky Jesus" for this idea, which changed her life. Her 1993 book, Dead Man Walking, made into a movie, brought her onto the national stage. Today Sister Prejean is still the most prominent voice against the death penalty in the U.S. She urged Popes John Paul II and Francis to change church teaching to oppose capital punishment in any circumstance, which finally happened in 2018. This doesn't mean, however, that the battle is winding down. The governor of Prejean's home state Louisianna, has ended a 15-year pause on executions. The new administration in Washington has pledged to ramp up the death penalty. Because more than 60 pharmaceutical companies refuse to supply drugs for use in executions, states are turning to firing squads, electrocution, and use of nitrogen gas to suffocate prisoners. Race still plays a huge role in who is sentenced to death. So there's plenty of work to be done. "Have to do it," says Sr. Helen Prejean. "Can't not do it."

Press Under Pressure Traditional media faces adversity on all sides. Younger generations have turned to social media and podcasts, often one-sided, where misinformation can run wild. Everyone feels bombarded, our heads spinning. Given these realities, can America's media still be a force for truth in this fractured time? Hermene Hartman, with her decades as a pioneer in Chicago media, will look for signs of hope in a rapidly changing media landscape.

On the home front: Habitat for Humanity confronts Chicago's housing crisis Chicago's severe housing deficit is undermining our city's vitality. Join us as Jennifer Parks shares the history of Habitat and how the impact of current projects in three Chicago neighborhoods are playing a small but critical role in righting this wrong.

When Jahmal Cole began volunteering at the Cook County Jail in 2013, he quickly realized many of its youngest occupants had never once been out of their neighborhoods.  This observation would prove to be an important catalyst in establishing My Block, My Hood, My City. Today, you can find Jahmal Cole and his team providing opportunities for teens to step outside their comfort zone to explore new communities, cultures, and cuisines. They also work within communities to show how service, empathy, and collaboration can make a difference not only on their own block but in the city of Chicago.

Lester Munson - The Menace of Sports Gambling

Jack Shea: The Challenge of Christmas - Unwrapping Our Spiritual Gifts

Two of Chicago's most prominent journalists take us through the resulats of the election and what it means for our democracy.

Hope at the Border: What the Church looks like when it's at its best

A confident, reassuring presence during Gov. Pritzker's daily covid briefings, Dr. Ngozi Ezike in 2022 left the Illinois Department of Public Health to lead Sinai Chicago. And, while steering this major, 105-year-old Chicago healthcare institution, she's keeping her eye on the broader picture. "Understanding health care is more than what happens with doctors and nurses," she says. "We have to see the related other pieces: having insurance, having a safe space to exercise, having a grocery store nearby so you can buy healthy food. We're in the minority among developed nations in how we don't see health care as a right. Instead there are haves and have nots." Located on Chicago's West Side, Sinai Hospital offers a case in point: 70% of its patients are on Medicaid. West Siders' life expectancy is 16 years shorter than that of folks who live just a few miles away in the Loop. Ezike insists that this status quo is simply not acceptable. "More people need to be thinking about this," she says. "Our words and our actions really have to match." As a healthcare leader who has dedicated her career to serving disadvantaged communities and fighting health care disparities, Ezike will point to the bigger picture of how we can work together to ensure decent healthcare for all Chicagoans. Raised in Los Angeles and a mother of four, Dr. Ezike credits her husband, Dr. Emeka Ezike and her faith in a higher power for helping her deal with the stress from her jobs, especially during the pandemic. A graduate of Harvard, Dr. Ezike worked for 15 years for Cook County Health, addressing the needs of the residents of Cook County. She also served as medical director of the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center and of Austin Health Center on the West Side.  

Mary Meg McCarthy is the Executive Director of Heartland Alliance's National Immigrant Justice Center

"The Sacredness of Storytelling" Through the power of stories that speak to the heart, Otis Moss III tackles the theme of democracy—and what we can do in this moment, when we fear that ours is coming apart at the seams. "Appropriate storytelling leads to appropriate action," he says. "If you don't have the right story, you repeat the last chapter over and over again--you never get to a new one." This father of two calls us to consider our responsibility for the future: "Every generation has a call it must accept, to lay a brick in the cathedral that we're attempting to build for our children's children."  A believer in the sacredness of history, Moss will tell stories of people who, despite having fewer resources than many of us, made an incredible difference in our world.  

Shermann 'Dilla Thomas: "Everything Dope About America Comes From Chicago" : Chicago's Urban Historian Shares his passion for teaching people about the city he loves. Also, a special performance from the Leo High School Choir.

Join us to hear how the Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul traces his commitment to social justice back to his Haitian immigrant parents and his childhood on Chicago's South Side

Howard Reich, son of Holocaust survivors and journalist for the Chicago Tribune, was handed a simple assignment to interview Elie Wiesel, best known for his famous Holocaust memoir Night and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Daily phone calls and multiple in-person meetings with Wiesel would eventually turn Reich's "simple" assignment into four years of intimate conversations which ended shortly before Elie died. The time spent together grew into a friendship through shared stories and a common bond between Howard's father and Elie; both men were liberated from the Buchenwald death camp on April 11, 1945.   

Arts in Chicago: Remaining Relevant Barbara Gaines, founder and recently retired Artistic Director of Chicago Shakespeare Theater, has been instrumental in bringing outstanding stage productions to Chicago for 37 years. Beginning in 1986, with an inaugural performance on a pub's roof top in Lincoln Park, Barbara's creativity, intelligence and hard work provided the catalyst needed to showcase Chicago Shakespeare's talented organization which in turn, brought high praise and recognition from the Chicago arts community and the global stage as well. Rick Kogan, Born and raised in Chicago, a Tribune columnist, author, WGN radio show host, and past contributor to Chicago Daily News and the Sun-Times, Mr. Kogan is often referred to as one of the great voices of Chicago radio and the last in a great tradition of classic newspaper men. He's one of the true chroniclers of our city. Together, Barbara Gaines and Rick Kogan will join ranks on stage at the Union League Club to discuss highlights and challenges facing the Chicago arts community along with a grab bag of other topics. And as old friends go, the two of them share a few "inside" Chicago stories never to be found in the Tribune or heard on the radio.

Violence in Chicago - Do We Want a Solution or a Band-Aid? Father Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina parish has long been an impassioned voice against injustice in its many forms in our city and our nation. He will address what Chicago must do to stem the tide of gun violence that so stubbornly afflicts our city.  Father Pfleger has consistently spoken out against gun violence during his decades at St. Sabina. He has organized not only an annual Peace Rally and Stop the Violence March at the parish, but also weekly Friday night peace marches in the community every summer. He sponsors gun buy-backs. He recently proposed that all city churches, mosques, and synagogues forfeit their tax exempt status unless they provide a full slate of activities for young people, especially on weekends.   "Children are our best investment; they could be our peacemakers; and they are getting killed, burying our future," he said. "Now everybody has to step up because we no longer have a choice."Having lost a foster son to gang crossfire in 1998, he also speaks eloquently on behalf of those who have lost loved ones to senseless shootings.  

Sports in our changing culture: Why we still lavish faith, hope, and love on America's second religion Certain questions in sports have more serious ramifications than the ever-popular "How 'bout dem Bears?"  Consider the meteoric rise of sports gambling, or the now acknowledged risk of severe brain injuries in football.  Not to mention the middle class being priced out of most tickets—and now out of watching games on TV as well. Join Mike Mulligan, co-host of the Mully and Haugh show on WSCR 670-AM, as he takes a swing at top issues in sports today, including how sports interact with our faith and our values.  More on Mr. Mulligan … Mr. Mulligan is a native Chicagoan who grew up on the South Side and graduated from Loyola University. Before switching to radio, Mike spent 27 years with the Chicago Sun times as an award winning journalist. Mike is a huge White Sox fan and he and his wife, Christina, have three children.

A lawyer first, an author second: A reflection on the development of the law in his lifetime and its impact on society and his books. For more than 30 years, Scott Turow has been fortunate to be a bestselling author.. Beginning with Presumed Innocent published in 1987 to his to his current legal thriller, Suspect, he has written 14 novels, all New York Times bestsellers, which have been translated into dozens of languages abroad and read by millions worldwide. But hand in hand with his writing, Turow has remained a practicing lawyer. He retired as a partner at the Dentons firm in August 2020, but continues to work on a limited number of pro bono matters. He has always defined himself as a lawyer, as well as a writer, and an appreciation of the law animates all of his novels.

Rooftop Pastor works to break the cycle of violence, poverty and racism in Woodlawn Pastor Corey Brooks of New Beginnings Church and founder of Project Hood is leading the Woodlawn neighborhood as they create a safer place and give their children the tools to reach for a brighter future.  Spending nearly a year on a Woodlawn rooftop, raising awareness of critical deficits in his own backyard, pastor Brooks raised $20 million dollars; enough money to break ground for the Leadership & Economic Opportunity Center at 66th and King Drive. In addition, Pastor Brooks and his wife Delilah have fully invested in the community of Woodlawn by spearheading a community initiative called Project H.O.O.D. to revitalize the neighborhood. Through it, they are raising up a new generation of peacemakers, problem solvers, and entrepreneurs. Current Project H.O.O.D. programming includes a Core and Carpentry Level I course, which places participants in entry-level construction jobs post-program, an entrepreneurship course, and separate business workshops for aspiring and new business owners, a co-working office space for business owners, job placement programs, and community-wide events including The World's Largest Baby Shower.  Pastor Brooks attended Ball State University, Dallas Theological Seminary, and Grace Theological Seminary. He has been pastoring since 1990 and established New Beginnings Church of Chicago in November 2000 in the heart of Chicago's South Side.